New Study Suggests a Connection Between Diet and Acne

Several years back I had an opportunity to teach several skin care classes to a group of Hmong immigrants. Speaking through an interpreter, one woman in particular noted how her skin had changed since coming to America. "I never had acne until coming here. I didn't even know what acne was. No one had acne in my old country." Many others there agreed, and all firmly believed diet was the cause of the changes in their skin.

The traditional Hmong diet, they told me, consisted of vegetables, whole grains, and fish. When my new friends adopted their new country, they adopted a traditional Western diet as well. It was then, they stated, that their skin began breaking out. I was intrigued by what these women had observed.

Conventional wisdom holds diet has absolutely no effect on acne. However, one recent study challenges this long held belief. Completed by Dr. Neil Mann of Australia's RMIT University and Royal Melbourne Hospital, this study suggests foods with a high glycemic index (think cake, soda, white bread, etc.) may indeed trigger an acne response. Conversely, a diet of high protein along with low glycemic index foods may help reduce acne breakouts.

Dr. Mann so believes in these findings that he has, along with Australia's Women's Weekly and the Australasian College of Dermatologists, published a booklet titled "The Teenage Anti-acne Diet."

So is there connection between diet and acne? While more research needs to be done, it certainly is an interesting premise and one that will most likely be looked into more in the coming years.