Warning: These 3 Foods May Be Harming Your Skin

Eating habits play a significant role in how you look and feel. The impact of a good diet can be evident in terms of the waistline, but did you know that what you eat also directly affects the health of your skin?

In a previous blog post we covered the best foods for optimal skin health. Diets high in those foods tend to yield clear and youthful looking skin. Unfortunately the reverse can also be true, some foods have the power to sabotage the skin.

Here are three examples of foods that could be harming the health of your skin:

Milk

Milk does the body good, right? Unfortunately consuming overly high amounts of milk (regardless of fat content) is actually linked to an increased prevalence of acne. Naturally occurring growth hormones within milk are the culprit. Nearly 90% of all milk is obtained from pregnant cows, whose milk contains a high amount of acne breakout stimulating hormones.

The only dairy product not shown to spur acne breakouts is yogurt. The fermentation process used during yogurt production eliminates most of the growth hormones.

So if you want clearer skin cut down on milk, cheese and ice cream. Try to totally eliminate your dairy consumption for three weeks before slowly reintroducing yogurt.

Soft Drinks

Healthy and radiant skin relies on balanced blood sugar levels. Spikes and valleys of blood sugar levels can wreak havoc on the skin, spurring a variety of unwanted skin conditions including acne, dryness, irritation, and signs of aging.

When it comes to skin health, soft drinks are akin to weapons of mass destruction. A large Coke from McDonalds has 86 grams of sugar. 86 GRAMS OF SUGAR! That’s a tremendous amount of sugar to consume within about 30 minutes, causing a blood sugar shock wave.

Drink soda sparingly. Make it an occasional treat rather than a daily mealtime staple.

Lunch Meat

Your favorite sandwich might be causing you to age prematurely. While the exact reason why processed cold cuts cause skin damage is not certain, studies link the chemicals used in processed meats with inflammation. After excessive consumption, sandwich meat induced inflammation can damage to the collagen in the skin, leading to fine lines, wrinkles, and decreases in skin fullness.

Try replacing the bologna or salami with slices of unprocessed meats like chicken breast. You can also opt for higher quality cuts of roast beef and turkey from a deli as opposed to pre-packaged versions.

A united group of skin care specialists from Westlake Dermatology & Cosmetic Surgery, Austin's leader in Dermatology and Plastic Surgery. Articles posted under WD staff are authored through combined contributions from our entire team, including Plastic Surgeons, Dermatologists, Aestheticians, Physician Assistants, Aesthetic Nurses, and Patient Coordinators.