Foods for Clear Skin: What to Eat

Oats, beans and lentils

Glycemic index (GI) is a measure of how quickly a food raises your blood sugar. Foods at 55 or below count as low; foods at 70 or above count as high (MedlinePlus).

A 2022 review found high-GI diets were linked to more acne, "an observation supported by randomized controlled trials" (Meixiong et al., 2022). Rolled-oat porridge scores 55, grainy bread 53 and kidney beans 24, against 79 for instant oat porridge (Atkinson et al., 2008).

In a 12-week trial of 43 young men, spots fell by 23.5 on a low-GI diet against 12.0 on a control diet (Smith et al., 2007). In a 10-week trial of 32 people, the low-GI group had fewer spots, both inflamed and not (Kwon et al., 2012). An 8-week trial found skin improved on both diets, with no clear difference between them (Reynolds et al., 2010). All three trials were small. More in our low-glycemic guide.

Oily fish

In an Italian case-control study built around 205 young people with new moderate-to-severe acne, eating fish was associated with a protective effect (odds ratio 0.68) (Di Landro et al., 2012). In a New York survey of 248 young adults, those with moderate-to-severe acne ate fewer servings of fish a day (Burris et al., 2014).

A 2025 pooled analysis gave fish an odds ratio of 0.37 with a range from 0.03 to 4.04, far too wide to call (Taha et al., 2025).

The likely fats are EPA and DHA. In a 10-week trial, 45 people took 2,000 mg a day of those omega-3s, a plant oil, or nothing. Lesions decreased in both supplement groups (Jung et al., 2014). That was a capsule. FDA advice is at least 8 ounces of seafood a week on a 2,000-calorie diet (FDA). Twice a week covers that. Plant omega-3 from flax is a limited source of the EPA and DHA that fish provide (Burdge and Calder, 2005).

Vegetables

A 2025 review of five case-control studies found people who ate more vegetables had lower odds of acne (odds ratio 0.46), though it rated the quality of its evidence low (Taha et al., 2025). Higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet was significantly correlated with less severe acne, while the association with acne development was not significant.

Among 2,467 Thai teens and adults, eating vegetables was associated with milder acne (adjusted odds ratio 0.74) (Roengritthidet et al., 2021). In Jordan, regular fruit and vegetables did too (0.66) (Seetan et al., 2026). In Italy, women aged 25 and over with a low weekly intake of fruit or vegetables had higher odds of acne (odds ratio 2.33) (Di Landro et al., 2016). All of these are observational. We found no trial that has tested vegetables for acne. Colour from the same plate also shows up on our glow page.

Plain tea

Among 2,467 Thai teens and adults, people who drank tea without sugar or milk had milder acne (adjusted odds ratio 0.61) (Roengritthidet et al., 2021). The survey didn't name the type of tea. We found no trial of simply drinking tea and tracking acne.

In a 4-week trial, 80 women took 1,500 mg of green tea extract or a placebo daily. Inflamed lesions on the nose, chin and around the mouth decreased, but total lesion counts didn't differ (Lu and Hsu, 2016). That's an extract, not a mug. Skip bottled teas with added sugar. Hydration notes on tea live on our hydrated skin page.

Sugary drinks

In a French study of 24,452 adults, sugary drinks (adjusted odds ratio 1.18) and fatty, sugary products (1.54) were both associated with current acne (Penso et al., 2020). In New York, people with moderate-to-severe acne reported more added sugar and a higher dietary GI (Burris et al., 2014). In Thailand, white rice was associated with more severe acne (adjusted odds ratio 1.80) in 2,467 people (Roengritthidet et al., 2021). More on sugar and acne.

Skim milk

Among 47,355 women, those who drank the most skim milk in high school had a 44% higher rate of severe teenage acne (prevalence ratio 1.44) (Adebamowo et al., 2005). A 2019 review found people who drank the most milk had 1.48 times the odds of acne of those who drank the least. For skim milk the figure was 1.82 (Aghasi et al., 2019).

In 24,452 French adults, milk went with current acne (adjusted odds ratio 1.12) (Penso et al., 2020). The full split by cheese and yogurt is on does dairy cause acne.

Probiotic yogurt

A 12-week trial in people aged 12 to 30 found 42.5% of those taking a probiotic capsule improved on an acne grading scale, compared with 20.6% on placebo (Eguren et al., 2024). The capsule held one bacterial strain plus spirulina. Staff from the maker co-wrote the paper.

A capsule isn't yogurt. We found no trial that compared yogurt with no yogurt and measured acne. The closest food trial gave 36 people fermented milk for 12 weeks, with or without added lactoferrin, so both groups had the fermented food (Kim et al., 2010). Yogurt is also dairy. More in our gut and skin guide.

Zinc-rich foods

A 2020 review found that people with acne had lower blood zinc than people without it, and that zinc treatment reduced the number of inflamed papules (Yee et al., 2020). Those trials used zinc as a treatment, taken by mouth or put on the skin. We found no trial of zinc-rich foods themselves.

Animal proteins such as meat are a good source of zinc, and nuts, whole grains and legumes are good plant sources. The recommended daily amount is 8 mg for adult women and 11 mg for men (MedlinePlus).

What food cannot do

Acne vulgaris is the common inflammatory spots that start in oil glands. Food can change hormones that feed those glands. It cannot replace a cream or a pill your clinician prescribed.

When the American Academy of Dermatology updated its guidelines in 2024, available evidence was insufficient to develop recommendations for dietary changes (AAD, 2024). The 2024 line is a guideline gap, not a finding that food does nothing: the trials on this page still measured fewer lesions on a low-glycemic-load diet over 12 weeks.