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female
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anonymous
writes: My boyfriend said that chocolate gives you spots... is this true? I have loads of spots and eat chocolate all the time! If Cocoa Butter is good for spots/skin, well why when eating chocolate (that contains Cocoa Butter) gives you spots?? Confused? xxxxxx
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female
reader, Hot (Advice) +, writes (14 July 2006):
 Yes it's a whole range of contributary factors that cause spots. Some people are fortunate and some not, I've known friends that have eaten healthily and not eaten hardly any sweet foods etc and they still get spots. Then there are others who can eat what they like and not have a single blemish ...
It's mainly to do with your body make up. Hormones play a part but so can other factors like stress, sometimes exposure to UV light (the sun) can trigger a reaction and cause spots, in others exposure to UV can reduce the spots. Eveyone is different there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that chocolate is linked directly to causing spots!
A
male
reader, harshbutfair  +, writes (11 July 2006):
 Excellent answer by Dr.Psych. The answer is that no-one knows. Only a handful of poor quality studies have been performed into this question, so for anyone to state that "it does" or "it doesn't" as a fact is wrong. That said, there are a couple of studies that indicate that diet does play a part and that slightly more protein, and less carbs, and higher GI foods, has a beneficial impact. But, more studies need to be performed. Given the huge range of impacts that diet has on human health I would be suprised if there is no impact of diet on acne, but the simplistic "chocolate gives you spots" may be a little off the mark.
Good luck!
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A
female
reader, DrPsych +, writes (11 July 2006):
 Its not the chocolate, it is the sugar as your body has to produce lots of insulin to keep your blood sugar levels under control. The relationship between sugar and acne hasnt been fully explained as yet, but it goes something like if you overload your liver with toxins (junk food, alcohol, chemicals etc) then it can only keep up with so much in-house cleaning. It is thought that the skin (as the biggest organ in your body) helps out the liver by secreting toxins that are reflected as acne on the skin when you have been over-doing it. A secondary factor is that the skin cells of acne sufferers are unable to metabolise insulin properly (insulin resistance). Of course some people can eat a ton of chocolate and never have a spot - life is unfair! Your hormones play a big part in how many break outs you will get. If you are in your 20's+ then perhaps you need to have a blood test to check your hormone levels, and see if you have insulin resistance as that can be treated. The key to managing this is to reduce chocolate (sugar) intake and increase vitamin intake and water intake too.
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A
female
reader, anonymous, writes (11 July 2006): I have been to the dermatologist at the hospital for my acne.. and he always told me that the claim that eating chocolate gives you spots is a myth.
Obviously if you're always eating lots of greasy foods, this can affect the amount of 'sebum', as it's called, that's released from you're pores. (If a lot of this is released the more likely you are to get spots).
But you can tell your boyfriend he's not right!
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