Does Diet Affect Acne? by George Hutton

With hundreds of millions of people suffering from acne on a daily basis, it's not really something you should leave to chance. Understanding this terrible skin condition is half the battle when it comes to being able to defeat it, so it stays away for good. In this particular article, I'll be talking about different foods and their relationship to acne.

In order to understand whether or not any particular food can have an impact on acne, and the creation of pimples, it helps to understand how they are formed. Acne is formed when a pore, which is shared by both a hair follicle and a couple of sebum producing sebaceous glands gets clogged for some reason or another. The oil is still produced, and due to the blocked pore, can cause a great deal of pressure, which in turn can lead to the acne. This sebum is a naturally occurring oil and is necessary for normal, healthy skin.

One of the most common believed links between food and acne concerns chocolate.. Lots of people are under the impression that if you eat too much chocolate, it can cause acne. This is false. There has never been any scientific studies which show this, nor has their been any sound theories as to why this should be the case.

Many also are under the impression that eating greasy food such as potato chips or french fries can cause acne. Again, this is false. Oil from food is completely different that the oil that comes out of your glands. The only likely connection would be if you cooked potato chips or french fries for a living, and due to the working conditions, you perspired quite frequently, and in turn clogged up your pores that way. So this too, may in fact be a myth.

The only potential between food and the occurrence of acne is dairy products. Commercially produced beef, milk, cheese and eggs contain a great deal of growth hormones. These hormones, while not dangerous to humans, may be having an adverse affect on sebum production in the sebaceous glands. Bear in mind that this is only a theory, and studies have not been conclusive.

On the other side of the coin, there is a growing amount of evidence linking an increase in Vitamins E, C, and A with a decrease in acne, and an increase in clear healthy skin. While this is still inconclusive, it has long been known that Vitamin E applied topically, does indeed have several positive skin conditions. So if you are to change any of your eating habits, I would recommend going easy on the dairy products, and eating more foods that contain E, A and C.