Ayesha Aziz

They come in the midst of silence. Crawling noiselessly, they make their way towards you and build a blistering red temple. That, folks, is acne for you. The biggest irritant of anyone’s life. The worst thing is that it always comes at the wrong time. Have a party, wedding, or family gathering coming up? Well, get ready, because this uninvited guest will most likely be gracing everyone’s presence.

Moreover, if it has started to show its true colours, you can expect some oozing pus to accompany you. Don’t worry about it, though, it’s just your body trying to fight the “foreign invasion.” And please don’t try to squeeze it out. When the pressure you apply starts drawing blood, it means that you have damaged your capillaries. That only leads to one thing – scarring. So, you’d rather let nature take its course.

Some people are quite lucky when it comes to acne. Either they rarely develop a pimple, or when they do, it goes away in a matter of days without any trace. Sometimes a simple overnight toothpaste application works for some. But for others, results can be disastrous, such as peeling off of skin.

Acne is a lot of hassle. You can apply all the creams, medicines, facewashes, and scrubs, but if the problem is your diet, no amount of expense will save you. This is why you need to be careful about the consumption of the following foods.

Dairy Food

A study showed a positive correlation between the development of acne and drinking of milk and skimmed milk. According to it, hormones and bioactive molecules may be the causes. Another showed that restriction in milk consumption or generation of less insulinotropic (stimulating the production and activity of insulin) milk could help with obesity, diabetes mellitus, acne, cancer and even neurodegenerative diseases.

That is not to say that you should stop drinking milk altogether. There are still a lot of things that require further research. Besides, it’s not just milk; cheese, ice-cream, milk chocolate, pastries and cakes are all foods that can cause acne.

You should not stop eating these all together as it can be refreshing to enjoy these from time to time. Voracious consumption is where the problem lies.

Fast Food

High salt, high sugar, greasy oils, fried skins, white flour buns or crusts, these are all the life and blood of many fast-food chains. There is a study that found a positive association between fast food (burgers and sausages) and acne. Some say that there’s no link between the two. But most people believe that there is a relation. 

For all your life, you have been told that fast food is no good. I think it’s safe to say that’s the truth. There are a lot of “secret” ingredients that you don’t know about. No one knows for how long a food item has been in the pantry or what hygienic measures are being observed. Try to reign in your hunger at the sight of French fries, burgers, wraps and pizzas.

Sugary Goodness

Not every sugary food is bad. The culprits are those with a high GI (glycemic index). Such foods immediately break into glucose in the body. Insulin levels increase to decrease the blood sugar level. This leads to inflammation, increased sebum production and surprise, surprise – acne.

You can find a list of healthy foods here for yourself. You might have a choice in saving your skin from acne. So, why not take the chance?