Read Online Don't Cross Your Eyes...They'll Get Stuck That Way!: And 75 Other Health Myths Debunked by Aaron E. Carroll - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Aaron E. Carroll
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The studies of how common acne is in certain places do not actually tell us that foods are to blame, and they definitely don’t tell us which foods might be to blame.
To try to find out whether certain foods are to blame, other scientists have tried to look more specifically at what people eat and whether they have acne. (Rachel really just cares about chocolate, so that is the one we will look at most carefully.) Chocolate, fried or greasy foods, and foods with a lot of sugar are often blamed for causing acne or for making your breakouts worse. We have often heard this debunked as a myth, but it took some research to look at all the evidence. Scientists have often tested these foods in regard to acne by testing whether the foods increase insulin resistance. Insulin is a particular hormone that helps the body absorb sugars, but it is also involved in a sequence of hormone responses in your body that has been linked to how we develop acne. Your body’s reaction to insulin can actually impact the other hormones, like androgens and retinoids, that are more directly linked to developing acne. Scientists have speculated that foods that make you more resistant to insulin might also give you more acne by increasing these other hormones. While studies of animals have almost always shown that foods with lots of fats (like chocolate or fried foods) increase the body’s resistance to insulin, many of the studies in humans have not found such a link between eating a lot of fat and having more insulin resistance. There is also no evidence that eating a lot of sugar (or having high glycemic indexes) makes humans have too much insulin or makes them resistant to insulin in ways that would cause acne. Whether or not eating a lot of fat or sugar changes the body’s resistance to insulin has important implications for problems like diabetes and obesity. Scientists need to do more work to figure out whether or how these foods impact the body’s long-term response to insulin. In the meantime, there is not definitive evidence that high-fat or high-sugar foods will increase insulin resistance in a way that causes you to have more acne.
The other hypothesis that scientists have tested is whether foods with more fat or sugar might increase how much sebum comes out of your pores. Sebum is basically what makes your skin oily, the natural oil of the skin. It is trapped sebum in the pores of your skin that gets inflamed and causes acne. Do fatty foods increase how much sebum you are making? Once again, some of the studies in animals show that animals do make more sebum when they eat more fat. In human studies, there is some suggestion that what you eat might change the amount of sebum your skin makes and how much fat is in that sebum. However, the human studies do not show that this change in the sebum impacts your acne.
Two studies have specifically tested whether chocolate impacts acne in humans. The studies did not have huge numbers of volunteers and were not designed as well as we would have liked, but both studies did not show any connection between chocolate and acne. In one of the studies, volunteers were given either chocolate bars or a fake chocolate bar that had similar amounts of fat and sugar. Those who were given the actual chocolate bars did not have any more acne, did not make any more sebum (skin oil), and did not have any changes in the composition of their sebum when they were compared to those eating the placebo bars. Several other small studies that asked people about their diets and about their acne found no connection between having acne and how much sugar they eat, how much chocolate they eat, shellfish, sweets, pizza, French fries, or other fatty foods.
A number of people have also questioned whether milk was to blame for acne breakouts. Because most chocolate contains milk, if milk is to blame for acne problems, this could also implicate chocolate. In several small studies, researchers have not found any connection
To try to find out whether certain foods are to blame, other scientists have tried to look more specifically at what people eat and whether they have acne. (Rachel really just cares about chocolate, so that is the one we will look at most carefully.) Chocolate, fried or greasy foods, and foods with a lot of sugar are often blamed for causing acne or for making your breakouts worse. We have often heard this debunked as a myth, but it took some research to look at all the evidence. Scientists have often tested these foods in regard to acne by testing whether the foods increase insulin resistance. Insulin is a particular hormone that helps the body absorb sugars, but it is also involved in a sequence of hormone responses in your body that has been linked to how we develop acne. Your body’s reaction to insulin can actually impact the other hormones, like androgens and retinoids, that are more directly linked to developing acne. Scientists have speculated that foods that make you more resistant to insulin might also give you more acne by increasing these other hormones. While studies of animals have almost always shown that foods with lots of fats (like chocolate or fried foods) increase the body’s resistance to insulin, many of the studies in humans have not found such a link between eating a lot of fat and having more insulin resistance. There is also no evidence that eating a lot of sugar (or having high glycemic indexes) makes humans have too much insulin or makes them resistant to insulin in ways that would cause acne. Whether or not eating a lot of fat or sugar changes the body’s resistance to insulin has important implications for problems like diabetes and obesity. Scientists need to do more work to figure out whether or how these foods impact the body’s long-term response to insulin. In the meantime, there is not definitive evidence that high-fat or high-sugar foods will increase insulin resistance in a way that causes you to have more acne.
The other hypothesis that scientists have tested is whether foods with more fat or sugar might increase how much sebum comes out of your pores. Sebum is basically what makes your skin oily, the natural oil of the skin. It is trapped sebum in the pores of your skin that gets inflamed and causes acne. Do fatty foods increase how much sebum you are making? Once again, some of the studies in animals show that animals do make more sebum when they eat more fat. In human studies, there is some suggestion that what you eat might change the amount of sebum your skin makes and how much fat is in that sebum. However, the human studies do not show that this change in the sebum impacts your acne.
Two studies have specifically tested whether chocolate impacts acne in humans. The studies did not have huge numbers of volunteers and were not designed as well as we would have liked, but both studies did not show any connection between chocolate and acne. In one of the studies, volunteers were given either chocolate bars or a fake chocolate bar that had similar amounts of fat and sugar. Those who were given the actual chocolate bars did not have any more acne, did not make any more sebum (skin oil), and did not have any changes in the composition of their sebum when they were compared to those eating the placebo bars. Several other small studies that asked people about their diets and about their acne found no connection between having acne and how much sugar they eat, how much chocolate they eat, shellfish, sweets, pizza, French fries, or other fatty foods.
A number of people have also questioned whether milk was to blame for acne breakouts. Because most chocolate contains milk, if milk is to blame for acne problems, this could also implicate chocolate. In several small studies, researchers have not found any connection
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