46 replies to this topic

[alternativista]

Thanks for this alternavista. I have several questions if you do not mind me asking

1) You suggest to avoid harsh topicals,cleansings and tap water. My questions are:
A) if i have an acne breakout, is it best not to apply anything to the pimples? Or would you reccomend something like aloe vera (straight from the plant)?

Yes, aloe vera gel is good. Many swear by tea tree oil but I have never used it. And you could use some form of BHA sparingly.

B) I am assuming i should use bottled water to wash/rinse my face?

Is that about the alkalinity. Then no, you skin will be able to restore acidity after the mild alteration to it caused by slightly alkaline water. I do recommend a chorine filter for your shower though.

2)Regarding the natural circadian rhytyhm, i am assuming going to bed 2-4 in the morning and waking up 11-12 is a no-no? Maybe sleeping at 10 and waking up at 8 is ideal?

They say the deepest most restorative sleep occurs between 10pm and 2am. I would think that varies with time zone, latitude and season, but you get the idea. Your body should start making melatonin as it gets dark and you should sleep within so many hours of that. That is, if you didn't have artificial light messing that up

3) Would you say mahi mahi is an anti inflammatory type of fish? how should these fishes be cooked?

Yes. All fish are anti-inflammatory. Poaching and steaming are nearly always the healthiest ways to cook anything.

4) what do you think about 100% organic grass fed beef? Is that okay to eat?

Yes.

5) What about free range chicken (i am trying to find pasteurized)? How about free range pasteurized eggs?

Yes. provided you aren't intolerant to eggs. It's very common to be allergic to egg whites, although the grains they are fed have a lot to do with that.

6) Regarding this: "Never drink or snack on sugar without plenty of fiber and fat to lower the glycemic impact." Could you give me an example of what to eat with the sugar? So i am assuming if i ate a sugary snack or meal (so lets say candy), i should be eating foods high fiber and fat with it as well? Could you give me some common examples of these?

You could have a few almonds when you have some chocolate, for example. Or just have your sweet, hopefully a small serving, after a good meal in which you ate fat and/or fiber such as meat and vegetables.

7)What do you think about taking vitamin d and fish oil supplement

Depending on where you live and what you do, you probably need to take a D supplement. I live in the south and try to get into the sun when I can, and I still take 2,000 IU.

8)Which ways can i be "active" and it wont cause inflammation

Move around a lot as much as possible every day walking, doing chores, dancing, etc. Occasionally do more intense activity in short bursts like sprinting, climbing stairs or hills, lifting weights. Or play games that mimic this kind of activity.

9) your link does not work

That's because since the upgrade to this site, they changed directory structure which altered the paths (urls) to where things lived. All the links within the boards were broken. For a while there they added some redirect to get you to the new link. But that seems to have been broken when the site went down last weekend.
Hopefully they'll fix it again.

Here's a link that works for more info on all of the above: http://www.acne.org/...ar-skin-health/

[callendula]

This website is helpful at finding anti inflammatory food. You can search for whatever food you want and it will give you the inflammation rating (negative number means inflammatory and positive means anti-inflammatory). It will also give you the estimated glycemic load. Surprisingly, some foods we think as healthy actually have an inflammatory effect, so we could be eating what we consider "healthy" and unknowingly adding up the inflammation. For example, blueberries should be great because they are natural and unrefined. But, one cup is -28, meaning mildly inflammatory. Of course, as long as you are eating other foods in conjunction, you needn't cut out these types of foods. The suggestion is to add up the total for the day and have it come out as a positive number which would mean you have an overall anti-inflammatory effect.

I looked up cod liver oil and 1 tablespoon is 1024! I take both that and flaxseed every day. I could not find flax on the site, though...which is weird. Anyhow, I wanted to share that because I know I for one thought all veggies and fruits would be beneficial (which they are in their own unique properties). Maybe that is why some who do the raw fresh diets still have problems? I don't know, just a thought.

Site: http://nutritiondata.self.com/

[callendula]

So, the very basis is hyperkeratosis and forming microcomedones? Is that right? After that it sets the stage for oil to get trapped and then the otherwise harmless bacteria gorge on it and create problems?

If so, what are the best ways in reducing hyperkeratosis and microcomedones? I know prescriptions products do this, but I am looking for OTC. I have read that both BP and salicyclic acid are mildly effective comedolytics. There are also retinol and sulfur. One of the studies included on this thread said linoleic acid showed a 25% reduction in overall size of microcomedones after 1 month. I have seen that ingredient in Dove facial lotion. I wonder which is more effective?

I have read (and don't know if this true) that pores can be pinched off thus creating a blockage to trap oil. Even if they are clear, if the skin swells, it can create problems. Well, eating an inflammatory diet might cause this? For girls, we start retaining water during our cycles which I suppose could exacerbate the problems of hormone spikes. I don't know about the rest of you but I have a horrible habit of eating salty items at that time which further causes me to bloat. lol To counter that, I try to eat mostly anti-inflammatory foods, plus add flax and cod liver oils. I also drink burdock tea the second half of my cycle since I read it is a diruretic (it is also touted as a blood purifier).

I guess it will take a multiprong attack, though. I know I can't just use one product to get a satisfactory effect, but I also am prone to cysts. I had found success by starting retinol. I started with Neutrogena with it's very minimal concentration because I never used retinol before and wanted to ease into it. My skin did really well and I was able to work up to every night. My skin was becoming much better and my pores clearing. I then went to skinceuticals .3% retinol and started that 2x week . I was using BP mixed with mositurizer in the mornings and on the off days from retinol I would sometimes put on a 10% glycolic cream. My skin really cleaned out (where not breaking out) looks really great. I wasn't get cysts any more and I even made it through Ovulation and pms weeks with no breakouts. However, these last two months around ovulation my skin freaked and I got several cysts, although not super huge and disfiguring types, but painful bumps. I can't tell if they rose from purging (that was the 2nd and third months on skinceuticals) or if it was a reaction from new herbs I was taking or from a new conditioner which I found out had algae extract in it. I am sure the retinol made my skin more sensitive, too..double edged sword! *sigh*

Eventhough the pores should have been clean and regulated, inflammation should be down, and the water retention minimized, it did not stop the cysts from forming. But I do agree that bacteria itself doesn't instigate the problems, since everyone has it. Also, if you just use an anti bacterial soap or cream, you can still get acne. I know oil isn't the culprit because there have been month I have been just an oil slick and had no breakouts whatesoever. I mean so much oil I should be cyst city. lol So the immune response and inflammation really makes sense. Even if the pores are clear, something else may iniate the response, whether an allergen, irritant (cosmetics, etc), food, or whatnot. Stress hormones can cause irritation and loss of immune function in the skin and may compromise the skin barrier.

[rp245]

I'm not sure if anyone else has said anything like this yet as there is already quite a lot written, but in regards to the original question....

I know that the bacteria that causes acne is actually supposed to be on our skin and acne can occur when it grows out of control. I always saw it as a type of imbalance similar to the way us girls can get (sorry to anyone that finds this kind of stuff icky) vaginal infections. The two most common vaginal infections for women are bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections. The things about these though are that they are not infections of foreign bacteria, but an imbalance of our natural bacteria... which is why they are so difficult to cure.

OKAY I'm about to go off on a bit of a tangent here but in the end it will all come together and get back to the topic of acne...

In the case of a yeast infection: If you attack the infection too aggressively, you may kill too much of the yeast and then end up with a different imbalance like bacterial vaginosis. On the other hand, if you don't kill enough of the yeast, then it overtakes the rest of your good bacteria again and the yeast infection returns.

I know all this because.... I lived it.... for months.... and it sucked. I finally managed to rebalance myself by treating the infection and then LEAVING EVERYTHING ALONE and letting it get back to its natural balance by itself. This meant using pads and not tampons for months. Any girls out there... you can probably imagine how much that sucked.

So I've decided to take the same approach to my acne. I'm currently using Retin-A. Once my skin gets clear (because I'm telling myself it will)... I'll ease off the Retin-A, then DO NOTHING. Just let my skin rebalance itself. I'm hoping this will work. But who really knows?

[suko]

I know that the bacteria that causes acne is actually supposed to be on our skin and acne can occur when it grows out of control. I always saw it as a type of imbalance similar to the way us girls can get (sorry to anyone that finds this kind of stuff icky) vaginal infections. The two most common vaginal infections for women are bacterial vaginosis and yeast infections. The things about these though are that they are not infections of foreign bacteria, but an imbalance of our natural bacteria... which is why they are so difficult to cure.

This is true. There should be bacteria. It's the balance that is at question!

[doodleme123]

I took anti-histamine for 2 weeks as an experiment, and it did nothing. I have tested positive to allergies, but I do know I suffer from Hey Fever. Allergies (IgE) involve the immune system, as does acne.

Edited by doodleme123, 21 January 2013 - 09:17 AM.