Should people with skin diseases avoid certain foods and eat a light diet?

That's not entirely true.

There are many different types of skin diseases, each with different causes and treatments. While diet can help manage some skin diseases, not all skin diseases require strict dietary restrictions or a bland diet. Therefore, dietary restrictions and recommendations cannot be generalized.

First of all, for specific situations, such as urticaria caused by food allergies or eczema induced and aggravated by food, it is indeed necessary to avoid eating related allergenic foods. However, even so, not all patients with eczema or urticaria will be allergic to food. From a group perspective, abstaining from food may not be helpful for many people, and not abstaining from food may not necessarily be harmful.

Secondly, for other skin diseases such as psoriasis and acne, although adjusting diet may be helpful, it is not the only or main treatment method. For example, psoriasis is a disease related to the immune system. Dietary adjustment may alleviate its symptoms, but it cannot replace drug treatment. Similarly, the occurrence of acne is related to multiple factors such as sebum secretion, hair follicle blockage, bacterial infection, etc. A light diet cannot solve the acne problem alone. Therefore, mainstream medical advice does not advocate blindly abstaining from food or choosing a light diet.

In addition, the skin is the largest organ in the human body, and its health is affected by many factors, including genetics, environment, lifestyle habits, and diet. Maintaining a balanced diet and consuming enough nutrients will help maintain overall health and the health of the skin. On the contrary, an overly restrictive diet may lead to malnutrition, which will affect the health of the skin.

The correct approach is to have a dermatologist provide personalized dietary advice based on the specific type of skin disease and personal health status. What patients with skin diseases need to do is to make reasonable dietary adjustments under the guidance of doctors according to their own conditions to achieve the best treatment effect.

Author: Tang Jiaoqing, MD, attending physician of dermatology

Review | Feng Jun, deputy chief physician of the Dermatology Department of Sinopharm Tongmei General Hospital