I'm new here and am getting some minor pushback on this issue. No problem. If you have reason to believe I'm mistaken, then let's debate the issue and hopefully I will learn something new.

I am going to keep this simple so I'm not writing a book.

Acne is caused by an increase in sebum (combination of wax/fats and other substances) that is driven by 2 processes:

1. Elevated free testosterone; and

2. Poor diet. Sugar, chocolate, grains, sweets and dairy are the biggest violators.

Here is how poor diet increases sebum production. When we eat carbohydrates that are ultimately broken down into glucose, insulin is required for to ferry the glucose molecule into the cell so that it can be utilized as an energy source. Insulin also also allows excess glucose to be stored as fat. When insulin is high we store fat, when low fat storage is much lower. In addition to fat being created and stored when insulin and glucose levels are high, we also increase the production of sebum (essentially a fatty material).

So when free testosterone levels are high we appropriately make sebum. This is exacerbated in some of us that eat poorly and turbocharge sebum production.

If we stop eating poorly, then sebum production will decrease. If production remains high, then elevated free testosterone is the problem. There can be other hormonal problems as well such as a cortisol deficiency among others. One of the best diets that limits the insulin response and provides sufficient saturated fat to regulate hormonal production is the Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain, PhD. He is the original author of this plan and has accumulated a tremendous amount of research on it's positive health effects.