Posted 23 December 2011 - 01:08 PM
I've also had high levels of bilirubin my whole life, and was diagnosed with gilbert's syndrome awhile back. They claim it's a relatively benign disease, however after looking further into it, I found I should not consume acetaminophen, or Tylenol. The liver apparently uses a similar (or same, I forget which) pathway to filter tylenol as heavy metals. This brought me to undergo a heavy metal detox. I did it about a year ago for a number of months, maybe two or three, and was consistently clearer (not completely, but there was less oil, less redness, and less acne) for awhile, but then I stopped thinking I may have gotten it all out of my system. Lo and behold, it came back. So I'm currently on my second round of heavy metal detox with chlorella and cilantro. Things have been up and down since starting, but they've never been nearly as bad as they were when I decided to start again. It's worth mentioning that I also take colostrum twice daily, as well as MSM.
It's pretty simple, when there's excess oil, there's acne. And at this point, after having done this detox multiple times, I can say without doubt that there's a clear correlation between dull pains in the right side of my abdoment (presumably my liver) and oily skin. The pains usually happen in the morning. Now this doesn't necessarily mean go out and get a liver detox kit, mostly because I believe marshmellow, berdock, dandellion, licorice, and all the weak bullshit agents they put in these things are totally ineffective, at least in the amounts that these cleanses have. And besides, does anyone even know what these things latch on to and accomplish in the body? I don't believe anyone does. All this talk about TOXINS and acne is pointless because it's so nondescript. It breezes by defining steps in the journey from food in, to food out, and just over simplifies everything to the point of self disillusionment. People have this idea that toxins that the liver couldn't catch are expelled of through the skin, causing clogged pores and flareups. Yet at the same time they use benzoil peroxide to kill a skin dwelling bacteria. Get your stories straight. I'm more inclined to believe the whole gut permeability thing leads to an overactive immune response, leading to the body attacking harmlessly clogged pores, making for lots of white blood cells and inflamation, making for completely clogged pores (which is why I'm taking colostrum and ACV). I understand I'm ranting a bit at this point, but please don't make the mistake I did and listen to every ill informed post you see in the nutrition section, because most of the people posting there are pulling completely unsound claims out of thin air.
What I'm doing at this point, and what has provided marked improvement in my skin as well as my well being is the following:
MSM: start at 5g. twice daily, go down to 3g. twice daily after a month.
ACV: tsp before each meal with water
Alpha lipoic acid: 200mg twice daily before meals
colostrum: recommended dose in the morning and at night on empty stomach
cilantro extract: 30 drops 5 minutes before meal, taken with just a little water.
chlorella powder: ten minutes after meal.
blackstrap mollasses: 1 tbsp twice daily with the colostrum
NAC: 600mg in the morning
People's biggest mistake is assuming there's only one cause of acne. When you boil it down, yeah, hormone fluctuations do cause it. But what you want to treat is the issue leading to the hormone imbalance, of which there are many. I'm convinced that the gut and heavy metals are two we should consider for the first lines of defense. Simply devouring every anti inflammatory substance we can get ahold of doesn't treat, it's no better than the creams prescribed by the derms people on this board always complain about. Sorry if my post sounds hostile in places, I just think it's important to let people know avoiding things like bananas and almonds and eggs are not long term, viable treatments for acne. Good luck!