64 replies to this topic

[rbtp]

I am 35 years and have been haunted by acne until very recently.
My acne has been eliminated through dietery changes.
It turns out that the source of my acne was refined carbs and fast foods.
Once those were eliminated........my acne disappeared. The results were immediate. I can not tell you how liberated I feel. I encourage every sufferer to give it a shot. I hope it works for you as well as it did for me.

This is not just my observation. Please refer to www.archdermatol.com
the december 2002 issue. There is a fascinating piece entitled " acne vulgaris a disease of western civilization. Basically, it is stating that the primary cause of acne is the western diet. the article costs a few bucks on this site but trust me its worth it. You can probably get it for free somewhere on the net............just have to search a little ...........check it out here:http://www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/Acne%20vulgaris.pdf

Read it, try it and judge for yourself. Good luck and let us all know how you make out.

[njacobs]

Yes, for you this was the case. How do explain the thousands who run around eating crap all day that have beautiful skin? I have posted before that I believe one aspect of the Western diet is suspect in acne and in high cholesterol. That one aspect is hydrogenated oils. These are man-made substances that cannot properly be broken down by the body. I believe that they contribute to high cholesterol and cause a breakdown in your skin's natural elimination process. The only link with your Western diet theory is that these oils are found in a ton of food products on our shelves. They are hard to avoid. I have made a conscious effort to minimize my intake of these oils. It seems to have coincided with a remarkable reduction in my adult acne. I would hone in on this one part of the Western diet rather than the entire Western diet itself.

[Violeta]

is this the article ?

www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/Acne%20vulgaris.pdf

[Violeta]

I can not believe that those fuc#$% bastards are asking money for it [-(

[MelindaWarren]

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[rbtp]

please see the link left by violetta above
that is the article that led to my cure

I have been following pretty darn strictly though.
Here are some things you must stop eating:
white rice
regular pasta........whole wheat and brown rice pasta are ok. Wheat pasta is pretty harsh........brown rice Tinkyada is the best pasta ever
no bread.........unless whole wheat..........make sure its whole wheat. I am not sure if germ restored flour is ok yet
cookies, cakes, candy............the obvious stuff
you have to read the lables..........sugar = breakouts
watch salad dressings and sauces
sugar contained in fruit is ok

If I cheat significantly (one cookie is enough) I have a breakout

I can get away with a few tea spoons of sugar in my coffee though

fast food...........I am still experimenting. I had fast food 2 days in a row a few weeks back and I had a 2 zits. I am not exactly sure what to make out of this. I have had it again, but with no breakouts.

I hope this really works for everyone. Please let me know how you make out. I hope this cure is'nt just limited to a few sufferers but really applies to us all. Best of luck to you all and thanks again violetta

[njacobs]

I can't agree with the "sugar=breakouts" comment. I eat refined sugar daily and it does not cause breakouts for me. I do try to avoid white bread and have cut waaaaaaaayyyyyyy down on pasta. It's tough, because I love carbs and starches.

[Aysia]

Avoid starches, but I can guarantee your energy levels will eventually flag. Not worth it.

[Aysia]

Refined carbs are to blame for all society's ills.

[Mitternacht]

Quote

Avoid starches, but I can guarantee you that your energy levels will eventually flag. Not worth it.

I agree. Drastically altering your diet in the hopes of getting rid of acne is totally not worth it.

[FrankY]

If its nor worth it then your acne does not bother you enough , trust me for many it is worth ir - i would trade in both my big toes to have 100% clear skin for the rest of my life.

[Etnu]

The reason people can eat crappy food and have clear skin is because they're not acne prone to begin with. Yes, it's that simple. Western diet causes acne in acne-prone individuals, but almost universally everyone with acne can almost completely eliminate it by altering their diet. So few people are unwilling to even try it out for a few weeks though, it's puzzling.

Personally, I think if you're not even willing to try it, your skin must not be that important to you.

The problem isn't exactly carbohydrates, either. It's *REFINED* carbohydrates, and primarily those that come from wheat. You can get more than an adequate supply of energy by eating fruit, and you suppliment that from 'good' fat sources, such as raw nuts (Almonds ideally, since they're the best tasting without any sort of added salts or oils). Obviously people who are diabetic or hypoglycemic will have different results.

I've used it, it works. I know at least a dozen other people who have as well.

That being said, there are at least 2 major websites available for no cost that will outline a system which says essentially the same thing. www.freeacnebook.com will pretty much work for anybody, but I think the author is dead wrong about the whole protein thing. I haven't noticed that cooked food has any effect on my skin whatsoever vs. raw food. The author *IS* 100% right about the refined carbs.

I don't eat bread products anymore, period. Occasionally I might have a sandwhich made strictly from whole wheat bread, but that's about the extend of it. I rarely get zits anymore; perhaps one every week or two at most, and I think most people would consider that to be 'normal' for a 19 year old male.

Here are things I haven't cut out of my diet:

Meat (all kinds)
Nuts
Fruit
Vegetables

Yeah, that's right, I just cut out the junk food & the bread. That's it. Trust me, it's *NOT* difficult at all to avoid eating that stuff. The part that can be admittedly difficult, though, is actually finding food products in the store or at a resturaunt that don't contain any wheat, hydrogenated oil, or soy.

I eat very little dairy, so I honestly don't know at this point if it has any effect on acne.

Also - WATCH YOUR DIGESTION! If you're eating multiple types of food, eat the easist to digest first (fruits & vegetables) before moving onto things like meat.

[Etnu]

Oh, and anyone who does have active acne who claims it can't be because of carbs because they don't break out after eating them is wrong as well.

Why? Simple.

A zit takes a while to form. First, your body has to digest the food (2-4 hours on the items we're worried about). Next, your body starts the process of overproducing insulin this takes at least another hour. As this will result in thicker sebum (the amount isn't the issue, it's mainly what it's composed of that's causing blockages). Now, the formation of the zit from this will take anywhere from 1-15 days, depending on how severe your condition is.

There is only one way to make certain that refined carbs aren't causing a problem for you: Stop eating them for 2 weeks, minimum. If you don't see an improvement, call me an idiot and go about your merry way. I highly doubt anyone with any sort of moderate or worse acne won't see a significant improvement though.

[user]

I have only eaten vegetables (not potatoes, too starchy), fruit, eggs and olive oil for the past 4.5 months.

I haven't eaten ANY sucrose in that time.

My acne has improved, but certainly not been completely cured.

It's great that changing your diet has worked for you, but I think it's very narrow minded to think that diet is the ONLY cause of acne.

And it somewhat undermines the effort I have put into eating healthily over the last 4.5months (I haven't cheated once etc.) to suggest that acne is solely related to diet.

=;

[rbtp]

a few points to add.........

1) I have found that I can not just cut back on refined carbs. It has to be complete elimination for me or there is no impact.

2) My energy levels since the new diet have improved tremendously. I also do not have the energy highs & lows...........pretty even throughout the day.

3) The diet was tough for the first few weeks.......then I got used to it and got creative..........now I have no problem with it.

4) It probably does not work for everyone, but you never know until you try. I am very glad that I did.

[sally]

Hi guys,

Just wanted to add my 2 cents. Lots of books talk about the bad effects of refined carbohydrates, or too much carbs in your diet... Atkins, Zone Diet, NHE ( www.extique.com)--- got something to do with insulin and hormonal interaction. So personally I am going to try eliminating hydrogenated oil and refined carbs from my diet. Typically 10 books will say 10 different things about diets, but this seems to be one thing they're all in agreement on. Even if it doesn't help your skin, it definitely improves your health, energy levels, and supposedly reverse aging, although there is more to it than this.

Bottomline is, there is no harm, only benefits to gain from doing this.

[blahblahblah]

yes

excess carbohydrates is what causes obesity in america, especially refined. the standard american has the mindset that "eat fat, get fat" which is 100% wrong. there is NO such thing as an essential carbohydrate. you can live your whole life without consuming 1 carbohydrate. however, there are serious dangers to not consuming enough fat. males can have large negative hits to their testosterone levels among other things

the ironic thing is that supplementing essential fatty acids is one of the best things you can do for your skin and body. too bad most people here think fat is so evil.

note that you will not experience any energy boost on a low carbohydrate diet. only if you enter ketosis will you experience any significant boost at all. even then, it isn't much. however, carbs have been clinically proven to make you sleepy, due to what they release in your brain. so maybe a typical person will feel more energy.

[tableforone]

ok this all sounds like a good idea in theory. until you actually try to do it. BREAD and WHEAT are such a low level staple in most peoples' diets that giving them up is literally like sacrificing an arm or a leg. i literally could not imagine my life without breads or carbohydrates like noodles, etc. i'm by no means fat, so it's not like i can't give it up because i'm addicted to food, it's just almost every single meal i consume contains these things. sure i can stay away from potato chips and junk foods, but giving up sandwiches, spaghetti, RAMEN NOODLES, etc. and this automatically eliminates any meal you haven't prepared yourself. try getting something at any restaurant or fast food joint that doesn't have some form of carbs. can't have any type of sandwich, can't have any tacos or burritos (whoops the shells have carbs), can't have any side items pretty much (potato derived products). then they even say you can't eat chicken, turkey, seafood, or even BROCCOLI because they have iodine. i mean c'mon! i refuse to eat cardboard for the rest of my life, i don't care if i have acne or not. for those of you who get absolutely no pleasure out of eating a good meal and have the hours a day it takes to prepare special meals for yourself.. go ahead but this guy is about to go have a sandwich.

[njacobs]

I agree with table for the most point. Who the hell wants to take the enjoyment of eating away? It is one of life's simple pleasures. You can cause yourself an immense amount of stress worrying about every little thing that you eat. That, in itself, can trigger acne flares. I will reiterate that I feel strongly that hydrogenated oils play a role in several diseases, including acne. I will continue to minimize my intake of these fats. It really isn't that difficult once you read your labels. If it states "hydrogenated" anything or contains margarine, then I avoid it. There are also many good alternatives to highly refined white breads. I now prefer whole wheat bread products over white.

[blahblahblah]

eating healthy better food, while being in better health than 99% of america > stuffing yourself with carbohydrates