The best get-flawless-skin regimen? It's not a trendy spa treatment. It's a way of eating. Yeah, yeah, we know that for years, experts said greasy foods and chocolate don't cause pimples and that, overall, what you eat has no effect on your skin. But research proves otherwise. So follow these four rules on how to feed your face.
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Lay Off the White Stuff
Turns out french fries do cause breakouts. But it's not the grease that's the culprit, it's the potatoes. In a recent study, researchers looked at 1,200 natives of an island near Papua New Guinea and 115 hunter-gatherers in Paraguay and couldn't find a single zit in the lot. What's their secret? "A diet that consists almost exclusively of protein, fruits, and veggies," says Loren Cordain, PhD, professor of health and exercise science at Colorado State University and lead author of the study. Absent from their meals: the simple carbohydrates — such as white bread, pasta, rice, potatoes and sweets — that are the basis of our modern diet. These carbs send our insulin levels soaring, and researchers speculate that this sets off a series of reactions that leads to breakouts.Related: Your 2011 Get Gorgeous Guide
Simple food switch: Instead of refined white carbs, go for moderate amounts of complex ones like whole-grain bread, brown rice, and whole-wheat pasta (they're digested more slowly and don't lead to that skin-sabotaging insulin spike).
Eat This For Gorgeous Skin
