Why do I break out when I eat certain foods?

If you struggle with spots and pimples, you’ll be pleased to know that just making a few adjustments to your diet could help reduce the number of breakouts you have. However, acne is caused by lots of different factors, not just diet, so this is something you need to bear in mind. It might take a couple of months for your skin to improve once you’ve made these diet adjustments but it’ll be worth it if you succeed in banishing breakouts for good. Dairy Studies have shown that drinking cow’s milk and eating cheese can increase your chances of having an acne breakout. This is because cow’s milk contains hormones which are similar to the hormones that make our skin cells produce more sebum. This makes our skin more oily, which can result in our pores becoming blocked. If you still want to enjoy having a bowl of cereal for breakfast, why not have it with almond milk or coconut milk instead? Dairy-free cheese is also available in most supermarkets. Soy Some people have a lot of pimples and spots around their mouths and this can be due to intolerance to the soy found in everyday foods like peanut butter, margarine, cereal bars and even chocolate. If you think soy might be causing your breakouts, try to stop eating products containing it for a few weeks and see if it makes a difference to your skin. Sugar Cutting down on the amount of sugar you eat can help prevent breakouts. Sugar stimulates skin cells to produce more sebum, which can cause your skin to become inflamed, and can make your pores bigger and breakouts more severe. If you have a sweet tooth and eat a lot of sugary foods, then this can cause gut problems too. Wheat Wheat increases inflammation, which is one of the main causes of acne, so you might want to cut down on bread, pastries, cakes and pasta. Many of these items also contain dairy, soy and sugar too. Processed foods Next time you go shopping you should try to ditch the microwave meals, wafer thin ham and bacon. It’s much better to stock up on fresh produce so you can cook meals from scratch rather than rely on processed foods which are quickly broken down into sugar, causing your skin to become inflamed. Takeaways If you’re partial to a curry or a burger and fries, it can be hard to say no to takeaways, but greasy food isn’t good for your skin or your overall health. Most of the time you won’t know what your food has been cooked in or its ingredients so you might be clogging up your pores without realising. Certain Drinks As well as thinking about the food you eat, you might need to think about the drinks you have on a daily basis. Coffee can boost your body’s stress hormones which can lead to spots and pimples. If you have milk and sugar with your coffee this can also have a negative impact on your skin. You might want to cut down on the amount of alcohol, fizzy drinks and smoothies you drink too. If you want to have the occasional coffee/fizzy drink that’s fine, but just make sure you’re getting your recommended six to eight glasses of water a day so that your skin is hydrated. Handpicked Content: How to beat adult acne