Despite what your mother may have told you, scientists have never been able to prove that eating more candy gives you acne. However, a new student-led research study out of the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine seems to suggest a direct link between the amount of chocolate you eat and the amount of pimples that wind up on your face. Yes, this is the same school that just yesterday suggested diet soda leads to an increase in stroke.
Before we set off too much alarm, the study has not yet been peer reviewed, only a small number of men were studied, and no direct link has been found, so don't take the idea that "chocolate = acne" as truth just yet. However, study researcher Samantha Block, a second-year medical student, tells WebMD that "the numbers speak for themselves."
The study followed ten men between the ages of 18 and 35. They each had an average of three pimples at the beginning of the study. They were told to eat up to three four ounce chocolate bars, and then go about their normal diet routine for the rest of the week. By the end of that week, the participants had an average of 18 pimples. Though, those who ate less than four ounces had fewer pimples. The men who ate more than 8 ounces had about 70 pimples.
The chocolate used was made of 100 percent pure cocoa, and didn't include added ingredients like sugar and milk.
Block will continue to do more research, and while her initial results are interesting they don't necessarily prove anything.
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