Do Peanuts Cause Acne Breakouts?
My Personal Story of How Peanuts Caused My Acne
All my life I have heard medical professionals dispute the fact that certain foods can trigger acne. I never knew if I should believe these professionals, or go with my gut feeling that certain foods were triggering my acne.
When I turned forty, I was determined to stop this cycle of acne. I had tried every acne treatment and beauty product with minimal success. I was tired of the psychological damage my acne was having on my life. So I went to see an esthetician and started monthly chemical peels.
These peels are expensive, and it took a few months to see improvements, but for the first time since childhood my pimples were under control.
But then my husband came home with a bag of peanuts. I hadn't had peanuts in the shell for a long time. They looked absolutely irresistible!
For about a week I snacked on these peanuts. I had them in-between meals as a quick snack, and I also sat down with a bowl full of peanuts each night as I watched TV. After all, peanuts are a healthy snack, right?
The following week my face started to feel differently. When I looked in the mirror I could see the oil starting to accumulate on my nose. Then the dreaded pimples started to emerge. By the end of the week I was suffering from a full-blown acne attack.
I had forgotten what it was like to have my face hurt from acne. I had forgotten how humiliating it was to be seen in public when acne had taken over my face. I knew people were wondering, "What happened to her face?"
It was then that it dawned on me. It had to be the peanuts. All of my acne symptoms started after eating peanuts on a daily basis.
So I immediately quit eating the peanuts. I was no longer tempted to grab a few peanuts in-between meals or have them as an after-dinner snack.
I saw the improvement in my skin almost immediately. The inflammation in my face was down and my face began to heal. It took about a week for the acne to subside, and another week for the pimples to disappear. Unfortunately it left a few acne scars which will take a while to fade.
Since then my face is back to being under control. I continue to get monthly chemical peels and I expect I will still have some hormonal break outs each month. But nothing compared to that week when peanuts triggered one of my worst acne breakouts ever.
Is it possible that I have a peanut allergy? Yes it is. But maybe you do too. A Naturopathic Doctor told me that many people are allergic to peanuts- not because of the actual peanut - but because peanuts grow underground and get moldy. It may be the mold that people are reacting to. And peanuts are found in many products including peanut butter and anything cooked in peanut oil.
So while my experience does not qualify as a scientific experiment, it's good enough for me to realize I need to stay away from peanuts. And at this point in my life I'm willing to give up anything that would cause that awful acne cycle to start up again.
Published by Julie Lind
Julie Lind is a piano teacher, mother, composer and a writer. View profile
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21 Comments
Post a CommentI recently had a hormonal acne breakout and purchased the Made from Earth Grapefruit Glycolic Scrub to battle the blemishes. I like this product because it is super antioxidant and clears up acne pimple and helps to reduce any scaring. This product has salicylic acid to fight the pimples and works nice, also easy to apply and not goey or messy at all. Reasonably priced for a glycolic scrub, and the smell is so good in the morning.
For about 2 years now i have been getting deep cystic pimples, there was a time where i was woken up in my sleep because the blanket brushed along my cheek.
more recently i felt that peanuts, walnuts, and soymilk has been triggering it. the first time i notices was when i was away with my family and didn't pack any snacks so i was nut free for a few days and my skin started clearing up. so i tried to continue that and it worked.. until i slipped up and had peanuts in a peanut chocolate pie and then next day i paid for it, with 3 huge pimples that didn't head, just the swollen painful lumps( that take foreverrr to go away & without a doubt leave a giant red mark)
i'm so glad i found this - i thought i was nuts ( had to throw that in there).
good luck to everyone else dealing with this.. i feel your pain.
I have this same problem with any kind of nuts and even peanut butter. So if it's just mold that causes it, do pecans have mold too, or pistachio nuts? I also can't take medicine because it causes me to break out too.
My face has done the same for many years now. I went to a dermatologist and was told that this type of "acne" is caused by peanuts, certain toothpastes and red dye. I love peanuts but everytime I eat them my face breaks out along the cheek line in horrible, painful pustuls.
Ijustrecentlyconnectedmyseverepimpleoutbreaktopeanuts.Ihavenoticedforthelast2monthsIwasbreakingoutwithchickenpoxlikepimples.Iusuallyeatabowlfullofpeanutsnightly.Theoutbreakhaslastedforover2months,Iamgoingtoscrapethepeanutsimmediately.IfoundthislinkasIwastryingtofigureoutwashappeningwithmybodybreakingoutwithalltheseenormouspimples.
You know what, I have the same problem, except mine is graver. I have acne from peanuts all over my body and it is so severe it looks like chicken pox. They've left terrible scars which the doctor said will never go away.
When I got a allergy test it was -ve, but what I was allergic to was mold. So it makes sense now when I read the article.
Thanks so much...its the moldy peanut and not the peanut itself!
I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what causes my acne to get worse. so i started keeping track of what i eat. I figured out that a couple of days after eating any kind of nuts i break out.. with nasy hurtfull deep rooted pimples. this happens like clock work every time i eat nuts... so i can say that without a doubt food can cause acne.
I never once had zits or pimples in my teens. I am now in my late twenties and over the last two years I have been getting break outs on my chin. I could not understand why, and why now. But as time went by the link became clearer and clearer once I started examining what I was eating within two weeks of when I would get the outbreaks. It turned out every time I ate peanuts, I would get pimples within two days and the break out would last approximately a week. If you do have inconsistent cycles of breakouts I would highly recommend keeping a journal of what you eat. Soon enough you will find a pattern.
What a revelation! I thought I was the only one to have acne after eating peanuts.
I think peanuts do cause acne,atleast for me yes the big cystic ones that hurt and throb! but what makes me wonder is im only getting them on my chin and neck area? Im a women im 34 years old , do u think its hormones also? its really sad cause i get complimets on how beautiful my face and eyes are but i need to get rid of this acne, its driving me crazy, does anyone know any med that worked?? , i am now on a medication called iso-supra it comes from the accutane family with less risks and side effects , my face is less oily brighter no redness less pinples but i still breakout ocasionally..