Eggs & Acne: What is the Link?

Eggs are a popular breakfast staple loaded with vitamins, minerals, high-quality protein, and low calories. But, do you know this fantastic food item can actually worsen your skin blemishes?

What Nutrients Does An Egg Contain?

Along with milk, eggs are enriched with high-quality protein, saturated fats, multiple vitamins and minerals like iron, carotenoids, and several beneficial microelements.

A large egg contains around 72 – 75 Kcal energy, approx. 5 grams of fat and negligible amounts of carbs.

Eggs also consist of choline, which is a very vital nutrient for brain development. They also have lutein and zeaxanthin; antioxidants that help in protecting your eyes. An egg is also enriched with some essential fatty acid, lecithin, which works as an emollient.

The retinol in an egg is very beneficial for the human skin in different ways. Similarly, the presence of selenium can shield your body from the damage of free radicals.

How Does Egg Cause Acne?

Some of the egg components can indeed trigger acne under certain conditions. Here are some of the key reasons that cause acne in some people.

Biotin As A Culprit

Some people believe that the rich content of biotin in eggs is the reason for having acne. Biotin is a well-known component, providing good health for your hair and skin. However, in excessive quantities, it can be harmful.

Eggs contain biotin in huge amounts, and it covers a significant portion of RDAs. Excess biotin can influence the excess production of keratin, leading to hyperkeratosis, which can ultimately cause blemishes.

Iodine Content

The iodine content of an egg can indirectly cause acne. But that happens as a side effect of a positive fixation in your body. Well on average, an egg contains 25 µg of iodine and this quantity of iodine is enough to trigger a fluoride purge.

Fluoride is a toxic mineral that doesn’t easily leave your body and can even cause acne. Iodine helps to push out fluoride from the human body. As the fluoride gets removed from your system, your body eradicates it along with the dead skin, sweat, or sebum production which can cause acne. So, while the iodine content in eggs is beneficial, the fluoride in your system causes acne during eradication.

Presence Of Excessive Progesterone

The human body synthesizes progesterone on its own, but consuming extra hormones in a regular diet can hamper the natural hormonal balance of your body. An abrupt rise in progesterone levels can cause blemishes.

The result may vary from person to person as different people have different tolerance levels and different reactivity levels to certain things. If you are on certain medications like birth control medicine with high progesterone content, then excess egg consumption can cause acne.

Excess Albumin

Albumin is a type of essential protein that your liver synthesizes on its own. It helps to carry vitamins, hormones, and enzymes to different parts of the body. But, overconsumption of external albumin can impact your digestive system. So, excess albumin may not break down and get deposited in your lymphatic system.

Egg white is a rich source of albumin. When your system fails to break down albumin, it, in turn, clogs up the lymphatic system causing inflammations which may also cause acne.

Leaky Gut Syndrome

This is a medical condition in which toxins from your stomach pass into your bloodstream. There are some known culprits of this gastrointestinal issue, such as corn, soy, milk products, gluten, and eggs.

Skin inflammations in your body give rise to certain skin allergy problems like acne, rashes, or eczema which are very common expressions of a leaky gut syndrome.

How To Know If Eggs Are Causing Acne?

The best way to know whether eggs are causing your acne or any inflammation is to stop consuming them for a month. If eggs were the trigger of your acne or rashes, they would decrease within 10-15 days of egg elimination from your diet.

You can start with one egg and wait for at least a week to see if any visible effect is there. If eggs are the cause of your breakout, you can see it happen within three days of egg consumption.

In this way, you can start by consuming one egg once a week. The goal is to know how many eggs you can consume without any issue, then you can slowly increase the number of eggs with the passing days and check. However, it is advised to avoid consuming any food that leads to inflammation.

Precautions To Take If Eggs Cause Acne

If eggs are your acne-causing factor, give your skin some time to heal naturally, or try a few home remedies to soothe your skin. Meanwhile, reduce your egg consumption to prevent any further irritation. Another option is to stop egg consumption immediately and give your acne time to heal. Then, after one month, you can try consuming eggs again in your meal.

How Much Quantity Of Egg Is Recommended?

There is no fixed recommended quantity of egg consumption. Every person has different health conditions or egg tolerance capacities. According to a study, an average healthy individual can eat up to seven eggs a week. One whole egg or two egg whites a day can make a perfect part of a balanced diet.

Take Away

Your habits of regular egg intake can have a huge impact on your acne condition. Some of the components of eggs can also trigger inflammation. If you find eggs as the culprit, stop their consumption immediately and help your skin to recover from acne breakouts. You can also apply any anti-acne gel or a pimple cream for your acne which is already there. After a gap of a month or two, you can try to add eggs again and find your individual egg tolerance capacity. Even after complete egg elimination, if your acne issue still persists, do consult your dermatologist.