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Acne: it's your diet after all

Men's Fitness, May, 2003

Potato chips, chocolate and other snack foods, once implicated and then exonerated as a primary cause of acne, are back in the dermatological doghouse. A team of investigators has declared that a diet rife with insulin-spiking starchy carbohydrates is the likely culprit in the acne epidemic, which to some extent affects up to 95 percent of adolescents and 35 percent of adults in Western cultures.

The researchers reached their conclusion after finding no acne among the Kitavan Islanders of Papua New Guinea or the Ache hunter-gatherers of Paraguay. The two tribes ate fruit, fish, vegetables, coconut, peanuts and/or game, but consumed almost no starchy carbs or refined sugars.

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"The astonishing difference in acne incidence rates between non-westernized and fully modernized societies cannot be solely attributed to genetic differences among populations but likely results from differing environmental factors," states the report, published in the Archives of Dermatology.

The most important factor in triggering acne is a diet high in high-glycemic carbs such as cereals, breads, cakes, chips and candy, says lead author Loren Cordain, Ph.D., professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University. The boost in blood sugar caused by these foods "sets off a series of hormonal changes known to underlie the development of acne."

Acne: it's your diet after all

Men's Fitness, May, 2003

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