Food Guide: What To And What Not To Include In Your Diet For Clogged Pores

Pore clogging is possibly the most common skin issue that people (irrespective of male and female) experience especially during their teenage and sometimes even throughout their life. Unless and until the clogged pores give us severe breakouts, they are quite harmless. However, what bothers us the most is that they are highly annoying as well as embarrassing. It has long been thought that the trapping of dirt, dead skin cells and excess sebum is the one and only reason lying behind the clogging of pores. But advanced studies have proved that our diet is also another culprit of it. So, let’s figure out the rules of eating for preventing and getting rid of clogged pores:

How To Plan Your Diet For Clogged Pores?

Diet and pore clogging are closely linked to each other. If you are desperately trying to put a stop to this frustrating issue, you have to pay attention to your nutrition. According to experts, a diet that is not so healthy and nutritious may cause clogged pores, thereby leading to blackheads, whiteheads, acne, and other similar breakouts eventually. To be more precise, a diet that is rich in high glycemic index carbohydrates, refined sugar, omega-6 fatty acids, etc. with lack of sufficient proteins and skin-nourishing vitamins is known to overactivate our sebaceous glands. As a result, we end up having clogged skin pores.

Now, here is a simple guideline for you about what to and what not to eat for fighting the condition successfully:

A. What Not To Eat:

We will start with a list of food items that should not be included in your diet to keep your skin pores clean and open.

High-Glycemic Foods

When it comes to pore clogging, foods with a high glycemic index are always considered as the main culprit. They basically elevate the levels of sugar in our blood, which causes oversecretion of insulin. It triggers the excess production of sebum as well as skin cells, and ultimately results into clogged pores. The more you eat high GI foods like white breads, puffed wheat, bagels, corn chips, cornflakes, donuts, jelly beans, pretzels, French breads, etc., the more you become vulnerable to the condition.

Dairy Items

Too much consumption of milk and other dairy products, such as butter, cheese, ice-cream, cream sauce, etc. can take a toll on your skin pores. They come packed with natural sugar and a lot of hormonal as well as other additives, which increase the release of insulin hormone inside our body and contribute to pore clogging significantly.

Processed Foods

Processed or highly refined foods have become very much popular all through the world these days. But the truth is that they are not so healthy for our skin. In fact, most of them are known to have high glycemic index and excess sugar content, which cause insulin spikes in our blood, thereby clogging the pores gradually.

Fried Foods

You should also steer clear of fried foods that contain too much unhealthy fats. In most of the cases, these foods are prepared with low-quality oils that are highly processed. It gives the production of insulin hormone a boost in our body and aggravates the condition of pore clogging to a large extent.

Also Read – 5 Natural Homemade Astringent to Shrink Your Pores Here

Salt

Try to limit the amount of salt in your diet as much as possible. Excessive salty foods can dehydrate your body and make your skin swelled, which are closely linked to both pore clogging and acne formation.

Shellfish

It has been seen that iodine, if taken in considerably high quantities, can irritate our skin and clog the pores present in it. Shellfish like shrimp, lobster, crab, etc. are very much high in this mineral and hence, should be avoided to prevent such irritating skin condition.

Chocolate

Treating yourself with lots of chocolates may turn out to be a curse for your skin pores. These sweet delights are loaded with sugar and milk, which increases the secretion of sebaceous glands, thereby making the pores clogged.

Apart from these, you must stay away from coffee, caffeinated tea, alcohol and other similar items that can clog your skin pores up by throwing off your hormonal balance.

B. What To Eat:

Now when you have got an idea about which food items to ditch for a poreless skin, here is a list of eatables that should actually be included in your diet to stay blemish-free:

Lots of water
Low-glycemic whole grain foods, organic foods, gluten-free foods, etc.
Dark leafy green vegetables
Different kinds of dry beans, legumes, and pulses
Fresh and dried fruits including grapefruits, peaches, dates, cherries, plums, etc.
Naturally sweet veggies, such as sweet potatoes, cantaloupes, etc.
Calcium-rich veggies like kale, broccoli, soy beans, collard greens, etc.
Zinc-rich foods like skin-less chicken, lean meat, nuts, seeds, etc.
Protein-rich foods like fish, meat, eggs, beans, etc.
Vitamin-rich (vitamin A, B6, C and E) foods including carrots, mangoes, apricots, spinach, liver, eggs etc.
Healthy fats found in nuts, avocado, fish, fish oil, cod liver oil, etc.
Baked foods rather than oily fried junks