Acne isn’t just for hormonal teenagers. Around twenty to forty percent of adults still suffer from some form of acne and many of them are women.

Research from a new study has revealed a big cause of adult acne in women could be down to lack of fruit, vegetables and fish in their diet. Together with stress and high consumption of junk food including simple carbohydrates and refined sugar, women are more prone to getting breakouts.

The study conducted by researchers in Italy gathered data from 238 women over the age of 18 who suffered from adult acne along with 270 other women who were diagnosed with different conditions to form a control group.

The research found that those women who ate fish, vegetables and fruit on less than four days a week were twice as likely to develop acne than those who ate a much richer diet of these foods. The reasons are thought to be the high vitamins, minerals, nutrients and essential omega-3 content that stops inflammation in the body and fights off acne. However, it’s not known if ingesting these foods stops acne from occurring altogether.

Along with diet, stress was a major factor in adult acne with women three times more likely to get flare-ups if leading highly stressful lives. And you can’t get away from your genes either – if your parents or siblings suffer from adult acne you are more likely to as well.

If you suffer from adult acne, the advice from the study says to make sure you do something relaxing for yourself each day together with adding more healthy vegetables, fish and fruit, less junk food and refined sugar.

Details of the study were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.