The debate over diet and acne has raged for many years. However, there seems to be ever increasing evidence that a high glycaemic index diet, dairy intake and carbohydrate intake, features common in a Western diet can be pro-acnegenic.
[Meixiong J, Ricco C, Vasavda C et al. Diet and acne: A systematic review. JAAD Int. 2022 ;29:95-112.]
[Conforti C, Abozzino M, Emendato G et al. Acne and diet : a review. Int J Dermatol 2022;61:930-934.]
There has also been evidence that a diet rich in omega-3, found in foods such as fatty fish like salmon and mackerel and also seeds and nuts can be anti-inflammatory and anti-acnegenic.
There has now been a study looking at polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs) and acne.
[Kim BR, Kim G, Jin S-P et al. Causal association between polyunsaturated fatty acids and acne: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Br J Dermal 2025;192:1106-1114.]
What is a PUFA?
These are essentially a fatty acid containing more than one double bond. The essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 are the two main types of PUFAs.
PUFAs are healthy fats though, right?
Yes, PUFAs have been labelled as ‘healthy fats’, whereas saturated fats are typically labelled as ‘bad fats’.
What does this study do?
What they did was look at genome-wide association studies with statistics for PUFAs from the UK Biobank consortium, a huge biomedical database with information on participants including genetic data, health records and lifestyle factors.
They looked at PUFAs linked to acne, circulating omega-3, docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), omega-6 and linoleic acid (LA) concentrations, their percentages to total fatty acids (FA) and the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio.
What did they find?
They found that genetically predicted DHA levels and their percentage to total FA were associated with a reduced risk of acne.
However, they found that genetic predispositions to a high percentage of linoleic acid (LA) to total FA and a high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio were found to exacerbate acne and this was independent of body mass index (BMI).
What is linoleic acid?
Linoleic acid (LA) is a form of omega-6 fatty acid. A Western diet is typically high in LA content. It is found in vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, corn oil , grape seed oil & soybean oil. Processed foods and restaurants which use these oils in their frying, sauteeing, dressings, sauces and marinades are directly responsible for people eating more linoleic acid than ever before. There are concerns that diets high in linoleic acid may be associated with chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease amongst others.
[Mercola J, D’Adamo CR. Linoleic Acid: A Narrative Review of the Effects of Increased Intake in the Standard American Diet and Associations with Chronic Disease. Nutrients 2023;15:3129.]
So it matters which PUFA I eat?
Well yes.
DHA is a biologically active form of omega-3 fatty acid, found in fish and nuts. Omega-3 FA are anti-inflammatory and anti-acnegenic. A diet with a high a high percentage of LA ( a form of omega-6 FA) to total FA and a high omega-6 to omega-3 ratio was pro-acnegenic.
So, eat more fish, less processed foods and use less seed oils in your cooking and it looks like it will not only help your skin but maybe your heart and brain also.
Kind regards,
Sandy
Dr Sandy Flann, Consultant Dermatologist.
