4 Surprising Foods That Are Giving You Bad Skin & Breakouts

Those pesky pimples could be down to your diet, and we've found the worst foodie offenders.

Girl looking at her skin in the mirror

Caffeine

Damn. Supping on a morning latte won’t have big repercussions for your skin, but excess caffeine consumption might. In fact, chugging regular cups of joe has been known to increase breakouts for two reasons: it magnifies your body’s production of acne-causing stress hormones, and thanks to it’s affect on your metabolism, leads to the over production of skin-clogging sebum. That doesn’t mean you need to cut the habit though; just exercise a little limitation. We’re sticking to a two-cups-a-day maximum.

Milk

It might be great for our bones and teeth, but consuming too much dairy can mean bad news for our skin. That’s because milk is often loaded with growth hormones during the pasteurisation process, and once those hormones have been absorbed into our blood stream they can increase oil production, and lead to extra breakouts. But you don’t need to go dairy-free. Opt for organic milk, which contains only natural hormones, without the added nasties.

Smoothies

The average shop-bought smoothie can contain up to (shriek!) 22g of sugar, and that level of the sweet stuff, will cause a major spike in your insulin levels. Once your insulin levels rise, your body will go through a period of inflammation, which will not only trigger extra pimples, but skin aging too. The lesson? Not all smoothies are created equal. Stick to homemade blends, and limit the amount of fruit you use, to keep your sugar intake down.

Bread

Why is bread a skin baddie? It’s all down to it’s high GI content, which causes a spike in your blood sugar. In turn this causes a whole range of hormonal effects, including the over production of oil and increased skin cell turnover, which will clog your pores and lead to breakouts. #Sadface. The fix? Opt for a homemade loaf, like this paleo-friendly bread we made over the weekend.

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