Foods That Help Acne — and the Ones That Make It Worse

Written and medically reviewed by the doctors of The Clifford Clinic. Last medically reviewed: 4 November 2026.

In short: no food cures acne, but what you eat does nudge it. The best-supported changes are eating fewer high-glycaemic carbohydrates (white bread, white rice, sugary drinks, pastries), going easy on milk, and eating more oily fish, vegetables, berries, legumes and fermented foods. Give a change six to eight weeks before judging it, and treat diet as a helper alongside proper acne treatment, not a replacement for it.

How food reaches your skin

Acne starts in the pore: the oil gland underneath makes too much oil, the lining of the pore sheds too fast and sticks together, bacteria multiply in the blockage, and the pore becomes inflamed. Food cannot unblock a pore, but it can turn the oil and inflammation up or down. Two dietary patterns have enough evidence behind them to act on. A high-glycaemic diet — one that spikes blood sugar — raises insulin and a growth hormone called IGF-1, and both tell the oil glands to make more oil. Milk, for reasons that are still being studied, carries a modest link to acne in large population studies. Everything else — chocolate, chilli, “oily food” — has far weaker evidence than its reputation suggests.

1. Low-glycaemic carbohydrates

Swap white rice, white bread, instant noodles and sweet drinks for brown rice, wholegrain bread, oats, lentils, chickpeas and beans. Legumes are the quiet winner here: lentils, peanuts, kidney beans and chickpeas release sugar slowly, so insulin stays flat and the oil glands get a weaker signal. This is the dietary change with the best trial evidence for fewer spots.

2. Oily fish

Salmon, mackerel, sardines and trout are rich in omega-3 fats. Omega-3s shift the body’s inflammatory chemistry towards calming rather than flaring, and they appear to lower IGF-1. Two servings a week is a reasonable target; a fish-oil supplement is the alternative for people who do not eat fish.

3. Leafy greens and colourful vegetables

Spinach, kale, Swiss chard and broccoli bring vitamin A (which keeps pore linings shedding normally), vitamin C (needed for collagen and for healing marks) and fibre, which slows the absorption of sugar from the rest of the meal. If kale on its own is not your thing, it disappears into a smoothie.

4. Berries

Blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, cherries and goji berries are high in antioxidants and vitamin C and low on the glycaemic scale — they satisfy a sweet craving without the sugar spike that pastries and sweet drinks cause.

5. Fermented and probiotic foods

Yoghurt (unsweetened), kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut and miso feed the gut’s bacteria. The gut–skin link is a young field, but early trials suggest a healthier gut flora lowers whole-body inflammation, which shows up as calmer skin. If dairy is a trigger for you, kimchi and sauerkraut give the same benefit without the milk.

6. Turmeric

Curcumin, the active compound in turmeric, is anti-inflammatory in laboratory and small clinical studies. It will not clear acne on its own; as part of cooking it is a reasonable addition.

What to cut back

• High-glycaemic carbohydrates: white rice, white bread, bagels, breakfast cereals, pastries, bubble tea and sweet drinks.
• Milk: the association is strongest for skim milk. Try four to six weeks without it before deciding; cheese and yoghurt show a weaker link.
• Whey protein shakes: several case series link them to breakouts in young men who train.
• Chocolate on its own has not been shown to cause acne; sugary chocolate counts as a high-glycaemic food.

What diet cannot do

Diet changes oil production at the margin. It does not shrink a damaged pore that keeps breaking out, and it does not settle a painful cystic pimple. If you still have regular breakouts after two months of eating this way, the acne needs treating directly — prescription creams, a short oral course where needed, and oil-gland treatments such as AGNES for pimples that keep returning in the same spot or AviClear for acne across the whole face. The options and prices are compared on the acne treatment in Singapore page.

Seeing a doctor

A consultation at The Clifford Clinic is $100. The doctor grades the acne, asks about diet and skincare, and sets out a written plan with costs. The clinic’s doctors have treated acne since 2008 and have offered AGNES since 2014.

Sources: Reynolds RV et al. Guidelines of care for the management of acne vulgaris. J Am Acad Dermatol 2024;90:1006.e1 (diet section). Juhl CR et al. Dairy intake and acne vulgaris: a systematic review and meta-analysis of 78,529 children, adolescents and young adults. Nutrients 2018;10:1049.