Instant noodles vs pasta for acne
Instant noodles scores 54/100 (WARN) and pasta scores 67/100 (WARN) on SpotBite's Skin Score. Pasta is the safer choice by 13 points, and the gap comes mostly from inflammatory fats.
Where the gap comes from
- Inflammatory fats: Instant noodles has 7 g saturated fat and 1.2 g omega-6, Pasta has 0.1 g and 0.1 g.
Evidence: Caperton 2014 double-blind RCT (n=14): one dose of 100% cocoa increased acne lesions by day 4 (study). All 13 sources.
Score breakdown, side by side
| Instant noodles | Pasta | |
|---|---|---|
| Glycemic (of 50) | GL 26 −35.6 | GL 21.5 −32.9 |
| Dairy (of 25) | 0 g 0 | 0 g 0 |
| Inflammation (of 25) | 7 g sat · 1.2 g ω-6 −11.5 | 0.1 g sat · 0.1 g ω-6 −0.4 |
| Skin Boost (of 25) | 0.1 g ω-3 · low polyphenols +0.8 | 0 g ω-3 · low polyphenols 0 |
| Skin Score | 54 · WARN | 67 · WARN |
Estimates for a typical serving. Real foods vary by brand and recipe.
Verdict
If you are acne-prone, pasta is the better pick of the two.
Not medical advice. Both scores are for the food on its own. What you eat with it changes the result, and breakouts usually show up 3 to 7 days after a meal. Diet is one factor among many.
See your own pattern
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