I tried the keto diet for weight loss, but it gave me a face full of acne. Ouch!

Yes, keto diet acne exists! Surely, I lost inches while I was following the ketogenic diet, but I also wrecked my skin and got pimples in return.
keto diet acne
Blame the high-fat content of the keto diet for all that acne. GIF courtesy: Portlandia via Giphy
Sonakshi Kohli Updated: 10 Feb 2020, 11:13 am IST
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Fad diets may come and fad diets may go, but their side effects may haunt you forever. If you’re wondering what brought out my poetic side this time, I credit the ketogenic diet that I followed religiously for almost three months, until it brought out something else out of me too.

Remarkable inch loss and well–terrible acne. Yes, that’s what I got in return for eating high-fat and high-protein foods and completely cutting off sugar and carbohydrate-rich foods from my diet.

It began with my face turning into a grease factory
No keto dish is ever complete without a generous dose of keto-friendly oils such as MCT oil (extracted from coconut oil), ghee, sesame oil, and walnut oil. And it doesn’t take a genius to understand that consuming oily food can boost the skin’s oil-production capacity as well.

This is exactly what happened in my case. While the consumption of oils in moderation can make your skin glow, eating oily all the time can turn it into a grease factory—one that’s beyond any salvation at the hands of best matte creams and powders.

And so, the breakouts began…
Y’all know how oily skin attracts more dirt and how the oil and dirt together can clog the skin’s pores and give you a terrible, terrible acne? Well, I experienced it first hand when I tried a ketogenic diet and hell! I had a really hard time.

keto diet acne
Turns out along with weight loss, acne is also a part and parcel of the keto diet. Image courtesy: Shutterstock.

The dairy products complicated things furthermore
According to a study published in the journal Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology, overconsumption of dairy products can lead to breakouts. Trust me, the researchers ain’t lying. The ghee, the milk, the cottage cheese, the yogurt—all of them together attacked my skin and my acne got worse by the day.

The dietary shift was to blame as well
After spending almost two-and-a-half decades eating foods rich in all nutrients—especially carbohydrates—shifting to a low-carb diet rich in proteins and fats took a toll on my body as it worsened the inflammation by putting my body under stress.

The final word
While I lost inches, I gained acne. Trust me, it wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Apart from this, I also felt quite weak and started falling ill quickly—maybe, because of the lack of other macro and micro nutrients from the keto diet.

The solution? I say, eat everything, but eat clean. And well—work out. At least that’s why I did to maintain the inch loss keto gave me. A balanced diet backed by regular physical activity can take you a long way—that too, without giving you acne.

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About the Author

Twenty kilos down and struggling to maintain the weight loss by preaching healthy eating, while eating unhealthy every now and then. ...Read More

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