Will These Popular Diets Better Our Skin?

Will following the Whole30 diet, going vegetarian, vegan, keto, or paleo help clear up your skin? Read on for more.

Like ginger for nausea or chest rub for colds, diets have pretty much become modern-day folk remedies for our largest organ: the skin.

Unlike tried-and-true skin care remedies, these claims vary in terms of verified research and results.

Here are popular diets people turn to for skin help and how they might work — or not.

The Whole30 diet

The Whole30 diet has a simple premise: Eat nothing but “real” foods for 30 days. To do this, you focus on eating unprocessed foods with simple ingredients and avoid a laundry list of other foods.

Considerations

Some parts of the Whole30 diet may benefit your skin. Sugar in any form influences the two major causes of acne: hormones and inflammation. By eliminating sugar, you may be able to decrease the amount of insulin (and as a result, oil and acne production) your body makes.

The Whole30 diet may have a positive effect on your skin, but the primary factors are its avoidance of foods and drinks with a high glycemic index. The ultra-restrictive avoidance list may be overkill if better skin is your only goal.

Vegetarian or vegan diet

There’s a wide definition of the vegetarian diet, depending on your goals and even who you ask.

Going vegan is a strict no meat or animal byproduct diet.

Considerations

Although being vegetarian doesn’t cut out the main acne-triggering foods such as milk or sugar, according to the American Heart Association, most vegetarian diets are lower in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol.

Studies have shown omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids, which fall into the unsaturated fat category, play a large role in skin function and appearance.

Going vegetarian or vegan may benefit your overall health, and may lower your cancer risk. But it’s more complex than just cutting out red meat, poultry, and seafood.

Be sure to work with your doctor or dietitian to maintain healthy levels of nutrients and vitamins normally found in animal-based foods. Beware of relying too heavily on carbohydrates with low nutrient density. Diets high in added sugars (and dairy) may worsen acne.

Keto diet

The keto diet has become a trend in recent years. The most basic, simple premise is to consume a low amount of carbohydrates — typically just 20 to 50 grams per day.

If done incorrectly, keto can come with some serious risks.

Considerations

When you remove all carbs, you may also be skipping out on the processed foods and their triggers. However,keto may not be the best choice if you’re looking to improve your skin.

The ketogenic diet is a very rigid high fat, adequate protein, low carbohydrate diet that some people follow for weight loss. In medicine, a ketogenic diet is used primarily to control epilepsy in children.

There is some controversy concerning a ketogenic diet. In particular, minimizing vegetable and fruit consumption may rob the body of important nutrients.

If you’re considering keto primarily for acne control, a balanced, low glycemic index diet may be a safer option.

Paleo diet

The paleo diet is simple: eat what your ancestors ate, returning to prehistoric hunter-gatherer fare full of lean or minimally processed protein, unrefined whole carbs, and fresh foods.

Considerations

The modern interpretation of a paleo diet tends to feature a lot of meat, with vegetables, nuts, and fruit as complementary. That’s not necessarily a good thing: Diets high in meat might increase the risk of cancer, and may negatively affect skin aging, though more thorough research is needed.

While the process of eliminating refined and processed foods may be impactful, more research needs to be done.

The takeaway

Scientific research on the benefits of most modern diets is lacking. Many tend to be more marketing trends than medical recommendations. If there is a connection between a diet and skin health, it could take years, even decades, before research proves the link.

If you’re concerned that what you eat may be triggering skin issues, you might want to start with an elimination diet first. Over the course of 5 to 6 weeks, you’ll slowly reintroduce food groups to see if there’s a trigger.

If you know you’re in good health, following a balanced, heart-healthy diet is a good way to make sure your meals are maximizing your skin health.

• 
  Is It Better to Shower in the Morning or at Night?
• 
  Will These Popular Diets Better Our Skin?
• How long does the flu last?
• 
  Stages of the Flu: Symptoms, Progression, and Recovery
• 
  What Are the Symptoms and Causes of High Cortisol Levels?
• 
  Billie Eilish Thanks Her Fans For Support While Accepting AMA for Artist of the Year