Avoid refind sugar to keep you safe from acne

Refinded sugar which is a main part of our food including bread, is not good for diabetic patients and most of them rely on sugar alternative or sugar free products. But it is now believed that there is a link between use of sugar and acne (skin disease)

Recent studies have shown that what matters may not be sugar itself but a food’s glycemic index, or the speed and extent to which it raises blood glucose levels. Foods that have a high glycemic index — and as a result raise glucose levels rapidly — cause the body to release a flood of insulin and other hormones, which some scientists suspect can stimulate oil production and inflame the skin.

To test the theory, scientists recruited 50 men and boys ages 15 to 25, all of them with acne, and followed their progress for 12 weeks. Some subjects stuck to a typical diet that included high-glycemic foods like white bread, sweetened cereals and pasta, and the others were given foods higher in protein and lower on the glycemic scale, like fish, whole-grain breads and fruit.

At the end of the study, published in 2007, the subjects on the low-glycemic diet had far greater reductions in skin lesions and other symptoms of acne than the control group. They also showed reductions in their levels of free, circulating androgens, the male hormones known to cause acne, suggesting that hormones played a role.

Other studies have found similar connections between high-glycemic foods and acne, though scientists say more research is needed.

There is some evidence that foods high in sugar can worsen acne.

Link to the original article: 'NY Times'

More about the topic:

'Dietary interventions using low–glycemic load carbohydrates may have therapeutic potential in the treatment of acne because of the beneficial endocrine effects of these diets. Low–glycemic load diets are associated with a reduced risk for type 2 diabetes, and dietary interventions using low–glycemic load carbohydrates improve insulin sensitivity.

Furthermore, a large-scale intervention has demonstrated that diets rich in low–glycemic load foods reduced serum testosterone and fasting glucose levels while improving insulin metabolism and increasing concentrations of SHBG. These endocrine changes are consistent with those known to promote normal follicular cell proliferation and to reduce sebum production.

It is possible that low–glycemic load diets may have therapeutic potential in reducing symptoms of acne, a disease virtually unknown to the Aché and Kitavans.'

Link: 'Archives of Dermatology'