High Glycemic Index and Acne
- Sammy Sopka
- Jan 15
- 3 min read
Let’s start from the beginning.
The glycemic index is a measure of how quickly a food raises blood sugar levels after consumption. Foods with a high glycemic index cause a rapid blood sugar spike, while those with a low index lead to a slower, more gradual increase. Examples of high GI foods include foods such as white breads, breakfast cereals, and muffins. Examples of low GI foods include foods such as avocado, nuts, and vegetables.
Carbohydrates break down into glucose after consumption and enter the bloodstream. When we consume foods that spike our blood sugar, insulin is released from the pancreas. As glucose enters the blood, insulin travels throughout the body, grabbing onto to glucose and bringing it into cells and organs for storage until times of need. Glucose acts as the main source of energy for the cells in the body.
But how do these levels tie back into acne? Elevated blood sugar can trigger a cascade of events in the body, including increased insulin production and insulin-like growth factor 1. Insulin itself encourages production of androgens, or the acne-causing male hormones. When androgens are stimulated, they tell the sebaceous unit of the skin to increase oil production (1).
Insulin-like growth factor 1 is hormone similar to insulin. When this is stimulated, it encourages production of oil from the sebaceous unit as well. Furthermore, it encourages skin cell turnover, increasing the hyperkeratization of the skin. The increase in oil and excess skin cells form a sort of glue together, and this creates a plugged pore.
Elevated blood sugar levels also stimulate inflammation within the body, and increased inflammation can worsen current acne lesions. The great thing is, when you focus on reducing your glycemic load, not only will your acne improve, but additional inflammatory conditions within the body will improve as well.
The American Academy of Dermatology details four separate studies in regards to a low-glycemic diet (2):
“USA: 2,258 patients were placed on a low-glycemic diet so that they could lose weight. This diet also reduced their acne, with 87% of patients saying they had less acne, and 91% saying they needed less acne medication.
Australia: 43 males with acne (aged 15 to 25 years of age) ate either their normal diet or switched to a low-glycemic diet for 12 weeks. At the end of 12 weeks, those who followed the low-glycemic diet had significantly less acne than those who ate their normal diet.
Korea: 32 patients with acne (aged 20 to 27 years old) ate either their normal diet or a low-glycemic diet for 10 weeks. Those following the low-glycemic diet had significantly less acne at the end of 10 weeks than the patients who ate their normal diet.
Turkey: 86 patients (50 with acne) kept food logs for 7 days. Those with the most severe acne consumed a high-glycemic diet.”
You can find glycemic index charts on google that help you make informed decisions about low, medium, and high glycemic foods. But while we should aim for more healthful foods overall, making dietary changes can be as easy and changing the order in which you consume your food.
Jessie Inchauspé is a French biochemist who is coined the “Glucose Goddess.” She has a website, is a New York Times best-selling author of Glucose Revolution and The Glucose Goddess Method, has an Instagram account with over 4 million followers, has been on many health and wellness podcasts and now has a YouTube series to detail this phenomenon (3). She talks about consuming carbohydrates either after consuming fiber, protein, and fats, or in the very least, with them. She has many very easy hacks as well, such as drinking a small amount of apple cider vinegar first before enjoying a meal, which helps keep blood sugar levels stable.
Jessie keeps things very simple, and I’ve found that as we learn about the many changes we can make to improve our acne, it’s common to become overwhelmed. And so, simplicity is usually the easiest way to implement the changes.
By choosing foods that have a lower impact on blood sugar levels, we can stabilize insulin, IGF-1, reduce inflammation, and in combination with the many other recommendations on this site, improve acne symptoms overall. A low glycemic index is one more piece of the puzzle to clear, glowing skin.
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