Association Between Dietary Practices and Acne in Young Adults; A Review

Abstract

Acne being one of the skin condition that is not deadly but is affecting emotionally and psychologically. Many factors contribute in causing acne and leading it towards severity. Diet is considered as one of the important factor in making acne severe. Foods that are high in glycemic index are thought to aggregate acne severity. Fried items, sugary beverages, pastries etc are considered as food items that may cause acne. Where as many non-diet related factors such as family history, self-hygiene, environmental factors are also held responsible for causing acne. Where unhealthy eating habits promotes acne, healthy diet such as low glycemic index foods, fish consumption, omega 3 fatty acids etc. helps to reduce acne severity and also diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods helps to reduce redness and inflamed pimples.

Significance of Diet in Acne Vulgaris patients attending Dermatology clinic at Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi

“…Previous extended research has provided inconclusive findings regarding the intake of chocolate on acne development, severity and exacerbation [22][23][24] . A doubleblind, placebo-controlled randomized, controlled trial was conducted to investigate the impact of milk chocolate intake in the majority of male participants with the diagnosed skin condition, which found eating chocolate led to progression in their acne severity [25,26] . In 2017, Ulvestad et al evaluated that full fat dairy products were linked with moderate and severe acne whereas, one of the earliest study by Fulton et al, investigated acne and chocolate conducted on sixtyfive subjects diagnosed with acne consumed milk chocolate bars as compared to subjects given a chocolate-less placebo bar containing vegetable fat, with results indicating no significant difference between the two groups, suggesting chocolate had no effect on acne development [27] .…”

“…The results shown as %age among moderate cases of acne after per day consumption of milk was 52.9, yogurt (42.9) , ice cream (38.9) , cheese (30.6), milkshake (36.1), skim milk (30.6), margarine (16.7) , French fries (38.9), margarine (44.4), bakery chips (36.1), packed chips (36.1), white bread (25), vegetables (38.9), fruits (38.9), cold drink (44.4), cake (52.8), mangoes (44.4), dates (47.2), watermelon (41.7), whole fat (38.9), white rice (54.3), one tablespoon butter (25), one slice of pizza (36.1), one bar of chocolate (38.9%) and one paratha (52.8%). Among these food items, consumption of yogurt, ice cream, milkshake, butter, margarine, French fries, chocolate, bakery & packed chips, white bread, vegetables, fruits, pickles, cake, dates, and white rice gives significant association with the severity of acne using Fisher's Exact test (p<0.05).…”