There are a lot of foods some people are sensitive to. Have you tried cutting out dairy or wheat?
For me personally, I don't notice sugar in itself as as huge contributing factor to break outs except in excessive amounts.
Like, soda, cupcakes, candy etc. Natural sugars or incidental sugars don't bother me.
Dairy, coffee, peanuts certain things like that do break me out within a few hours to the next 2 days. Losing weight sometimes can make acne worse.

Hi Prufrock, have you ADDED anything new to your diet recently?

How much fruit are you eating? A lot of people who switch to a 'healthier' diet actually end up taking in a lot of sugar through fruit, which impacts on insulin levels and thus acne.

It might be a good idea to take a probiotic in capsule form too (a good quality one), as your gut bacteria will be going through a huge change if your food intake has shifted significantly also.

6 hours ago, prufrock79 said:

Hoping someone can help me out here, because I'm banging my head against a wall. I'm 37, male, and have had acne since I was a teen. It improved in my 20s, but has gotten worse in my 30s. I believe part of it is diet. I've been eating more (quantity) the last few years. It's also a high-sugar/carb diet, which I'm attempting to improve. For the last 18 days, I've reduced the amount of sugar in my diet drastically. I still eat fruit and whole grain pastas and breads, but I've successfully avoided foods with lots of processed/refined sugars (no cold cereal or "sweets" of any kind, which I used to eat almost daily). There are still traces of processed sugar in some things I eat, but I've made significant improvements in hopes that sugar might be the culprit.

Well, after 18 days, my skin is worse than it was when I started! I have cystic pimples on my forehead (which I used to get regularly, but haven't had in many months). I'm also breaking out more on my chest and back. Granted, it's summer and I've been working out a lot, but I'm wondering if maybe the change in diet is causing new breakouts...and then it will improve if I continue to avoid sugar?

Any insights?

There is nothing inherently acne-inducing about a better diet that you're describing. Just be mindful that diet may or may not play a substantial role in your acne and you may be sensitive to other things. We're all different. It never hurts to better your eating habits, though. However, after much experimentation I've discovered that, apart from caffeine, diet has minimal to no effect on my acne. I still suspect I'm sensitive to nightshades, nuts and bananas and will test it soon. However, I know for a fact that excessive ejaculation and stress (also in the form of intense exercise!) have a major impact on my acne. Is that something you investigated?

Hi Prufrock, you might be interested in this, as all of the foods you mentioned eating now are very inflammatory (fruit, pasta, bread). I think you will see a big change if you balance out with anti-inflammatory foods (not necessarily the usually touted ones either!):

http://inflammationfactor.com/look-up-if-ratings/

Foodforthought, would you mind giving examples of what kind of meals you eat in a day? Like what foods for breakfast, lunch, etc. I know some of the right foods I just have trouble putting them in meals.

You're probably not getting enough to eat. Which in turn is stressing your body and causing the acne. You need to be careful with diets.

On 6/28/2016 at 3:17 AM, Foodforthought said:

Hi Prufrock, you might be interested in this, as all of the foods you mentioned eating now are very inflammatory (fruit, pasta, bread). I think you will see a big change if you balance out with anti-inflammatory foods (not necessarily the usually touted ones either!):

http://inflammationfactor.com/look-up-if-ratings/

 

Many people with acne are also low in zinc, omega 3, and D3 which can contribute to inflammation. You could try adding 30-50 mgs of zinc to your diet, and 1-2 grams of omega 3 (sardines are great, I eat them every day and they provide about 1.5 grams of omega 3). You can also take a good fish oil. Look for a highly concentrated fish oil with a high concentration of EPA omega 3. I'd recommend supplementing with 1,500-2000 IU of D3. Over 5,000 IU needs a doctor's OK. All of these substances are powerful anti-inflammatories and can help balance out inflammation. You could have your vitamin levels checked, or just start supplementing and see if your acne improves.

Probiotics are a great recommendation by the above poster, as so many of our problems begin in the gut. Kefir, fermented veggies, etc. are all good sources, and a probiotic supplement for good measure can also help a lot. 

I applaud your efforts to lower your sugar intake and eat healthier!! Great job!! Incidentally I went through something very similar in my 30s and also following a major lifestyle change where I completely revamped my diet. Sometimes when we make major dietary changes that cleanse us of unwanted substances, latent toxins and byproducts get released before being eliminated and this can manifest itself in any number of ways, acne being one of them. Plus as the above poster points out, key substances our bodies need can get can thrown out of balance when we make major changes to diet that we don't anticipate, sometimes triggering an inflammatory response.

Hope this helps give you some insight!