Its Not the Chocolate

 

It’s not the chocolate or the greasy fries. It’s the iodized salt on those fries. Yes, it is salty foods and food high in iodides that are the culprit in making acne worse. Below is a list of foods typically high in iodides. We tell people to not go crazy around eliminating these foods--just be aware of eating too much of them.

For example, we had a client who was almost acne free. And then she had breakouts; it was a mystery as to why. We found out that she was eating a lot of seafood or seaweed in the form of sprinkling kelp on her food every day.”As you can see by the chart, kelp has the most iodide of any food . We got her off the kelp and helped her get rid of her acne again.

Milk (and especially cheese) is another BIG culprit. Not only does it have iodides, it also has hormones that contribute to acne. Many teenage boys love to drink gallons of milk which is contributing to their cystic acne.

Health foods and supplements are not immune. Vitamins almost always contain some form of iodide--in the form of iodine, iodide, potassium iodide or kelp. Be careful with protein bars as they often have potassium iodides in them. Surprisingly, whey and soy protein powders (often used for smoothies) can trigger problem skin. For this reason, hemp or pea protein powder are better alternatives.

You will notice that asparagus and broccoli have a tendency to increase acne flair ups. We are not saying to not eat these vegetables; it it recommended to not eat them every day because they are higher in iodides than others.

These foods are not the “cause” of acne. 

Iodide contents in food (parts per million of iodide)


Salt
Iodized Salt (1/4 tsp) - 100
Seasoned Salt - 40
Sun Evaporated Salt - 30
Uniodized Salt - 19

Meat/Poultry
Beef/Liver - 325
Turkey - 132

Seafood
Kelp - 1020
Cod (3 oz) - 87 
Squid - 39
Crab - 33

Vegetables
Asparagus - 169
Broccoli - 90

Dairy
Cheddar Cheese Spread - 27
Milk - 11
Butter - 26
Mozzarella Cheese - 13

Miscellaneous
Tortilla Chips w/ salt - 80
Potato Chips w/ salt - 40

Content provided courtesy of Face Reality Acne Clinic