Acne’s Not Just for Adolescents. New Research Points to Dietary Help for Adults.
Acne is often thought of as an adolescent problem. But hiding outside the spotlight is a large number of adults who continue to struggle with the inflammatory skin condition. New research suggests that diet can help.
Acne is incredibly common. Nearly all–85%–teenagers suffer through it. What is less known is that acne often continues past adolescents: in the West, 12%-30% of adults have acne. Worse still is that adult acne is harder to treat.
There has been a great deal of research into adolescent acne, but that research is limited in adults. This large study set out to fill that gap.
The UK study included 228,757 people between the ages of 37 and 73. It found that following a Mediterranean-style diet, rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains and healthy fats, significantly lowered the risk of adult acne. A key reason seems to have been a more favourable ratio of monounsaturated fats to saturated fats. This finding was strongest in women with each one point increase in Mediterranean diet score being associated with a 10% reduction in likelihood of acne.
In men, diets lower in carbohydrates and higher in meat and other animal products significantly increased the likelihood of acne.
This study suggests that dietary patterns, specifically those rich in plant-based foods, complex carbohydrates, fiber and unsaturated fats and low in meat, refined carbohydrates, saturated fat and sugar, may increase your odds of going acne free after adolescents.
Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology. September 2026;doi.org/10.1111/jdv.70747.
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