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Coffee and Acne
It is unlikely that drinking a few cups of coffee a day would cause someone to develop acne. However, coffee consumption could affect the acne severity of people who already have acne and possibly interfere with their efforts to achieve acne control.
For approximately 30 minutes following the consumption of caffeinated coffee, systemic insulin levels become elevated. Research indicates that caffeine reduces insulin sensitivity by about 15%. In other words, it reduces the body’s normal response to insulin, causing “insulin resistance.” The body responds by producing more insulin. Since insulin generates inflammation, more insulin causes more inflammation, which promotes follicular blockage, an initial step in the development of acne infections. Several cups of caffeinated coffee daily, along with other acne promoting factors, can affect the severity of acne and success in treating it.
Sweetened coffee drinks (latte, mocha, cappuccino, etc.), chai tea and caffeinated soft drinks (cola and others) have a double impact on insulin-induced inflammation. The sweetener (sugar, corn fructose and yes, even artificial sweeteners) stimulate increased insulin production. While the sweeteners increase insulin, the caffeine promotes insulin resistance which, in turn, stimulates even more insulin production. The result is greater inflammation and greater acne promotion. (For more information on insulin and its affect on acne, see the “Diet and Acne” page.
Caffeine also has an effect on testosterone levels. Caffeine stimulates the adrenal gland, which causes an increase in testosterone production. Testosterone (via dihydrotestosterone) promotes the production of sebum which becomes trapped in the insulin-inflamed follicles with P acnes bacteria and creates new acne infections.
Acne promoting factors, such as stress, poor diet, smoking, dairy and meat-induced hormone imbalance, wheat sensitivity, insulin-induced inflammation and caffeinated coffee interact together. For example, the acne of a person who has poor dietary habits, such as too many animal products (dairy and meat), too much junk food and too few fresh fruits and vegetables may be promoted by their diet. If several cups of caffeinated coffee are added to the daily mix, the severity of acne is increased. If stress is then added to this mix, the acne condition flares to a higher level for several days or until such time as one of the acne promoting factors is eliminated or decreased.
Obviously, people with problematic acne should work at eliminating acne promoting factors and these specific factors are covered in other areas of the Skintactix web site. People with acne may also want to eliminate or greatly reduce caffeine consumption. Alternatives might include one or two cups of decaffeinated coffee or tea daily rather than fully caffeinated drinks. Since sweetened coffee drinks, chai tea and soft drinks have an even greater negative impact on the body, these drinks might be eliminated.
