Dodging the worst of the typical western diet - especially processed and refined foods - can help control the obesity epidemic and may provide some help with acne.  

These foods rapidly convert into sugar (glucose) in the body and are therefore described as having a high glycaemic index (GI).  

According to the authors of a new article on the controversial link between diet and acne, reducing the glycaemic load in the average adolescent’s diet should provide multiple benefits.  

The article, published in the journal Cutis and providing another review of the medical literature on diet and acne, confirmed a high GI diet is associated with acne.  

Importantly though, an intervention study has also shown that a low GI diet can lead to an improvement in acne lesions in just 12 weeks.   

They said a high GI intake could cause high blood levels of insulin. This in turn stimulates higher androgen hormone production and growth factors which can then lead to an increase in oil production in the skin.  

“Patients, especially overweight and obese individuals, can be advised to reduce their consumption of processed and refined sugars and to seek high fibre sources of carbohydrates in an effort to reduce acne symptoms,” the study said.  

“Interestingly, studies that show acne relief due to low glycaemic load diets also show marked decrease in weight, which may be an effective mechanism for obese adolescents to resolve symptoms of acne which achieving a healthy weight,” they said.  

The article also found some weak and controversial evidence linking dairy foods and saturated fatty acids in fried foods to acne. Further studies evaluating these links need to be done before any firm conclusions can be drawn.  

While giving up fried foods is unlikely to be detrimental to adolescents, the authors warned against limiting dairy foods without supplementing the diet to ensure adequate calcium and vitamin D.  

Reference: Cutis  2011; 88:84-91