eating for acne. Part 1
What you eat can definitely influence your skin health, but it’s not as simple as cutting out chocolate, or drinking celery juice every day. Fad diets will come and go, but the truth is, good robust, evidence to support any one particular diet is really lacking when it comes to acne.
Eating for your skin will provide benefit to your skin, however, some patients will notice that diet plays a significant role in their treatment, and in others it has less of an impact. In clinical practice I have found that diet influences female hormonal acne the most, but I do feel that everyone's skin can be rewarded with some dietary changes
I feel the best way to address diet and acne is to break it down into three parts
Incorporate foods in your diet that promotes good general health and a healthy gut microbiome
Remove foods and supplements that have a known association with acne or stimulate hormonal pathways that worsen acne
Identify any individual triggers and remove these from your diet
General health and the gut microbiome
This is actually a hugely complex topic with so much exciting research and still so much to learn. If you are interested to know more, there are some great online resources and this podcast is an excellent starting point
Rather than delving into too much of the nitty gritty, I’ll give you an outline of the foods that are generally beneficial for skin health (with some simple explanations) and what to avoid
As aforementioned, this is an enormous topic but here's the abbreviated version
Eat foods that have a Low Glycaemic Index (GI)
these foods are slowly broken down, digested and absorbed, causing a slower and smaller rise in blood sugar levels. The flow on effect is that a hormone called Insulin like Growth Factor (IGF-1) occurs in lower levels and is released more slowly.
How does IGF-1 affect the skin?
IGF-1 stimulates the sebocytes (oil glands) to increase oil production and also increases androgen/testosterone activity which is the main trigger for oil production - this leads to increased acne
So which foods are Low GI
fresh whole fruits and vegetables
wholemeal, brown and rye bread, pasta and rice
nuts and legumes, lentils
leafy green vegetables - broccoli, kale, spinach, rocket
Vegetables - carrots, peas, eggplant, zucchini, capsicum, cauliflower, celery, mushrooms
Onion and garlic, leek
Fruits - Apples, Dried apricots, Under-ripe banana, Peaches, Strawberries, Oranges, Cherries, Coconut, Cranberries, Blueberries, Pears, Plums, Grapefruit
Here are some examples of foods that are high GI and should be limited
white bread, rice pasta
packet biscuits, sweetened muesli bars, sugary cereals, lollies, cakes, muffins
fruits with high sugar content - watermelon, lychees
starchy vegetables - potatoes, parsnips
Of note foods are only assigned a GI index if they contain carbohydrates so the following do not have a GI index
beef
chicken
fish
eggs
herbs
spices
The gut microbiome
Our gastrointestinal system is populated with trillions of bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi that help to digest our food and produce metabolic by-products that are associated with our immune system, our cardiovascular system, our moods, inflammatory states, skin health and our general health.
The 'healthiness' of an individuals gut microbiome is not defined by an absolute number or type of organism but more the diversity and ratios of the various populations. Certain bacterial populations (and their metabolites) are more associated with disease states and others with a more positive state of health.
Quantifying the health of the microbiome is determined by the following
Richness - the number of distinct members ("species") in the community
Diversity - a measure of the richness and evenness characteristics of a community, often
calculated as a specific "diversity index"
Dysbiosis - the imbalance of gut microbiota associated with an unhealthy outcome
A microbiome that has a high 'Richness' and 'diversity' is associated with good overall health. To create this type of ecosystem with in our gut, it is important to think about the types of food we eat that feeds and nourishes this population.
Diets high in fiber with a large range of fruit, vegetables, nuts, legumes and wheats encourages the growth of a microbiome with high richness and diversity. This in turn benefits not only your overall health but your skin health
It is recommended that people ingest 30 - 40 different plant based foods per week to encourage a diverse, rich gut microbiome. For example, you may eat a greek salad every day. This may have 8 vegetables, which is great, but it doesn't offer the diversity that the ecosystem requires. It's about eating variety and eating it regularly. Fermented food are also a fantastic way to repopulate your gut with healthy bacteria
Read more here
https://cdhf.ca/health-lifestyle/10-ways-to-strengthen-your-microbiome/
Stay tuned for Part 2 Negative foods and supplements at the end of the week