Diet has been associated with multiple health issues for centuries; in fact even Hippocrates recognized early on that it was almost impossible to separate diet from medicine. At the current time four of the 10 leading causes of death in the United States are related to diet: heart disease, diabetes, stroke and cancer. Research has now proven that there is a concrete link between diet and acne. Furthermore, it is one of the leading risk factors for developing acne as an adult.
While medical professionals continue to cling to their assertations that there is no link between diet and acne, a few researchers continue their efforts to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt what we have all long suspected to be true-diet does indeed play a role in the development and aggravation of acne.
In 2003, RMIT in Australia began planning for a major study in order to fine tune research indicating the link between carbohydrates and acne. Neil Mann, a colleague of Loren Cordain; the researcher and professor who established the claim between acne and diet in an article published in 2001; volunteered to lead the study. The study involved 60 teenage boys on low-carbohydrate diets for a period of 3 months to determine whether there is any improvement in acne.
While results of the study have not yet been officially published (they are not due out until the fall of 2005); word has already leaked out that there was dramatic improvement in the acne symptoms of the study participants. It has even been rumored that some participants saw complete remission.
It is anticipated that once the results of this long awaited study are finally, and officially, released there will no longer be any doubt that the secret to acne really does lie in the age old axiom “You are what you eat.”
