269 replies to this topic

[meat_pirate86]

i'm having a problem with skin shedding from where my eyebrows grow...strangely only there. I asked around and people have said it to be localized sebhorric dermatitis and they recommended creams and shit...if anyone knows of any dietary triggers or things that help, please let me know.

edit: sorry to hijack this thread... it's a very frustrating problem

[alternativista]

^I don't know, but I do think between the eyebrows is one of the dryest spots on the face.

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Also, want to add this link to thread gathering doctors and other experts admitting to the diet and acne connection:

http://www.acne.org/...on-t241013.html

Also, this thread is almost at 10,000 reads. Go team!

[alternativista]

I added a little bit about PCOS and thyroid conditions so people are aware of them and that they can have acne as a symptom. And because the same blood sugar stabilizing, anti-inflammatory diet recommended for acne helps PCOS and hormone issues in general.
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About Calcium- how much do you really need

You don't need as much as you think and that dairy and calcium supplement vendors try to tell you. Calcium deficiency is rare and the planet is filled with people that eat little dairy yet have strong bones. What you need is the other nutrients the body needs to use the calcium and to make bones such as D, Magnesium, Vitamin C, vitamin K, zinc and boron.

C is need to make new cells. Any new cell including bone cells. Magnesium is the fourth most abundant mineral in the body. About 50% of total body magnesium is found in bone.

Calcium sources:
There's calcium in broccoli, spinach, almonds, and other greens and seeds, stock made by boiling bones. Fish bones as in canned sardines. all kinds of foods. Most calcium supplements come from rocks. The calcium in animal bones, shells and plants is much more usable by the body. A little acid (vinegar or lemon juice) added to veggies, egg shells and when boiling bones extracts more calcium. Make your own 'supplements.'

Your body takes minerals from your bones when it needs them.

Don't consume things that impairs the body's ability to use calcium or causes the body to take calcium from the bones. Like the phosphoric acid in sodas and other carbonated drinks, excessive amounts of caffeine, salt, sugar, alcohol, protein. Cigarette smoking. drugs like aspirin, antacids, cortisone and corticosteroids, antibiotics, Stress and depression.

Edited by alternativista, 13 January 2012 - 10:20 AM.

[NowIsTime]

I had a question about the topical niacinimide. The pigmentation in my facial skin is horrible and I would like to try this. You said you mix a capsule with aloe vera and I was just wondering if any niacin vitamin capsule would work, or what you use and how may milligrams. Also, any other insight to reducing redness/hyperpigmentation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

[alternativista]

I had a question about the topical niacinimide. The pigmentation in my facial skin is horrible and I would like to try this. You said you mix a capsule with aloe vera and I was just wondering if any niacin vitamin capsule would work, or what you use and how may milligrams. Also, any other insight to reducing redness/hyperpigmentation would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

Use niacinimide. That's the only form I've seen any studies or references to studies on. And in the studies, they found a 5% solution provided the benefit. 5% = 1/20th. I never measure, but I figure you could measure a capsule and then add 19 of whatever that measure is of aloe.

[HateANDLove]

Why is this still not pinned?? I refer to this thread often and it's such a hassle to dig it up every time. It should really be available at the top of the page as the complied info is extremely helpful especially as it's all in one place and is also a great resource for people who are just learning or still in the never ending process of learning more about the acne connection in relation to diet and health. Oh, and also I want to really thank alternatvista for even taking the time to make this thread as I can tell it took ALOT of effort and hard work to get all this info in one place.

Like I was saying though, this is easily one of the most helpful and informative threads in this ENTIRE section of the forum! Please pin it!!

[alternativista]

^I'm glad it's helpful to you. I made it just as much for me because there's so much to know and I can't remember it. In fact, I'm always reading something and thinking I should add that, then I look and see it's already there. And of course, I use it to find great old threads.

And I've registered the domain name dietforacne.com. I haven't set the domain up on a server yet and when I do, it will probably just point here for quite a while because I should be doing other things, like working. But it might make it easier to find. Also, there's a link in my signature so all you have to do is find a post of mine. You can always use the pinned Food and Recipe thread as a quick way to find a post.

Also, I've added topics to do with oily skin, sebum quality and the impact of fats. There's little info in them, but I wanted to make sure people realize these are factors. And much of the info is already scattered elsewhere under other categories.

This thread is doing pretty good though. Over 12,000 reads, which I think is a lot for a thread that isn't an active discussion and is rarely on the first page of topics.

Oh, and here's a tip I just found, thanks to NatureMade: Nutrients measured in IUs are fat soluble while nutrients measured in grams (mg, mcg) are water soluble.

Edited by alternativista, 14 September 2009 - 05:55 PM.

[theComfyCat]

I agree that this post should be pinned, so that it's easier to find, since it's so awesome

The vast amount of info here is up-to-date with research... and I'm often browsing this post to further my understanding of the various supplements/ diet changes recommended to me by my doctor. This post definitely has good info for those of us with acne prone skin, but ultimately the info is relevant to general health as well. I think everyone trying to get clear will benefit from reading this post. (...though maybe they'll appreciate it more appropriately after researching acne formation, so that they also know the purpose/mechanisms of their various acne treatments.... and thus will further understand why the info here is valuable for any regimen...)

Thanks for keeping this updated, alternativista!

[MoonUnit]

This is such a great thread!
It would be great to get this turned into an E-book haha, or just a book... I'd love to have this in a little hard cover, handy whenever I need information.
Thanks so much

[alternativista]

Be sure to check out the list of people who've cleared their skin via diet and lifestyle. There are some new posts.

List of members who've cleared their skin via diet and healthy lifestyle.

[LoveGreenSmoothies]

Thank you for taking the time to write all this out!

I would like to add, if it isn't in a link here, that for estrogen dominance, cruciferous vegetables are VERY helpful. Cruciferous veggies being: cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. I recall kidney beans being good as well. It really helps people with this and with PCOS, because they lower estrogen via some mechanism I can't recall.

PS - Did you used to be SweetJade?

Edited by Anti - Em, 20 October 2009 - 08:48 PM.

[alternativista]

Thank you for taking the time to write all this out!

I would like to add, if it isn't in a link here, that for estrogen dominance, cruciferous vegetables are VERY helpful. Cruciferous veggies being: cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, and broccoli. I recall kidney beans being good as well. It really helps people with this and with PCOS, because they lower estrogen via some mechanism I can't recall.

PS - Did you used to be SweetJade?

Yes, they are mentioned under Good Things for Hormones as well as anytime sulfur is mentioned such as the sections on inflammation and liver health.

Now why would Sweetjade use another name? She's a hero. But I'll take that as a compliment.

Edited by alternativista, 30 October 2009 - 10:55 AM.

[alternativista]

Bumping. Since it's been a month since it's been on the first page. But the number of reads keeps creeping up anyway. Over 16,400.

From whfoods.org newsletter. Sign up.

What is the relationship between overproduction of histamines and foods such as cinnamon?
I've only seen one published research study involving the relationship between cinnamon and histamine, and that study showed that cinnamon was effective in preventing excessive formation of histamine!
Certain foods do indeed have high histamine content. Histamine is a substance typically produced from the amino acid histidine. This amino acid is found in many protein-containing foods, especially if those foods have had time to age. When a food is high in the amino acid histidine and certain types of bacteria are given enough time to start metabolizing parts of the food, they can convert histidine amino acids found in the food's proteins into histamine. (In biochemical terms, they decarboxylate the histidine using a decarboxylase enzyme.)
Practically speaking, since this buildup of histamine from histidine in food can take a good bit of time, it is often aged, higher protein foods that contain larger amounts of preformed histamine. These foods can include fermented soybean products (like fermented soy sauce), many cheeses, and other fermented foods like sauerkraut. Aged meats can also contain higher amounts of preformed histamine. When fish starts to spoil-even before the signs of spoilage are detectable-there can be a buildup of histamine in the fish from this same bacterial process. For this reason, it's important to include the freshest of fish in your Healthiest Way of Eating if you are trying to avoid all preformed food histamines.
The histamine question gets more complicated, however, when you consider the digestion of any higher protein food. Certain bacteria found in the digestive tract can also take the histidine in any food and convert it into histamine. In other words, if a person does not have a fully healthy digestive tract, there is a chance that his or her body will end up with too much food histamine, not because that histamine is found preformed in food, but because the histidine amino acids in food are being converted into histamine inside of the digestive tract. In this case, avoiding high-histamine foods won't help a person nearly as much as restoring digestive vitality and digestive tract function.
In my book, The World's Healthiest Foods, I note that there are 160 milligrams of total protein in two teaspoons of ground cinnamon. I've been unable to find a breakdown of specific amino acids in cinnamon, but there would definitely be far lower than 160 milligrams of histidine in two teaspoons of cinnamon because there would be a pattern of various amino acids in this spice (like in every spice). For this reason, cinnamon would be an unlikely source for much histamine exposure (either preformed in the spice or formed upon breakdown in the digestive tract).
One nutrient that stands out in the histamine allergy research is vitamin B6. In the cells that line our digestive tract (and elsewhere in our body as well) there are enzymes called diamine oxidases. These enzymes can break down histamine into other substances before it gets absorbed into our bloodstream. They are also enzymes that require vitamin B6 to function. Making sure that you've got optimal B6 intake is one way to help lower the risk of histamine reaction in your body. In my book, you'll find a full profile of vitamin B6 and food that provide it in the greatest quantity.
For more information on this topic, please see:
Cinnamon
Vitamin B6
References:
Csaba G, Kovacs P, Tothfalusi L, et al. Prolonged effect of stress (water and food deprivation) at weaning or in adult age on the triiodothyronine and histamine content of immune cells. Horm Metab Res. 2005;37(11):711-5.
Oguri S, Enami M, Soga N. Selective analysis of histamine in food by means of solid-phase extraction cleanup and chromatographic separation. J Chromatogr A. 2007;1139(1):70-4.
Sato T, Horiuchi T, Nishimura I. Simple and rapid determination of histamine in food using a new histamine dehydrogenase from Rhizobium sp. Anal Biochem. 2005;346(2):320-6.
Wood JD. Histamine, mast cells, and the enteric nervous system in the irritable bowel syndrome, enteritis, and food allergies. Gut. 2006; 55(4):445-7.

Edited by alternativista, 01 December 2009 - 01:38 PM.

[Drizzler]

MODERATORS/ADMINS - PIN THIS THREAD ALREADY!!

[joris]

Ok im going to read this... And when im done i will have outgrown acne! Yeah! Hehe just joking man couldnt me shorter. Nice man im going to fully read this the upcoming days and then im going to make a plan for what im going to buy and what not.

[alternativista]

Happy Holidays!!

[dandantheman]

Can you suggest a good meal plan? I look at many of these things individually and stumble in trying to put them together a way that works well. I know some micro-nutrients inhibit others, but it's probably not that big of a concern.


Would it be wise to eat an assortment of raw veggies, nuts, etc.? I tend to think stews and soups are tastier and easier to eat, but I guess it would be best to eat more like a hunter-gatherer, and reduce the number of cooked meals? Let your stomach get good 'isolated' exposure to one food at a time, and then move on to another food for the sake of variety?



Thanks for all the info in the thread, I've just begun my exploration into the dietary side of this whole thing. I have discovered two things that severely impacted my acne in the past: The use of harsh cleansers, and ejaculation. As soon as I stopped the cleansers, my facial acne reduced immensely. As soon as I reduced ejaculation to 1x per week tops, my acne subsided! I'm try to bolster my system overall so that I CAN have sex comfortably without worrying so much about the effects of it. But I guess ultimately the first step is the acknowledgment of the problem.

[alternativista]

Can you suggest a good meal plan? I look at many of these things individually and stumble in trying to put them together a way that works well. I know some micro-nutrients inhibit others, but it's probably not that big of a concern.


Would it be wise to eat an assortment of raw veggies, nuts, etc.? I tend to think stews and soups are tastier and easier to eat, but I guess it would be best to eat more like a hunter-gatherer, and reduce the number of cooked meals? Let your stomach get good 'isolated' exposure to one food at a time, and then move on to another food for the sake of variety?

You should eat a variety of raw foods for the enzymes and nutrients damaged by heat, but stews and soups are good too. Also, try stir fries and curries with lots of onions, garlic, ginger, tumeric and heavy on veggies like cabbages, kale, broccoli, sweet potato, etc. These quicker cooking methods without a lot of water minimize nutrient loss. Cook just until done. When the veggies start turning from bright green to brown, nutrients have been destroyed. And the spices are also highly anti-inflammatory. Also cook legumes like lentils with onions, garlic, maybe add tomatoes, maybe curry powder, with greens thrown in when it's all cooked. You can of course, add shrimp, chunks of fish, chicken, etc to these dishes, but you'll have to figure out the timing to keep from overcooking anything. Fish and shrimp cook really fast as do greens, broccoli, etc. This is how I eat most days and I try to keep a pot of something on hand ready to eat all the time, with a serving or two in the freezer as well.

I frequently make curry with lots of onions, sweet potatoes, peas, then chopped spinach or whatever green I have in the freezer thrown in when everything else is done. Then add either a little coconut milk or yogurt. The potatoes make it seem like a comfort food, yet it's very nutritious.

You could also try sticking to hypo-allergenic foods, which also happen to be good nutrient-dense and anti-inflammatory foods. There's a link to info under Food Intolerances.

Do check out the food and recipe thread for lots of meal ideas and recipes:
http://www.acne.org/...ce-t205099.html

Edited by alternativista, 04 February 2010 - 11:54 AM.

[Idioteque]

Hey alternativista. I've read about a third of all the stuff you've published and linked in your original post and I just want to thank you greatly, great research indeed!

I'm far from clear and I don't want to tempt fate but if I had to guess at a post that could potentially fix me, this would be it!

Just showing some appreciaiton, keep up the good work..

[JoeBloggs]

MODERATORS/ADMINS - PIN THIS THREAD ALREADY!!

Agreed.


Just bumping this thread as its a very good starting point for anyone new to the diet/holistic scene!