As an acne patient, you have several possible futures. Firstly, you could follow the path of mainstream dermatology, with harsh antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide leading to years more acne. Secondly, you could acquire a decent knowledge of various natural remedies, and finally clear your skin.
But what if you really want to reach your full potential of glow and radiance, and push your skin to a level you never thought imaginable?
In that case, what you need are the secret advanced hacks. We’ve discussed a few of them on this website already. Cold showers are brilliant for skin tone, lightly steaming broccoli encourages the release of anti-inflammatory sulforaphane. Black coffee is superior to milk coffee, since milk significantly reduces antioxidant absorption (study).
Now, this article will supply you with another secret weapon – the avocado.
Avocados can increase nutrient absorption
To sum it up, the avocado fruit has power to enhance acne nutrient absorption when added to a meal, and more specifically, vitamin A and carotenoid antioxidant absorption.
Vitamin A is the most effective nutrient you can take for oily skin. It binds to receptors in your sebaceous glands and downregulates their activity to normality. Furthermore, vitamin A keeps a leash on keratin production as well, the second main player in clogged pores.
Carotenoids, meanwhile, are a wide family of fat-soluble antioxidants which has over 600 confirmed members. Some carotenoids are converted to vitamin A (e.g. beta carotene), while others remain behind and protect your face against free radicals (e.g. lutein).
By adding avocado to a meal containing these superstars, you can extract far more than you would otherwise, and that’s why avocado is a secret nutritional hack for acne.
The proof
To date, two studies have been performed on this superpower. The first study involved two separate experiments. Firstly, a 12 patient group was served a meal of tomato sauce, both with and without fresh avocado. The second 12-strong group were served carrots, either with or without avocado-containing guacamole.
In both experiments, the avocado significantly increased carotenoid absorption into the bloodstream, and the conversion of carotenoids to active vitamin A. The tomato group had 2.4 higher beta-carotene levels compared to the tomatoes without avocado, and the carrot group had a 6.6 fold and 4.8 fold enhancement of beta-carotene and alpha-carotene absorption respectively.
In the tomato group, the avocado increased the mean conversion of carotenoids to active vitamin A by 50%, from 22% to 33%. The conversion range among patients increased from 5-47% to 22-48%, while in the carrot group, the avocado increased the conversion of carotenoids from 27% to 34%, an increase of 26%.
Our second study was similar, again testing two meals. The first was salsa with bread, while the second was a salad. This included carrots, lettuce, baby spinach (three carotenoid rich vegetables), bread, and a dressing which was fat-free to avoid skewing the results. This time, the dosage of avocado was varied as well, with 75 grams and 150 grams.
In the salsa group (which was 11 patients strong), adding avocado increased the absorption of beta-carotene 2.6 fold. Lycopene was also tested in this study, a carotenoid found in tomatoes and watermelon with great powers for UV radiation protection. Avocado enhanced its absorption 4.4 fold.
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The salad experiment was just as positive, as 150 grams of avocado increased the absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, and lutein by 7.2, 15.3, and 5.1 fold respectively. Interestingly, there was no variation between the 75 gram and 150 gram dosages of avocado, so only moderate amounts are necessary to benefit.
What you must do
If you want to make the most of your nutrients, avocados are one of the best secret weapons around.
The ordinary acne patient reads about avocados in a magazine, and eats one as a snack every day. The advanced acne patient combines avocado with carotenoid-rich foods, and enhances the powers of both.
Salads and soups are the ultimate solution, as you can specifically select the optimal ingredients for carotenoids and vitamin A. These include all varieties of lettuce except for iceberg, spinach, kale, pumpkin, tomatoes, watermelon, carrots, bell peppers, and more. Sweet potatoes are the optimal carbohydrate source for acne, so add avocado to a plateful after a gym session.
You almost certainly have your own acne-friendly recipes which you can easily tweak. The beauty is that only small quantities of avocado are required.
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The end result of this avocado trick will be very visible. Significantly less oily skin thanks to the vitamin A. Significantly brighter and healthier skin tone thanks to the carotenoids, and significant reduced acne thanks to both.
If you’re unaware, then there’s two types of vitamin A. Retinol is the ready-made animal form found in eggs and dairy, while beta-carotene and alpha-carotene are the plant forms of vitamin A. They are “pro-vitamin A” compounds, which the body has to convert first. This conversion is often highly inefficient, as poor as 5% in genetically predisposed people.
Combining avocado with foods like carrot can unlock this bonus vitamin A and therefore the extra potential for your skin. In fact, the first study found that people with inferior carotenoid conversion benefitted the most. If you’re a vegan and can’t eat animal sources like eggs, then avocadoes are a particularly excellent weapon.
The science
Where exactly do the avocado’s powers come from? In the study, the scientists declared the high fat content to be responsible. However, not all fats are created equal, as a separate study tested canola oil, butter, and soybean oil on carotenoid absorption in salad.
Canola oil, which mostly consists of monounsaturated fats, was easily superior to the saturated (butter) and polyunsaturated fats (soybean oil). The other two were dose-dependent, whereas canola oil enhanced the carotenoid absorption at any dosage.
The avocado contains 71% monounsaturated fat on average, mostly in the form of oleic acid. This may be the explanation, but avocado could also be even better than canola oil. The 6.6 fold and 4.8 fold increases in absorption were disproportionately huge. Monosaturated fats break down into many sub-fats. For example, oleic acid is found in 61% and 65% concentration in canola oil and avocado oil respectively, but avocado oil has a 5.8% concentration of a rarer form called palmitoleic acid. Canola oil contains none. Avocado oil is 14% palmitic acid, while canola oil contains 4%.
There’s many such variations, so there’s still an element of mystery to avocados.
Do avocados have any downsides?
The main mutterings on the internet are that avocados are way too high in omega 6s, which crank up the immune system and cause inflammation in excess, and contain way too few omega 3s.
It’s true that avocados possess a poor ratio of 18:1 in favour of omega 6s, when for health and acne, it’s ideal to have a balanced ratio of 1:1, or 3:1 at the most. But this isn’t a problem with avocados, because the actual content of omegas is far too low to affect your wider dietary intake. Both omegas are polyunsaturated fats, and these form just 15.5% of the avocado’s total fats. They’ll barely make a dent in anything. Avocados would only ruin your ratio if you somehow got addicted them.
Better yet, the broader fat composition is beneficial for acne, even outside of the nutrient absorption benefits.
65% of the fat in avocado is oleic acid, the most common monounsaturated fat. Oleic acid (omega 9) is responsible for the heart benefits of olive oil observed in Mediterranean counties, and has strong acne-clearing properties when eaten.
This study observed a decrease in C-reactive protein and interleukin-6 after oleic acid consumption, two of the classic pro-inflammatory biomarkers. This study concluded that among 1556 Japanese men, those with diets richer in oleic acid enjoyed significantly reduced CRP. The relatively rare palmitoleic acid (5.6% of avocado’s fats) was linked to more restful and rapid sleep in this study.
Read Annihilate Your Acne – get the diet that could transform your skin!
Avocados also lack any specific compounds like tomatine in tomatoes or glycoalkaloids in potatoes which are known to trigger sensitivities. The sugar content is miniscule at 0.7 grams per 100 grams. The odds are high that you can take advantage of avocado with no headaches.
Is there any bonus nutrition for acne?
Avocados are pretty weak for the basic vitamins and minerals, as 50 grams contains…
- Vitamin C – 8% of the recommended daily allowance.
- Vitamin A – 1%.
- Magnesium – 3%.
- Zinc – 2%.
- Vitamin E – 5%.
- Potassium – 7%.
- Manganese – 3%.
- Vitamin B6 – 6%.
At first glance, a decent but unspectacular selection. However, the fat-soluble nutrients within the avocado will benefit from its own absorption enhancement. If we extrapolate the roughly 5 fold increase, then the vitamin E could actually equal 25% of the RDA.
Avocados also score 1922 on the ORAC antioxidant scale, and hence 961 with our optimal serving. That’s merely good rather than great, but most of those antioxidants are carotenoids. If we extrapolate the absorption boost again, then the real score could be a spectacular 4805, more than a serving of strawberries.
This affects individual antioxidants as well. For instance, avocado contains 271mcg of the powerful carotenoid lutein, and this pales next to kale, the world’s best lutein source with 18,246mcg. But avocado has the absorption powers, making it the equivalent of more like 1355mcg. Avocados also contains four rarer carotenoid antioxidants: trans-neoxanthin, neochrome, 6-epoxide and chrysanthemaxanthin.
One interesting study tested avocado oil (15% of raw avocado by weight) on human skin cells. Compounds called polyhdroxylated fatty alcohols exerted a protective effect against UV radiation, acting as a non-sunscreen natural buffer.
This study was topical, but in the likes of eggs and dark chocolate, antioxidants are proven to concentrate in skin cells after they’ve been eaten. Avocados would be a godsend for acne if the process was replicated. PFAs are unique to avocado among land-dwelling plants; they’re only found in seaweeds elsewhere.
Conclusion
Adding avocados to carotenoid rich foods is one of the great secret acne hacks available.
Do you regularly eat salads with lettuce, carrots, watermelons, or maybe tomatoes? Then add 50 grams of avocado and continue on for 4 weeks. One day, you might glance in the mirror and be shocked at the glowing quality of your skin.
This study found that dietary carotenoids contributed measurably and significantly to healthy skin colour. This one found that carotenoid consumption correlated to skin yellowness, AKA the “glow” which we always talk about.
The more advanced knowledge you gain, the better your chances to get truly alive looking skin, rather than clear but unhealthy-looking. This article on cheap tricks for acne is recommended reading.
If you refuse to ever accept mediocrity in your skin, then avocado is the food for you.
NEXT: discover the root causes of acne and banish your pimples forever
Thanks for reading!
I’m currently eating two avocados a day, is that too much? I’m just trying to consume a lot of calories as I’m at my peak stage for building muscle and I’m very active. Also, do you do meals plans?
It depends on the fats you eat in the rest of your diet, but for the average acne patient I highly doubt that two avocados daily is too much. If you were particularly deficient in carotenoid antioxidants then it would be beneficial. No meal plans at the moment.