So I've seen 4 different dermatologists and all of them told me diet doesn't affect acne.
But, I call BULLSHIT!
You are what you eat; Just think about that for a minute! If you want me to get all scientific, than pm me.
Btw, fuck agriculture!
Helminthic therapy completely eliminated the minor remaining acne problems I had.
Re: Paleo Diet — I went on the Paleo diet a few years back when my skin was constantly breaking out. I had just been to see an immunobiologist who put me on an elimination diet - I could only eat meat and eggs for two weeks! But then gradually introduce two vegetables at a time every week thereafter. After about 5 weeks I kinda skipped the rest of this program - I was dying for a bit of variety in my food, however I had noticed within the first two weeks that my skin cleared up - it was obvious to me that something in my diet was causing my skin problems.
The Paleo diet was a natural progression for me, as I had just discovered the diet and the recommendations from the immunobiologist were very similar.
I had to cut out chocolate, cake, soft drink (soda), fried foods - all the things I loved, but I was rewarded with beautiful skin that lasted quite some months. However gradually over time, I started having fried/sweet foods. I do get a few breakouts from time to time, so I'm thinking about going back on the Paleo diet again.
The benefit of going on the Paleo diet has been the discovery that soy seems to be the worst food for me - if I have too much chocolate that contains soy (isoalates etc) I will get cystic acne on my chin. (Even if I use lip balm that contains soy oil, same thing happens).
The side effect from the diet is that it is very difficult to follow in a modern society. Most take away foods will come with rice or pasta. You usually have to pay more to have the meat without the grain component. Restaurant dining is a little easier, though sometimes it is a compromise - not always possible to find a tasty option on the menu that is grain and dairy free. If you want to eat away from home your meals will have to be a little bland unfortunately, unless you are organised enough to make tasty Paleo meals at home.
Re: Washing face — I feel it important to draw up the question of frequency. If washing of the face works surely there's a variable of time (frequency, time of day, etc.).
For everyone who recommends this treatment, have you determined if night washing is more or less effective than morning washing, is washing once a day better or worse than twice, etc.
Personally I've found it better to shower in the morning and apply my products (a benzoyl based cream and moisturizer) afterwards than to do the same at night. This may be due to facial-drag on my pillow, or perhaps (the scientific terms escape me currently) a mechanism of skin repair which I hear takes place most often when asleep.
Of course we may see that it is all a matter of personal genetics/living locations (humidities)/etc. thus the more we can get to respond, the more likely we may be to find a trend in effect.
Eager to hear your input.
Re: No fast food — less acne
shane1800 Re: Toxic diet/lifestyle — When I eat something of low food quality such as fast food, unhealthy oiled food etc. WIthin 24 hours I will often have acne on my face, neck and or back. I consistently do not have acne while eating whole natural foods.
kate Re: Dr. Hauschka Natural Skin Care — I've read that most soaps (even stuff for acne) remove all the natural oil, but that actually your skin needs the oil to stay balanced. Removing the oil makes your skin produce more oil to replace the stuff you washed off. Apparently Dr. Hauscka's stuff doesn't do that. Which makes sense, given how much better my face is after switching to his products. Specifically, I use the cleansing creme to wash and the quince cream to moisturize. Your mileage may vary, depending on your skin type (I have combination) Various doctors all told me to use special cleansers for acne (such as cetaphil) that dried out my face and left it irritated and sore, especially in the winter. No matter what I used, even normal soap, it was all the same. I had dry skin and acne. It was the worst. Dr H. is also all biodynamic (which is like one step above organic) and doesn't contain chemicals (which pretty much all other acne products do, which is probably why they make things worse!) so you aren't exposing your body to harmful things. I think even that made a big difference. My mother and sister - and even my boyfriend - have switched too because they've been so impressed.
axl163 Re: Avoid touching face — I visited my doctor about a week ago and he asked about the "lesions" on my face. I said that they were pimples and I tried to take care of them by using this 3-step system that is similar to Proactive. He simply told me not to touch my face. I tried this out for a week and it worked! I even stopped using the wash and it continues to improve. I realized that I was constantly touching my face and I also use a keyboard and mouse ALL day. In addition, I have started using Clorox wipes on my keyboard and mouse weekly.
So I've seen 4 different dermatologists and all of them told me diet doesn't affect acne.
But, I call BULLSHIT!
You are what you eat; Just think about that for a minute!
If you want me to get all scientific, than pm me.
Btw, fuck agriculture!
Helminthic therapy completely eliminated the minor remaining acne problems I had.
Re: Paleo Diet — I went on the Paleo diet a few years back when my skin was constantly breaking out. I had just been to see an immunobiologist who put me on an elimination diet - I could only eat meat and eggs for two weeks! But then gradually introduce two vegetables at a time every week thereafter. After about 5 weeks I kinda skipped the rest of this program - I was dying for a bit of variety in my food, however I had noticed within the first two weeks that my skin cleared up - it was obvious to me that something in my diet was causing my skin problems.
The Paleo diet was a natural progression for me, as I had just discovered the diet and the recommendations from the immunobiologist were very similar.
I had to cut out chocolate, cake, soft drink (soda), fried foods - all the things I loved, but I was rewarded with beautiful skin that lasted quite some months. However gradually over time, I started having fried/sweet foods. I do get a few breakouts from time to time, so I'm thinking about going back on the Paleo diet again.
The benefit of going on the Paleo diet has been the discovery that soy seems to be the worst food for me - if I have too much chocolate that contains soy (isoalates etc) I will get cystic acne on my chin. (Even if I use lip balm that contains soy oil, same thing happens).
The side effect from the diet is that it is very difficult to follow in a modern society. Most take away foods will come with rice or pasta. You usually have to pay more to have the meat without the grain component. Restaurant dining is a little easier, though sometimes it is a compromise - not always possible to find a tasty option on the menu that is grain and dairy free. If you want to eat away from home your meals will have to be a little bland unfortunately, unless you are organised enough to make tasty Paleo meals at home.
Re: Balance hormones — How does one even do this?
Re: Isotretinoin (Roaccutane, Accutane) — Decreased Testosterone
Re: Yasmin — Made me gain weight, actually.
Re: Washing face — I feel it important to draw up the question of frequency. If washing of the face works surely there's a variable of time (frequency, time of day, etc.).
For everyone who recommends this treatment, have you determined if night washing is more or less effective than morning washing, is washing once a day better or worse than twice, etc.
Personally I've found it better to shower in the morning and apply my products (a benzoyl based cream and moisturizer) afterwards than to do the same at night. This may be due to facial-drag on my pillow, or perhaps (the scientific terms escape me currently) a mechanism of skin repair which I hear takes place most often when asleep.
Of course we may see that it is all a matter of personal genetics/living locations (humidities)/etc. thus the more we can get to respond, the more likely we may be to find a trend in effect.
Eager to hear your input.
Re: No fast food — less acne
shane1800
Re: Toxic diet/lifestyle — When I eat something of low food quality such as fast food, unhealthy oiled food etc. WIthin 24 hours I will often have acne on my face, neck and or back. I consistently do not have acne while eating whole natural foods.
kate
Re: Dr. Hauschka Natural Skin Care — I've read that most soaps (even stuff for acne) remove all the natural oil, but that actually your skin needs the oil to stay balanced. Removing the oil makes your skin produce more oil to replace the stuff you washed off. Apparently Dr. Hauscka's stuff doesn't do that. Which makes sense, given how much better my face is after switching to his products. Specifically, I use the cleansing creme to wash and the quince cream to moisturize. Your mileage may vary, depending on your skin type (I have combination) Various doctors all told me to use special cleansers for acne (such as cetaphil) that dried out my face and left it irritated and sore, especially in the winter. No matter what I used, even normal soap, it was all the same. I had dry skin and acne. It was the worst. Dr H. is also all biodynamic (which is like one step above organic) and doesn't contain chemicals (which pretty much all other acne products do, which is probably why they make things worse!) so you aren't exposing your body to harmful things. I think even that made a big difference. My mother and sister - and even my boyfriend - have switched too because they've been so impressed.
axl163
Re: Avoid touching face — I visited my doctor about a week ago and he asked about the "lesions" on my face. I said that they were pimples and I tried to take care of them by using this 3-step system that is similar to Proactive. He simply told me not to touch my face. I tried this out for a week and it worked! I even stopped using the wash and it continues to improve. I realized that I was constantly touching my face and I also use a keyboard and mouse ALL day. In addition, I have started using Clorox wipes on my keyboard and mouse weekly.