Rosacea Diet: Foods to Eat and Avoid to Reduce Flares

Trying to keep your rosacea from flaring up? You may want to take a look at your diet.

While the cause of rosacea is unknown, different factors can trigger the condition in different people. These triggers include spicy food, hot drinks, and alcohol.

Here, we look at what to eat and drink and what to avoid to prevent your rosacea from flaring up.

Different foods and drinks may trigger a rosacea flare-up for different people, but some seem more likely to cause a reaction.

Here’s a closer look at some of the most common food and beverage triggers for rosacea:

Alcohol

Tingwei Zhang, deputy chief physician in the department of dermatology and plastic surgery at Zibo Municipal Hospital in Shandong, China, and former visiting scholar at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University in Atlanta, advises people with rosacea to “limit alcoholic beverages, especially red wine.”

“Alcohol can dilate blood vessels and increase blood flow to the face, exacerbating redness and flushing reactions. Red wine, in particular, contains a lot of histamine, which can trigger inflammatory responses and is not very friendly for rosacea patients,” says Dr. Zhang.

• Opt for white wine instead of red.
• Add soda or lemonade to alcoholic beverages to reduce the amount of alcohol.
• Limit yourself to one or two alcoholic drinks and have a large, cold glass of water after each one.
• Experiment with mocktails or nonalcoholic beers and wines to avoid alcohol.

Spicy Foods

“Try to avoid spicy foods as much as possible, like chili peppers and hot sauces,” advises Zhang. “These types of foods can stimulate the nerve endings in your skin, leading to facial vasodilation. The capsaicin in chili peppers can cause the skin to feel hot, especially in patients with rosacea, as their skin is very sensitive to heat and irritation. After eating spicy foods, it’s likely you'll experience increased redness and warmth.“

Certain Fruits and Vegetables

If you have rosacea, you may want to avoid consuming these foods.

Hot Drinks

• Opt for iced tea or coffee.
• Let hot beverages cool before drinking them.

Histamine-Rich Foods

As mentioned above, foods that contain or increase levels of histamine may worsen rosacea symptoms such as flushing.

“Fermented and pickled foods are rich in histamine, such as sauerkraut, pickles, aged cheese, and cured meats,” says Zhang. “These foods accumulate histamine during fermentation, and the skin of rosacea patients is often sensitive to histamine, which can easily cause symptoms like redness and stinging.”

Fatty Foods

Niacin

Other Possible Triggers

• Yogurt
  
• Eggplant
• Spinach
• Lime
• Soy sauce
• Yeast products
• Cream
• White beans
• Peas
• Avocadoes
• Bananas
• Plums
• Raisins
• Figs
• Vanilla
• Vinegar
• Foods high in sugar

“High-sugar foods, like desserts and pastries, can cause fluctuations in blood sugar, leading to increased insulin secretion. Insulin can stimulate the production of inflammatory factors, worsening skin inflammation,” says Zhang.

How to Identify Your Food Triggers

Figuring out what improves and worsens your rosacea symptoms can help you pinpoint your triggers. If you’re unsure what’s triggering a flare-up, try cutting out foods one by one for a while to see if it makes a difference.

“Since triggers can vary between individuals, an elimination diet may be helpful,” says Jennifer Frediani, PhD, RD, assistant professor and nutrition scientist at the Emory Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing in Atlanta.

“To do this, start keeping a symptom diary,” suggests Dr. Frediani. “Track your meals, especially common triggers like spicy foods, alcohol, and hot beverages. Also keep track of any symptoms you have around the same time as your meals, or at least within the same day. After a few weeks take a look back at your diary. Do you see any patterns around certain foods? If so, those could be your triggers. Try to stay away from those particular foods and see if your symptoms improve.”

It can take time and patience to work out which foods make a difference. Cutting out items for a short time might not have an effect, while eliminating too many at once means you won’t know which one was the trigger. Avoiding too many foods could also negatively affect your nutritional intake.

“Dietary adjustments should be a gradual process,” explains Zhang. “You can try to reduce your intake of these foods and observe your skin's response. For example, limit spicy foods and alcohol intake for a week and then monitor your skin condition. If there’s no significant reaction, enjoying them in moderation is fine. The key is to identify your skin's sensitivities and maintain a balanced diet.”

Certain foods can actually help alleviate rosacea symptoms, says Zhang. “We can improve skin condition by incorporating some anti-inflammatory and nutrient-rich foods,” he explains.

Some of these foods include:

Omega-3 Foods

“Foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids can help reduce inflammatory responses in the body, alleviating redness and stinging sensations in the skin,” says Zhang.

Dietary Fiber and Whole Grains

Foods rich in dietary fiber (fruits, veggies, nuts, seeds, and grains) and whole grains (brown rice, oatmeal) can benefit gut health, which may play a role in inflammation, says Zhang.

“Foods rich in dietary fiber are beneficial for rosacea,” he explains. “Dietary fiber promotes gut health and the growth of beneficial bacteria. The health of the gut can influence the skin's inflammatory response, so improving gut health through dietary fiber can help relieve symptoms.”

Probiotics

Probiotics contain live organisms that can help improve the gut microbiome. Yogurt and sauerkraut are examples of probiotic foods.

Prebiotics act as “food” for these organisms. They include high-fiber foods such as whole grains and vegetables.

“Foods containing prebiotics and probiotics, such as yogurt and low-sugar kefir, can help regulate gut microbiota, indirectly benefiting the skin's immune response,” says Zhang. “Prebiotics and probiotics can improve the gut barrier, reducing the impact of inflammation on the skin.”

Caffeine

Caffeine is known to decrease vasodilation — or prevent the blood vessels from dilating — and suppress the immune system, which could help prevent rosacea symptoms. However, people with rosacea may still want to avoid hot coffee, because hot drinks are a known trigger.

Dairy

Antioxidants

Sources of antioxidants include fruits, vegetables, and other plant-based foods. “Foods high in antioxidants, such as blueberries, strawberries, spinach, and carrots, are good [for rosacea],” says Zhang. “These foods are rich in vitamins C, E, and carotenoids. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals, which can worsen skin stress and inflammation. Therefore, eating more antioxidant-rich foods can help balance the skin's condition and reduce inflammation.”

While different foods and drinks are believed to be triggers, there is still a lack of evidence definitively showing that dietary factors cause rosacea.

• Rosacea is an inflammatory condition that causes facial flushing and other symptoms.
• Certain food and drinks may trigger rosacea flares.
• Avoiding alcohol, spices, hot drinks, processed meats, and other foods and beverages may help reduce rosacea symptoms.
• Foods containing omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and dietary fiber may help prevent rosacea flares.