Can food allergies cause acne

Acne problems?  If you’re wondering:  can food allergies cause acne, the answer is yes.  Read on for information on managing your acne from food.

What causes allergies?  Can food allergies cause acne?

Anything from the environment to food can contribute to acne so if you were wondering:  can food allergies cause acne, it is a definite yes.  There are different symptoms and causes of allergies, as the Mayo Clinic explains.  And, sometimes those allergies show up in the form of acne both on the face and the body.

Yes, this does mean that you can get body acne.  Body acne (also known as ‘bacne’) can show up on our necks, chest, upper arms and back.  Truly, acne can show up anywhere.

An allergic reaction is an inflammatory response to an allergen.  If something you are eating is causing an allergic reaction, it can show up on our skin.

Food allergies and acne symptoms

As I’ve explained in a separate article, when you see inflammation like red swollen bumps, you may have a food allergy.  Keeping a food journal to track what you are eating can be extremely helpful to understand the triggers.  It could be dairy, shellfish, nuts, and even spicey foods.  Writing down what you’ve eat in a day, and continuing until you see a pattern, can help you decide what you should try to eliminate.

Should you drink milk?

I love milk – always have so when I started to have some gastric problems after drinking milk, I was crushed.  Those gastric problems made me wonder.  Can food allergies cause acne?  Based on my experience and research, I realized that milk could be contributing to my problem.  There is a milk and acne connection.  For me, thankfully, I just needed to change the kind of milk I was drinking.

Should you stop drinking alcohol?

Here’s another hard one.  You may enjoy a glass of wine after work.  Maybe you like to have a cocktail when you go out to eat.  In my opinion, alcohol isn’t bad if you drink it in moderation.  You don’t need to go overboard and get drunk all the time.  Having a drink every now and again is fine.  Now, if you drink everyday or if you drink multiple drinks at one time, you may have take a look inside to see why you are drinking excessively.  Some changes may need to be made.

If you have acne in your 40’s, you may be contributing to alcohol skin damage, including adult acne and chin pimples.  Not what you want as you age because you are just going to look older.

Foods to use

So, what can you do?  Aside from starting an elimination diet using your food journal as a guide, you can make sure you eat foods that are high in Vitamin A, zinc and Omega 3’s.  Vitamins and minerals can help your skin’s appearance.  Zinc is especially good for dry skin because those of you that have very dry skin can also struggle with acne.  This is because the dryness fools your skin in to producing more sebum – excess oil, that is.  That extra sebum can cause acne, even if you generally have dry skin.

Next, is hydrating.  You need to drink water!  8 cups is generally recommended but sometimes you may need more.  Also, it needs to be throughout the day.  You don’t want to drink all 8 cups in one sitting.  Drink during the day and notice if your urine is a nice color yellow and clear.  It shouldn’t be dark yellow, or almost orange in appearance.