I have heard a lot throughout my years being obsessed with skin. Large amounts of my research is about things that negatively impact it.
Lots of the advice given to me included something along the lines that what I eat causes problems for my skin.
Typically, I like to confirm things for myself after being told something just to make sure it is true. Recently, I searched the internet for answers.
Does What I Eat Impact My Skin?
Posts from recognized sites like WebMD do not directly say certain foods make your skin worse. They do say that when your skin lacks certain nutrients found in healthier foods, vitamins, or supplements the condition of your skin may not be at its best.
There are plenty of posts available through the internet that talk about diet and skin. But, I wanted to know the opinions of professionals who studied the topic.
Being that I am a University student, for the next month, I have access to research databases. I took it upon myself to see what academic scholars had to say about diet and skin.
This one research article I read said that high-fat diet and alcohol intake caused inflammation while also slowing down the skins healing process in rats.
Now, I know that is disgusting but normally in research studies. Finding people to participate can be difficult since you can’t control them.
Usually studies are tested on animals like rats because they can be controlled and they mimic human behavior in some ways, learn more about it here.
Allow me to bring to your attention some key points that I read in the article. Each point can help to better understanding the relationship between diet and the skin.
Article: ‘High-Fat Diet and Alcohol Intake Impairs Skins Healing Process.’
You can find the Article Source at the end of this post
Before we get into the 3 key points I need you to understand something so that things make the most sense.
First Things First:
- Acne is inflammation on the skin and at times can be an open wound.
- The article I read uses the terms ‘inflammation’ and ‘wound’ throughout their study.
- This article was best appropriate for our knowledge.
3 Key Points
Key Point #1
Skin healing has a three-step process: inflammation, skin generation, and tissue remaking. In other words, acne is your skin trying to heal after fighting bad bacteria.
- Swelling is a sign that a chemical in your body is attacking the bad bacteria.
Key Point #2
Skin generation, aka, dark marks or scarring is a sign that the bad bacteria are gone.
- Tissue remaking is when your skin looks close to what it did before it started the good fight.
Key Point #3
High-fat and obsessive alcohol consumption changes connective tissue.
- Remember that you need connective tissue to help make your skin look as close to what it did previously. If it does not work the way it is meant their can be problems.
Key Point #3a
A high-fat diet and large alcohol intake could contribute to inflammation.
- Inflammation is what you see as ‘Acne’ (Rose., et al 2018).
All in all, I thought the study was informative and it gave a lot to think about. If you or someone you know is struggling with acne they might want to think about these questions.
What non-healthy things do I eat and drink that I can possibly cut back on?
Are there things that I can do to give my body the nutrients it needs to keep my skin in good condition?
After reading this post you might be telling yourself ‘I need to cut out high-fat foods and drink a little less.’ I want you to be great so I want to remind you of something.
For most of us it is unreasonable to change your lifestyle overnight.
Habits takes time to break.
You might not even want to change your habits and that is fine. If you are, consider doing small changes for trial periods and see how you feel.
I spent the time doing the research. What you choose to do with the information is up to you.
I hope this answers any questions you may have had about diet and how it relates to skin. Feel free to leave comments or questions.
Article Source:
Rosa, Daiane Figueiredo, et al. “High-Fat Diet and Alcohol Intake Promotes Inflammation and Impairs Skin Wound Healing in Wistar Rats.” Mediators of Inflammation, vol. 2018, no. 3, 2018, pp. 4658583–4658583.
Xoxo,
Love Every Flaw
