Acne is one of those problems that haunts your teenage years and it can be devastating to find out that it doesn’t always subside into adulthood. In fact, acne can plague us all every now and again and can be the bane of any man that shaves, leaving a scarred face and pock marks. However, despite the rumors that acne is caused by bad hygiene habits, spots and pimples are actually to do with hormonal imbalances and the food we eat. In fact, diet is one of the most important factors in preventing and causing acne, both on the face and back.
If you find yourself subject to breakouts, with nasty pimples peeking out, you may want to try avoiding the following foods as studies show that they dramatically increase acne.
- Cow’s Milk
A study in 2010 showed that cow’s milk can significantly increase acne. Although the results were not conclusive to why, there were many sensible deductions made around this. Firstly, cow’s milk causes blood sugar levels to spike, triggering the production of insulin, which in turn increases the oil production levels in the body. Oily skin can lead top pimples, while high blood sugar also leads to inflammation. The combination of the two leads to acne. Equally, milk comes from pregnant cows meaning high levels of hormones within the liquid, which are then transferred into your body. As mentioned above, hormone imbalance causes acne, especially when a high concentration of growth hormones can cause skin to over produce, trapping dirt inside.
- Coffee
Coffee may be your wake up beverage of choice, but it can be increasing acne levels. This is because coffee contains its own organic acid within the bean which rasies the cortisol levels in the body. Cortisol is a hormone produced by the body when under stress, often just known as the ‘stress hormone’. As mentioned, hormone imbalances cause acne outbreaks and by disproportionately increasing cortisol, you are throwing the balance off.
- Sugar
Sugar is one of the worst food for your body, period. However, it can be particularly bad when trying to deal with acne. As with cow’s milk, sugar raises the blood sugar levels, which increases insulin levels and oil production. Sugar also causes inflammation which eats up all the antioxidants going into the body that help fight off infection. By eating a high sugar diet, your body finds it hard to fight infection, causing inflammation and small infected bumps in the skin.
- White Bread
Wheat causes inflammation in the body, which is bad for the skin. Coupled with the high levels of sugar in white bread, you’ll find that it leads to inflammation increase and antioxidant decrease. Equally, where white bread is a high-glycaemic food, it breaks down quickly in the body causing spikes in sugar level and over-production of insulin.
Apart from just avoiding these foods, you want to ensure your body is receiving its daily intake of vitamins A, B,C and E. These vitamins are integral for the production of healthy skin and keeping a balanced level of oil production. The best way to ensure regular dosage is to invest in a supplement such as Ultimate Man Once a Day, to guarantee you’re reaching the recommended daily amount for a healthy male in order to combat those pimples.
