Gluten Intolerance and Acne

By now we all know that the types of foods we eat, such as fried foods and chocolate, are not what causes acne. However, we now know that food allergies can! Gluten, a protein found in grains such as wheat and rye, can cause acne because of the digestive distress it can cause those allergic to it.

Ninety percent of people worldwide are affecting by acne at some time in their lives and about thirty percent of those people are allergic to gluten! Considering that grains are a staple of most of our diets, this can be problematic to those suffering from gluten allergy-induced acne. You may be wondering just what exactly gluten is; as previously mentioned, it’s a protein. Gluten is in the grain used in breads, pastas and cereals and binds the dough in bread. That certainly covers a lot of food, but it’s easier than you think to eliminate gluten from your diet if you are allergic to it.

Gluten causes acne by triggering the body’s reaction to a harmful substance. This can include coughing, hives, runny nose, watery eyes, acne and even hives. When the human body is allergic to something it deems it harmful, it usess every method it can to kill the substance or forcefully get rid of it through secretions. This includes increased production of sebum, the substance that coats and protects our hair. Too much sebum blocks the hair follicle and causes inflammation resulting in acne. You’ll probably notice whiteheads first, signaling a blocked pore, that will develop into the pustules we call “pimples”.

You may not know if you have an allergy to gluten unless you go through testing by an allergist. If you’ve tried a variety of methods to rid yourself of acne and nothing is working, you may want to begin eliminating gluten from your diet. This isn’t as difficult as you would think, although it will be a big change to adapt to. There are many resources online and through your local health department to help you but it would also be wise and probably save you a lot of time if you discuss it with your physician.