It’s amazing how often people ask me if bananas cause acne. It may seem like a bit of an odd question to some of you, and I agree that the idea of a fruit causing acne does seem a little bit bizarre.
I think I have to blame Dr Perricone for this because the only place I’ve seen it is in his Clear Skin Prescription diet book. Perricone’s diet is quite good and I’m sure it works to some degree, but the information can be a little misleading. And of course this is a great example – causing people with acne prone skin to be “afraid” of bananas is not a good thing. And now that I’ve written about it, it even seems kind of funny that a simple book would lead a group of people to be afraid of one of the most nutritious fruits on the planet.
So where did this banana thing even come from?
Bananas can be classed as an “inflammatory food” which means a food that can add to inflammation in the body. Please note that these inflammatory foods won’t actually cause inflammation, but can add to any inflammation that’s already there. This is a very important point to take note of.
I started researching all the scientific explanations as to what inflammation in the body is and how’s it’s caused, but it was just confusing me and will no doubt confuse you too, so lets just make this simple.
Inflammation in the body is bad. You can get inflammation from something like an allergic reaction, when you’re sick, or from an injury or infection. This is why some people call acne an “inflammatory disease” because the pimple is often infected with the acne bacteria. Some of the obvious symptoms of inflammation are redness, swelling and pain which again makes it quite obvious that acne and inflammation are linked.
Typical inflammatory foods are obvious and these are the kind of foods that you should be avoiding anyway. They include junk foods, processed and refined foods, red meats, sugar, alcohol and fast foods. See, quite obviously not good for you anyway 
But certain fruits? Well that’s another thing altogether. Personally I feel that you’d need to eat a heap of bananas for it to really make that much of a difference in your skin. I also want you to know that unless you have an allergy to bananas, it’s not the bananas themselves that are actually causing the acne. They just have the ability to worsen inflammation that’s already there.
I also don’t think there’s any natural food on the planet that you should avoid if you’re not allergic to it. Believing that some foods are bad for you can also create a bad relationship to that food and an unhealthy mindset. If you truly believe that bananas will cause you acne, then it’s likely that you will get acne after you eat them. Our minds are so powerful and we’re constantly creating – you can create anything just with the power of your mind, including better or worse skin!
So you know what I think about all of this? I think you should relax, enjoy bananas and all the other beautiful fruits and vegetables that the universe has given us because no, bananas don’t cause acne and nor does any other fruit or vegetable. Yes, they can increase inflammation if you already have it, but if you’re working on your skin holistically then this won’t be a problem for too much longer anyway.
I also found a great resource in my research that’s worth checking out if you’re interested in all of this stuff. It’s a nutrition data site that gives you the inflammation factor of foods. It lists bananas as “moderately inflammatory”, check it out – http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1846/2
If you’ve been avoiding bananas because you’re worried about your acne getting worse then please don’t. But if you want to prove me wrong, then I’d love to hear from you
12 responses ↓
Bananas increase you blood sugar levels because they have a high glycemic index (smth around 60; say, fructose’s index is 30). If you have a problem with your hormone system (as a result excessive sebum) than you will have a problem with the carbohydrate metabolism.
Sorry but bananas are pure carbohydrates. Apart from that, bananas are a good food for candida.
Thanks for your comment Mike
Much better to eat bananas though then all that other junk that I mentioned, so I’d rather newbies to health give up the real bad stuff first.
Also, I’m interested in what you have to say about bananas and candida. It’s my understanding that all fruits except for sour fruits should be avoided on an anti-candida diet.
Yep, while you are on this diet. There is a good video on how to get rid of candida by means of wheat grass juice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRPJj78ZGGw&feature=related
I love the Nutrition Data website! I’ve been referring to it for years now. You should check out the list of ANTI-inflammatory foods while we’re at it. That way people can make sure they’re getting a balanced diet. Some of the most anti-inflammatory foods are a bit unexpected like cayenne (great for hemorrhoids and colds), garlic (but some people are allergic), and onion. Others are more well known as anti-inflammatories, like olive oil and greens (kale is awesome!). Olive oil (1-2 Tbsp) has been shown to be as effective as aspirin in helping arthritis patients.
A lot of eastern practices say to stay away from those “hot” foods if you have acne, but ironically those foods are extremely anti-inflammatory. The only way I can make sense of this is that these foods should probably be treated as medicines – so like with any plant medicine, a little can be healing, but a lot or frequent use can be toxic. So perhaps eastern practices are right in that if you’re a “hot” yang or pitta body, you shouldn’t be eating spicy foods regularly. I’m pitta-kapha, so if I eat a little bit of onion, garlic, and cayenne my body feels good, but if I eat it everyday in big Indian dishes, I start to get flu symptoms. The spice that my body loves the most is turmeric. It’s so cooling and healing!
Another website I love is whfoods.com (World’s Healthiest Foods.com). It’s a great way to develop a healthy relationship with food.
I’m definetly going to check out all the websites mentioned on this post!
Especially whfoods.com
I think it’s very important for me to like my food, I’m only fifteen, and I would hate to have an eating disorder, but I still want to eat healthy and eat for my skin!
Hi Fran,
One thing I still think about is the link with bananas and an overgrowth of candida. What do you think?
Fran, Bananas are eaten when one has diarrhea and things like that because it will slow down digestion. If one is detoxing ( which most people with acne do or should pretty often) they should avoid bananas. The thing is that most people i know that don’t like fruit do however like bananas.. it’s the one fruit they love, for some reason so they eat them often i think the idea is not to eat too many because they are hard to detox out.. and yes also what Mike said. haha I am not in school for health obviously i read and practice. But also like mike said when one is having candida issues you should avoid sugars. Yeast/Candida thrives offf of sugar that is mostly how it survives in your system.. clumping together and multiplying off of the sugars and fermented foods ETC. And Bananas have potassium.
Over all i think Bananas are great! . Plantains are even better for you.
I love to eat bananas and I don’t think it may cause acne on my face if I’ll eat. I totally agree– it’s just a mindset of few people that eating banana can cause acne.
There is no doubt in my mind that bananas cause acne,in my system that is.I was acne-free for about a year when my doctor advised me to take bananas again because of my low potassium;ever since I’ve had acne eruptions.
“Inflammation in the body is bad”– inflammation in the body is NOT TOTALLY BAD! inflammation/ inflammatory response is the defense mechanism of our body when there’s infection, injury or allergic reaction by sending troops of WBCs (infection) or dose of histamines (allergic reactions) or pain to signal that something disturbs the homeostasis. On the other way around, the downside of this inflammation is: 1) that our beneficial fatty acids, antioxidants, and other nutrients are used up to reduce inflammation response; still within the context of homeostasis. 2) gives us physical discomfort.
the exact cause of acne is unknown. factors could be bacteria, hormonal spikes, stress, genetics or etc. therefore, it should not be called an inflammatory process per se.
but hey, if we say P. bacteria invading our skin, shouldn’t we allow inflammation? of course we should. but what about the ugly consequences it makes? then we just need to hasten the inflammatory process. ask for medications that kill the bacteria rather than interventions to stop the inflammation.
should we avoid eating banana? no. unless your doctor tells you so. it’s totally delicious and nutritious (with significant amounts of antioxidants and essential vitamins). just bear in mind to eat everything in moderation or according to food pyramid.
Yes, it is cause of acne. becuase of in Banana it has a lot of Pottasium. if you ate a lot of banana it would be occur acne on youe face.
I am really done many testing for eating fruits and foods which have a lot of potassium then the result, I got acne everytime after I ate it in one hour.
i am avoiding almost everything! milk,junk food,soda,sugar,spices,you name it! i am just so fustruated that my acne is still on my face after more than on eyear and my acne is 20 times worse than your acne fran god my face looks horrible : (
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