Still Breaking Out? This Eating Pattern Stood Out In 200,000+ Adults
You can have a solid skincare routine, know your hormonal triggers, and still wake up to a new breakout.
Adult acne often comes with a long list of foods to avoid, from dairy to sugar, but a new study suggests the bigger picture may matter more than any one ingredient.
Researchers looked at diet quality and acne in more than 200,000 adults, including whether the relationship looked different for women and men. One eating pattern emerged as a particularly interesting piece of the puzzle.
About the study
Researchers analyzed data from 228,757 adults ages 37 to 73 in the UK Biobank, a large population health database.
Participants reported what they ate through food frequency questionnaires and repeated 24-hour dietary recalls.
The researchers assessed overall diet quality using several established dietary measures, along with individual food groups and dairy products.
One measure looked at how closely participants followed a Mediterranean-style diet, which emphasizes vegetables, fruits, whole grains, and unsaturated fats.
They then compared people with current acne with those without recorded acne. Current acne was identified through health records or self-reports, and 1,603 participants were classified as having it.
The researchers also analyzed the results separately in women and men.
A Mediterranean-style diet stood out, especially in women
People with higher Mediterranean-style diet scores had lower odds of current acne. For every one-point increase in the score, the odds of acne were 7% lower.
That connection was stronger in women. Each one-point increase was linked to 10% lower odds of acne, while the same association wasn't seen in men.
When researchers looked at individual parts of the diet, two stood out for women: a higher ratio of unsaturated to saturated fat and lower alcohol intake. Cooked vegetables and yogurt were also linked to lower acne odds, while pork, skimmed milk, and milk-based desserts were linked to higher odds.
Men showed a different pattern. A lower-carbohydrate, higher-meat eating style was associated with higher acne odds. Cooked vegetables and cheese were associated with lower odds, while pork was again associated with higher odds.
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Why diet may affect acne
Diet can influence some of the same processes involved in acne, including hormones, oil production, and inflammation.
Refined carbohydrates and sugar can raise insulin and IGF-1, a hormone involved in growth and metabolism. Higher levels of these hormones may increase oil production and inflammation in the skin. Fiber, unsaturated fats, and omega-3s, meanwhile, may support a less inflammatory environment.
That could help explain why a Mediterranean-style diet showed a connection with lower acne odds, but this study can't tell us whether the diet itself caused the difference.
The sex-specific findings also need more research. Hormones, eating habits, and differences in how acne is diagnosed or reported could all contribute.
Plus, this was a cross-sectional study, meaning researchers looked at diet and acne at roughly the same point in time. It can show an association, but not whether changing your diet would prevent breakouts.
What to put on your plate
Rather than adding another food to your acne "do not eat" list, focus on the overall pattern.
- Add more plants: Build meals around vegetables, fruits, and whole grains.
- Favor unsaturated fats: Use foods such as olive oil, avocado, and nuts in place of some sources of saturated fat.
- Keep alcohol moderate: Lower intake was one of the factors most closely tied to the Mediterranean-style pattern in women.
- Think beyond "dairy": Yogurt was associated with lower acne odds, while skimmed milk and milk-based desserts showed the opposite pattern.
These aren't acne treatment rules. The individual food associations were mixed, and the study wasn't designed to prove that any food directly causes or prevents breakouts.
The takeaway
Your skin may be responding to the bigger dietary picture, not one ingredient on your plate.
A Mediterranean-style eating pattern was associated with fewer adult breakouts, particularly in women, but clinical trials are still needed to see whether changing the diet can actually improve acne.
