Chocolate has always been my guilty pleasure. In the first few weeks of November after all the Halloween candy sales, I always consume more chocolate than anyone ever should. Also during this time I start to notice a difference in my skin and I start breaking out more than ever. I’ve always heard the myths that chocolate consumption causes acne to develop, but does it really have that much affect on your skin?
This assumption would definitely make sense considering it’s always the times I eat more chocolate that i start to see differences, but is it a myth? According to the Huffington Post, there is little evidence that chocolate itself actually causes skin to break out; however, foods with high-sugar/ high-fat diet can increase sebum production and promote inflammatory responses in the body which will ultimately cause acne. So overindulging in these foods will most likely increase my risk of breaking out. Well this is most definitely true about all the milk chocolate and white chocolate I consume during this time, but what about dark chocolate? Isn’t dark chocolate supposed to be less in calories and contain less fat? After reading the whole article in the Huffington Post, I read that dark chocolate still contains numerous amounts of fats and sugars, which are ingredients that trigger acne breakouts.
According to webmd.com, a study was done on 10 men ages 18-35 who had previous diagnosis of acne. They were told to eat as much chocolate as they wanted in a sitting up to three 4-ounce candy bars, but besides that they were to stick to their normal diets for a week. On an average, the men used in the study had three pimples before the experiment, but by the end of the week the average was around 18 pimples. For some people this is just enough information for them to put down the candy bar and probably never pick one back up again; however, in this search 100% pure chocolate was used, which had a major advantage. Numerous of these small studies have been conducted and have shown different results. Most dermatologists tell their patients that chocolate causes acne for some people and not for others. Too many personal genetic and other third variables have an effect on development of acne. Although my question wasn’t directly answered by my research, I learned that like most things, the causation of acne due to the consumption of chocolate is very dependent on third variables.
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/acne/news/20110208/does-chocolate-make-acne-worse
http://www.livestrong.com/article/522491-does-dark-chocolate-cause-pimples/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/05/does-chocolate-cause-acne_n_1566076.html
The relationship between chocolate and acne is very tricky and I do not know what side to choose. After reading about the experiment that you wrote about, it almost seems obvious that chocolate causes acne. However, like you mentioned, we have to factor in third variables. Maybe some of those men’s diets consumed more sugar than another. Maybe those men were more prone to getting acne from sugar then others. I feel like this topic is all about the “what if’s” because there are so many different various factors that can contribute to acne. I believe that these results are found by CHANCE.
For more information, check out this interesting article: http://www.dukemedicine.org/blog/#!/myth-or-fact-eating-chocolate-causes-acne
When I first started going to a dermatologist, I asked her if eating unhealthy was related to acne in any way and she said some people face this issue but for the most part, it’s other causes for acne. I found this interesting because people always say to stay away from junk food because it’s bad for your skin. There are definitely outside factors, third variables, that contribute to this issue.
It is interesting to think that there is a possible correlation between eating chocolate and suffering from acne. Considering the many other factors that can be a cause of acne it is, as Rebecca mentioned, comforting to know that there are multiple third variables that can cause of acne. Personally I could not imagine life without chocolate every now and then. According to Web MD there are speculations that dairy products can effect clear skin. Web MD recommends reducing ones dairy intake and observing your skin. If you find that your skin is clearer when you ear less dairy, then it may be in your best interest to cute it out of your diet. For more information on possible acne related food check out the link: http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/acne/features/worst-foods-for-your-skin
I was just considering writing a blog on this subject! Like Rebecca, chocolate is one of my guilty pleasures but I can’t help but thinking that it causes acne. My dermatologist would always say it could not directly cause acne, but I struggled to believe her. Now I understand why though, because there are so many third variables present. I remember reading that people believe it comes from chocolate because people tend to over indulge on it when they are stressed, but in reality the acne is coming from the stress. Duke actually posted an article about this and I think you might find it interesting!!
http://www.dukemedicine.org/blog/#!/myth-or-fact-eating-chocolate-causes-acne
The relationship between foods and acne has been an issue for years and years. I personally thought acne was more of genetic thing, rather than the foods that we eat because some people have clear skin despite of their fatty meals. My dad had a serious acne problem when he was in middle school and I have been having my acne treatment for more than three years now. I have been to many dermatologist to find a solution for my acne, and different dermatologist said different things. Some of them would say, it has something to do with my diet, but some would say it is more genetic things. For this reason, I tried not to eat oily and fatty foods for more two months, but my acne did not get better.
I found this website that lists foods that triggers acne to appear in our faces. I was shocked after reading this article because there are many foods than I thought that can possibly cause acne.
http://www.doctoroz.com/article/can-food-cause-acne?page=1
I’m glad that so many third variables can play a role in what causes acne, because chocolate is definitely at the top of my list when it comes to guilty pleasures. Regardless of how many variables come into play, too much chocolate probably isn’t a good idea if you are trying to keep your skin clear. This experiment was only done on 10 people though, so I wonder what the results would have been if it was conducted on a larger amount of people. Or are these reactions only for men? Does the answer change when it comes to women? Overall, it is good news that chocolate does not directly cause acne. For some, it may never be a problem. I am definitely jealous of those people though because it seems that chocolate always has an impact on my skin.