Does Chocolate Cause Acne?
It's often been said that eating chocolate will give you acne, and as someone who can get acne at any time, and loves chocolate, the question 'does chocolate cause acne?' is a question I've long asked! There's a short answer and a long answer.
The short answer is 'No.
' The long answer is 'No it doesn't,' Ok, I know that's a bit cheeky, and it wouldn't make for a very long article either, so let me go through how acne develops, and then we can see if we can connect it to chocolate.
Under the skin, the sebaceous glands produce an oil called sebum, which travels up hair follicles taking off dead cells as it goes, and then moisturises the skin.
Acne starts when the sebum gets trapped beneath the skin.
This can be due to a few causes - 1.
The dead cells have not been cleared properly, leading to a blockage.
2.
There has been an overproduction of oil which has cause the follicle to block up.
3.
The pore is blocked from the top of the skin, again leading to the blockage.
Once trapped, the sebum reacts with the bacteria which is always found on the skin, and the result is a build up of fatty acids.
The white blood cells them come to break down that fat, hence the build ups and inflammation.
Ok, now we know all that, can chocolate be a culprit in these causes.
Well, no.
There have been scientific tests to see if a direct relationship can be found between eating chocolate and developing acne, and so far there is no medical evidence to back the claim.
Here's an important question though - can diet in general affect acne? The answer to that is absolutely yes! Too much fat, too much sugar, any food that affects your individual hormone production can affect the sebum production.
Eating chocolate can be part of a healthy diet which doesn't result in acne, and likewise chocolate can be part of an *unhealthy* diet which does result in acne! That's why you will always get personal stories of acne being connected to chocolate, where in fact it's probably more of a general diet issue.
As for chocolate on its own, the science says - 'Does chocolate cause acne?' 'No.
'
The short answer is 'No.
' The long answer is 'No it doesn't,' Ok, I know that's a bit cheeky, and it wouldn't make for a very long article either, so let me go through how acne develops, and then we can see if we can connect it to chocolate.
Under the skin, the sebaceous glands produce an oil called sebum, which travels up hair follicles taking off dead cells as it goes, and then moisturises the skin.
Acne starts when the sebum gets trapped beneath the skin.
This can be due to a few causes - 1.
The dead cells have not been cleared properly, leading to a blockage.
2.
There has been an overproduction of oil which has cause the follicle to block up.
3.
The pore is blocked from the top of the skin, again leading to the blockage.
Once trapped, the sebum reacts with the bacteria which is always found on the skin, and the result is a build up of fatty acids.
The white blood cells them come to break down that fat, hence the build ups and inflammation.
Ok, now we know all that, can chocolate be a culprit in these causes.
Well, no.
There have been scientific tests to see if a direct relationship can be found between eating chocolate and developing acne, and so far there is no medical evidence to back the claim.
Here's an important question though - can diet in general affect acne? The answer to that is absolutely yes! Too much fat, too much sugar, any food that affects your individual hormone production can affect the sebum production.
Eating chocolate can be part of a healthy diet which doesn't result in acne, and likewise chocolate can be part of an *unhealthy* diet which does result in acne! That's why you will always get personal stories of acne being connected to chocolate, where in fact it's probably more of a general diet issue.
As for chocolate on its own, the science says - 'Does chocolate cause acne?' 'No.
'