Rosacea can have many triggers, including heat, cold, stress, anxiety, embarrassment, certain beverages and of course certain food. While stress, anxiety and temperature can have an almost immediate effect on our facial flushing, it is a little harder to figure out what food ingredients trigger rosacea, in particular when you have been just diagnosed with rosacea.
In order to determine what food triggers aggravate your rosacea, you need to pay close attention to your diet and write down everything you eat for at least a week. Then, try to correlate increased facial redness with a particular food you ate the day before. You will then look for any improvements in your rosacea symptoms after you have eliminated the suspect food from your diet.
The list of potential rosacea food triggers can be extremely long and not all rosacea sufferers react the same. Frequently, rosacea sufferers have to avoid any aged foods that are high in histamine and tyramine (a breakdown product of the amino acid tyrosine). Foods such as chocolate, hot peppers, tomatoes, red (bell) peppers, raspberries, lettuce, certain cabbages etc. can often trigger rosacea flare-ups.
However, simply eliminating food ingredients will not always work. This is because many rosacea food triggers are “hidden”. What do I mean with “hidden”? For example, you may be sensitive to paprika. There are many food items that contain paprika, sometimes without it being mentioned on the ingredient label. This includes barbecue sauces, steak sauces, certain chips etc.
Another example is citrus rind. You may not react to orange juice, but some brands of orange juice may contain large amounts of orange peel, which is a potential rosacea food trigger. The cheaper (store) brands often contain more orange peel.
Finally, there are some foods that increase the amount of nitric oxide (NO) in the blood, which acts as a vasodilator. Which foods can increase NO levels in our blood?
- Arginine-rich foods, such as nuts, chocolate, soy (tofu).
- Foods that are preserved or cured with nitrite or nitrates (cured meats for example)
If you know of some food item that is a rosacea trigger for you, feel free to share it with our readers and leave a comment.
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Image by Angel Glen from Pixabay.
ruby
My definite triggers: oranges, pineapples, tomatoes, strawberries, too much sun.
Trigger suspicious: cranberries, raisins, avocados.
Metrogel keeps it under control.
James Kurtz
Spicy and hot foods cause major flare-ups and I try to avoid them. Other than that extreme hot and cold weather cause flare -up attacks. Any form of alcohol or tobacco are high risk triggers. I have avoided this stuff for 25 years but still have on and off again attacks. I wish i had more answers or solutions and would like to hear from other people that have the same problems.
s
Yeah- Alcohol and forms of tobacco (weed) can ignite the rosacea flare up. But, I am getting a little red from drinking cranberry juice. I drink only about half of cup and still seeing some redness in my face.
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Cheryl
I have had rosacea for about 10 years but it was diagnosed only 2 years ago. I have spent those 2 years trying to unlock the mystery of my food triggers and tried several different diet combinations. I was even following a strict anti-infammatory diet based on the theory that rosacea is an inflammatory disease. The rosacea kept getting worse and I kept upping the omega-3s. Finally, I started taking a fish oil supplement and the reaction went through the roof! There were only three ingredients in the supplement: fish oil, glycerin, and d-alpha-tocopherol (vitamin e). This was the break I was looking for – I was able to finally pinpoint the vitamin e (a known vasodilator) as my food trigger. I have included my website http://cherylsrosacea.blogspot.com/2012_03_01_archive.html so you can see the results of data I have analyzed from the USDA and determine if you also experience the vitamin e trigger.
Pam
Oh boy…..Frustration abounds. I only work prn now and sometimes don’t leave the house for days due to breakouts. I see a derm Dr regularly. Antibiotics, topicals, diet–does anything help?
rosacea behandelen
The only thing I can add is to find a balance for yourself. I have been using a diary and noted everything I ate, and when redness appeared. This has helped me a lot in identifying my food related triggers. Now I know what to eat and what not. My rosacea is almost gone after 12 years of frustration. I can recommend everyone to go the diet way.
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[…] diet and environment can make a big difference in the appearance of your skin. Knowing what these rosacea trigger factors are in combination with the right rosacea treatment, will help in managing rosacea symptoms for […]
Brigitte
I was diagnosed with Rosacea about 20 years ago. I was devestated. I love to ski in sub-zero weather, play tennis, golf, hike, bike, jog, simply love the outdoors.
I owned a pottery studio and often took part in finishing my work in Raku or wood firings with fellow potters, where temperatures are very high.
Rosacea had changed my life completely.
I slowly adapted to living with Rosacea. My diet has always included lots of veggies and water. I found that some of the common food triggers did not effect me. I take a baby aspirin every day, perhaps that helps. I still have my glass of white wine with dinner.
Since closing my pottery studio I devote more of my time painting and writing and illustrating children’s picture books. My husband and family are happy because I spend a lot of my time cooking and trying new recipes and my face and eyes are not red all the time. …yes I have occular Rosacea also.
Like most people effected by Rosacea I learned to take it easy and take better care of myself and hope that some day there will be a cure.
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[…] diet and environment can make a big difference in the appearance of your skin. Knowing what these rosacea trigger factors are in combination with the right rosacea treatment, will help in managing rosacea symptoms for […]
eddie
I have had rosacea now for 5 years. the first 2 were the worst! Im a postman so the elements I think have been the biggest culprit towards this condition tho having said that there are lots of triggers in my diet one of those being cheese!! I love cheese but when I over indulge the very next day its very noticeable to see. So my advice is not to eat any of cheese and when you are outside wrap up well and cover your face as much as possible.
Daryl
I have been living in South Korea for nearly 2 years now and though during my first few months there my rosacea was bad, it continued to improve to a point where I had almost forgotten about it. I am now visiting my family in England and friends in Europe and the rosacea has come back after only a couple of weeks. I’m almost certain it is the change of diet – cheese being the major culprit.
In Korea I live on a fish, rice and tofu, drink lots of water and the humidity is high. Cheese is hard to obtain and not a feature of Korean cooking though all food is laced with hot peppers which don’t seem to bother me at all. Korean women generally have beautiful skin – I’ll be glad to be back there, away from temptation, and expect my rosacea will disappear as quickly as it appeared.
Gene
There are many different – well ways to control rosacea but it is always good to listen to what other are saying as well. here is some information on rosacea diet – http://rosacea-101.com – it is very good book, i think.
Geri
Here’s a way to hush the blush http://www.newrinkles.com/index.php/archive/aspirin-and-rosacea-hush-the-blush/
Paula Harris
I’ve recently noticed that Feta cheese & some of the sharper cheeses trigger it as well. Yes, different things for different people. I’ve been tracking my triggers for yrs. The common & obvious ones are there, but I had been eating/drinking these things for many yrs. before noting them, or my condition. Humidity is a bad one for me…especially in summer. Weather changes, and cold/wind extreme. Paula Harris