65 replies to this topic

[12345tiger]

Did you get copies of your results and review them yourself?  Just because you were in what they consider a normal range doesn't mean they aren't far from optimal.  Also, they fluctuate so one test is pretty near useless.

My results: hormone                result (normal range)

cycle day 3
progesterone17-OH        0,67 ng/ml (0,3 - 1,0)
estradiol                          34,05 pg/ml (12,5 - 166)
FSH                                  4,82 U/l (3,5 - 12,5)
LH                                    3,46 mlU/ml (2,4 - 12,6)
TSH                                  2,44 ulU/ml (0,27 - 4,2)
testosterone                    0,29 ng/ml (0,06 - 0,82)
androstenedione              2,14 ng/ml (0,3 - 3,5)

cycle day 10
DHEA-s                   391,3 ug/dl (148 - 407)
free testosterone  1,39 pg/ml (0,01 - 7,01)
progesterone         0,94 ng/ml (0,2 - 1,5)
prolactin                 206,2 uU/ml (127 - 637)

[Jenny P]

If he doesn't eat rice, or grains, how is he going to get full?

You have to have SOMETHING substancial....just admit that he ate healthy and nothing changed in his acne. There's probably a deeper problem of why people have acne. Maybe diet can't cause his hyperkeratinization of skin cells to suddenly change.

Don't try and tell him to go stricter, and stricter, and stricter in his diet...this will only cause a lower quality of life if you restrict yourself too much.

Maybe you should try asking deeper questions about acne and figure out WHAT in acne sufferers is different from everyone else?
Ever notice how most acne sufferers are skinny? Or that it happens mostly in caucassians? Or that most people living in pollution free areas don't have acne?

It's more than diet, because there are tons of people out there who can eat rice and stir fry veggies and experience no breakouts, they are able to just get on with their life...

I will ditch rice. 20th December was last time I ate brown rice. I know because I keep diet journal. I know what you guys trying to say. Of course I can ditch rice and supplements. I can start eating more fats. But will this clear me up? Because I don't think supplements or rice once a month could affect me that much. You think that only because I take supplements and eat rice once a month, overall healthy diet has absolutely no effect on me? Your scenario would be possible if I've seen any kind of improvement. Anyway, I will try it and let you know how It's going.

So saturated fats from animal source are good for skin? What about DHT?

Also, as I wrote my skin gets a lot better when I gain weight. I'm not sure but I eat more when I stress less... so maybe It's stress after all.

My acne also got better after I gained some weight, I was too skinny as well. I think the reason is because if you have more fat on your tissues then there is more estrogen produced , this due to having more enzymes like aromatase. I used to follow a very strict diet as well and no really much stress going, in general very healthy lifestyle and since this made me lose weight then my acne got worse, this is my theory though, for my case in particular. I do keep active though and still eat very healthy but I also include lots of fiber of my diet as well. My acne is now basically reduced to a very mild couple of spots at some times in the month.

Same thing happened to me in the months of september and october. I was putting a lot of weight on and eating gluten/dairy free carob chocolate, lots of almonds, avocados, and a pot of probiotic yogurt everyday and i was healthy and happy and for the large part, my skin was absolutely clear (save for a few blackheads here and there). Then in november everything went downhill and i started to get acne in my usual place on the temples. To try and clear things i started to cut back on the suspect foods and i sadly lost all the weight i put on and my breakouts were terrible. I've not had a sustained period of clear skin since.

Something that Dan said in one of his diet and acne videos interested me. He said when he tried the paleo diet he saw great results initially but then his body got used to the amount of calories he was consuming and his acne returned as normal. Thinking about it this has been something ive recognised as well. maybe theres a correlation.

I have a similar experience. When my brother ate very strict, he had no

Thanks all for replies. For now my plan is to gradually reduce supplements intake, try no sex method, no brown rice, improve sleeping habit, and try some light exercising.

Same thing happened to me in the months of september and october. I was putting a lot of weight on and eating gluten/dairy free carob chocolate, lots of almonds, avocados, and a pot of probiotic yogurt everyday and i was healthy and happy and for the large part, my skin was absolutely clear (save for a few blackheads here and there). Then in november everything went downhill and i started to get acne in my usual place on the temples. To try and clear things i started to cut back on the suspect foods and i sadly lost all the weight i put on and my breakouts were terrible. I've not had a sustained period of clear skin since.

Something that Dan said in one of his diet and acne videos interested me. He said when he tried the paleo diet he saw great results initially but then his body got used to the amount of calories he was consuming and his acne returned as normal. Thinking about it this has been something ive recognised as well. maybe theres a correlation.

What happened in November that It went downhill?

I'm sure that correlation is between gaining weight and acne, It's not only me. My close friend was really skinny, had acne at the same time. Then he gained quite a lot weight and now he is 99% clear.

I remember my skin was also a bit better when I just started acne diet.

But I have no idea how to gain weight on acne diets. Loosing any more weight definitely will worsen my acne. I have to seriously think about adding some foods to my diet again.

There is definately something to this. I have a lot of experiences with people that gain weight and have no acne and people that lose weight and got bad acne. I had a friend who had problems with her weight and she worked hard to lose it, but once she lost all that weight and got skinny she had BAD BADDD ACNE!! Like all over her face, and before, when she had troubles with her weight, she didn't have any acne problems, just maybe a tiny zit or 2 in a blue moon.

Also, most people that are fat or have trouble with their weight have perfectly clear skin and most people that have acne are veryy skinny and no matter what they eat they don't gain any weight.

I am also skinny and have acne but I would not trade having acne for being fat. I just would love to know what the reason for this is...

[12345tiger]

If he doesn't eat rice, or grains, how is he going to get full?

You have to have SOMETHING substancial....just admit that he ate healthy and nothing changed in his acne. There's probably a deeper problem of why people have acne. Maybe diet can't cause his hyperkeratinization of skin cells to suddenly change.

Don't try and tell him to go stricter, and stricter, and stricter in his diet...this will only cause a lower quality of life if you restrict yourself too much.

Maybe you should try asking deeper questions about acne and figure out WHAT in acne sufferers is different from everyone else?
Ever notice how most acne sufferers are skinny? Or that it happens mostly in caucassians? Or that most people living in pollution free areas don't have acne?

It's more than diet, because there are tons of people out there who can eat rice and stir fry veggies and experience no breakouts, they are able to just get on with their life...

There is definately something to this. I have a lot of experiences with people that gain weight and have no acne and people that lose weight and got bad acne. I had a friend who had problems with her weight and she worked hard to lose it, but once she lost all that weight and got skinny she had BAD BADDD ACNE!! Like all over her face, and before, when she had troubles with her weight, she didn't have any acne problems, just maybe a tiny zit or 2 in a blue moon.

Also, most people that are fat or have trouble with their weight have perfectly clear skin and most people that have acne are veryy skinny and no matter what they eat they don't gain any weight.

I am also skinny and have acne but I would not trade having acne for being fat. I just would love to know what the reason for this is...

Exactly.

But lately I've been eating more foods, beans, potatoes, lentils, yogurt and A LOT of saturated fat! I feel better and my skin is also better, even my mum told me that my skin is better. I also started "no masturbation" experiment.

And you know what... I was afraid of saturated fats because Cordain in his book wrote that we should avoid them. I feel like everybody lie to me, do not eat this, do not eat that... this is bad, this will break you out. CRAZY.

I understand that diet is important but maybe it's more important what we eat than what we avoid... And probably I'm calcium deficient after "no dairy" year, I started using fitday.com and after few days I can say, there's no way to get 100% recommended calcium with what I ate.

[Bosie]

To be fair, i had acne as a teenager when i was very chubby and i have pictures where most of my face is covered with zits. What i'm interested in is patterns and they seem to suggest that when my calore consumption settles at a stable/normal level i get sustained acne, when i put on weight it gets better at first but then when the weight evens itself out and settles at a certain point then BOOM! i get acne.

Although it contradicts my own story from my teenage years, i have to say the majority of the people i see with acne are hardly ever overweight. I think there is a relationship but i dont know what it is.

Tbh i've been trying the whole acne=diet thing for a year and although i still believe it (just look at all the testimonies on this board) i have to say my experiments have been fruitless and have left me throughly miserable that NO progress has been made in a whole damn year.

Edited by Bosie, 25 February 2012 - 04:24 PM.

[alternativista]

Maybe you should try asking deeper questions about acne and figure out WHAT in acne sufferers is different from everyone else?
Ever notice how most acne sufferers are skinny? Or that it happens mostly in caucassians? Or that most people living in pollution free areas don't have acne?

It's more than diet, because there are tons of people out there who can eat rice and stir fry veggies and experience no breakouts, they are able to just get on with their life...

No. Most are not skinny. Someone starts threads and polls on that all the time and the poll results are nearly 50/50. I was not skinny until I started eating right.

It also doesn't happen mostly in caucasians. People in pollution free areas tend to eat very well and live a lot closer to the way humans should with physical activity and a natural sleep/wake cycle and exposure to sunshine. Which is just what we are telling you to do.

And of course it's more than diet. No one has said otherwise. And we do 'look deeper.' It's a variety of factors, but diet affects acne directly as well as affecting most of those other factors. Such as how well your liver functions so it can do it's job removing excess hormones. How well you deal with stress. How well you sleep. How well your brain functions so you could apply logic rather than panic as you learn about diet. And so on.

Also,

If he doesn't eat rice, or grains, how is he going to get full?

She. And you shouldn't be filling yourself up on empty and near empty calories. You should be filling up on food high in nutrients.

Edited by alternativista, 26 February 2012 - 11:40 AM.

[12345tiger]

Hi, so lately my skin improved and keeps improving. I started eating a lot saturated fat from animal sources, butter on everything, eggs, raw yolks, high fat dairy - cream, greek yogurt, homemade lard, bacon etc, basically I eat what I crave. My diet now is high fat diet. I also stopped sexual activities. So, the question is, could you explain what happened? I thought that animal fats/dairy are really bad for acne.

[Realdeal]

What strange is actually my skin is better when I gain weight. I'm naturally skinny.

This is the key to curing your condition.Its something to do with fat metabolization.I bet you can lose weight really easily without trying? I`m sure this excess weight/fat is eliminated via the skin instead of being burnt off.Try b5/acetyl l-carnitine combo for fat metabolization.
Whats fascinating about this disease is that there is no one cure fir everyone it differs person to person.If what you are trying is NOT working,don`t feel disheartened,feel enlightened instead.Cross that approach off as not the one that will work for you.That is why this board exists because everyBODY is differant.

[*`*~ABG Fairy~*`*]

12345Tiger,
My first thought was that these things were working, because they were lowering the glycemic load of all your meals, but it seems you were eating a low-glycemic diet before already?? It might be the Vitamin A from these foods--have you yet added blended greens to your diet? Blended greens will give you Vitamin A through beta-carotene, which will safely convert to the amount of Vitamin A your body needs. If you haven't yet tried a diet focused on high-nutrient vegetables, then you haven't yet tried the best diet for acne--in my opinion.

[12345tiger]

This is the key to curing your condition.Its something to do with fat metabolization.I bet you can lose weight really easily without trying? I`m sure this excess weight/fat is eliminated via the skin instead of being burnt off.Try b5/acetyl l-carnitine combo for fat metabolization.

I've been taking B5 for few months and It really helps. I lose weight easily. Not sure about theory that excess fat is eliminated via skin, but who knows.

My first thought was that these things were working, because they were lowering the glycemic load of all your meals, but it seems you were eating a low-glycemic diet before already?? It might be the Vitamin A from these foods--have you yet added blended greens to your diet? Blended greens will give you Vitamin A through beta-carotene, which will safely convert to the amount of Vitamin A your body needs. If you haven't yet tried a diet focused on high-nutrient vegetables, then you haven't yet tried the best diet for acne--in my opinion.

Yes, I was eating low GI diet and green smoothies already. I still eat a lot veggies. Only thing I changed about diet is eating a lot saturated fats, basically with every meal. Everyday I have big fat bomb smoothie: coconut milk or cream/yogurt, avocado, egg yolk + some fruit or cooked carrot.

[*`*~ABG Fairy~*`*]

I was going to suggest coconut milk as a plant-based saturated fat, so I'm glad to see you're doing that. A lot of cultures seem to thrive on coconut fats, so even though many doctors disagree with it, I think there's something to it. I'd rather see you do that than all the dairy sources. It's really interesting that your skin is improving so much on saturated fats. I know there must be something to it, I just don't know what.....

Most websites say to avoid saturated fat if you want healthy skin. It's very hard to find any websites at all that say the opposite, "but" there are many websites that say coconut oil can help get rid of acne. The fact that it comes from a plant gives it a pass in my book--even though my training has said otherwise. Intuitively, it just makes sense to me. Too many cultures seem to thrive on coconuts.

Edit: What about supplements?? Are you taking Vitamin D, probiotics, etc??

Edited by *`*~ABG Fairy~*`*, 07 March 2012 - 12:27 PM.

[12345tiger]

I was going to suggest coconut milk as a plant-based saturated fat, so I'm glad to see you're doing that. A lot of cultures seem to thrive on coconut fats, so even though many doctors disagree with it, I think there's something to it. I'd rather see you do that than all the dairy sources. It's really interesting that your skin is improving so much on saturated fats. I know there must be something to it, I just don't know what.....

Most websites say to avoid saturated fat if you want healthy skin. It's very hard to find any websites at all that say the opposite, "but" there are many websites that say coconut oil can help get rid of acne. The fact that it comes from a plant gives it a pass in my book--even though my training has said otherwise. Intuitively, it just makes sense to me. Too many cultures seem to thrive on coconuts.

Edit: What about supplements?? Are you taking Vitamin D, probiotics, etc??

I still take B5 (800mg), selenium, zinc and B complex, in low doses. Cod liver oil (for omega 3, vitamin D, A, E).

I've found this:
http://www.leakygutc.../saturated-fat/

Edited by 12345tiger, 07 March 2012 - 01:43 PM.

[*`*~ABG Fairy~*`*]

That could certainly be the case. That website mentions metabolic typing. I know a man who has been helping people with health issues for 20+ years--he firmly believes in the metabolic diet, but he also still believes that no matter your metabolic type, people should still limit animal products. You might be onto something with the coconut milk/saturated fat. "The Metabolic Typing Diet" is a book he recommends--I wonder what it would say about you. The human body is quite a mystery.

[Realdeal]

ABG Fairy there is no mystery about coconut oil.Yes it is a saturated fat and you will here people say 'Oh dont take/have that look at the fat content in it' What there not realising is that although it is a saturated fat its a special type.This being a medium chain fatty acid.This means it requires no excretion of bile to be processed by the liver.Instead it is converted directly into energy.Therefore wont make you fat instead its more likely to help you loose weight!

[*`*~ABG Fairy~*`*]

Realdeal,
Oddly enough, many do say it's mostly medium chain fatty acids, but the below quote from Dr. Joel Fuhrman shows otherwise.

I just went to www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/ our governments web analysis tool and analyzed plain coconut oil for you guys and added up the numbers including the fractions so it would be exact. 100 grams of coconut oil contains 86.5 percent (grams) of saturated fat. It contains 14.1 (percent) grams of 6-10 chain (medium chain) saturated fats and 5.8 grams of monounsaturated fat. So it is most accurate to call it about 14 percent or those less harmfull MCT saturated fats...
Source: http://www.diseasepr...lent-foods.html

However, upon reading further comments, it looks as though Dr. Fuhrman didn't include fatty acids of 12 carbons (something like that...I'm not a chemist), and if 12 carbon fatty acids are considered medium-chain, then his numbers are off, and coconut oil is in fact a majority (2/3s) medium-chain fatty acids, which is definitely cool. Whatever the case, I think there's something to coconut oil, but I would always recommend the whole coconut, like coconut milk (not the lite kind), rather than the processed, coconut oil, which would have fewer nutrients.

I agree with you that it helps with weight loss as well!! I have seen this happen in myself. I came up with an awesome coconut milk dessert and was afraid I was going to gain weight from it, because I was eating it every day!! haha!! Instead, I lost weight!

[FSAS]

What strange is actually my skin is better when I gain weight. I'm naturally skinny.

This is the key to curing your condition.Its something to do with fat metabolization.I bet you can lose weight really easily without trying? I`m sure this excess weight/fat is eliminated via the skin instead of being burnt off.Try b5/acetyl l-carnitine combo for fat metabolization.
Whats fascinating about this disease is that there is no one cure fir everyone it differs person to person.If what you are trying is NOT working,don`t feel disheartened,feel enlightened instead.Cross that approach off as not the one that will work for you.That is why this board exists because everyBODY is differant.

im in a similar position, i took l-carnitine and broke out like CRAZY like in palces never before around my neck ad ears and had to stop just because of it ;/ yet i heard how good it was..

[bitchplease]

If he doesn't eat rice, or grains, how is he going to get full?

LOL

I cut out all grains and now my cystic acne is gone. I'm full after every grain-free meal I eat. Do you suggest I go back to eating grains and having acne?

Don't try and tell him to go stricter, and stricter, and stricter in his diet...this will only cause a lower quality of life if you restrict yourself too much.

Yeah? Clear skin means a lower quality of life to you? That's like telling a cancer patient he shouldn't stop smoking completely because his life will suck even more if he does.

Ever notice how most acne sufferers are skinny? Or that it happens mostly in caucassians? Or that most people living in pollution free areas don't have acne?

False, false, and false. Did you ever actually leave the internet?

It's more than diet, because there are tons of people out there who can eat rice and stir fry veggies and experience no breakouts, they are able to just get on with their life...

That's like saying smoking does not actually cause cancer or ruin your health because my grandma's been doing it for 60 years and she's still healthy. Give me a break.

Edited by bitchplease, 08 March 2012 - 04:37 AM.

[alternativista]

It's more than diet, because there are tons of people out there who can eat rice and stir fry veggies and experience no breakouts, they are able to just get on with their life...

That's like saying smoking does not actually cause cancer or ruin your health because my grandma's been doing it for 60 years and she's still healthy. Give me a break.

Except she's partially right there. It is more than diet, with acne and with cancer and every other health condition. There are genetic tendencies and there are other lifestyle habits. On the other hand, a veggie stir fry is a good thing unless you add some sugary and/or other junk filled sauce so I've no idea why that comment was made.

[alternativista]

Realdeal,
Oddly enough, many do say it's mostly medium chain fatty acids, but the below quote from Dr. Joel Fuhrman shows otherwise.

I just went to www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/ our governments web analysis tool and analyzed plain coconut oil for you guys and added up the numbers including the fractions so it would be exact. 100 grams of coconut oil contains 86.5 percent (grams) of saturated fat. It contains 14.1 (percent) grams of 6-10 chain (medium chain) saturated fats and 5.8 grams of monounsaturated fat. So it is most accurate to call it about 14 percent or those less harmfull MCT saturated fats...
Source: http://www.diseasepr...lent-foods.html

However, upon reading further comments, it looks as though Dr. Fuhrman didn't include fatty acids of 12 carbons (something like that...I'm not a chemist), and if 12 carbon fatty acids are considered medium-chain, then his numbers are off, and coconut oil is in fact a majority (2/3s) medium-chain fatty acids, which is definitely cool. Whatever the case, I think there's something to coconut oil, but I would always recommend the whole coconut, like coconut milk (not the lite kind), rather than the processed, coconut oil, which would have fewer nutrients.

I would recommend whole coconuts and dried coconut which you can use to make your own coconut milk and also use to make pancakes, add to/use in place of flour in whatever baking you do, sprinkle on foods like curries, add to whatever properly prepared grains/seeds you might eat, etc.

[*`*~ABG Fairy~*`*]

I would recommend whole coconuts and dried coconut which you can use to make your own coconut milk and also use to make pancakes, add to/use in place of flour in whatever baking you do, sprinkle on foods like curries, add to whatever properly prepared grains/seeds you might eat, etc.

I have a hard time opening coconuts, but I didn't realize you could make coconut milk from dried coconut! I just found this video demonstrating how on YouTube:
.

Thank you so much Alternativista!

Edited by *`*~ABG Fairy~*`*, 08 March 2012 - 10:05 AM.

[Jenny P]

If he doesn't eat rice, or grains, how is he going to get full?

LOL

I cut out all grains and now my cystic acne is gone. I'm full after every grain-free meal I eat. Do you suggest I go back to eating grains and having acne?

Don't try and tell him to go stricter, and stricter, and stricter in his diet...this will only cause a lower quality of life if you restrict yourself too much.

Yeah? Clear skin means a lower quality of life to you? That's like telling a cancer patient he shouldn't stop smoking completely because his life will suck even more if he does.

Ever notice how most acne sufferers are skinny? Or that it happens mostly in caucassians? Or that most people living in pollution free areas don't have acne?

False, false, and false. Did you ever actually leave the internet?

It's more than diet, because there are tons of people out there who can eat rice and stir fry veggies and experience no breakouts, they are able to just get on with their life...

That's like saying smoking does not actually cause cancer or ruin your health because my grandma's been doing it for 60 years and she's still healthy. Give me a break.

Your examples are completely over the top, of coarse smoking is bad and not beneficial for anyone even though it makes someone 'feel good'...im not telling people to go out an eat junk food everyday, I'm just saying, people should ENJOY eating, and feel satisfied because that is a big part of life. People should eat a wide variety of food, and just avoid food that is obviously detrimental to them, like junk food fast food, processed crap. But most importantly people should feel like they are restricting themselves, if you don't feel like your restricting yourself from eating grains then that's great- don't eat them...but everyone is different and I can't sleep properly if I don't eat grains, so I eat them so that I can live comfortably.

I'm just saying that living with an overly strict diet, is not living at all. I have been there, and it's not fun.

Edit: Btw, it is true that acne is seen in mostly skinny people, caucassians, and in less polluted cities/states. It's not some bs, and it should be looked into when considering acne treatments.

Edited by Jenny P, 09 March 2012 - 04:17 PM.