Acne and Food Sensitivity

Myth or Fact? Food has something to do with acne. My aunt who is also a nurse would always tell me that food has nothing to do with acne. She would always tell me to eat whatever I wanted because acne will go away eventually when you get older. I would always just smile and nod because she can be pretty scary sometimes haha. When you go online and search if food affects acne, they would usually say no. Even my past dermatologists would tell me that food has nothing to do with acne. But sometimes, you have to dig deeper if you want to know the truth. The truth is, I have learned that the food we eat has a big impact on acne. It can either help heal it or make it worse.

I used to think that maybe acne was a way of karma, that if I did something wrong, then it will turn up as a pimple or something. Well, it kind of works like that. What you put into your mouth will reflect on yourself, your mood, your thinking, and even your skin. I'm not saying that diet is the only main reason why people have acne. There are a lot of factors involved. That's why we can find vegetarians who still have acne. 

We may not notice it, but food can also be an allergen (causes allergies) and trigger a breakout. Sometimes I would eat a pineapple and suddenly notice a pimple appearing out of nowhere. It could be coincidence, but it could also mean that I was sensitive to pineapple.

My naturopath recommended a food sensitivity test a few months ago if in case I wanted to find out what I am specifically allergic to, so I know what food to avoid. I put it off for now since this test is not covered by insurance, and is pretty costly. I will save up for it and try to do a food allergy testing and blog about it sometime soon. What she told me to do for now is to do an elimination test. Here is how to go about it:

• Go with your guts and be observant. Sometimes I noticed that after eating a certain type of food or drinking some sort of medication that I get itchy, red, and start breaking out. That gave me some suspicion and I would list it down.
• Try taking in the suspected food for a couple of days and see if you get worse. I found out that chocolates, peanuts, citrus (pineapple, oranges), tomatoes, shrimp, dairy products, soy, corn, potatoes, even ascorbic acid triggered my acne. I'm sure I will get a better picture of what I am sensitive to when I take the test but at least I have an idea on what food I am sensitive to.  
• Avoid it. I love shrimp, dairy (ohoho cream cheese and ice cream), and pretty much all of the food that I am sensitive to, and it makes me so sad when people can go about their daily lives and enjoy chocolates and not break out. But if you want to achieve something, sometimes we have to give up things we enjoy. Plus, I found that there are alternatives (almond milk, rice milk, etc.). 
• Most importantly, my aesthetician told me not to be too hard on myself. I would deem my food insensitivity as "bad food".  She told me that when you do that, you are actually sending negative vibes to the food. That negative energy will affect you emotionally and physically. Let's say it's your friend's birthday and she has some yummy cake. You know you will break out if you eat it but you don't want her to think that you're a party pooper so you eat the cake, knowing that it is "bad".  Although you will still break out even if you give it a more positive outlook, but at least the food will not go in as hard as when you give it the negative energy it doesn't deserve.

I hope this helps :)