198 replies to this topic

[henryhg]

I am about a week into this regime.

What I did was just eat probiotic three times a day on an empty stomach, then eat zinc supplements (60mg) after dinner. I also eat fresh alove vera for fiber, sometimes interchanged with spirulina supplements.

I think my skin is much better. It is no longer inflamed, and the white pus is starting to come out and the acne is drying out.
I no longer eat antibiotics (was on doxycline, then tetracycline before it).

By the way the candida spit test is a hoax. Almost everyone fails it. You can do a youtube search on it.

[LuN3yDaV3]

By the way the candida spit test is a hoax. Almost everyone fails it. You can do a youtube search on it.

Well it can't technically be ruled out as a hoax. In one of the videos I watched that tried to explain it was a fake, the "doctor" mentioned the spit test can indicate a fungus infection if the spit forms legs hanging down in the water. Candida overgrowth can lead to a fungus infection called Candidiasis. I had my wife and my friend do the test as well and theirs floated perfectly. They are both healthy. Mine had the legs and sunk to the bottom of the glass almost immediately. I know it'a not the best experiment to know for sure but was still interesting being that I have skin issues and they don't.

Conclusion:
Poor diet + history of antibiotics + lack of exercise + genetics = digestive issues that can lead to skin problems.
Think about it. If your body can't get rid of all the waste and toxins through normal extraction methods, where else can they go besides out through the skin? Seems logical to me, but I'm no doctor.

[LuN3yDaV3]

Interesting article related to this topic:
Digestion and Your Skin

I think this idea was mentioned by Dr. Atkins as well:
http://www.style.com...t-on-your-skin/

Edited by LuN3yDaV3, 13 April 2011 - 11:49 PM.

[RockingRedhead]

are the non-refrigerated probiotics ok? does it matter what strain I get? They sell acidophilius or whatever at the local grocery store but I have to drive 40 minutes to the all natural grocery store where they have a big selection of refridgerated probios, but thats a lot of hassle.

[philiptoshiba]

I have been lurking on this sight for 2 months now and read some very informative topics on how to achieve clear skin. I am 38 and have been having struggling with acne since 14.
I have tried nearly everything with the exception of prescribed medicine for acne. After reading everything on this site, I realized that I have been doing everything wrong to help clear up my skin.

After I read BigPhil's post, I purchased Zinc, Probiotics, BComplex from the Local Chain Drug Store(CVS). I started to take the pills daily. I also stopped using Dans Regimen, which I first started in February, which achieved good results but the drying and cracking of skin was burning me, even after I applied the Dan's lotion.

After taking the Vitamins for nearly 2 weeks, the results are amazing. I have only 2 pimples that have come up, but they were not the usually pimple that sprouts up. The usual acne that would flare up, felt tight on the skin and itchy. These 2 were very gentle and hard to notice, then they would become smaller after 2 days. The old acne that left red blemish on my face are starting to heal at a faster rate. It would usually take 2 to 3 months for the red spots to go away completely. I can see the red spots become smaller. I can also touch my face with out a pimple flaring up on that location I touched it.

I received the Fiber yesterday that BigPhil mentions. I will update everyone on the progress.

Daily Routine:

wake up: wash face gently with Dans Cleanser

Take: Probiotic, Bcomplex, Fish Oil, Vitamin E, and Fiber Drink

Eat Breakfast: Wheat toast with Jelly, Take Zinc. (don't take zinc on an empty stomach, it will feel like someone socked you in the gut)

Afternoon/Evening : wash face with Dans Cleanser, take Probiotic, Fiber Drink

[agileox]

I have been on this for about 10-12 days now. I noticed that at first, my skin improved quickly, then started the process of clearing the spots that have been there long. I no longer broke out, but I did get a few small inflamed bumps here and there that cleared in about 10-12 hours. Much improved.

HOWEVER, I continued to research probiotics in general and came to the conclusion that Probiotics really are a shotgun approach to improving the precense of essential bacterial cultures in the digestive tract. What I mean by this is there are simply no way to guarantee that:

a) the bacterial cultures in the caps stay in healthy while on the shelf and
b) that the bacterial cultures survive the trip to the digestive tract ... after all, they are subject to elevated temperatures, acids and a host of other effects in our bodies which are designed to kill bacterial. This is why people who completely lose bacterial cultures that aid in digestive literally have to have a fecal transplant (placing feces in the digestive tract from a healthy digestive system) and cannot just take a probiotic.

This is also why you can see probiotics with such wide ranges of CFU's (colony forming units) per tab, anywhere from 1billion to 100 billion and why some probiotics recommend refrigeration to help retain the potency.

I stated breaking out again after a clearing up and I suspect it was that I didn't refridgerate the probiotic and that I was cheap and bought the Vitamin Shoppe brand. Not that the bacterial strains in value brands don't work, but likely, the cheaper price ends up reflecting in cheaper delivery systems and processing meaning the product isn't expedited as quickly to shelves, it has a shorter shelf life, and is generally less effecient at delivering bacterial cultures to the small intestines.

So to remedy this, I suggest the following:

Use a probiotic with an effective packaging and delivery system. Bio-Tract is supposed to be a very reputable capsule which can readily survive the environment of the digestive system. This technology is available in Renew Life FloraSMART. These caps are about $17 for 30, so they aren't that expensive, all things considered.

Keep your probiotic refrigerated. The key is to do everything to preserve the bacterial cultures until they can be delivered to the small intestines and doing this will enhance the shelf life. Even if you have to go on a trip, put it in a cooler or something. Or at the very worst case scenario, you don't refrigerate them on a trip and you just have slightly less effective probiotics during the duration of your trip.

Buy your probiotics in the smallest bottles possible. Buying in smaller quantities will help reduce product shelf life.

This is all reserch of secondary sources, no original research, so take it for what it's worth. Right now, I am using Renew Life FloraSMART and Renew Life Flora 50 Billion and seeing if they are more effective. I will let you guys know in two weeks.

Edited by agileox, 14 April 2011 - 12:04 PM.

[agileox]

Also, I will add that the Renew Life FloraSMART I mentioned above are packaged individually to increase shelf stability and to add convience if you go on trips or are on the go.

[LuN3yDaV3]

I'm using the Garden of Life Primal Defense Ultra Ultimate Probiotics Formula that I ordered from Amazon. I don't think it says on the bottle to refrigerate, maybe just in a cool dark place but I keep mine refrigerated anyway. This one is supposed to have 15 billion probiotic cells per dose, but I'm sure it's more like 8-10 billion by the time you consume it. I think that's sufficient enough. Has anyone experienced more breakouts after day 3-4? I'm not using anything other than a mild cleanser and oil-free moisturizer and I continue to get whiteheads and redness more than ever before. This (I'm hoping) is just a die off of Candida or flushing of toxins.

Edited by LuN3yDaV3, 14 April 2011 - 03:10 PM.

[grasberry]

I joined the boards just to add my two cents to this thread, which I stumbled across a little over a week ago.

I've had acne for 10+ years and I've been following this regimen for 9 days. I'm using the same products as BigPhil and I'm following his schedule. The only inconsistencies are that I'm not taking a Vitamin B complex (there's not good reason why I'm not, I just haven't purchased it), I hardly exercise, and (because I'm a woman) I'm taking birth control and 25mgs of spiro everyday.

For what it's worth, I think the overall state of my skin has improved in the past week: it's much softer and I've seen surprisingly little acne in places I used to breakout all the time--however, I'm suffering a pretty terrible breakout on my chin at the moment. Like, 10 new cysts of varying sizes. I've heard from the hormonal acne boards here that chin acne is related to hormones, so maybe my birth control and spiro are to blame (I just finished my first month of spiro and my third month of the BC). Anyway, if that's the case, then the breakout may not be related to this regimen, but I thought it'd be worth noting that breakouts do still happen (unfortunately).

I'm def. going to continue using this regimen because I believe this chin-breakout thing will eventually subside and then my immune system will already be on track to help prevent more acne!

Edited by grasberry, 17 April 2011 - 03:20 PM.

[henryhg]

Is it better to take zinc in the morning or at night??

[LuN3yDaV3]

Is it better to take zinc in the morning or at night??

I think either is fine, as long as you take it with food or else your stomach will hurt for bit. Personally I've been taking all my supplements right after dinner. Not sure if that's the best time but seems to be OK for me so far.

[LuN3yDaV3]

Is it better to take zinc in the morning or at night??

I think either is fine, as long as you take it with food or else your stomach will hurt for bit. Personally I've been taking all my supplements right after dinner. Not sure if that's the best time but seems to be OK for me so far.

Very good article about vitamins and when to take them:
http://www.hugeandri...sorption-guide/

[LadyApple19]

Wow thank you SO MUCH for sharing!!
I'll go to my healty store tomorrow!

I'll blog on it goes.

Edited by LadyApple19, 17 April 2011 - 02:18 PM.

[mrjarjarbinks77]

I am currently two months in to perfectly clear skin. I have started to wear hats, eat sugars and dairy again and i go to the gym 4 days a week and sweat my @ss off. None of this effects my skin any longer. If you dont have time to read the whole thing skip to the last parts for what i call my personal "cure" to adult acne.

Ive had acne since 14, im 29. I started off with whiteheads, then in at the end of highschool went from not only 3-5 whiteheads every morning to a few deep large cystic type pimples every week. I shave my head and get acne on the top of my head, and i get acne on my chest and sometimes shoulders. I got a great job at 21 and had lots of money to go pay for every and any magical acne cure i saw advertised.

Here is a list of products/brands i have tried and will never use on my face again and i believe do not work and the chemicals can and will do damage in time.

Skin Id
Proactive
Murad
Stiefel
clean and clear
Acne.org regimen
Ive used others but forgot exactly the names, some were over $200 for 1 month. ohh the dumb things i did for hope.

I used proactive the longest because from 23-25 i had hardly any acne and life was good and proactive kinda worked about 85% of the time which i thought was ok.

I am now a health nut because i love going to the gym and want to make it count. I was told that there can be an allergy to food during adulthood that causes acne so i stopped dairy because it makes my stomach hurt sometimes now that im older, i stopped sugar, bread, flour, basically started a gluten free diet. i even stopped eating fruits high in sugar. and i love ice cream more then my dog, and i love sugar more then life itself.

Here is what i started doing that "helped", which let me to question why when it only "helped"

Over the course of 2 years my skin changed badly, any chemicals burned my skin, stuff that before didnt phase it. i knew chemicals were no longer a solution. i would put on the proactive wash and my face looked like i was choking it was soo red. I knew i had to look for something better.

I started taking a mulitvitamin, zinc, fish oil and vitamin b complex. The zinc and fish oils did help alot for the quality of my skin over my whole body, and for me the vitamin b seemed to help keep pimples smaller. After not using chemicals i realized i had oily skin, not dry skin which i though i had from the chemicals destroying it. The zinc stopped all oily skin problems with just 1 50mg tablet per day. All these helped but i still had acne. So something else had to be causing it.


So here is where the path to my "cure" started. I found Dermify, it helped but was not the cure. It is hands down the best thing i have ever used and its natural/organic. my skin is soo soft, and now that i dont have acne i can touch it, and feel how great it is and not get pimples from touching my face. I was a preteen the last time i could say that, about 15 years..... dermify and those supplements listed cut down my acne, my skin felt better but i still had acne. all of a sudden i started to have less whiteheads and more cystic acne. so i went to nonstop research mode. in my seach for cystic acne i came across many different issues but there was a flashing spot light that is the big #1 problem. So here it is, the leading cause of adult acne, especially adults who use or have used any prescription drugs which i have not......POOR DIGESTIVE HEALTH!!! The average american eats soo much meat and carbs and eats in 1 year on average the amount of fiber their body needs in 1 month. bread is not fiber, not in the amounts you need so dont say "i eat my fiber" you dont.

The cure is not in your food intake, but in your digestive tract and your BM's. after 1 week taking fiber you will be able to see everytime you #2 that you were not healthy in your digestion. the foods you eat DO NOT CAUSE ACNE, unless you have a reaction to them. I know for some people sugar can cause acne because of candida. there are many food allergies out there, many of them can cause acne, but those are more rare. But, its safe to say almost everybody has poor digestion.

There is tons of info to read about that, but here are the two items that taken every day WILL cure your adult acne, and probably for that matter all acne.

the first is a quality fiber, not physillium. Try the NOW brand Fiber 3 that has omega 3's in it, the second step and most important is PROBIOTICS. I have tried 3 different types the one that i like is a pill from the NOW brand called GR8-dophillous. you keep it in the fridge after opening to keep its potency but if you need to travel it still works not cooled. i normally take the amount i need and put them in a different bottle for the trip.


Here is my new daily regimen. I wake up walk to the fridge get out 1 probiotic pill, mix up a cup of fiber and use the fiber drink to swallow the pill. fiber makes your body need water so i drink 1 more glass 2 if you can take it. You need to drink room temp water because cold water is hard on your stomach and the probiotic pill. then i wash my face. right after dinner i take my supplements, a couple hours after eating dinner when my stomach is empty i take 1 more probiotic pill with a glass of water and wash my face and go to bed. that is it.

i suggest you take the supplements as well because they have worked great for me. the fiber is about 12 dollars per month, the probiotics are about 7 per month. dermify is 30 per bottle but lasts over 3 months per bottle when it says a 1 month supply. all my other supplements cost around 7 dollars a month from walmart. they are more expensive but have 3-5 month supplys.

overall my acne...wait i dont have acne any longer, face care is...$36. give or take, it is cheaper then that now because i have found places to get supplements in larger quantities which make them very cheap. it is more like 30 bucks. and if you dont need the zinc or vitamin b, or feel that omega'3 in fish oil isnt needed (google it, you need it) it will be closer to 23-25. that is cheap in comparison to most regimens.


On my gym days i wash my face three times. I have used the crappy gym soap on my face, axe body wash on my face, a towel for almost a week, bad smelly well water, and none of it has given me breakouts. all these little things i thought caused my acne were all bogus, i had great skin, i just had to find it.


I had to share this information. Google probiotics and fiber cure for acne, or probiotics cure for acne. i think they are trying to hide this from us. it is a known fact, but yet how many of us know this? I have 2 friends i started on this regimen. both acne free in less then 3 weeks. one had very mild acne, the other had cystic acne and horrible body acne. worked for both.

go forth, fix your digestive problems and feel better, get way more energy, and wake up every morning as i still do, walk to the mirror, and smile like you just had the best sex of your life because there is not one $#%#$%^'ing pimple on your sexy little face.

im 43 years old and have been suffering from acne since i was 18..ive finally realized that maybe all the crap ive been using for all these years is not the answer...im verrrry intrigued by your regime, and will give it a try...where do you buy your fiber and probiotic pills? thanks for all the info!

Been using probiotics but, I suppose upping fiber could not hurt. Definitely something I will give my body.

[brit1983]

I am jumping on the bandwagon, too. I'm 28 and have had acne since I was 14. Did everything, been to 3 derms...sooo sick of it! I think this sounds like it is worth a try. Bought all of the vitamins today - I will keep you posted!

Questions - do you think this regimine would be safe for a pregnant woman? I am not pregnant but thinking about it in the next year. Just curious!

[kart10]

After a week or so of using the following regimen:

Morning: Fiber Drink & Pro Biotics as described by the OP
Day: Zinc 50mg gluconate after lunch or dinner ( I should work on a set time for each day for consistency)
There is also a Zinc for Acne Pill that has a bunch of different vitamins in them and it has 25mg of Zinc in it, so you take it twice a day. I think this would work better on the long term since you are spreading the amount of Zinc you get in throughout the day.
Night: Fiber Drink & Pro Biotics as described.

I could confidently say that I am heading in the right direction. However my opinion is biased due to the fact that I have been making different changes to my nutrition as well. After trying the gluten free diet for 2 weeks and yet breaking out, I have decided to give dairy and soy oil a break along with the regimen as described above. This decision was due to the fact that I was breaking out after I ate a Pad Thai, a Chipotle (they use soy oil) burrito, along with a cup of yogurt, and I was breaking out. (This was before I started using the above regimen) So this diet change should also be kept in mind while reading my review on this matter.

What I have noticed is that the new breakouts are about 1/5 of the depth of my breakouts before the regimen. Very tiny and a lot less noticeable and they go away in a very short amount of time. The only thing I am hesitant to say in this matter is the fact that I am totally clear. Couple of days before I had started this regimen, I was breaking out really bad. I had about 7-8 deep whiteheads so those did not completely clear up, but one side of my face is completely free except the hyperpigmentation of course. I have not noticed any new breakouts after starting this regimen except the old ones still being there with pus inside them.

Threadjacking: Not to deviate from the original topic, but I have had a Costco roasted whole chicken today, and I ate it with the skin on it. I am noticing some rising beneath the skin behind my back and on the side of my nose. I am clearly breaking out ( I think)
Same thing also happened when I had oven roasted chicken wings last month (I ate it with the skin), however normal chicken breast does not break me out. Weird. Anyways, I will give another review next week.

Edited by kart10, 17 April 2011 - 10:32 PM.

[Prekktonn]

You know, I've had the same reaction to grocery bought rotisserie chickens. I think they use a ton of butter or something my body does not like, but at home I eat a ton (nearly everyday) of fresh chicken breasts with no problem. I think it has something to do with the glaze or whatever it is they put on it. I also have no problem with subway chicken, etc... Weird and really crappy. I love whole chickens.

[GreenEyes33]

Read through the replies. Just some thoughts:

1) I noticed store bought whole chicken does the same to me. It's so freakin tasty but probably as another comment said made with tons of butter and nastinest. Hence, breakouts.

2) The OP ideas make a lot of sense. Since changing my eating habits from junk junk junk to 85% healthy I've noticed my skin has cleared up A LOT. I may end up trying things exactly as he recommends them. My only question is, why wouldn't fiber from foods do the same thing as suppliment fiber? Wouldn't things like All Bran have a similar affect (maybe not AS good, since it has some other things in there, but it should work for some with less severe acne, no?).

3) Are probiotics only available through pill form, or from the suppliment store? I currently take zinc and omega 3 and dont want to spend anymore on suppliments unless absolutely necessary. I also noticed my acne seems to do better when I eat yogurt like Activia regularly. They *claim* there's probiotics in there, and similar to my question about fiber, probably not nearly as much or as good a quality as suppliments, but in theory if one were to add All Bran and activia (assuming yogurt doesnt break you out) to their diet daily it should have a positive affect, right?

It says online you can get fiber from apples, whole grain pastas, whole grain breads, and I eat all those and they have helped so far. I also have gallbladder/liver (DIGESTION) issues, so I'm beginning to think this all might make sense. Just looking for input on whether or not you could see some affect without actually going to the suppliment store and maybe just buying certain things from the grocery.

[LadyApple19]

How can you drink fibers?

[creativebeth]

I'm also coming out of lurking to post on this thread.

I would really like to try this. I have been off dairy and on The Candida Cure diet for 7 or 8 weeks and my acne has gotten worse instead of better. Very frustrating. I've been off sugar for 2 years; I eat extremely healthy; I've lost 70lbs and reversed all my PCOS symptoms except acne. I hate it.

I already have some probiotics - FemEcology. I also have apple pectin powder, which is supposed to be really good for digestive health, but I haven't started taking it yet. I have zinc too. I just ordered some Dermify and I'm going to get some fiber so I can start this ASAP.