Your Diet Could Be Making Your Skin Inflammation Worse

No, it’s not about chocolate:

In fact, it’s usually not about the specifics at all…

Popular wisdom is that if you want healthy skin, you should eliminate: alcohol, sugar, salt, meat, dairy, grains, carbs, fats, by which time you’re no longer strong enough to make it to the mirror to check what your face looks like.

Now, don’t get us wrong. Some of those things are definitely worthy of examination. Alcohol is unequivocally bad, as is red meat and/or processed meat. Everything else is a matter of “the devil’s in the details”. Too much sodium is indeed bad, but we’ll die without enough. Dairy has its pros and cons, and there’s a big health difference between, say, butter and Greek yogurt. Grains are a broad topic, carbs are even broader. Same deal with fats.

So what should we do?

Dr. Andrea Suarez, dermatologist, tackles some of the main things, type by type:

• Processed meat: deli meats, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, smoked meats, and similar products can provide substantial amounts of sodium and other compounds associated with inflammation and adverse health effects. Heavily charred or smoked meats can also contain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, which are carcinogenic.
• High sodium: excess dietary sodium can accumulate in the skin, affect immune activity, promote inflammatory pathways such as IL-17, and potentially disrupt the skin barrier. A large study (cited in the video) found that each additional 1g of sodium excretion was associated with an 11% higher risk of an eczema diagnosis, a 16% higher likelihood of an active flare, and an 11% increase in disease severity, although this does not prove (or, honestly, even indicate) that sodium causes eczema.
  • Important note about where the sodium comes from: the major concern is usually not the salt added during home cooking, but ultraprocessed and convenience foods such as fast food, restaurant meals, deli meats, packaged meats, sauces, soups, canned foods, snack foods, and some packaged breads.
• Refined sugar and carbohydrates: foods such as sugar-sweetened snacks, sweetened cereals, desserts, pastries, fast food, and highly processed grain products can rapidly raise blood glucose and insulin. Chronic metabolic dysfunction may contribute to inflammation and can be relevant to inflammatory skin diseases.

On the other hand:

• Vegetables and fiber: vegetables should be eaten every day, ideally at every meal. Increasing fiber supports the gut microbiome, which can influence downstream inflammation, while plant foods provide antioxidants and other nutrients relevant to skin health.
• Legumes, in particular: beans, lentils, and chickpeas provide protein, fiber, and minimally processed carbohydrates and should be incorporated regularly.
• Whole grains, in particular: oats, quinoa, brown rice, wild rice, black rice, red rice, and other whole grains are preferable to highly refined grain products when possible.
• Whole fruit: contrary to what many believe, whole fruit’s sugars are not a problem, as whole fruits provide fiber and micronutrients, which affect how their carbohydrates are processed. Note, however, that this doesn’t apply to fruit juice (no, not even freshly pressed), as that lacks the fiber, and becomes just a sugary vitamin drink.
• Starchy vegetables: potatoes, plantains, and cassava are not inherently unhealthy. Preparation matters. Baked, boiled, mashed, or steamed potatoes can be nutritious and satiating, whereas highly processed potato products are often combined with large amounts of fat and sodium.

For more on all of this, enjoy:

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Want to learn more?

You might also like:

• What Happens To Your Body When You Stop Drinking Alcohol
• What Happens Every Day When You Quit Sugar For 30 Days
• More Salt, Not Less?
• The Whys and Hows of Cutting Meats Out Of Your Diet
• Grains: Bread Of Life, Or Cereal Killer?
• Which Sugars Are Healthier, And Which Are Just The Same?
• Butter vs Plant Oils: What The Latest Evidence Shows
• The Diets & Supplements That Can Mess Up Your Skin

Take care!