968 replies to this topic

[Naturalis]

It's been 2 weeks without taking D-vitamin and my skin is close to clear. Even though my digestion still isn't perfect it doesn't show up on m skin.

Also I tried some dark chocolate and gluten-free beer made from barley yesterday and no diarrhea today! Seems like my digestion is getting back to normal and it's starting to tolerate everything again.

I think it's finally coming together after that D-vitamin experiment. Just need to keep the amount of D-vitamin small to moderate and everything goes fine.

[ben90]

It's been 2 weeks without taking D-vitamin and my skin is close to clear. Even though my digestion still isn't perfect it doesn't show up on m skin.

Also I tried some dark chocolate and gluten-free beer made from barley yesterday and no diarrhea today! Seems like my digestion is getting back to normal and it's starting to tolerate everything again.

I think it's finally coming together after that D-vitamin experiment. Just need to keep the amount of D-vitamin small to moderate and everything goes fine.

Sorry to ask as you've probably mentioned it but im very lazy! how much do you take now? I have 2500iu tabs. Its also strange how vitamin D breaks you out from any vitamins!

[Naturalis]

Sorry to ask as you've probably mentioned it but im very lazy! how much do you take now? I have 2500iu tabs. Its also strange how vitamin D breaks you out from any vitamins!

I don't take any at the moment but when I go back I'll try around 1000 IU per day. 2000 IU will be maximum and I'm probably never going try more than that.

Trying to be without it for a month or two now. I think the amount needed for keeping my chin and other acne under control isn't really big at all.


Yeah it's weird and I have no idea why it does what it does but it proves to me that the hyped amounts like 5000-10000 IU advertised as safe are definitely not safe for everyone. Some even say 4000-5000 IU should be minimum...

For the first 20 years of my life my intake has been probably less than 200 IU per day so I was most likely quite deficient to start with.

[bitchplease]

mies: My situation is sort of complicated because I have always been a big cheater, also I was on the Acne.org BP Regimen for a long time while eating paleo so I couldn't really notice any facial changes as I was clear from BP. Also I have been traveling and eating non-paleo for weeks so right now I'm experiencing some breakouts. But it's pretty much like this... after a few months of eating paleo + coffee and some cheating every week I stopped getting body acne. My face right now has 1 possibly 2 active pimples although very small, far from the cysts I used to get. I think my signature really explains my skin situation the best -- I generally don't get body acne and my face is close to clear. But I still need to do a lot more experimentation with the diet and also try and not cheat for months to see how that affects me. I've been eating paleo since the beginning of 2010 (check the first page of this thread lol) and that might seem like a really long time but really it isn't.
I do eat just as many nuts as you probably more of them since I don't get much animal protein and yeah that could perhaps be a problem, but I don't really have any choice and I can live with having 1 pimple all the time and a clear body. Also I eat a somewhat large amount of fruit, plus coffee every day. But yeah just so you know I cleared up on a diet very high in fruits and nuts and with cheat meals pretty much every week so if you really wanna eat those macadamias, do it. Guess it all depends on how clear you wanna be, of course I'd love to have a 100% clear face but I also wanna get enough calories every day. I'm just happy I got rid of cystic acne really. But when I find some good meats and stuff that I wanna spend my money on I'll probably eat way less nuts than now.

By the way AHA+ is really great for taking care of those occasional breakouts and it's not harsh at all. I love it.

[dancedd]

dirtbomb-

How come you don't eat meat/chicken/fish? I noticed you mentioned that you eat mostly nuts and fruits above.

And how many days a week do you cheat, while still being close to 100% clear?

I cheat 1 or 2 days a week now. still need alot of clearing but I guess everyone is different... ;0

[ryudoadema]

That many mac nuts would do it for me... I've been on a paleo (Bee's program actually) diet for three years now and am 100% with diet and can ALWAYS track a pimple to food (or stress, lack of sleep, too much weight lifting etc). If I eat too many nuts, even soaked and dried and made into butter, I will get digestive problems and a little acne since they are hard on digestion no matter what. 250g a day is more that I could ever eat w/o a pimple or two...

On the other hand (sadly...), coffee would do it for me to.

No more coffee, a large amount of nuts or even weight lifting anymore then... Nevertheless, how many nuts you can eat without getting acne? Is 125 g too much?

I have actually read that thread where they have discussed that weight lifting can cause acne but I didn't believe it. Does regular running cause acne? I don't think so. So how weight lifting is so much different from, for instance, running that it causes acne? It seems that it would be better doing nothing and change my residence to tropical forest among hunter-gatherers and buy a hammock. But probably that's not a good idea - a hammock can cause irritation and thus acne.

whoah now, I didn't say no more coffee, nuts, or weightlifting, lol! I'm just explaining that those things can cause acne for me....they may not for you but you can test that yourself.

Coffee is a lesser evil when it comes to this type of diet and can certainly be fine for some...not me.

As for how many nuts are too much...again, that's personal. I know that 0 is best for me and my digestion, but I'm coming from being pretty sick and a doctor-recommended liver transplant just two years ago. So even though nuts are harder to digest than meats, eggs, cooked veggies and fruits, they are still easier and better for you than any grain and healthier people should be able to eat some without problems- just start low and build up to a point before they start to effect you negatively.

Weightlifting-

Some of the reasons weight-lifting COULD cause acne is that it increases testosterone and therefore dht (usually); it stresses the body (joints, ligaments, muscles)and can also contribute to cortisol production; it takes away from the bodies vital energy reserves which it could otherwise use to heal, digest, eliminate toxins etc; it causes a spike in lactic acid and other metabolic wastes which the body must now get rid of.

It looks like a lot, but most of those things won't hurt in moderation (and can be good) and they are also balanced out by many positive results- it can relieve mind-stress and boost one's mood due to serotonin and other chemical increases; it helps lower body fat; increases bone density and muscle mass/strength; increases sensitivity to insulin; can increase confidence and I'm sure other things.

I just started again about two months ago. I used to do about 5 days a week, 1 hour each day. Now, only 2 days a week (usually Saturday and Sunday when I don't have work) and fairly light compared to what I used to do. I find if I don't go overboard, I look and feel much better. I do feel a bit more lethargic for awhile, but I recover pretty quickly. I also notice that on this nutrient dense traditional diet I am able to gain much easier and stay leaner than on the typical low-fat, high-carb, high-protein weight lifting diet I stuck to religiously (ignorantly?) in the past. I would say I'm progressing almost as much as when I was doing 5+ days a week in the past.

Edited by ryudoadema, 09 September 2010 - 03:08 PM.

[mies]

A study made in Jordan in 2006 (http://www.emro.who....F/article16.pdf) shows that "the types of food that were most often believed by acne patients to aggravvate their acne condition: nuts (89.2% of patients), chocolate (84.9%), biscuits and cakes (57.2%), oily food (53.0%), fried foods (51.8%) and eggs (42.2%). Patients reported the exacerbation of their acne after eating the following kind of foods: buttter and margarine (21.1%), milk, yogurt and cheese (22.9%), cream (20.5%) and spices (10.8%). In addition, 1.8% of acne patients noticed that their acne condition became worse after eating seeds and 12.1% after drinking coffee and tea. Acne patients believed that their acne condition became better when they eat vegetables and fruits."

I find it interesting that, for instance, nuts and eggs were found to be aggravate acne more than milk, yogurt and cheese. This makes me wonder that should we avoid nuts completely though it should be good for acne prone skin according to Loren Cordain.

[bitchplease]

Interesting, but I don't trust that study. Granted I always listen to people more than docs, but I think most of these people were for example eating pasta and bread on the same day they would have those nuts or that fried food that they think made them break out. Spices, c'mon?! How could you possibly know it's the spices and not the actual food? Things like these come to mind immediately when I read this stuff. "Oily food" sounds A LOT like imagination as the skin gets oily when you have acne. I eat tons of oily, fried fat everyday and I'm almost cured from acne.

Etc etc etc.

[bitchplease]

dancedd: I don't because I used to be a vegan for years so I know about the horrors of the animal industry and I'm having a hard time going to a store and pay for that stuff. My heart can't do it. But I'm not against meat consumption, far from it! I just haven't found any good stuff where I live yet. If I could hunt I'd do it every day!

Right now I don't cheat at all because I'm trying to recover from my weeks of eating non-paleo. Otherwise in general during my clearing period I would cheat 1-2 times a week, sometimes 0 sometimes 3 maybe, but I think typically around 2. Maybe crisps on a friday night and some bread when I'm hungover on a saturday morning. So yeah the alcohol would also be a cheat but I sort of think of my beloved red wine as half-paleo, which is really stupid! Haha. The same with the coffee...

But yeah I definitely cheated a lot and yes it took me many months to clear up but I honestly think it would have done that otherwise too, like it did for venam for example who didn't really cheat at all I think.

Edited by dirtbomb, 10 September 2010 - 05:00 AM.

[Naturalis]

Tried some normal beer yesterday and it didn't cause anything. Digestion working just fine and skin is still healing

[venam]

A study made in Jordan in 2006 (http://www.emro.who....F/article16.pdf) shows that "the types of food that were most often believed by acne patients to aggravvate their acne condition: nuts (89.2% of patients), chocolate (84.9%), biscuits and cakes (57.2%), oily food (53.0%), fried foods (51.8%) and eggs (42.2%). Patients reported the exacerbation of their acne after eating the following kind of foods: buttter and margarine (21.1%), milk, yogurt and cheese (22.9%), cream (20.5%) and spices (10.8%). In addition, 1.8% of acne patients noticed that their acne condition became worse after eating seeds and 12.1% after drinking coffee and tea. Acne patients believed that their acne condition became better when they eat vegetables and fruits."

I find it interesting that, for instance, nuts and eggs were found to be aggravate acne more than milk, yogurt and cheese. This makes me wonder that should we avoid nuts completely though it should be good for acne prone skin according to Loren Cordain.

This is as biased as it can get. It reports what people think, not any facts. I would completely disregard it.

[CharlesV]

dancedd: I don't because I used to be a vegan for years so I know about the horrors of the animal industry and I'm having a hard time going to a store and pay for that stuff. My heart can't do it. But I'm not against meat consumption, far from it! I just haven't found any good stuff where I live yet. If I could hunt I'd do it every day!

Right now I don't cheat at all because I'm trying to recover from my weeks of eating non-paleo. Otherwise in general during my clearing period I would cheat 1-2 times a week, sometimes 0 sometimes 3 maybe, but I think typically around 2. Maybe crisps on a friday night and some bread when I'm hungover on a saturday morning. So yeah the alcohol would also be a cheat but I sort of think of my beloved red wine as half-paleo, which is really stupid! Haha. The same with the coffee...

But yeah I definitely cheated a lot and yes it took me many months to clear up but I honestly think it would have done that otherwise too, like it did for venam for example who didn't really cheat at all I think.

Why don't you order online? If you're in the US, http://www.grasslandbeef.com is probably the easiest and best place to get meat online. I used to shop there but then they halted orders to Canada.

[bitchplease]

I'm in Scandinavia bro.

[bitchplease]

Yeah about that study again just like venam it's based on what people THINK causes acne. It's a guessing game, seems to me like 90% of the foods mentioned are also what people generally assume will make them fat and unhealthy in general. Chocolate, fried foods, oily foods, cookies, etc. Also ever since I was a kid people have been saying fatty foods cause acne, like nuts and dairy. And of course the solution to health issues has always been vegetables and fruits. No surprise there.

I do believe dairy causes acne though, at least the modern kind. If people actually get acne from eggs they're probably allergic. From nuts -- probably digestion problems or just too much omega 6, but I doubt it.

Funny no one mentions bread or pasta. Or booze.

Edited by dirtbomb, 10 September 2010 - 07:49 AM.

[dontwantacne]

I don't understand I've been eating Paleo for 2 weeks now without cheating and my skin has got significantly worse. Is there something I should avoid? Does this happen when you first stop?

[Bummbull]

dontwantacne, what's your typical day's meals?

[dontwantacne]

dontwantacne, what's your typical day's meals?

Well for instance today I had:

Breakfast- Eggs with ham and peppers, some blueberries and half banana with cinnamon

Lunch- Shark steaks with mashed yams, butternut squash, and broccoli drizzled with olive oil

And for a normal dinner it consist of a protein like chicken, beef, pork etc... and 2 servings of veggies

Snacks- avocado with almond crackers(made with almond flour), mixed nuts and maybe some fruit.

I am trying to limit my fruit to 1 piece a day and the meat is organic grass fed. I haven't had grains since I started. I feel like my body is getting healthier and is getting muscle but my face just isn't better. The only thing thats really changed in a positive way is some old marks on my back have faded.

[ben90]

Just keep at it dude.

[dancedd]

I am wondering to the ones that got 90% clear on the Paleo diet, did you guys take any vitamins/supplements in addition to the diet?

[bitchplease]

dontwantacne: Damn you're living like a king, STAY AT IT. You might wanna cut out the yams though. But your diet is superb in my opinion, that breakfast is sick.