Look Who's Coming To Dinner...
By Barbara Strickland, Certified Para-Medical Esthetician

In case you don't have enough to worry about, some of your favorite fodder may exacerbate your acne! A stealthy culprit may be lurking in your food and medications...Iodides.

Excessive, long-term ingestion of Iodide (also known as Iodine) whether from drugs or food can cause ACNE. Once Iodide enters the body and mixes into the bloodstream zits start appearing with regularity. If there is Iodide present in the blood, the body excretes the excess Iodide through the oil glands of the skin. As the Iodide is excreted, it irritates the pores and causes acne flare-ups. If you are acne-prone, your pores are especially sensitive to Iodide.

"Ha! but I'm not acne-prone!" Well, thank your parents for the great genetics, but you're not out of the woods. Iodide can even cause normally clear skin to break out too, when ingested in large amounts. This is true if you have the recessive acne gene as well. This does not mean that you should remove all traces of Iodine from your diet, since a big goiter might cancel out any "good feelings" you were having about your clear skin. Everything in moderation...

It is interesting to note that Iodide is showing up in very unexpected foods, like bread (wheat products,) meat, and dairy products. Farmers feed their livestock nutrients with Iodine in them and it is passed on to you, the consumer. Vitamins, mineral pills, and food supplements are some of the biggest offending sources of Iodides. Vitamin and mineral companies also love to include Kelp, Seaweed, Algae, etc. in their vitamins and minerals and for the acne prone this is the kiss of ZITS! Be sure to read the labels before purchasing and shop for a brand that does not contain high levels of Iodide.

Some swimming pool disinfectants contain Iodides and Chlorine, which can remain in the water, causing skin problems for frequent swimmers. Many swimmers find that the combination of hot and humid weather, the physical exercise of swimming and the chlorinated pools, can cause major acne flare-ups.

Remember that whether ingested in food, or absorbed on the skin, sufficient quantities of Iodide can cause zits!

Iodide (Iodine) Content In Foods - rated in parts per million

This is, by no means, a complete listing of all Iodide-rich foods.
Like everything else here at Sage, the Iodine List is a continuously evolving body of information.
If you would like to know the Iodine rating of any food not listed, please e-mail me at barbara@sageskincare.com