What Clinicians Should Know About Diet and Skin Disease, With Rajani Katta, MD

In an interview with HCPLive, Rajani Katta, MD, board-certified dermatologist, clinical faculty member at Baylor College of Medicine and McGovern Medical School at UTHealth, spoke on the role of nutrition in the dermatologic care space at the SDPA 2026 Annual Summer Dermatology Conference.1

In her session, ‘Diet and Dermatology: What to Say When Your Patients Ask,’ Katta noted the value of equipping clinicians with evidence-based guidance as patient interest in diet and skin health continues to grow. According to Katta, questions surrounding nutrition have become increasingly common in dermatology practices, fueled in large part by social media and wellness influencers’ impact on society. Katta added that, while patients are eager to understand whether dietary changes can improve their skin health, clinicians must often help them to separate scientifically supported recommendations from misinformation.

Her goal, she explained, is to help providers confidently address these conversations using available evidence rather than anecdote. A central theme of Katta's talk was the importance of not oversimplifying the connection between diet and skin disease. There were 2 persistent misconceptions Katta highlighted which can arise during patient encounters: the belief in diet’s lack of effect on dermatologic conditions and the opposite assumption that diet is responsible for almost every skin condition.

In reality, Katta emphasized that nutrition may influence certain conditions, but it is rarely the sole cause of disease. She noted that this distinction is particularly important when counseling patients with psoriasis or parents of children with atopic dermatitis, many of whom may incorrectly attribute disease onset entirely to dietary habits.

In her conference session, Katta examined published data across several inflammatory and chronic skin conditions, some of which included rosacea, acne, urticaria, and psoriasis. She spoke about specific triggers in select patient populations with such diseases, though she emphasized that recommendations should remain individualized and grounded in facts and data.

Later in her discussion, Katta highlighted dietary supplements and their role in acne care, explaining that supplement implementatioj has become common enough that it should now be incorporated into routine patient histories. Additionally, several products linked with acne exacerbation were touched on by Katta, including whey protein powders, certain muscle-building supplements that may contain anabolic steroids, high-dose vitamin B6 and B12 supplements, and iodine-containing supplements.

Through routine inquiries about such products and through the provision of evidence-based nutritional counseling, Katta suggested clinicians can help patients in their practices to uncover modifiable contributors to disease. She noted they can do this while also helping them to develop realistic expectations regarding the role of diet as an adjunct for dermatologic treatment.

Disclosures: Katta has reported serving on an advisory board for Vichy Laboratories and is the author of a book on diet and dermatology for the general public.

References

1. Katta R. Diet and Dermatology: What To Say When Your Patients Ask. Session presented at SDPA Summer 2026; June 10–14.