Cocoa or Cacao is prized for its natural nutritional benefits. It is high in Magnesium and this definitely has benefits. However if you are acne prone you are best to get your magnesium from other sources such as nuts.
Whether or not chocolate causes acne has been a huge debate. It is known without a doubt that dairy and sugar definitely are causative factors in aggravation, but what is not well known is that Cacao is an issue as well.
Cacao is used in dark chocolate and with the advent of sugar free cooking books emerging, cacao is a component used frequently in these recipes. Whilst is has health benefits, if you are acne prone you need to avoid it. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Aesthetic Dermatology in 2014 found that cocoa or cacao consumption is detrimental to those who are acne prone.
A double-blind, placebo study examined the effect of cocoa consumption on acne lesion exacerbation. Fourteen men between the ages of 18 and 35 were assigned to swallow capsules filled with either unsweetened 100-percent cocoa, hydrolysed gelatin powder, or a combination of the two.
The number of pimples and blackheads/whiteheads were assessed and photographed at the beginning, day 4 and day 7. They were give only one tablet containing cocoa or cacao only to see the effect on the skin.
What they found was that a ONE TIME consumption of cocoa actually increases the amount of pimples by 2.5 times by day 4. The number of blackheads and whiteheads was also nearly 2.5 times more but at day 7 it was closer to nearly 3 times as more blackheads and whiteheads.
So if you are acne prone and putting cocoa in your smoothies or in your diet you are literally tripling your amount of acne. Simply removing it will decrease your acne massively.
