I totally agree with all of you stating that diet and acne are related but does that mean that all you can eat is veggies, fruit, and fish? During the day I get so tired and feel like I NEED carbs or sugar. Can everyone give some foods that they eat on a daily basis that does not aggrevate their skin. THANKS!

Just experiment. Personally, I'm fine as long as I avoid fish and Dairy (I'm lactose-intolerant).

You can eat a lot more foods than you are. It's all about finding the foods that cause you inflammation. It will different for every individual. Don;t be afraid to experiment and include more good foods into your diet.

fruits
vegetables
legumes (beans, lentils, peas)
sprouted grain bread/tortillas
oats, quinoa, buckwheat
nuts and seeds
organic chicken and beef
fish
organic/free-run eggs
organic yogurt/kefir
olive oil, coconut oil, organic butter

^ This is just my opinion of what's healthy and what doesn't seem to break me out...

Eat some wholemeal bread if you like (to the original poster).

here's what ive been eating that helps me not break out:
bfast: oatmeal with nutritional yeast (sometimes flax seeds and cinnamon too)

lunch: brown rice with lentils, cayenne, olive oil and garlic

dinner: potatoes or rice, garbanzos, salad or other vegetables

snacks: soup broth, rice cakes, hummus, fruit

drinks: water, green tea, herbal tea

good luck! and i understand your frustration in the diet question!!!

What is the condition of your skin? Going on a raw vegen/fruit diet will do wonders for your skin and overall health, google fruitarian. Steve Jobs was a fruitarian when he invented Apple computer, hence Apple. Eat alkaline fruits and veggies. Make sure you peel your fruits. You might consider juicing since it's easier to get those extra calories from carbs you used to be eating. Keep your diet as simple as possible. You can help balance your blood sugar level by taking sips of cold pressed olive oil after eating fruits.

We grow up in a society eating carbs and refined sugar which are very economical and convenient, but inturn VERY VERY BAD for your health. Your body is addicted to them so it will take sometime to adjust but you can do it! The reason why you're tired is because carbs are stored energy and provide your energy throughout the day. You can eat 2 or 3 meals and basically have energy for the whole day. Going on a fruit/vegen diet means you need to keep eating small fruit snacks 6 to 10 times throughout the day instead of large meals. Stay away from refined sugar and carbs! Give your body two weeks to adjust to this diet. The SAD (Standard American Diet) says you should drink 8 glasses of water per day which applies to the SAD diet because of its high protein, carb and sodium intake since you need a lot of water to process these foods. If you change your diet to mostly fruits, you will not have to drink that much water. Start drinking bottled mineral water (I usually buy brands like Fuji and Volvic, but I need to do more research). Tap water has chlorine which builds up in your organs. Distilled water and purified water are missing many essential minerals. So sip mineral water with lemon drops throughout the day. The lemon helps keep your PH to alkaline although it's not needed if you maintain strictly raw fruit/vegen diet.

Anyways, you probably already know this but if you have any questions, feel free to PM me. Here's some of the things I eat daily that are safe for me.
Apples, oranges, bananas, avocados, cucumbers and tomatoes.(Remember to peel, I usually deseed the cucumbers) and depending whether if I'm lifting weights, I'll eat some fish as protein for muscle building but not often. STAY AWAY FROM BREAD, REFINED SUGAR, DAIRY PRODUCTS, CHICKEN AND RED MEAT. Maybe once a week, indulge yourself with a little bit of roasted chicken. Fast food restaurants should be out of the question.

Truthfully, knowing what we eat is NOT going to help you figure out what you CAN eat, but perhaps it will give you hope in that you can see it's possible to have a social life or have fun or eat nutritiously and still follw an anti-acne/hormonal regulating diet!

Gluten Free Grains: Rice (wild, brown of various types), Corn, Oatmeal, Quinoa, Buckwheat

Legumes: Green Beans, Lentils, Black Beans, occassionally other types if seasoned well. Usually as a side dish or in soups.

Fruits: Melons, Apples (several varieties), Pears (several varieties), Grapes, Kiwi, Mango, Berries (Strawberries, Blueberries, Raspberries)

Dried Fruit (unsweetened and unsulphured): Mango, Apples, Raisens, Pears

Vegetables: Avocados, Cruciferous Vegetables (Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, etc), Greens (Spinach, Collard, Mustard, etc), Lettuce (bibb, loose leaf, romaine, etc), Gourds (Zucchini/Squash, Pumpkin, etc), Potatos (red, white, sweet), Olives (various types), Carrots (raw), Celery, Artichoke, Asparagus, garlic, green onions, bean sprouts, peppers (chili, jalepeno, etc) and so on.
* If in a rush, even though it costs a bit more, I'll buy the bagged Salad or Coleslaw blends (and add meats, other veggies, herbs, and/or oils). I actually perfer certain veggies to be Fresh, Frozen, and/or canned and I usually eat them raw, steamed, grilled, broiled, or baked, due to taste preferences.

Seeds: Sunflower (roasted & salted in sunflower oil or soybean oil, as well as in the shell) Pumpkin, Seseme

Oils (Salad dressings or for cooking): Grapeseed, Olive Oil, heck sometimes soybean or canola if parents are cooking. Flavored Oils or Vinegars and also use Smart Balance (instead of butter).

Animal Protein: Eggs, Pork, Beef, Poultry, Seafood....Mushrooms (fungi). I'll even eat Hebrew National All Beef franks and Sheltons Natural Chicken or Turkey Hotdogs & lunch meats. I don't eat most lunch meats due to them containing wheat, sugar, and/or transfats.

Seasonings & Sauces: Fresh or Dried Green onions, garlic, cilantro, basil, oregano, Seasoning Blends (great for adding flavor to veggies, eggs, meats, soups, etc). Sea Salt, Kosher Salt, and prefer Fresh Ground pepper. Tamari Soy Sauce (wheat free), Tomato/Pasta Sauces, Salsas, Natural Chicken or Vegetable Broths and none of these seasonings or blends contain Sugar/Dextrose or Trans fats.

Sweeteners: Vegetable Glycerin or Xylitol

Drinks: Water (95%+ of the time), Naturally Flavored unsweetened water (rarely carbonated), Regular/Flavored Teas, sometimes Coffee. Since I can't tolerate 100% Fruit Juices on rare occassions I might make KoolAid, Limeade, or use a natural flavoring oil mixed with one of my sweeteners to get the taste of a juice. Sometimes I'll use these flavorings or flavored teas as my liquid base for GF baking or making GF hot cereals.


Examples (adhereing to my avoids list in my regimen):

Gluten-Free Substitutes: Waffles, Pancakes, Breads, Corn Tortillas, Brown Rice Tortillas, Quinoa Hot Cereal (closest to Cream of Wheat), Pasta, brownies, donuts, cookies, crackers, etc (due to my diet being strict in avoiding trans fats, dairy and sugar....most of these I would now have to make from scratch or from a customized mix)

Snacks: Dried Fruit, Fresh Fruit, Frozen Fruit (eaten frozen like grapes, berries or melons), Natural Flavored Applesauce (unsweetened), Raw Vegetables, GF Crackers, Natural Potato or Corn Chips (Lays Naturals, or some from a health food store), Popcorn (usually home-popped), Homemade Trail mix (dried fruit mixed with seeds), Rice Cakes, etc

Breakfast: Fresh Fruit, sometimes raw vegetables, Eggs (mixed with meats, mushrooms and/or vegetables like spinach, green onions, garlic, etc), Bacon, Hashbrowns, GF Hot Cereals

Sweet Stuff: Xylitol Gum, Xylitol Mints, Raw Cacoa Nibs mixed with Dried Fruit (my not so guilty chocolate pleasure) and overwhelmingly veg. glycerin sweetened Liquid Calcium Supplement (to the point that I don't like taking it).

Desserts: I experiment with this a lot. Sometimes I'll heat up applesauce, with dried fruit, and cinnamon. Sometimes I'll at baked apples or pears or sweet potatos (w/vanilla). Sometimes I take this one corn chip that tastes more like a pastry and dip it in warm applesauce and it's like I'm eating apple pie. If I have the desire for it I'll make GF baked goods like cookies or brownies (haven't made a cake yet) only I'll use my type of sweetners and coconut milk or oatmeal milk (unsweetened but tastes sweet) instead of milk.


Anyway I'm getting sleepy so my brain is going, but based on my diet, I hope this gives you an idea of how nutritious your diet can STILL be as well as ideas as to how you can still enjoy desserts and other "junk" food.

Night!

P.S. Notice I didn't mention "organic"? That's because some people require this and others do not. However yes there are certain fruits and veggies that we should eat organic and IF I can afford to I will (buy on sale). Otherwise I only eat organic when I've discovered that a particular fruit or vegetable tastes amazing organic. Of course, while I've yet to be able to participate due to my work/school schedules, all of these (organic) fruits, vegetables, herbs and even legumes & GF grains are more affordable if you buy from a Co-op, CSA, or Farmers Market!

P.P.S. Yes, I still eat out at resturants and even consume certain types of fast food. I don't do it as often as I use to but when I do, I usually know what I'm eating and NOT eating thanks to ingredient lists and/or great customer service! Furthermore, I can also eat certain types of canned or frozen food, hence processed, as long as it doesn't contain ingredients/chemicals that I'm avoiding.

wow sweetjade. thats an amazing list!
so...dried fruits are okay?? I think I'll add them into my diet.
what about roasted nuts salted with sea salt?
they sell roasted nuts with sea salt in my healthfood store.
I heard roasted nuts is a big nono. it's because of the oil and salt(iodine) I think.
So the nuts with sea salt and without the oil would be okay?
thx in advance

i have a question on food,
i eat alot of raw veg, like peas straight out of the pod(yum), carrots, sprouts, mushrooms(not sure if they are veg, but they are nice raw) and sometimes cauliflower.

Edit: i missed bean sprouts of the list, they are really nice and make a good snack

are these good for my skin? and are they more/equal/less benficial than being cooked?

thanks in advance

As a rule raw is always better. Then again it wouldn't be a ruel if it doesn't have exceptions. And here's one.

Some vegetables (like carrots) contain lots of cellulose and this makes them quite difficult to digest. Especially since humans can't produce cellulase (the enzyme that breaks down cellulose). In these cases it's actually better to slightly steam or stir-fry them. That breaks the cell walls and makes these otherwise hard to digest vegetables easy to digest.

Oh you guys are awesome!

Mineral Water? Hmmm interesting I think ill make the switch (i drink bottled water, and lots of it!)

Someone once said when you are confused if its good to eat or not.. think about back in the caveman days and if they ate it then its good. I however I do not eat red meat, and chicken used to be my fav. before i heard about all the crap about that. I am starting to eat fish now as my main meat only. It also seems that alot of ppl have mixed opinions on wheat bread, some say its a no no some say its fine. I understand the theory that everyone is different on what they can eat and not eat. But how do i know if it agrees with me or not? Is there a certain amount of time i will break out after eating it? Anything to look out for?

I know its going to be sooo hard for me to give up the refined sugar (ice cream is my fav) and the carbs. too because i feel like my body just begs for them.. but my body will get used to it.

I am hoping this gives me a better complexion but at the same time I want to "feel" healthy

Another thing.. I love green beans and asparagus but i have no idea how to cook them.. bake them? grill em? and what can I put on top to give them a good taste? Does anyone have any tips on this? This is all new to me because my mom never cooked this way

Thanks in advance

Well if ya notice I avoid nuts in my regimen and as such, I didn't mention them in the list of foods that I can and enjoy eating on my current diet.

There are some nuts such as almonds that are supposedly least allergenic/intolerant and then there's also Brazil nuts which aren't actually (neither are almonds), but is a seed. You can give those a try.

For people with leaky gut syndrome, more professionally known as Intestinal Hyperpermeability nuts, true, tree, or otherwise are supposed to be no nos. According to the Paleodiet Peanuts and Cashews (and Pistachios) would be no nos. Ask some members around here and they will tell you that Peanuts are definately off the list. I have a co-worker, with great skin, but he told me while he loves pistachios, he doesn't like to eat them because they make him breakout!

On suggestion is to soak or sprout your nuts before consuming them. This helps deactivate some of the enzyme & nutrient inhibitors they contain thus possibly allowing them to be more digestable. You can also do the same with legumes and grains. I know some members do this with...favorable results but you'd have to ask them how successful they've personally found it to be.

Otherwise, if you enjoy eating nuts roasted with sea salt sounds fine to me! Of course, if you do find that certain nuts are an issue, such as peanuts, and loved peanut butter, you'll find that there's almond butter, macademia butter, and sunflower butters available. Personally I think that sunflower seeds mixed with raisens tastes kinda like peanut butter and jelly. So it's still possibly to have such a concept whether you eat traditional bread or not!

Also, if you are tolerant to nuts, there are milk substitutes such as Almond (tastes amazing and was my favorite...not anymore), Hazelnut, and there may be a few others that Pacifica makes.

Hope that helps some!


P.S. If you are tolerant to nuts, especially Almonds....you can have breads, pancakes, and amazing pies & cakes made with....Almond flour!

Steam them and dress with olive oil, balsamic vinegar (or lemon juice) and sea salt.

First of all, you are not giving up carbohohydrates. Your diet will be filled with them, only they will be of better quality, with lots of antioxidants, nutrients, and other health promoting properties. Thus the more fruits and vegetables you eat the more likely you skin tone will look amazing!

For the record carbohydrates are the following:

Sugar
Starch
Fiber

Basically that means a carbohydrate is a plant food. Anything that grows from the ground would be a carbohydrate including fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds and obviously grains. Some plant foods happen to be higher in fat or protein and as such get classified more so under those titles, but they are still providing a source of carbohydrates.

As for what you should avoid, well, I usually suggest one pick a diet, there are specific diets that some of us started out on and see how your skin reacts to it. If you find that you see some improvement but not total, then you want to experiment with what possible foods or ingredients or chemicals are still left in your diet that is causing you grief. Of course, you are free to always ADD foods into your diet but when you do, you also want to be aware of how your skin may react to these foods. For example:

1) Start you new anti-acne/hormone regulating/inflammation reducing diet and follow it for 2 or 3 months before making adjustments.

2) If you noticed that there may be foods in your diet that is breaking you out, then you can start by avoiding ONE of these ingredients for 2 weeks and note what happens. For BEST results you avoid this food/ingredient as close to 100% as possible. Read ingredient lists (be aware of food deriviates) and ask questions of your waiter when eating out, etc

3) If this food was an issue, you may have seen your skin improve, however the REAL test is when you add this food back in. I suggest you add the food back in consuming it several times a week, if not daily in order to check your body's reactivity. Do this for 1 - 2 weeks and note what happens.

* You are looking for signs of inflammation such as (immediate mucous reactions) reddening of the skin, enlarged pores, increased oil production, blackheads, pustules, cysts, nodules (these develop in a different number of days so note this as well).

4) If you find that this food does indeed make you breakout, then it's up to you to decide whether to keep it in your diet and not eat as frequently (this may depend on the type of acne it gives you) or to avoid completely.

5) Of course based on the scientific method you should repeat this 2 - 3 times, which most of us tend to do anyway out of some form of hope or denial. You can do this immediately after or wait a few months to double or triple check (certain foods left in your diet may mask your results). Regardless, when you repeat this test on a certain food or move on to testing a new food you want to to wait at least 2 weeks after testing the last new food in your diet so that your skin has time to heal.

6) If you do this right you will spend at least 3 - 6 weeks testing ONE food/ingredient:
* 2 weeks avoiding the food
* 1 - 2 weeks consuming the food
* 2 Weeks healing time. (you may not need healing time)

7) Use a food journal if you find this to be confusing. Plus it may help you trace back other possible culprits from which you can later test.

8) Please note, foods you eat daily or are your favorite foods, may sometimes be your culprit!


See, the Elimination Diet is the Gold Standard....but it requires doctor and/or nutrionist/dietician supervision because you WILL be lacking in nutrient dense foods! It's the faster method for some people because they are avoiding most allergenic/intolerant foods and as such they will notice reactions upon ingesting NEW foods. However, if you feel that is too tough to follow due to your schedule or activity level than picking a diet based on your family's health/hormonal history as well as your health/hormonal history gives you a starting point with a variety of nutrient dense foods for you to enjoy. This is the way I did it, and others did too. It's the longer and some would say confusing route (must retest 2 - 3 times to be certain), but it allows you to have variety and nutrition in your diet throughout.

I've been following my diet for almost 4 years now and intially when I changed I was just going Gluten/Wheat Free and that got me 95% clear. A year later I was 99% clear but I had dropped the other foods/ingredients you see in my avoid list. As for my discovery of nuts and certain fruits these I noticed when I started ADDING or INCREASING my food intake for variety and nutrient purposes. I noticed that I was breaking out in a different pattern that I had for the past 15 years! A rather obvious sign and within a years time I made the link that it's wasn't just certain nuts, but all nuts, especially almonds (the last to avoid). If I'm well behaved, I've been able to achieve 100% clear skin, but this means cooking everything myself or knowing the ingredients in everything I eat, which isn't always feasible.

Now, earlier I mentioned that there are specific diets you can start with, but it REALLY helps if you know what you and your family's health/hormonal history is. I say this because it may help save you some time with regards to what foods you may have to test for. So if you know this, I'd be happy to suggest one that may be more favorable, otherwise you could start with:

Gluten-Free
Paleo-Diet
"Evil" Lectin Free Diet
Perricone's Acne Prescription
Blood Type Diet
Specific Carbohydrate Diet
PCOS Diet
Metabolic Type Diet
etc.

These have been mentioned in more detail on this board over the years, so you should try doing a search. If you can't find the specifics (they do avoid more than just what they are called), I can give those to you later.

Gotta go!


P.S. I personally enjoy asparagus baked, sauteed, or steamed over grilled. You can add flavoring oils or herbs to give it flavor or simply Smart Balance for that butter taste. Green Beans I eat these heated up over the stove or in the microwave (sometimes I'm so tired I don't care) and I'll add meats, other legumes, or rice to this sometimes to make a complete protein or a single meal dish. I'll add herbs and/or spices to give it flavor. Sometimes I just enjoy eating green beans simply with a little pepper on it! Of course, when I'm tired or very busy, I'm a a HUGE fan of just adding things to a pot or tossing them in the oven. Slow Cookers/Crock Pots or Pressure Cookers and the Oven are great because you don't have to (usually) watch the stove, especially when you are tired!

this is overwhelming. almost everything in my house has something in it that according to you guys we should stay away from. how about when you go out to eat? what do you get then? i have no doubt that not just for clear skin, but our overall health we should be staying away from these things. it just seems impossible to follow strictly.

also, what do you do when youre on the go or out somewhere and theres only resturant food available? even fast food? do you just not eat?

I'm a fruitarian, eating only raw fruit, raw nuts, and raw seeds. I still get acne, however. I've been doing this for about three months, too. It isn't because of acne though, just a personal choice. But, it didn't get rid of my acne, it did reduce it though.

What's wrong with vegetables?......

Is the original cherrios okay to eat? They are so plain but i absolutely love them! Also when you all say to put herbs on the asparagus and green beans.. do I just find that at the grocery store? Is there a specific name? Its sad to say but u guys have to give me these recipes like your givning it to a dummy.. dont give me much credit on cooking.

Heres what I had today:

*Grapes
*Cherrios
*Peanut butter & slice of whole what bread (i know bad but i need to take my accutane with something fatty)
*Salad with tomatos, red onions, carrots, sunflower seeds, and low fat italian (i want to use olive oil but will that taste good? what else can you put with that?)
*Raw Carrots
*Apple
*Crackers & Turkey (probably a no no)
*Pretzels

And like 7 bottles of water

I also incorporate fruits like watermelon, strawberries, oranges, pinneapple... etc and veggies like asparagus, green beans, corn... etc. The meat I eat is fish and chicken (but trying to eat less) The no coffee thing is killing me and i must always give into it

Anyways Im trying! Hopefully the cravings will go away and my body stops feeling so weak and tired all the time... although it is probably also due to the accutane medications...

I am quite new to this diet stuff.. and actually just started visiting this part of the boards, so i appreciate all of your help

[quote name='Jen121' date='Jun 7 2006, 11:19 PM' post='1165154']
Is the original cherrios okay to eat?


hello,

I say that cheerios are not good to eat because they have sugar in them. the greatest replacement (it has wheat and gluten and stuff in it by the by) is Purely O's. They are by cascadian farm and should be in the healthfood section of your regular store or at whole foods. no sugar. the sweetness comes from other better stuff. kicking sugar is important and once you do, these will give you all the cheerios-ness you need.

Carrots, apples, tomatoes and grapes are all fantastic foods, full of vitamins, and anti-oxidents (and Resveratrol in red grapes).... but they contain a considerable amount of sugar. For a general health guide, it would be ideal to take these in moderation.
Peanut butter is great for protein, but is full of omega 6... if you are going to eat it, make sure you take some Krill oil or fish oil suppliment for Omega 3.
Turkey... fantastic food. Lean meat, full of protein... excellent choice.

Honestly, its about finding your niche diet... you maybe able to tolerate thigns others may not.

I find I can tolerate a bowl of oats and milk in the morning, without it effecting my acne...

I'm testing whole weat bread sandwiches once a day however.