Best Diet To Get Rid Of Acne In A Week + Free Recipes!
Most of us eat a typical Western diet. It might be delicious, but it’s full of simple carbohydrates, sugar, processed foods, red meat, and milk. All of these foods cause acne. An acne diet helps get rid of acne in as little as a week with the right foods to balance hormones and get rid of acne.
Acne diet foods are low glycemic, plant-based, and focus on probiotics, prebiotics, and vitamins. Salmon, berries, mushrooms, most fresh fruits and vegetables, and quinoa are some of the best acne-fighting foods.
The goal of the acne diet is to reduce inflammation, balance hormones, and improve your microbiome.
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The Acne Diet Works
The acne diet works because it focuses on reducing inflammation which is the root cause of acne. At its core, acne is a problem of chronic inflammation and clogged pores. Reduce the amount of inflammation in your body, and not only will your skin improve, but you’ll be healthier, too.
Here’s how it works.
Inflammation
Your body has an inflammatory trigger (sugar, stress, smoking, etc). This sets off signals to your hormones to start producing more.
Hormones
Estrogen, progesterone, androgen hormones (like testosterone), insulin, and insulin growth factor-1 (IGF-1) produce more than normal because of inflammation. This ends up changing the oil in your pores, called sebum, from thin and watery to thick and sticky.
Diet and metabolism, specifically glycemic content and dairy, influence hormones such as insulin, insulin-like growth factor 1, and androgens, which affect acnegenesis." Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology
Clogged Pores
Sebum is there to clean out your skin. But increased hormones make it thick and sticky. So instead of flowing freely out of your pores, it gets stuck, causing pimples and breakouts. Then acne-causing bacteria, like P. acnes, grow out of control in your clogged pore. This creates more inflammation.
Acne is a vicious cycle of inflammation causing clogged pores causing inflammation. And unless you stop it at the source, no amount of topical skin care products are going to make it go away entirely.
Sugar Causes Acne
Sugar causes acne. An acne diet with low glycemic index (GI) foods will keep blood sugar steady and prevent clogged pores.
One of the hormones your body uses to lower blood sugar after we eat is insulin. Constant spikes in blood sugar, from eating sugary foods, cause insulin to overproduce, which sets off inflammation.
An acne diet is based on eating plant-based foods with a low glycemic index (GI). The goal is to keep a steady blood sugar level, reduce inflammation, and prevent clogged pores.
Glycemic Index
The glycemic index (GI) is a rating system of foods containing carbohydrates, like sugars, starches, and fiber.
Foods with a low GI are broken down by your body slower than high GI foods. They move slowly and steadily into the bloodstream and you don’t get the inflammation-causing spikes in insulin.
Microbiome Affects Acne
Your microbiome is a complicated ecosystem of bacteria, fungi, yeast, and protozoa we need to survive and be healthy.
There are 10x the number of microorganisms in your skin than cells in your body.” - Journal of Clinical Medicine
Any good acne diet will have foods or supplements that help balance your microbiome. Adding more ‘good bacteria’ will balance out ‘bad bacteria.’
Acne Diet Meal Plan
So you can get an idea of what a day on the acne diet will taste like, here is Day 1 from our yummy acne diet. The recipes are included in the free download and include a shopping list and meal prep options.
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Acne Diet: Day 1
Your first day eating low GI and plant based doesn’t have to be gross. This is an excerpt from our free acne diet download to give you an idea of what the acne diet is like.
Breakfast
Fluffy Berry Protein Pancakes. These low-GI pancakes are made with buckwheat flour, which is actually a fruit seed, and vegan protein powder. The protein powder is optional, but it adds a high quality plant-based protein.
This is important since the acne diet is based on plant-based proteins. We like the Garden of Life Protein Powder because it has probiotics and BCAAs which are good for skin. Just avoid whey protein powder because it triggers acne.
Lunch
Creamy Mushroom Soup. Mushrooms are full of acne-fighting, skin-boosting nutrients. The most important of these is Vitamin D which has been shown to significantly reduce inflammation from acne in people who have deficiencies (which is a lot of people!).
Mushrooms are the only food that has the ability to increase its Vitamin D content through exposure to sunlight. According to the Mushroom Council, crimini and portobello mushrooms have the highest levels of Vitamin D of all the mushrooms.
Dinner
Black Bean and Chickpea Burgers. These burgers have a broad flavor profile that can be adjusted to whatever topping you like. If you’re hesitant about eating non-meat burgers, don’t be. You might be surprised at how good these are! Just follow the instructions to avoid making them mushy.
Adding fermented foods whenever you can is a great way to add in probiotics for a healthy
microbiome. Pickles are the classic choice, but adding sauerkraut (fermented cabbage) or kim chi (korean fermented cabbage) can make them your own acne-fighting powerhouse.
Snack
Homemade Protein Bars. These can be a quick breakfast or a healthy snack. Replace store-bought processed protein bars with these homemade bars for a filling energy boost. Make them on Day 1 and store for up to 5 days, so you’ll have them all week long to snack on.
No-Sugar Plant-Based Tzatziki. Tzatziki is a tasty dip for fresh veggies. This recipe is dairy-free, low or no sugar, and is packed with probiotics, plus a serving of cucumber. The tastiest brands of dairy-free yogurts are Silk, SoDelicious, Almond Breeze, Follow Your Heart, and Forager Cashewmilk. Just cut up some fresh veggies, dip, and enjoy!
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More Snack Ideas
Acne Diet Supplements
We don’t believe that acne can go away with a pill. But we do know that probiotics and omega 3 fatty acids help.
● Omega-3 Fatty Acid supplements
● Probiotic Gut Check Drink Shots comes as a 12 pack, we recommend having 1 every day until your
acne starts to clear, then every other day for maintenance
● Good quality Green Tea, Matcha is the best
Foods To Avoid On The Acne Diet
The acne diet avoids high GI and limits medium GI foods. According to the American Diabetes Association, these foods have high GI:
Breads, especially white bread and bagels
Sweetened breakfast cereals, such as those with corn flakes, puffed rice, and bran flakes
Instant cereals, such as instant oatmeal and grits
Some fruits and vegetables, including melons, pineapples, pumpkins, and potatoes
Enriched pastas, such as rice-based pasta
Short grain white rice
Snack foods, like pretzels, rice cakes, and popcorn
Milk Causes Acne
Cow's milk officially causes acne, especially skim milk. There are 2 main reasons: IGF-1 and leucine.
In a 2019 study by Clinical Nutrition, there is a positive relationship between acne and milk, including skim, 1%, 2%, or whole milk. But no correlation was found between acne and yogurt and cheese.
IGF-1
Cow’s milk has bovine IGF-1 and dihydrotestosterone precursors. This means your body literally gets the cow’s testosterone and a hormone called insulin growth factor-1(IGF-1).
IGF-1 is released in response to blood sugar spikes. It helps our bodies metabolize food and drives oil production in the skin. But when our bodies have high levels of IGF-1 we get clogged pores and hormonal acne. And all acne is hormonal.
Leucine
Milk has a protein called leucine. It promotes acne-causing hormones, like IGF-1, to be overproduced in your body.
Leucine is also found in whey protein. Whey protein is an acne causing food!
Dairy Does Not Cause Acne
Milk causes acne, but (so far!) studies have not shown a significant link to other dairy products, like cheese and yogurt. But there aren’t very many studies that have isolated milk from other dairy products for research.
While it’s looking good for dairy products and acne, we think an acne diet should not include yogurt and cheese for at least a week or until your acne is clearing up. Then try reintroducing dairy and decide if it’s contributing to your acne or not.
Some dairy, like greek yogurt and kefir, are rich sources of probiotics.
In a study from Fermentation, kefir and probiotics support skin health and treat skin pathogens by producing antimicrobial substances and prebiotics.
Foods To Eat On The Acne Diet
The acne diet is filled with low GI foods that will keep your blood sugar steady, reducing inflammation, and adding in probiotics and vitamins to keep your skin healthy. You just might feel better, too.
Best Acne Diet Foods
Ancient grains, like quinoa and buckwheat
Plant-based milks and dairy products without added sugar
Many fresh fruits (with skins), although there are some to avoid
Berries
Vegetables
Nuts and seeds, especially pumpkin seeds and pistachios
Salmon
Mushrooms
Fermented foods
High quality proteins like beans, lean poultry,
Zoodles
Kefir
Probiotics
Probiotics help balance your microbiome and reduce inflammation by adding more “good bacteria.”
Best Probiotics For Acne
Lactobacilli
Bifidobacterium
Best Probiotic Foods
Kefir
Low-fat yogurt
Unpasteurized Sauerkraut
Miso soup
Soft cheese
Sourdough bread
Acidophilus Milk
Sour pickles
Tempeh
Prebiotics
Prebiotics are basically more ‘good bacteria’ that feed the probiotics. The acne diet includes many of them naturally.
Best Prebiotics For Acne
Fructo-oligosaccharides
Galacto-oligosaccharides
Konjac glucomannan hydrolysates
Best Prebiotic Foods
Asparagus
Jerusalem artichokes
Bananas
Oatmeal
Red wine
Honey
Maple syrup
Legumes
Can An Acne Diet Get Rid of Acne In A Week?
After a week on an acne diet, you might start to notice less new breakouts. But it takes a lot of people more time to reverse the chronic inflammation that is the root cause of acne.
But sooner or later, most of us come to realize that eating a plant-based, low GI diet is the only way to get rid of acne and prevent it from coming back. Not to mention improving your overall health.
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Final Thoughts
Eating an acne diet for a week can start to give you some results but sticking with it will lead to lasting changes. Focus on eating low GI foods and improving your microbiome with probiotics and prebiotics. Inflammation leads to hormonal imbalance and clogged pores. You can eat an acne diet and fix the root cause of acne.