Foreigners have a proverb that says “You are what you eat”, and the Chinese have an old saying that says “Illness enters by the mouth”. So the relationship between eating and acne, let’s break it down. Androgens and hyperkeratosis of follicular sebaceous glands are important causes of acne, so foods that directly or indirectly contribute to these two causes can trigger or aggravate acne. A diet high in sugar is an important risk factor. Cordain et al. conducted an epidemiologic study in populations that rarely suffer from acne (Kitavan Islanders in Papua New Guinea and primitive tribal hunters in Paraguay) and found that daily diets contained a high proportion of low glycemic load carbohydrates, and they concluded that the typical Western diet of high glycemic load carbohydrates exacerbates acne. Studies have shown that a high-glycemic diet promotes the secretion of insulin, IGF-1 (insulin-like growth factor -1), and free IGF-1, a potent mitogen in virtually all tissues of the body, which promotes acne by hyperkeratosis of sebaceous gland ducts in hair follicles. High insulin as well as high IGF-1 levels can induce acne by influencing androgen receptor activity, causing sebum production, and contributing to epithelial growth and follicular keratinization. Glycemic Index (GI), a ranking system that indicates how carbohydrates in food raise blood sugar levels. the higher the GI, the more likely it is that blood sugar will rise after eating. The foods marked in red in the table below are the high GI foods that we need to be aware of. A 2007 Australian randomized controlled trial study (which included only male subjects) showed that a low GI diet significantly improved acne severity, significantly reduced body mass index (BMI), significantly reduced free androgen index, and improved insulin sensitivity. 2012 Korean randomized controlled trial study included both men and women, and showed no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI, but no significant change in BMI. There was no significant change in BMI in the low-GI diet group, but acne severity was significantly improved. Histologic analysis revealed a significant reduction in sebaceous glands, inflammatory cells and inflammatory cytokines in the low-GI group. These two rigorously designed experiments confirm the fact that high sugar promotes acne and low sugar improves acne. There are so many foods out there, it is hard to remember the GI of each food, so we can roughly note that the starchier and sweeter the food, the higher the GI. To give a chestnut, red beans, taro, this category belongs to the high starch content of the ingredients, GI high, and they will be made into a dessert with sugar marinade, GI once again rose dramatically. Starch and sugar are important life-sustaining energy substances, and these two with the transformation of the food is not too much, how to break? We are not talking about not eating, eat less, just reduce the proportion of high GI food in your daily diet. Acne severity is directly proportional to milk intake, especially skim milk. Skimmed milk removes some of the fat from normal milk, reducing the fat content to less than 1%, whereas whole milk has a fat content of 3.5% to 4%, with low-fat milk in between. Skimmed milk reduces not only the fat content, but also fat-soluble cholesterol, phospholipids and vitamins. Adebamowo et al. conducted a large sample cohort study on the relationship between acne and milk from 2005-2008 and found that acne severity was positively associated with milk intake, especially skim milk. Subsequently, more dermatologists began to pay attention to the relationship between milk and acne occurrence.Di Landro et al. compared 205 patients with moderate to severe acne and 358 patients with mild acne or a normal population and concluded that milk, especially skimmed milk, increased the risk of acne. In contrast, cheese and yogurt were not found to contribute to the development of acne in different studies. Milk contains many hormones such as estrogen, progesterone, and many active androgen precursors such as DHEA, androstenedione, and dihydrotestosterone, etc. Some of these hormones may be related to acne; milk and other dairy products stimulate the secretion of IGF-1 compared to proteins from other sources such as meat, and milk itself contains active IGF-1 and IGF-2, which remain inactive even after pasteurization and homogenization of milk. Even when milk is pasteurized and homogenized, high levels of IGF-1 can still be detected; and some of the proteins in milk (whey proteins) have insulin-promoting effects. The relationship between milk and acne can be basically determined by a large number of scholars. For the prevention and treatment of acne, we recommend switching to other foods for protein supplementation, reducing the intake of milk and added milk products, and if you must drink milk, please drink yogurt or whole milk. Human sebum is mainly composed of triglycerides (40%~60%), triglycerides (19%~26%), squalene (11%~15%) and a small portion of cholesterol and cholesteryl esters. Among them, the release of free fatty acids from triglycerides in response to Propionibacterium acnes is one of the important mechanisms of acne development. Recent studies have also found that foods (fish and seafood) containing w-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) can inhibit the synthesis of the pro-inflammatory factor LTB4 and reduce the incidence of acne. It has been found that the addition of ω-3 PUFAs can significantly inhibit inflammatory factors such as interleukin-1 (IL-1), IL-6 and IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor, and the inhibition of inflammatory factors such as IL-1 can significantly inhibit the hyperkeratinization of keratinocytes at the mouth of the follicle, as well as the formation of microscopic pimples and the inflammatory process of acne. In addition, in recent years, studies have found that the blood levels of vitamins A, E and zinc in acne patients are lower than those in normal people, suggesting that eating foods rich in vitamins A, E and zinc is beneficial to improving acne; another study on cocoa powder found that cocoa powder can aggravate the degree of acne, so chocolate, coffee and these things should be eaten and drank less; there are also scholars who believe that oral probiotics regulate the intestinal flora, and can improve acne through the brain-intestinal-skin axis, which can improve acne and improve the inflammatory process of acne. skin axis, can improve acne. All of the above are foreigners’ research, look at the Chongqing restaurant and Sichuan hot pot everywhere, we are still concerned about a problem – can we eat spicy? Chinese scholars Zhao Huijuan et al. used a questionnaire to study 300 acne patients and found that spicy diets were not statistically different between acne patients and normal people, which means that spicy diets do not have much effect on the occurrence of acne. But as a survey study, the level of evidence is not enough to nail it down. Above. I hope today’s content helps you to eat and stay acne free.