Figuring out which foods to avoid when you have acne is like trying to solve a puzzle blind with a team of hundreds of people giving you different information. I remember getting conflicting information from EVERYONE about what I should and shouldn’t eat: My Mom told me I should eat lots of yogurt-which is advice I now know I absolutely should not have listened to. Unfortunately, Mom does not always know best especially when it comes to acne. One blog said I just needed to eat raw vegetables and lean protein to clear my skin. An Acupuncturist told me I needed to avoid spicy foods. A Dietician told me I should avoid gluten. An Esthetician told me not to eat sugar because it creates yeast in my gut that would contribute to candida overgrowth. And my Doctors wouldn’t even acknowledge that there is a link between diet and acne because most scientific, medical, and pharmaceutical research studies have failed to produce any reliable research on the matter. Doctors also wouldn’t make any money advising us acne sufferers to make dietary and lifestyle changes so it makes sense that their approach to treating acne is largely based on prescribing pharmaceuticals. Needless to say, not one person actually gave me accurate advice until I came across the research of Dr James Fulton from his book Acne RX. His findings and methodology are part of what helped me finally get clear and they are largely what the dietary guidelines and the basis of our program are based on.

Dr Fulton is one of few people in medicine and science to say that diet absolutely has a connection to acne and both my personal experience and my experience as an Acne Coach have only validated his findings. I mean, do we really need a double blind research study to figure out that what we eat has an effect on every part of our body? To be fair, it can be easy to miss the link between what we eat and our breakouts for reasons I mention in my blog If you have acne, changing your diet takes months to get clearer skin. Also, everyone’s acne puzzle is different so each person’s triggers vary and even two people who are both sensitive to dairy might be triggered by different amounts. In our e-course, The 8 Steps To Clear Skin, we discuss these four potential dietary triggers that people with active acne should avoid until they get clear:

Dairy
Soy
Excess iodine
High androgen foods

Once you are clear, you can perform a trigger test to determine which foods might actually be a trigger for you and in what amount and the instructions for performing a controlled test slowly enough that you don’t break out again is also taught in the e-course.