Some of you may remember me whining about this sudden outbreak of acne I had rather recently. It isn’t related to anything topical because I hadn’t used anything new when my skin erupted. I’ve been working hard these 3 months to bring things under control (I can’t forgive Vichy for pulling out of Malaysia because I swear, the Normaderm moisturisers and face wash have been instrumental in helping me fight the breakouts! 🙁 ).
A while ago, I reminded myself that I am what I eat, and so, upping my intake of fruits and vegetables and cutting back on dairy and wheat products have helped. I also started incorporating fresh fruit and vegetable juices in my diet and they have all done their little bit to help.
But just a week or so ago, I set everything back when I suddenly experienced a flare up of cystic acne and breakouts on my chin. It was mind boggling, and I was quite distressed until I sat myself down and thought about what I’d eaten. And I realised that just the night before, I’d eaten a rather large amount of beef.
The co-relation between beef intake and breakouts has been something I’ve been pondering over for a while but this latest incident sort of sealed the deal for me. Indulging in a rather large amount of barbequeued beef the night before (so delicious!), and waking up to 2 giant painful cystic acne the next morning was too much of a coincidence.
Have you noticed any co-relation between your breakouts and what you eat? Do you think its just a coincidence or maybe even a myth?
I looked up information online but there isn’t much on this. I am not allergic to most food except dairy for which my stomach rebels against. So I don’t eat a lot of dairy or its derivatives. I have read about a co-relation between dairy intake and pimples or acne but I can’t test that.
What I did notice based on a few recent incidences was my tolerance towards beef. Rather, my skin’s intolerance towards beef. If I take in a lot of beef, I will break out the next day. Not just breakout, I develop cystic acne that takes forever to go away and is painful as heck!
I first noticed this after indulging in this excellent all you can eat shabu-shabu restaurant with really good paper thin beef slices. I realised a few days later after indulging in far too much good food, that I was breaking out around my chin and even a stray one on my cheek. I didn’t think very much of it, treated it and watched them go away.
It happened again the next time I had beef, but again I didn’t think too much of it. I’m not intolerant towards beef so there was no real reason for me to suspect it at all. The most recent flare up was, as you might say, the icing on the cake. I personally feel that it was too coincidental to be accidental.
When I tweeted this, Rinnah gave me her insight.
@paris_b beef causes itching, inflammation and swelling for me so it could possibly be related to breakouts…
— rinnah (@rinnah) March 17, 2013
She was allergic to beef, but I thought it interesting. If indeed certain foods can trigger allergies in some people, is it not possible that it too can trigger breakouts?
This might perhaps be a mild form of “allergy” or intolerance towards something in the particular food. Instead of reacting in a more physical manner e.g. hives, swelling, itching etc, I break out. It might be how my body reacts to the meat.
I haven’t noticed a similar co-relation between breakouts and other foods, or maybe I just haven’t noticed it yet. I have also noticed that I can eat beef, just not in large quantities so a steak is out of the question, but a few slices of shabu-shabu or beef bolognaise is fine. That said, its not something I will miss terribly so I’m not averse to giving up beef in exchange for well-behaved skin! 🙂
Have you noticed a similar co-relation between certain foods and your breakouts? Are you allergic to any foods or are there foods that can cause your skin to go haywire?
Beef is the only one so far for me that I’ve noticed can cause me to break out. Since dairy and its derivatives make me bloat, I wonder if there might be a co-relation between the cow and me in general. Maybe I just don’t get along with Bessie 😛
Paris B
Disclaimer: I am not medically trained, and these are just my thoughts and observations based on my skin and its reactions. Your skin may react differently.
Read a post on A Model Recommends recently, where she described the same thing happening to her w/ milk (but she’s not lactose-intolerant, and said she can still eat cheese and things without breaking out). Sounds like there’s a correlation to me! Today someone asked me why their skin was acting up so I asked them what they’d been putting their body lately and finally I hear ‘oh yeah I’ve been smoking a lot of weed’ um well…ok there you go -___-
Sad you can’t eat beef anymore, but at least you’ve pinpointed the cause!
LOL!! Weed! 😀 I’m surprised they even noticed the breakouts 😛 I can still eat beef, just not in the large “all you can eat” quantities I used to be able to. I just had some Vietnamese pho the other day but shared it with a friend and I was fine (whew! I love beef pho!)
Paris,
I have never noticed it but recently, whenever I am having sugary sweet stuff like ice cream and donuts, big pimples will come out from my mature skin. I guess something changed inside my body because I never have an issue with food before! My skin has been breakout free since my teenage time but now?!! It is so ugly. I am trying my best to avoid sugar in my diet and eating more ulam and fruits.
I’m the same, Siti. I used to not react to food but now I’ve developed lactose intolerance in my dotage, and now, beef. Weird huh how our bodies change? On the bright side, cutting back sweet food helps with keeping fit too 😉
Too much sugar and dairy give me cystic acne i discovered.
Me, too!! It’s extremely distressing because they’re two things I absolutely love. I believe that my reaction towards it is getting worse as I grow older. I just had half a cup of milk the other day and I am totally broken out.
On the bright side, Lisa, cutting back on those foods will help loads with staying trim! 😉
The cause of this may be synthetic growth hormones that the cows are sometimes given. Hormones are one of the main causes of acne (like when you hit puberty and all of the sudden you’re covered in pimples!) so when these cows are injected with high amounts, it ends up in our meat and diary products and we are consuming them. I noticed that for a while, I was eating a LOT more cheese than I regularly do (and I already eat cheese quite often!) and I started breaking out really badly all over my chin area–consistent with the location of hormonal breakouts. Of course, some people believe these growth hormones are harmless so this is just my opinion. Maybe try eating organic or look for labels that say “hormone-free” on your meat and dairy??
I did think about that Becca. We just don’t know what goes into animal feed these days so it could well be my body reacting to something that has been fed to the cow as opposed to beef in general. If I cook, I am more careful with the meat I buy but when you eat out, its hard you know to ensure just where your meats come from 🙁
Having too much dairy products like cheese and milk would increase breakouts on me but love pizza so much 🙁
Dairy seems to be a common factor in causing acne in many people. Can’t be a coincidence there! I now eat cheeseless pizza. I know people think it weird but I get all the fun of eating pizza without the bloatedness I get with eating cheese 😀
I usually get pimples when I eat too much fried food. I hardly eat beef, so I don’t know how I react to it, and I’m not lactose intolerant either. However, I am allergic to certain drugs. And to top it off, I’m allergic to the most widely used painkillers in the world. NSAIDS, which includes Voltaren and Ponstan. My eyes will puff up like Ultraman within 2 hours, and I remain like that for 2 days. I remember the doctor telling me that sometimes, allergy will flare up to a more dangerous level. Yup, I have to be very careful, so that I have no need of any pain killers. There are other (pain killers) around, but it’s a gamble. Nobody knows if I’m allergic to those either! Just my luck. Bleh!
Gosh, that totally sucks about being allergic to painkillers, Lily! I mean, its something that is so important for our personal comfort 🙁 On the brighter side, you’d have to be much more careful so you don’t hurt yourself!
For myself, if I take cow milk consistently for a few days, my small pimples will get inflamed and swell into painful bumps. So I steer clear of cow milk and only take soy milk daily.
But I find that if I take in nuts, especially almonds, walnuts, pistachios, my skin will be more radiant. Maybe because of the “good” fats?
I think many people have switched to soy milk for health benefits too 🙂 I have heard of nuts being good for health too, generally so there is merit to the nuts making your skin look radiant too 🙂
I cannot take tomato soup. it does not cause breakout, but it makes my skin coarse. Several occasions I had tomato soup for dinner, I’ll find myself with parched/dehydrated skin in the morning.
Aww you just reminded me I haven’t had gazpacho soup in a while – I love tomato based anything. Can you eat tomato based pasta? Or is it just soup?
some cultures lived on beef and horsemeat heavily. why is it that people in the past could consume beef freely without prominent skin concerns whereas some of us are getting so sensitive towards beef and other meats. I had a friend who believed that she’s allergic to beef, after having a protracted episode of rash after having some wagyu beef.
My speculations are that allergies are certainly a possibility, but another possible concern that is more worrying to me is the processing of our meat before it reached our table. This thought is triggered by the on-off revelations of “food-scandals” we had over the years around the globe – eg the recent horsemeat-contaminated beef. I have nothing against horsemeat per say, but my concern is the livestock rearing and and food processing. I have also heard in some poorly-regulated agriculture practice, livestocks are fed antibiotics and steroids etc to beef them up for better sales. Hence, I told my friend not to de-cry beef completely from her life pre-maturely – real culprit count be the residual antibiotics or steroids in the meat.
Do all animals, fed with antibiotics and steroids, still hold functional/ toxic components of the steroid and toxic in them after being slaughtered and cooked? This question will not be easy to answer – it depends on what exact drug have they been fed and thus their half-lives in the animal body before being slaughter. some may dwell within for a long time and cannot be de-natured despite heat (cooking).
In short, I feel it’s just very hard to pinpoint culprits in our food nowadays. At the end of the day, we might just surmise “it’s just beef being heaty”. I hope that’s the case, rather than insidious agricultural toxins.
Just speaking my speculations and thoughts aloud…
Thanks for sharing your thoughts PeiQing 🙂 I too attribute a lot of our “allergies” to the hormones and treatments animals receive. Perhaps its just our bodies’ way of telling us to cut back on eating a particular meat because something in there doesn’t agree with us, and in this case, I’m quite happy to oblige 🙂 I won’t totally stay away from beef. I might do so if I eat out, but if I cook, I’ll be sure to look for better meat options 🙂 Thanks for the insight!
Yes.. I do believe in the relation too. Mine would be spicy stuff and fried food. Whenever I stop eating these two and also drink lots and lots of water, my face would miraculously be smooth and clear. Unfortunately based on how I grew up and where I came from, it’s impossible to omit those two things from my diet. I constantly crave for it. Arrrrrgghhhhh…… Luckily I have tried to reduce it and so far it’s quite manageable….
Ah it would be a tragedy if I had to give up spicy and fried food – two of my biggest vices! >.<
I break out from fizzy drinks like Coke. A shame really since I like those drinks. T^T
Look on the bright side, Liz – you won’t put on weight! 😉 It might be to do with the very high sugar content in those drinks.
I am not too good with MSG – I get really itchy and sneezy. Stress is my biggest breakout risk factor (but I tend to not take as much notice what I eat when I’m doing lots of overtime, so there is the potential for food allergies…)
Ooh too much msg and my cheekbones hurt. Weird right? I hate the use of MSG in food. It’s so unnecessary!
You always make a rehashed topic so refreshing and interesting. I have never heard of beef causing acne but I do believe that too much “heaty” food causes breakouts. I’ve a friend who is allergic to pork so perhaps it’s not too surprising if folks are intolerant towards beef as well. I tend to break out if I eat too much junk food with chemical nasties and artificial preservatives in it like instant noodles, chips (not referring to healthier baked versions but brands like Twisities, Cheetos which are nothing to do with “natural”) etc.
Haha Yu Ming I’ll take that as a compliment 😉 I do tend to agree with you about heaty foods. I think any sort of imbalance in our body can cause breakouts because all that toxin has nowhere to go. I do try to cut back on junk food too. It’s just not healthy but sometimes, you know that bag of salt and vinegar crisps is just too hard to resist….
Hi Paris,
It’s me Sugar from way before. Luxasia times. Now i work for Blackberry. I know right. haha.
but yes. over the years, i’ve found a variety of food that makes me directly break out in gross cystic acne or those many small ones. it’s a big list, but here it is.
1. sourcream or creamy dairy. minus milo, milk and chocolate. but thick creamy stuff like carbonara, cheese dip, sour cream dip all make me go cystic.
2. vitamins and supplements. i cannot take vit c, zinc, vit b, ANY supplements.
3. things with high content of VIt C. like baby tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers. i know it’s weird right!!
4. eggs. of all the above, i think this hurts me the most. this and the sour cream one. but i honestly think it’s my body reacting, because before this i would eat 6 eggs a day or more, and a whole tub of sour cream at one go, often. so maybe it’s my body’s way of saying STOP! IN THE NAME OF YOUR HeART!
Oh hello you! How have you been?! And Blackberry huh? I hope the new phone revives them hehe… Can’t believe your body hates supplements! Maybe its trying to tell you that hey, its good enough, no need to add anything else LOL! Hope you’re keeping well and see you around some time!
I read in a blog somewhere that certain foods can lead to breakouts, eg: sugary food, milk, acidic food, junkfood/fastfood, and meat (which is acidic, btw). My acne is terrible all year since high school even though I drink a lot of water (they say drink water help cleanse the toxins that promote breakouts) but I do realize that at some points in my life, the acne totally cleared out, which only happens when I’m on diet).
I’m not a frequent beef eater, but I eat loads of sugary food, milky drinks, and junkfood everytime I get bored (which is very2 often). I guess this stuff really the one my skin is allergic too, because during my healthy diet, I eat these stuff in moderation, and my skin is cleared.
But cutting sugar and milk is impossible. I crave for sugar food very easily… Plus, the stressful life I’m living now only promote hormonal acne and more craving 🙁
I know this is an old article… but yes, beef causes me to break out with cystic acne!
I never ate a lot of red meat, and in 2014 I stopped eating beef entirely because my partner didn’t eat beef, and it was just easier. When we split up in 2020 I started eating beef again, and I had the worse cystic acne ever in my life! It lasted from April 2020 to November 2020. It wasn’t until end of October that I decided to cut out certain foods (dairy, beef, and beer) and I stopped getting cystic acne, and scars finally cleared up. After a couple months of clear skin I went back to my eating habits… and started getting acne AGAIN. I decided to eliminate the same foods and reintroduce them one by one, and I found out it was only beef causing the issues. If I ate a hamburger, I would be acne without fail. I’m 32 and I never had this issue when I was younger, but I think over time my gut bacteria changed and now beef causes inflammation in my body. It’s the only explanation I can have. I will say that taking probiotics was a huge help in my battle with acne. It is still something I have to manage through diet and probiotics. But now I know, and it has changed so much for me. Good luck to everyone dealing with their acne struggles! It takes time, but you can get to the bottom of it! I think that it’s just unique to each individual.