Enjoy Your Chocolate This Valentine's Day!

I wrote about the connection between various foods and Adult Acne breakouts. Naturally, the time around Valentine's Day brings up questions about the chocolate-breakout connection. Dermatologists have long poo-pooed the idea that there is a connection between the two, and I think it's because the focus was always on the chocolate -- that is, the cocoa.  There's more here than meets the eye!

Think about this: when are you most likely to eat chocolate? Around your period!  And when do you break out the most? You get the idea...

However, and this is a big however, with mounting evidence that there is indeed a connection between dairy and some acne conditions, and between sugar and increased inflammation in the body leading to worsening of existing acne conditions, chocolate is starting to be seen under a new light.

Diet & Acne: Is There a Connection?

"Does it really matter what I eat, and are there foods that can cause 

(or even cure) acne?"

I get asked this question ALL the time. The truth is, some foods will aggravate an already existing acne problem, but no foods will actually cause the issue from scratch. 

It's true that some foods are scientifically proven to be acne triggers, but other foods leave an impression of cause and effect when it's really timing that's at play. 

Is it really chocolate that's causing breakouts or is it the onset of a menstrual cycle causing an increase in the eating of chocolate??

Or....! 

Is it that the food contains a component that has been scientifically proven to provoke acne (rather than the entire food itself)??