Do you want to find out if the foods you are eating could be the instigators of your acne? What if you learned that certain foods are causing your acne to worsen or flare up? You may have woken up to a bright red zit after eating pizza with extra cheese during a girls night or super bowl party. 

What is Acne?

Before understanding how to prevent acne, you may ask yourself, what is acne? Acne is an inflammatory disorder of our skin and can affect various areas of our bodies, some of the most common areas include the face, shoulders, back, and chest. Acne occurs when the skin follicle gets clogged with excess oil production and dead skin cells. In other words, bacteria on the surface is able to live and grow in that pore which creates the inflammatory responses that we call acne. 

What Could Be Contributing to Acne?

It would be great if there was one cause for acne that could be easily targeted. However, acne is complex and can be caused by multiple factors including genetics, hormones, age, environment, and medications. So how can you prevent breakouts? By limiting the things that can worsen it like stress, diet, sports gear, and improper skincare. Today, we will focus on what nutrition changes you can make to help with your acne. If you feel you would benefit from getting personalized nutrition recommendations, try out Vessel Health now to get connected with a coach 100% included in your membership! 

Limit Dairy Products

Have you ever started taking whey protein supplements at the gym and noticed an increase in acne? Whey protein can cause an increase in certain hormones, like IGF-1 that have been shown to contribute to acne. Where your dairy is coming from is also important, are you drinking whole milk, eating cheese, or enjoying a scoop of ice cream? This is due to the sugar content of each of these! 

Eat Foods High in Omega 3 Fatty Acids

The Western Diet does not generally include high amounts of fish, wild game, or plants. This includes salmon often containing high Omega 3, which decrease inflammation and are great for healing acne. You should do your best to limit baked goods and fried foods that are high in saturated and trans fats as this can cause an increase in the severity of acne. 

Limit Foods with Added Sugar 

Have you noticed that the foods we’ve mentioned limiting tend to be higher in added sugars? Baked goods and ice cream are two examples of the types of food that may cause skin to worsen. Although, there are healthy alternatives you can choose and bake at home to prevent excess saturated fats and added sugar. 

Incorporate Probiotics  

We’ve heard of probiotics and their benefits for gut health, so what about our acne? There’s early research that shows probiotics may improve your blood sugar response and increase anti-inflammatory fatty acids that can help with acne. 

Clear Skin Is One Step Away

To sum up, we know breakouts can be frustrating and there are many contributors to it, that’s why we wanted to cover some important tips around nutrition. Remember, it is always best to chat with a professional when it comes to nutrition. Curious about what foods you are eating that may be contributing to your breakouts or what probiotics to purchase? We encourage you to send a message to our nutrition coaches inside of the Vessel App for more guidance on steps you can take today to help prevent and reduce your acne.