42 replies to this topic

[FSAS]

Omnivium, on 14 February 2012 - 05:42 PM, said:

So much reading...it's like the more research you do, the more research there is to do.

It's interesting that you digest processed grains better than unprocessed. I might be the same way. I know soluble fiber supplements give me insomnia, but I'm pretty sure that plain oats gave me insomnia too. (Plain oats are somehow higher in soluble fiber than oatmeal packets) I used to eat oatmeal packets every morning with no problem, and then one day I decided to try the plain oats because they were supposedly healthy. Like two days after I started eating the plain oats, I got insomnia. It could have been from supplements or something else, but it was most likely the plain oats. Now that I think about it, that was the only time I got insomnia from food.

Were you getting the types of fiber mixed up? I always thought it was the soluble fiber that tears up your guts. According to wikipedia, soluble fiber forms a gel and slows down digestion and prevents blood sugar spikes. Insoluble fiber just makes it easier to have bowel movements. It also said that slower digestion makes you absorb less nutrients, but I thought it made you absorb more. So confusing...

I should do some research on the immune system. It obviously has something to do with inflammation, and therefore, acne. I'm so tired of all this researching that leads nowhere.

Earlier I said somehting about acne being a modern disease caused by modern diet, but then I found an article that said people wrote about acne over 2,000 years ago. http://www.ncbi.nlm....d00581-0015.pdf It's things like this that discourage research entirely. It's like I have to start all over and rethink everything I thought about acne. (Sigh)

Maybe research doesn't help at all. All the research in the world isn't going to make your skin clear. The only thing I can really know is how my body reacts to what I put in it. It's exhausting, but I'm still gonna do both research and trial-and-error.

2000 year ago..so with knowing that where wouldd the theory of the SAD come into play with acne? :/ i know diet wont be my cure...wow acne is just so overwhelming. it's seriously so intense that there is so so many factors. its like nothing else. so many different paths to go down and yet people 'cure' themseles with some pretty strange things you would think if one thing worked for one person it would work for everyone.

[alexisc]

This thread is really interesting and I think all of you are on the right path in finding out what is causing your acne. The hard part is that everyone is an individual so our bodies and the reason we are breaking out might be different. Does anyone here believe in acne face maps? When I look at them they seem to make sense and correlate with the areas that I am breaking out. Some people say they are useless but I'm starting to believe otherwise.

http://ep.yimg.com/c...16_2196_8356345

For myself it is always the stomach, the small intestine and the large intestine areas of the face where I break out. Does anyone else find this face map accurate? I actually stopped my acne from coming for a few weeks by following an extremely restricted diet of fruits, vegetables, smoothies, eggs and cheese and taking flax fiber. I lost way too much weight. I then took probiotics thinking it would further my progress and they broke me out severely. At first I started breaking out in the area of the face for the stomach, then I had a huge breakout in the area for the small intestine and large intestine and have been breaking out ever since. It was a few weeks ago that I took the probiotics, only tried them for three days and I am still breaking out. So frustrating, I thought I had finally cleared myself after 10 years.

I think in this thread we also have to address the issue of herxheimer reactions. I know I have an imbalance of flora and strongly suspect an overgrowth of candida causing leaky gut. What I have read is that you first need to address the candida before you can heal the leaky gut, but everything I do to try to get rid of the candida makes me break out even more. Coconut oil, oil of oregano, probiotics.. etc. How are we supposed to know if something is helping the situation or hindering it? Sometimes a break out can just signal the release of toxins from bad bacteria dying, but it's hard to wait that out while watching your face become a war zone without knowing if it will ever stop. Part of me thinks I broke out from probiotics because the bacteria penetrated the gut lining and created an immune response.

Yet another confusing tangent is that many vitamins and minerals depend on each other in order to be processed by the body. Many people clear themselves by taking vitamin b5 and this is interesting because the small intestinal cells need energy to keep the strength of the cell wall, and the production of energy reququires healthy levels of vitamin B5.

I also found this today: "Research has shown that the intestine responds negatively to stress, during which the intestinal lining becomes leaky, absorption is less effective, and your body is unable to selectively take up the nutrients it needs. The reasons for these effects of stress on the intestinal tract are not entirely known, however many neurotransmitters (brain-produced signaling molecules) are found surrounding the intestinal tract. Furthermore, neurotransmitter receptors, which can bind and respond to these signaling molecules, are located along the intestinal tract. Therefore, it is known that brain signaling molecules can affect the intestinal tract."This might explain why negative emotional states, stress and depression can worsen acne. And it goes both ways because more acne creates more stress and depression and it is a vicious cycle. I never knew neurotransmitters were in the intestine, which helps explain the brain-gut connection.

And I also found this: "Eliminating foods to which you are intolerant or allergic can help provide a healing environment in the small intestine. Carotenoids, (a precursor to vitamin A), may be particularly important since vitamin A supports the maturation of epithelial cells, which are the type of cell that line the intestinal tract, and it is the mature epithelial cells that form the strongest barrier in the intestinal tract. Carotenoids are found at high levels in vegetables, especially the orange- and red-colored vegetables."This is interesting because it might also explain why high doses of vitamin A and also Accutane help people clear themselves. People also report clearing themselves by eating pineapple and I believe that is because the bromelain enzymes in the pineapple help break down the food molecules aiding digestion.

I'm fairly new to all of this but I STONGLY believe the majority of acne is caused by malabsorbtion as well. Finding that cause and fixing it is a hard thing to do but it is entirely possible and wouldn't just stop acne but would make you much healthier all around. This website I found the quotes from and that is helping a newbie understand the basics of digestion is: http://www.whfoods.o...ame=faq&dbid=16

Keep the information coming, I'm very interested to see if anyone can clear themselves by finding the right cause of their malabsorbtion.

[Omnivium]

The enzyme supplements didn't go very well. They made my acne worse, and just like everything else, gave me insomnia. But I learned something this time. I wondered why so many different pills gave me the same symptoms, and after some research, I found out that the added ingredients in pills are toxic! The added ingredients make the pills keep their shape, lubricate the machinery that makes the pills, preserve the pills, change the color of the pills... and they also harm your body. The most common added ingredient is magnesium stearate, or stearic acid. It is in almost every pill, and it suppresses your immune system by attacking white blood cells. If you want to supplement, try to only take the nutrient itself, without all of the added poisons. Some supplements in liquid and powder form have no added ingredients, so use those if you can. For more information, see here: http://www.acne.org/...__fromsearch__1

I did realize that stopping grains helped my acne. I was reluctant to try it, but I did it gradually, and now my acne is noticeably better. Either I have a sensitivity to grains, or the lectins in them destroyed my gut after years of eating them.

After learning the effects of pills and food allergies on the immune system, I think the immune system is one of the biggest factors in acne, and I will do some research on it when I have the time.