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How high-glycemic foods affect acne

Sugar Affect On Skin

It’s super important to follow an awesome-and-effective skincare routine, but eating the right foods can make a difference when it comes to our breakouts, too. Did you know that foods with a higher glycemic index can make your acne worse? It’s true, according to studies.

Not sure exactly which foods are high on the glycemic index? Understandable. Not even sure what “glycemic index” actually means? We honestly didn’t know, but reading an Australian study has changed all of that. Here’s everything to know about the foods you eat, the glycemic index, and your skin.

The study followed 23 Australian males (Aged 15-25). The guys in this study followed a strict, low-glycemic-load (Sometimes called an LGL) diet. This study showed a significant improvement in their acne severity.

Foods with higher glycemic index values raise blood sugar levels quicker than foods with lower glycemic index values. What foods have a higher glycemic index? That’s white bread, chips, and white potatoes. Those are the foods we want to avoid if we can. And what foods have a lower glycemic index? That’s multi-grain bread, vegetables, and beans. Those foods can help improve our acne.

Another study, this one web-based, found that 86.7 percent of the subjects (There were 2528 subjects total) who followed a low-glycemic diet had a reduction of their acne breakouts while following the diet.

And in yet another study, this one on patients with the polycystic ovarian syndrome showed that a low-carbohydrate diet stabilized these patients' hormones and reduced the number and severity of their acne breakouts.

So, what exactly do these studies tell us? If we’re looking to make our complexion even more perfect, eating foods with a lower glycemic index, like multi-grain bread, veggies, and beans, can help us curb our acne breakouts.

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