10 replies to this topic

[acnesoldier]

These two probably get brought up a lot here, but I was just wondering what everyone's reaction is to diary and caffeine. I've noticed that by eliminating coffee, tea, milk (almost entirely), cheese, and eggs the oil production has fallen dramatically--especially the redness and inflammation (which was killing me since old spots were getting re-infected).

Is this pretty common? It's kind of a big nutritive loss, but huge whiteheads, re-infected scars, and major redness have been killing me (and I use very gentle cleansers).

Any suggestions on supplements/alternative ways to get the nutrients?

Thanks!

[whitershadeofpale]

one of my favorite drinks, the blended mocha contains lots of dairy and caffeine, and i usually have about 1 a day. and every time i quit drinking them for a week or two, my face and back clear up dramatically!

i find it almost impossible to quit drinking them since they are soooo goooood! my mom also breaks out when she drinks them too..

[R.S.]

I actually just found dandelion root tea, which is not only caffeine free but also a decent alternative to coffee as far as bitter taste. As a bonus it helps acne sufferers because it cleanses your blood and liver and helps spark the digestive juices if you drink it before a meal.

But yeah, coffee would break me out. But even if I drink 10 cups of white tea I don't break out, probably because the small amount of caffeine found in white tea is mostly offset by the L-Theanine (amino acid in tea that relaxes you, takes effect 30-40 minutes after drinking tea) and antioxidants.

Dairy breaks me out - for awhile when I was on the candida diet I was wondering why I was still breaking out when I had eliminated all dairy except daily yogurt to replenish good bacteria. I figured yogurt was fine since it's 'predigested', guess not!

Eggs I've always wondered about because some people say they break them out... but in my experience I've never had a problem with them, and I'm glad because they're a pretty damn healthy food to be honest. High quality protein, omega-3's (if you get the omega-3 eggs), lecithin, and vitamins A, B's, D and E all make it one of the healthiest animal products.

Anyways, our pasteurized, homogenized dairy is really not the health food we are all led to believe. You can get the protein from other sources like fish or chicken if you're tolerant of those, and the calcium from leafy greens and seseame seeds/tahini. You'd be a lot healthier eating spinach everyday, anyway.

[kaleidoscope]

You can get the protein from other sources like fish or chicken if you're tolerant of those, and the calcium from leafy greens and seseame seeds/tahini. You'd be a lot healthier eating spinach everyday, anyway.

Too bad we can't absorb much calcium from spinach since it's high in oxalates. Same with sesame seeds I think... most of the calcium is in the hulls but the hulls also contain oxalic acid. There is a bit of calcium in sesame seeds with the hulls removed but not that much. Kale and some other leafy greens are good sources. But I think you'd have to eat a LOT of them to get enough calcium every day.

[A sadness I can't erase]

You can get the protein from other sources like fish or chicken if you're tolerant of those, and the calcium from leafy greens and seseame seeds/tahini. You'd be a lot healthier eating spinach everyday, anyway.

Too bad we can't absorb much calcium from spinach since it's high in oxalates. Same with sesame seeds I think... most of the calcium is in the hulls but the hulls also contain oxalic acid. There is a bit of calcium in sesame seeds with the hulls removed but not that much. Kale and some other leafy greens are good sources. But I think you'd have to eat a LOT of them to get enough calcium every day.

I thought cooking the food neutrilizes the oxalic acid?

I'm going to order some Cal-Mag Fizz like Shelley says on her website. It sounds pretty promising considering all the different forms of Ca/Mg in it (it's like EmergenC).

[R.S.]

You can get the protein from other sources like fish or chicken if you're tolerant of those, and the calcium from leafy greens and seseame seeds/tahini. You'd be a lot healthier eating spinach everyday, anyway.

Too bad we can't absorb much calcium from spinach since it's high in oxalates. Same with sesame seeds I think... most of the calcium is in the hulls but the hulls also contain oxalic acid. There is a bit of calcium in sesame seeds with the hulls removed but not that much. Kale and some other leafy greens are good sources. But I think you'd have to eat a LOT of them to get enough calcium every day.

Yep, you're right. Either way some studies have shown that dairy makes you lose more calcium in your urine then you're getting in the milk, haven't they? Also on the lines of what sadness said, isn't there ways to neutralize oxalic acid? And isn't the amount in most foods so small that it's negligible anyway?

[kaleidoscope]

I don't know... I've read lots of contradictory info on the topic (of oxalic acid). It's confusing.

[A sadness I can't erase]

I'm trying to find info about the neutrilization of oxalic acid on Wikipedia, but I haven't found anything yet. I did find something interesting about calcium absorption in spinach and broccoli, though:

Spinach also has a high calcium content. The oxalate content in spinach binds with calcium decreasing its absorption. By way of comparison, the body can absorb about half of the calcium present in broccoli, yet only around 5% of the calcium in spinach.

[daanzell]

i personally find that dairy breaks me out and keeps me in that state for a while. im actually a dairy fan, drinking lots of latte's , ice coffee, cheese, and yoghurts and just plain milk. the caffeine factor i think may also contribute to my acne. since im currently sick with the flu, i just eat/drink whatever's thrown at me coz i dun have the energy or motivation to eat healthily, hmmm i gues thats the reason im getting the flu and stuff in the first place.

so yeah, i hear dandelion root helps in cleansing out the liver and purifying blood. i remember a while back looking at this product called DermaCleanse from Zenmed i think it was, and the regime had pills with it, which contained milk thistle, dandelion root and some other cleansing herbs. i was surprised to see from the reviews that people hated it because it broke them out so badly .
i currently have a chinese tea with dandelion root in it, but it doesnt seem to help too much, i cant really notice a difference, probably because im not taking it consistently.

anyway guys, good luck with everyones battle against acne!

[putty17]

dairy hits me like a train, but caffeine has never affected me

[Time4HighSelfEsteem]

dairy hits me like a train, but caffeine has never affected me

uGH! Dairy and coffee mess my face so bad!