Is your favourite food the secret cause of all your skin woes?

Skin flare-ups are pretty common, and sometimes, it happens out of the blue. Surprisingly, it’s not only your skincare products or medications that are causing your skin to be inflammed. Sometimes, it boils down to your diet. Certain foods trigger inflammatory response from your immune system causing redness, swelling and a slight raise in blood pressure.

Here are some foods that are known to cause inflammation on the skin so you’re better able to single out the cause of your skin’s redness. As with all nutritional advice, moderation is key.

Certain vegetable oils like soy, sunflower and corn contain omega-6 fatty acids. While omega-6 fatty acids can help stimulate skin and hair growth and maintain bone health, too much can cause your metabolism rate to spiral out of control, hence increasing the risk of inflammation. Try swapping your vegetable oil for other oils like olive and canola, which have both omega 3 and 6 to help balance things out.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

Besides containing plenty of sodium, fatty processed meat like frozen hot dogs, bacon and burger patties also have a lot of saturated animal fats that, when not eaten in moderation, can cause inflammation.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

No matter the type (sucrose, fructose or even just plain sugar), too much can lead to inflammation. Highly processed sugars may trigger cytokines, which send signals to cells in your body to activate inflammation.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

These high-glycemic index (GI) foods tend to increase blood sugar levels quickly, causing inflammation to occur.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

The high amount of sodium in processed cheese can cause water retention, resulting in bloating.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

For some people, gluten can cause inflammation and trigger allergic reactions.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

Know that red flush you get when drinking beer? Yep, that’s inflammation occurring right there.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

Despite what they say, most store-bought yoghurts tend to be packed with sugar and preservatives to keep it fresh, and this tends to send your body’s blood sugar level into hyperdrive.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

MSG can be addictive, so make sure you’re seasoning your food with fresh herbs and other ingredients to balance out the sodium intake.

Image: pexels.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

Normally found in sugar-free foods, aspartame is in artificial sweetener. Should you be allergic to aspartame, your body will react adversely and sometimes inflammation will occur.

Image: 123rf.com

READ MORE: This completely free DIY trick will reduce face redness in seconds and How to get rid of a sudden acne breakout​.

This story was originally published on CLEO, June 15, 2017.