Are Comfort Foods Making Your Acne Worse?

Are your comfort foods causing acne?

Right now we are finding comfort in foods such as bread, rice and pasta.  But are they going to cause acne – or make it worse?  Here’s the scoop:

1. Acne is related to insulin resistance and dysbiosis in the body

  a. Insulin resistance is a metabolic dysfunction that results in high insulin in the bloodstream, which triggers a cascade of factors that increase androgens, the hormone that causes acne

  b. Dysbiosis is an imbalance in the beneficial and pathogenic microbes in the body.

2. Because simple carbohydrates, such as bread, pasta, baked goods and potatoes convert quickly into glucose and they are high in glucose, they are going to stimulate insulin levels and feed pathogenic microbes in the body.

3. If you are sensitive to insulin and /or have dysbiosis, bread, rice and pasta can make acne worse. Way worse.

4. How do you know if you have insulin resistance or dysbiosis?

  a. Insulin resistance – feeling hangry, PCOS, gain weight around your abdomen, skin tags

  b. Dysbiosis – any gut issues at all, fungal acne,

5. What do you do?

  a. Replace simple carbohyrates with gluten-free, complex starchy carbohydrates such as quinoa, wild rice, buckwheat, millet, sweet potatoes, squashes. These carbs have a lower glycemic index – so the glucose doesn’t enter the blood stream as quickly, and there is less of it.

  b. Gluten can be very inflammatory for many people, and eliminating it will reduce inflammation and remember, acne is inflammation. Gluten-free grains can be way easier for people to digest.

  c. Always eat carbohydrates with a fat or protein – this will reduce the rate at which glucose enters the bloodstream, which will reduce an insulin spike.

  d. If you are very sensitive to blood sugar and insulin spikes, you may have to cut out starchy carbohydrates for a period of time while you are healing your insulin levels and balancing your microbiome. 

  This is a short-term solution, because starchy carbohydrates have some important health benefits, but eliminating them for a short period of time can be very therapeutic.  Once your body starts to rebalance and your acne clears, you can re-introduce starchy carbohydrates slowly.

Sending you tons of love.

Dr. Stacey