17 replies to this topic

[this is julie]

I'm going to start taking vitamins and supplements, because I have a limited option of meals available, so I doubt my vitamin and mineral intake is up to par. I have only my college cafeteria to rely on during the week.

Now, if anyone would be so kind as to point me into the right direction! I was gonna start with Vitamin E and spirulina with chlorella, not completely sure why, but I am more than open to suggestions!

:]

[cln]

I just read the "clear skin diet". They suggest Genuine Health Perfect Skin. It's contains everything that is proven deficient in acne patients. You may want to read the book. It's a bit scientific, but's it's truly an eye opener. Good luck.

[this is julie]

cln, on 05 November 2011 - 05:23 AM, said:

I just read the "clear skin diet". They suggest Genuine Health Perfect Skin. It's contains everything that is proven deficient in acne patients. You may want to read the book. It's a bit scientific, but's it's truly an eye opener. Good luck.

Thank you! Not that it will scare me away, but do you happen to know if there is an initial breakout? I ask because I am about to begin the fourth month of my BCP in two weeks, and I want to see if I breakout this month or not to gauge how well it is working. I don't want to introduce something into my system that could potentially screw up my readings, lol.

[cln]

No. You should be fine. You may really want to clean up your diet in conjuction. I have so much more energy now. I know you're in college. Those days are long behind me, however I do remember my college breakouts.....stress, bad eating, partying and drinking. A bad combination for bad skin. I read the book in 2 nights. With your reading skills, you'll plow thru the book. It will amaze you how bad the general population eats.

[corgisoulpower]

cln, on 05 November 2011 - 05:23 AM, said:

I just read the "clear skin diet". They suggest Genuine Health Perfect Skin. It's contains everything that is proven deficient in acne patients. You may want to read the book. It's a bit scientific, but's it's truly an eye opener. Good luck.

It is an eye-opener but I didn't like the feelings I was getting of being manipulated by the author. Same information is offered here for free, you get to voice any questions/comments/concerns you may have, and you aren't forced to listen to some old guy monologuing about how awful people who don't take his 'advice' are.

[cln]

This guy has a dermatology practice in Boston. I may go see him. At this stage of the game (I'm 44 years old), I realize I have nothing to lose. My acne is never going to go away. It's something I will battle my entire life. BTW at my age, I've tried everything (3 courseds of accutane and name the rest). I have never tried the diet, however, I did notice when I was eating better (I lived in Sydney for 2 years and ate really clean), my acne cleared alot. The only thing I did not do in Sydney was to give up dairy. I'm starting my 3 week of the diet and my skin is starting to look better already. I'm crossing my fingers at this point.

[corgisoulpower]

cln, on 06 November 2011 - 09:12 AM, said:

This guy has a dermatology practice in Boston. I may go see him. At this stage of the game (I'm 44 years old), I realize I have nothing to lose. My acne is never going to go away. It's something I will battle my entire life. BTW at my age, I've tried everything (3 courseds of accutane and name the rest). I have never tried the diet, however, I did notice when I was eating better (I lived in Sydney for 2 years and ate really clean), my acne cleared alot. The only thing I did not do in Sydney was to give up dairy. I'm starting my 3 week of the diet and my skin is starting to look better already. I'm crossing my fingers at this point.

I wish you the best of luck, stick with it and you'll most definitely see improvement. Mine isn't cleared so I can't tell you it'll go away completely just yet but I have faith that this is not only possible but something that will happen. It just makes sense to me. And if mine went away through diet/lifestyle changes than so can anyone else's. c:

[this is julie]

Well, my diet isn't perfect, but it is not the typical college kid's diet! I don't eat dairy, I don't eat obvious sources of gluten (because you're never quite sure where gluten is hiding!) No soda, no fast food, chinese food, pizza (obviously - no dairy!) I do admit I eat a lot of sugar, but I'm trying to cut back on that. I should probably implement more greens and vegetables into my diet, but it is difficult, which is why I am interested in taking vitamins.

Has anyone else tried Genuine Health Perfect Skin?

[cln]

Here's my update:

I'm starting to clear (3 weeks after the spiro nightmare). My face, other than some blocked pores left from dried up pimples, and some small, manageable, whiteheads that still keep popping up on my right cheek, has cleared almost completely. My forehead is 100% clear and my T-Zone is 100% clear. My cheeks and jawline are about 75% clear. I have so many red marks leftover, however, from the spiro experiement gone wrong. I have to wear alot of mineral makeup just to cover all the red marks.

Nevertheless, my diet is definitely helping. My skin is super soft at the moment. Very healty looking if you look past the red marks. No larger, deeper pimples at all and feels softer to the touch.

The diet, called the "clear skin diet": low glycemic, no dairy, no refined foods, no sugar. It sounds drastic, but once you get past the 1st week, it's smooth sailing. I eat tons of veggies, lean meat, fruit, fiber, healthy starches (acorn squash, butternut squash, sweet potatoes) and drink alot of water and green tea. I have so much energy now it's crazy. I also take a vitamin called Perfect Skin (it's in the book). It has everything that the book says is deficient in acne patients: chronium, selenium, fish oil (epa), vitamin e.

Even my husband can't believe how quickly my face is healing. I'm super critical of myself, so of course I'm focused on all the leftover red marks, but if I look past that, then the improvement is quite remarkable. I have my fingers crossed. Once I make up my mind about something there's no stopping me. So I plan on this diet for a lifetime. I want to live the rest of my life without acne. I've had since I was 12 years old and now I'm 44. I've tried everything (3 courses of accutane). I'm going the natural route this time around. No more dermatologist (most of them suck anyway. Still prescribing what they did when I was in high school).

I'll post another update next week (that will be one month). Wow......time goes by slowly when you want your skin to heal!

[cln]

here's my typical day of food:

Breakfast: Oatmeal or High Fiber No Sugar Cereal or Cream of wheat sprinkled with banana, raisins, cut up dried prunes, falxseed mix and soy milk.

Lunch: Chicken Breast or Salmon or Pork, any of your favorite dark green vegetables (I like spinach/bok choy, green beans, brussel sprouts), any of your favorite startch (brown rice, sweet potato, acorn squash, butternut (the more colorful the better).

Dinner: Same as lunch, but I add a salad with everything (cucumber, red pepper, carrots, tomatoes). Again, the more colorful the vegetable the better. Fiber Rich bread.

Snacks: apples, pears, or any of your favorite fruits, v-8 juice, air popped popcorn, soy cheese on whole wheat mini bagel, pistacio, almond or walnuts nuts.

Everything should be cooked in either canola or olive oil. Avoid vegetable oil, sunflower or safflower. Monosaturated fats only. No butter. Use an olive oil based spray or spread.

Lots of water and green tea. And snack when you get hungry. Try not to get hungry. Small meals all day work well in the first few weeks until you get use to the diet.

Today my skin is looking the very best of 3 weeks. Only one active new small pimple on my jawline. This is opposed to up to 10-20 new pimples daily 3 weeks ago. Now to just fade these darn red marks.

[chunkylard]

There's a few supplements I would recommend everyone take.

-Omega-3 fish oil/krill oil.
-CoQ10
-Vitamin A (Retinyl palmitate, not beta carotene)
-Milk thistle
-Zinc (Picolinate or zinc methionine [L-OptiZinc)
-Multi

[this is julie]

chunkylard, on 11 November 2011 - 04:05 PM, said:

There's a few supplements I would recommend everyone take.

-Omega-3 fish oil/krill oil.
-CoQ10
-Vitamin A (Retinyl palmitate, not beta carotene)
-Milk thistle
-Zinc (Picolinate or zinc methionine [L-OptiZinc)
-Multi

Thanks! I have a few questions, if you don't mind.

Do you know if Nature's Bounty is a good brand for fish oil?
I'm guessing, due to your signature, that milk thistle is dairy-free? Haha
And, I've been trying to get an answer for this last question, but I'm starting to think no one knows: Will zinc boost testosterone? (An endocrinologist has told me I produce too much testosterone, and prescribed me BCP to fight it. I don't want to aggravate it unnecessarily.)

[chunkylard]

Find a certified pure brand with a high level of EPA/DHA.
Yes, milk thistle is a plant.
Zinc can boost testosterone, but it stops DHT which is infinitely more problematic.. DHT is not simply testosterone. Testosterone is good, even to some extent in the female body. DHT is not.

Edited by chunkylard, 13 November 2011 - 12:23 AM.

[FSAS]

chunkylard, on 13 November 2011 - 12:22 AM, said:

Find a certified pure brand with a high level of EPA/DHA.
Yes, milk thistle is a plant.
Zinc can boost testosterone, but it stops DHT which is infinitely more problematic.. DHT is not simply testosterone. Testosterone is good, even to some extent in the female body. DHT is not.

I was wondering why you might suggest QoC10? curious I dont really know much about it but I keep seeing it around, how does it help with acne ?

[chunkylard]

Doesn't help too much with acne, not directly anyway. It increases the oxygen capacity of blood and helps oxygen and nutrients be delivered to blood. Also functions as an antioxidant by itself. Not all of those supplements are for acne per se.

[this is julie]

I'm thinking I should go to the doctor to see if I'm deficient in anything, and maybe go from there.

[PaulH85]

chunkylard, on 11 November 2011 - 04:05 PM, said:

-Vitamin A (Retinyl palmitate, not beta carotene)

May I ask, why Retinyl palmitate over beta carotene?

[chunkylard]

Because beta carotene isn't Vitamin A.