: Does adding water to drinks reduce their glycemic index? I have noticed the degree of sweetness of the food corresponds with the likelihood to get acne. Whereas, diluting the flavor reduces the likelihood even if total

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Glycemic index (GI) helps to rates carbohydrate-containing foods (or drinks) by how much they boost blood sugar (blood glucose).
Although GI offers useful information that can help you choose foods that have kinder, gentler effects on blood sugar, it is not a perfect guide for choosing a healthy diet. Why ? According to According to Patrick J. Skerrett, Former Executive Editor, Harvard Health,

Some foods, like carrot and watermelon, have a high glycemic index, but a serving contains so little carbohydrate that the effect on blood sugar is small. Others, like sugary soda, have a moderate glycemic index because they contain a fair amount of fructose, which has relatively little effect on blood sugar. But they also pack plenty of glucose, which does boost blood sugar.

Secondly, he suggested that the GI of a particular drink (or food) can also be influenced by what it is eaten with.

Olive oil or something acidic, like vinegar or lemon juice, can slow the conversion of starch to sugar, and so lower the glycemic index.

Now over to the exact matter:

Does adding water to drinks reduce their glycemic index?

Indirectly? Arguably YES since this will reduce insulin resistance and help a person reduce their hunger/thirst (thus reducing consumption). According to Eliot LeBow -Diabetes on Sharecare.com

proper hydration seems to reduce one's blood sugars by decreasing insulin resistance while at the same time reduces a person's need to take more
drinks or food during the day. Also, enough water will help remove the
excess sugar and ketones out of your system.

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Question: Does reducing the sweetness of a drink by diluting it with water reduces the likelihood of acne?

Short answer: Not necessary.

I am not aware of any study that would show an association between the mere sweetness of a food and the risk of acne.

There is some evidence that low-glycemic load diet may help reduce acne (Cochrane, PubMed Central).

Glycemic load = glycemic index x grams of carbohydrates in the food. Glycemic index is an estimation of the effect of a food on the blood glucose level after its ingestion.

Examples of high-glycemic index foods (GI >70) are some sweet beverages, cornflakes, instant oatmeal, white rice, potatoes, white bread, pasta, biscuits and other baked goods made from white flour and little fiber (Harvard).

As you can see, high-glycemic foods are not necessary sweet.

Diluting "the sweetness" of a food or beverage may not reduce its glycemic index. The Glycemicindex.com gives this example (but no link to any study):

A more dilute solution, say 25 grams fructose in 500 mL water will
have a higher GI than 25 grams fructose in 250 mL.

Such estimation sounds counterintuitive, but it makes sense, because a beverage with 5% sugar (25 g fructose in 500 mL water) usually empties from the stomach faster than a beverage with 10% sugar (25 g sugar in 250 mL water) (Nutrition and Metabolism). So, the diluted beverage passes from the stomach into the intestine faster, which results in faster glucose absorption and thus in higher GI.

To decrease the glycemic load of the meals, you can decrease the amount of high glycemic index foods, for example, eating whole-grain bread (high in fiber) instead of white flour products (low in fiber).