More about Acne (continued)
When I was a teenager, my dermatologist gave me a long list of foods that might cause acne. It wasn’t any help at the time but later, when my acne was better, it helped me realize that drinking Diet Pepsi caused me to get acne 2 or 3 days later because “cola drinks” was on the list.
Now I learn from Tucker Max that it was probably the caffeine that did it:
I had bad acne in high school. I cut all caffeine out of my diet–cola, chocolate, etc–and about 90% of the acne went away. I got the rest with Accutane.
Very useful information. The list my dermatologist gave me was too long and too homogenous. “The acne caffeine link is well-known to dermatologists,” Tucker added. Except those who claim acne has nothing to do with diet.
April 28th, 2008 at 9:33 pm
I’ve found this to be the case too - but with a twist. It isn’t caffeine per se that makes me break out, it’s coffee. Weird though it seems, I can drink two or three cups of caffeinated tea a day and have no flareups at all. But a day or two spent drinking even decaf coffee, and I’ve got three or four pimples on me. Someone explained to me once that coffee has extra compounds in it that promote a kind of sweaty aggressiveness, while tea has compounds that promote ease and relaxation. I certainly find this to be the case. When I drink coffee, I’m much more dynamic, determined, and combative. I’m also prone to set out on all kinds of ambitious new initiatives, and for my energies to scatter. On tea, I’m calmer, don’t sweat so much, am wary of new initiatives, and can behave in a more organized fashion. Anyway, for me: coffee equals acne, tea doesn’t.
May 11th, 2008 at 9:54 am
Although some research claim that food is not a cause of acne, some other researches show that certain food increases the inflammation in the body. I used to have a cup of coffee a day and my skin had breakout and it was drier. Now I replace coffee with tea and I have no more breakout.