Top 7 Foods that TRIGGER Acne

Struggling with adult acne? Don't despair - there's plenty of ways that you can help control and clear your skin. However, a lot of trial and error is involved as you get to understand your skin and work out what triggers flare ups. If you suffer from chronic acne, it's time to realise that the cause comes from within, and unfortunately, topical treatments aren't the solution.

Our skin is our body's largest organ; if our body is under attack on the inside, it will most likely show on the outside. Think of it as your internal organs crying for attention.

Here's a list of foods that are best to avoid in order to clear your skin. You should eliminate a few of these from your diet for at least 8 weeks to see which of these don't agree with your system.

1. Alcohol

Sorry party animals! If you want to clear up your acne you better put down the bottle of beer (at least until you've identified whether alcohol is one of your triggers). We all know that alcohol is toxic to the body, but many of us don't realise that it also isn't good for clarity of skin. Most of us will be familiar with that hollowed grey look after a night of boozing. This zombie-like pallor is due to the hit heavy drinking takes on the circulatory and detoxification systems. Furthermore, alcohol impedes adequate blood flow - which is vital for skin health.

A boozy night out may be entertaining, but unfortunately, our liver and kidneys disagree as they have to work double-time to detox the body. This burden of purging toxins is passed onto the skin, which causes breakouts. Alcohol is also dehydrating and contributes to hormonal imbalance - a major cause of cystic acne.

2. Nuts In moderation, nuts are a fantastic source of nutrition. However, nuts and seeds are high in fats and proteins. Foods high in fats and protein tend to increase levels of inflammatory cytokines, such as arachidonic acid. This causes inflammation which in turn causes acne. Eating a few nuts and seeds is absolutely fine but be wary of the source as nuts and seeds are best eaten fresh and plain. Most store-bought nuts are coated in seasonings such as msg and sodium; this is what is going to cause problems with the skin. Keep your helping of fresh nuts to about a tablespoon or two.

3. Caffeine Great for ramping up our energy levels, not so great for keeping our skin in good condition. These days caffeine is present in a lot of things such as coffee, energy drinks, sodas, and even tea. Unfortunately, caffeine increases the level of the stress hormone cortisol. This triggers inflammation and increases the production of skin oils, whilst also speeding the ageing of the skin. Caffeine is also a diuretic, which means we expel more liquid, increasing the risk of dehydration. Caffeine can turn into an addiction which can be difficult to break. Try substituting for green or white tea, which contains a lesser amount of caffeine and has antioxidant attributes.

4. PROCESSED JUNK Now you don't need me to tell you that processed junk food is bad for you. Excess amounts of fat paired with heaps of unnecessary refined sugar cause blood sugar dysregulation, increasing levels of insulin. Just like alcohol and caffeine, this spikes levels of cortisol, causing inflammation. So what would you rather? Clear skin and confidence or doughnuts?

Processed junk foods also lack in fibre, resulting in slow digestive transit time. This then puts stress on the liver, as it fights to clear as much of the excess toxins left behind in the bowel. When the liver struggles to detox effectively, it ends up showing on the skin.

5. Excess protein If you're eating a standard western diet, chances are you're consuming too much protein. If you're consuming protein shakes, bars, processed protein rich foods, isolated protein supplements etc, and can't keep your acne under control, you might want to let the protein go for a while.

We need 40-80g of protein a day, depending on our size. Anything above that is excessive, and because our body doesn't store extra protein like it does carbs or fat, the remainder of the protein must be expelled through the urine. This results in extra strain on the kidneys - if you've learnt anything from this blog post so far you'll know that stress on the liver/kidneys will end up showing on our skin.

Furthermore, the excess protein of any kind will initiate a short spike of insulin and stimulate the sebaceous glands in the skin to produce more oil.

6. Greasy food Believe me when I tell you that the grease that you consume will also show on your face. Yes - food grease becomes skin grease. This skin grease clogs pores, changes the skin ph and feeds pathogenic bacteria. More often than not, greasy food is full of MSG; a neurotoxin which ruins your tastebuds. This chemical creates a huge dopamine release, making your food taste better whilst also causing you to become addicted to the food you just ate. Ever had a strong intense craving for Chinese food or McDonald's? That's probably just the MSG talking. MSG also makes you feel like you're not yet full, causing you to go back for more and more.

7. DAIRY The ultimate DEVIL of acne triggers. Seriously, if you suffer from chronic acne (especially cystic acne), I strongly urge you to cut this crap out of your diet. Dairy is the biggest cause of acne, but there are so many dairy alternatives nowadays which are just as nutritious.

Let's explore the many reasons why dairy is bad for your skin. Dairy contains a chemical called casein, which is essentially like heroin for baby cows as it makes them addicted to their mother's milk, stopping them from wandering too far away from their dealer. Human's also become addicted to casein, which is why giving up cheese and chocolate is so difficult. Casein is a known and common trigger of acne breakouts, causing spikes in insulin which result in inflammation.

Moreover, dairy cows are constantly pumped with hormones to keep them producing milk and antibiotics to treat mastitis, which also ends up in the milk that we drink. Excess hormones in our bodies trigger excess oil production, causing skin cells to become sticky, leading to clogged pores and breakouts. Dairy products contain the growth hormone IGF-1, which is fantastic for baby cows but not for keeping your skin clear as it spikes insulin dramatically. The IGF-1 hormone is what turns a baby cow into a fully grown adult cow, but in humans, it just makes our acne bigger, angrier and more swollen.

If you're looking for a milk alternative I don't recommend switching to soy milk, as it has an estrogen-mimicking effect on the body. You'll want to avoid any foods that can potentially disturb your hormones.

The common occurrence with all of these foods is they cause insulin spikes in the body. Try staying clear of any foods which will cause temporary spikes in your insulin levels. Cutting these foods from your diet can be extremely difficult but the effects will be worthwhile. I recommend switching to a whole food, plant-based diet for optimal effects throughout your entire body, including more energy, better health and overall happiness.

If going cold turkey isn't for you, try individually removing some of these food groups from your diet as it may just be that you are sensitive to one of these food groups.

Good luck and I hope you soon find confidence in your skin!