small business, Self improvement, working at home, mental health, cooking, hobbies, gardening, wellness, health, fitness, motherhood and raising families

There is a very strong link between acne and diet. The prevalence of acne, a distressing skin condition, is very high. On average it is as high as 79 to 85% in adolescents and 40 to 54% in people aged 25 and older. 12% of women and 3% men in their middle age have acne.

The true cause of acne is unknown. The fact that there is a lower incidence of acne in non-Western countries raises the possibility of a link between acne and low carbohydrate intake. Insulinaemia (raised Insulin level) occur following a high carbohydrate intake. High Insulin level affects growth factor and androgenic hormones. These hormones are implicated in acne.

Dr. Robin. N. Smith and colleagues, in a study, used randomised control diet rich in carbohydrate and a low glycemic load diet. The low glycemic load diet had 45% energy from low glycemic Index carbohydrate and 25% from protein. The study included 45 male aged 15 to 24 years. The study was carried out at the RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia. This is the first randomised controlled trial to examine the influence the effects of glycemic load has on acne.  In the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition July Issue the published results showed that compared to the group on carbohydrate rich diet, there was significant reduction of acne in the low glycemic diet. So for acne, low Glycemic food is the Good Health Option.

In a press release, Dr Smith and his colleagues said, “Although we could not isolate the effect of the low glycemic load diet from that of weight loss, the findings support the hypothesis of a relationship between acne and high insulin levels.”

Food with low glycemic Index are complex carbohydrate rich. Consequently, they release glucose very slowly into the blood steam. If sugar is slowly released into the blood, the demand on Insulin is less. Insulin controls circulating blood sugar and affects growth and sex hormones.

To assess the Glycemic Index of foods, the blood sugar level is monitored after that food is eaten.

Low Glycemic Index (LGI): 55 and lower.

Medium Glycemic Index (MGI): 56 to 69.

High Glycemic Index (HGI): 70 +

HGI (High Glycemic Index)  Foods. Pretzels 83 Rice Cakes 87 Glutinous Rice 86  Short Grain White Rice 83  Tapioca 70  Scones 92 Fresh Mashed Potatoes 73  French Fries 75  Donuts 76 Instant Mashed Potatoes 80  Watermelon 80 Dates 103 Instant White Rice 87

So Reject white bread, burgers, and French fries and eat more beans and cereals to keep those zits away or under your control.

For good health, low stress and clear skin maintain a low glycemic diet.

Tags: acne, acne treatment, facial acne, health, healthy skin, mens health, skin care, teen health, teenage acne, women health

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 8th, 2009 at 7:49 pm and is filed under Acne Prevention, Your Diet & Your Body. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.