20 replies to this topic

[Drummer82]

I really am so confused, I dont know what to eat anymore!!

Im nearly 30 and still suffer moderate acne. I have blood sugar issues which Im convinced are connected. Ive recently been having some blood tests for blood sugar but the doctors cannot find anything wrong, although my levels go quite low they are still within normal range, so they will not investigate any futher. I have to eat every few hours or I suffer hypoglycemic like symptoms, Ive read so much thats suggests this can cause acne.

Ive cut down alot of processed, sugary food in the past few years without much difference.

Ive recently been on a quest to cut down dairy and thought maybe this was my cure, Im sure when I cut out major sources like milk and cream my skin is less oily. Ive cut down alot the past few weeks and seen a slight improvment, but then past few days it been horrendous again!

Im now looking back into gluten free again, as alot of the symptoms seem to fit, but to cut dairy and gluten?? specially as I dont know for sure that either of them are causing my acne. This is just getting so hard.
I cant afford to buy organic, or gluten free stuff all the time, I also have children who will not eat the stuff I want to eat. Ive been cutting out sugar too, Im running out of things to eat.

Ive been to the doctors today as he had done some blood tests for vitamin levels and blood sugar, all normal except my vitamin d level, he said it is very low at 14, it should be at least 45. Doing a quick google suggests this could be a possible cause? does anyone have any info on that?
can it be connected to hypoglyemia, headaches?

Im always tired, but lately have been extremely tired and have almost like a brain fog, only last night I was reading about coeliac disease and alot of the symptoms fitted, but now this vitamin d thing has come up, bam confused again!!

I asked my gp about my skin and he didnt suggest it could be connected to vitamin d and just told me he couldnt do anything apart from try and treat the problem and said most people never find a reason. I will not put up with this for the rest of my life! its ruined it so far already I cant carry on like this anymore.

Please help

[oryon]

It's not difficult to eliminate gluten. Get rid of the big offenders like breads and pastas. Basically anything made with white flour.

Eat fresh, unprocessed food. Fruits and vegetables. Meats like fish, chicken and eggs.

Drink lots of water! No sugary drinks.

[alternativista]

I don't get the confusion. Vitamin D is important. Period. And what the doctor is considering an adequate level probably isn't. Start getting some vitamin D. Reducing the grains that people fill up on instead of food with nutrients is also important whether or not you are intolerant. Dairy contributes to acne in many ways whether or not you are intolerant so shouldn't be a big part of your diet.

And if you have an intolerance,. cutting back won't necessarily help. You have to try avoiding it completely for at least a month to test. If you have a lot of allergies, fatigue, digestion issues, malabsorption issues, etc., you should probably avoid all seeds for a couple of months while taking steps to heal the digestive tract.

What do you mean by gluten free stuff? Bread, Pasta and other processed foods? don't waste your money and eat real food instead. Fruit, vegetables, meat, fish. If you must have a grain substitute try spaghetti squash for pasta, grated cauliflower for rice, sweet potato pancakes, etc. See the pinned food and recipe thread for ideas and recipes on what to eat.

And you need to relax. Take a walk in the sun. Sleep well. and do whatever you need to do to manage stress.

No sugary drinks.

Yes. That especially. This is one of the most unhealthy, damaging things you can do to yourself. Do your kids a favor too.

[dejaclairevoyant]

As Alternavista said you need to not be buying "special" gluten free things. It does not cost ANY more money to be gluten free, in fact it's probably cheaper overall. Eat real, whole foods. Vegetables. Fruits. Quality meats. You don't need to be buying specialty foods that are not really much healthier anyways (many gluten free things are loaded up on soy, corn or other unhealthy things).

Before I went gluten free, one of my biggest symptoms was severe blood sugar issues. I was the exact same way, I always had to carry food around with me in case I had a crash, and when I did have a crash it was bad.

Important: vitamin D. Regardless of all these other issues. It's the one supplement I make sure to take every day. And get out into the sun as much as possible too.

[Drummer82]

I know that I need to eat a generally healthier diet, and I know that vitamin D is important, Im not confused about that.
I confused at all the different things that could be the MAIN contributing factor to my problems. I dont think its easy to be completely dairy or gluten free no, in this country(uk) gluten is in almost everytthing, dairy isnt much better either.
I started looking into going dairy free and alot of the alternatives are soya, then Ive read soya is bad.
I cannot eat fresh meat every single day, its just not affordable, so pasta is used for a few meals a week, hence why I would need to buy alternatives. I have veg with every evening meal, I have salad for lunch I have porridge for breakfast, Im not an unhealthy eater really, I eat some biscuits or chocolate in moderation
You think ok I'll eat lots of fruit, then your told not to eat to much fruit cos of the sugar, this is what I find difficult
Ive been told to eat low gi, but then you cant have potatoes and other veg, so your limited

I eat healthier than anyone I know, yet Im the only person who has all these problems. Ive never drang fizzy sugary drinks as Ive never liked them, I dont eat crisps or sweets. I dont smoke and I dont drink, unlike alot of my friends who have perfect skin, its ridiculus.I lost so much weight last year as I was avoiding certain things, and my skin never changed, so I gave up.

Ive been given some vitamin d tablets Im hoping this will at least help with the tiredness, but Im doubtful it will help my skin. Im not sure which route to go down with the food, anymore.

[bobbi364]

I know that I need to eat a generally healthier diet, and I know that vitamin D is important, Im not confused about that.
I confused at all the different things that could be the MAIN contributing factor to my problems. I dont think its easy to be completely dairy or gluten free no, in this country(uk) gluten is in almost everytthing, dairy isnt much better either.
I started looking into going dairy free and alot of the alternatives are soya, then Ive read soya is bad.
I cannot eat fresh meat every single day, its just not affordable, so pasta is used for a few meals a week, hence why I would need to buy alternatives. I have veg with every evening meal, I have salad for lunch I have porridge for breakfast, Im not an unhealthy eater really, I eat some biscuits or chocolate in moderation
You think ok I'll eat lots of fruit, then your told not to eat to much fruit cos of the sugar, this is what I find difficult
Ive been told to eat low gi, but then you cant have potatoes and other veg, so your limited

I eat healthier than anyone I know, yet Im the only person who has all these problems. Ive never drang fizzy sugary drinks as Ive never liked them, I dont eat crisps or sweets. I dont smoke and I dont drink, unlike alot of my friends who have perfect skin, its ridiculus.I lost so much weight last year as I was avoiding certain things, and my skin never changed, so I gave up.

Ive been given some vitamin d tablets Im hoping this will at least help with the tiredness, but Im doubtful it will help my skin. Im not sure which route to go down with the food, anymore.

I was in your shoes, until I found a good diet to start from. If you can afford one, get a vitamix or blendtech mixer, they will save you loads of time. Make green smoothies and other fruit smoothies with raw natural veggies/fruits, and eat protein packed poultry, like chicken and turkey and eggs, organic if you can. I eliminated dairy and gluten from my diet. Do not waste your time going for gluten free products, like said above they are a huge waste of money and contain non-nourishes foods like corn. Google search gluten free bread to bake at home by yourself, it is great!!! I usually follow some other vegan style recipes because dairy is unfortunately in almost everything used to cook. Another good thing about vegan baking (pasta, bread, desserts) they typically substitute agave or honey for sugar, agave would be better because it is lower on the GI (index). It is rough going at first, however, once you start exploring the world of dairy and gluten free foods, it gets really easy. Also, it is definitely cheaper to eat healthier. I use to spend around 120$ every 2 weeks on food. Now it is about 80$, and I buy only organic (which is more costly than regular, but has much more nutrients). Good luck.

[Tunnelvisionary]

You think ok I'll eat lots of fruit, then your told not to eat to much fruit cos of the sugar, this is what I find difficult
Ive been told to eat low gi, but then you cant have potatoes and other veg, so your limited

A lot of people tend to limit themselves because they read a few things and determined they shouldn't even try it. Refined sugar and sugar you find in fruits behave completely differently because the context in which they are consumed is different.

So I recommend you try stuff out for yourself before you decide you shouldn't eat it.

[dejaclairevoyant]

I dont think its easy to be completely dairy or gluten free no, in this country(uk) gluten is in almost everytthing, dairy isnt much better either.
I started looking into going dairy free and alot of the alternatives are soya, then Ive read soya is bad.

Gluten isn't in almost everything. Gluten is in everything processed. You do not want to be eating processed foods anyway. And you don't need to eat meat every day. Why would it be a choice between meat and pasta? I am soy free, dairy free, and grain free. I don't eat any pasta and I don't eat meat everyday.

Base your diet around fresh salads and smoothies.

[alternativista]

I dont think its easy to be completely dairy or gluten free no, in this country(uk) gluten is in almost everytthing, dairy isnt much better either.
I started looking into going dairy free and alot of the alternatives are soya, then Ive read soya is bad.

You are still talking about processed foods. There's no gluten or dairy hidden in a cabbage. I promise.
...

Ive been told to eat low gi, but then you cant have potatoes and other veg, so your limited

No. you do not need to avoid high GI foods, especially when talking about real food. You need to avoid any high Glycemic Load meal, drink or snack. Big difference. Eat high GI foods in small quantities at a time and/or in combination with low GI foods (with fat and fiber) to reduce the impact.

Ive been given some vitamin d tablets Im hoping this will at least help with the tiredness, but Im doubtful it will help my skin. Im not sure which route to go down with the food, anymore.

What kind of vitamin D? Prescription D supplements are usually D2 and not the way to go.

And the way to go is to reduce processed foods in favor of real, whole nutrient dense foods, more anti-inflammatory foods than inflammatory, in low to moderate GL meals, drinks or snacks that don't include anything you have an intolerance for. Period. That applies to all humans. And really all animals.

See the pinned Food and Recipe thread for ideas and alternatives. http://www.acne.org/...ecipe-resource/

BTW, I rarely eat meat or pasta.

Edited by alternativista, 17 April 2012 - 12:42 PM.

[dejaclairevoyant]

Yeah vitamin D3 is the way to go. I'm not kidding, I haven't had a cold since taking this stuff. I started getting one a few times and went to bed early and it was gone the next day. I think a big part of that is my diet (no way to know for sure as I made a lot of these changes around the same time) but I have heard other people say taking vitamin D helped their immunity immensely as well. Here is the one I take:

http://www.vitacost....iu-200-softgels

Free of all major allergens, and cheap. No excuses not to be taking this stuff, it's essential, among other things. But if I could only take one supp this would be it.

[cvd]

Hi Drummer --- diet changes can seem very overwhelming at first and it can take awhile to figure out what works best with your particular body. Diet needs can also change over time...it is a changing thing. That said...regarding diet and acne...it is not always clear cut what is causing what. Some people are just lucky and discover that a food allergy or intolerance has been causing their problems. For the rest of us it is more complex. But it is still worth figuring out because in the long run you will be healthier.

If you are acne prone then avoiding all dairy and gluten will most likely help. Research has shown definite links between dairy, gluten and inflammatory diseases. Avoiding dairy and gluten can make a difference between mild non-inflammatory acne and full blown cystic acne. Some lucky folks totally clear up avoiding these things. How to do this and still eat as much like the rest of society? It is hard but not impossible.

Some people, myself included, have benefited from cutting back on fruits - mainly tropical fruits, and eating berries instead. If you are of northern european descent then that's the kind of fructose your body is used to. Some researchers think many if not most people of this region lack the enzymes to digest tropical fruits and thus suffer from gut problems...and these can manifest as fatigue because your body isn't really getting the nutrients it needs.

For vitamin D I take Citrical+D...need the calcium anyway. It has made a huge difference. I would say if you test low for D then this may indeed be what is causing some of your issues. But most likely taking adequate D will not solve the acne...sorry.

Re: handling the new way of eating --- I think it helps to make a big batch of food ahead of time to have on hand. This is probably the biggest difference in the way I do things now. I make a huge salad, a big batch of hot quinoa, a huge pot of brown rice, etc., and then refridgerate and heat up or prepare as needed through the week. I can pack some salad, brown rice, leftover vegies from the night before, etc. for lunches on the road or at work. It is different that being able to grab a quick sandwich...that's true. But your body will thank you.

Here are some ideas by meals...

Breakfast --- organic sausages, eggs, Food for Life gluten-free seeded english muffins (no sugars - just like the real thing), smoothies (a little fruit - berries are best, milk alternative like rice milk, a bit of green leafy like spinach or chard - tastes good, honest!), quinoa hot cereal (I like mine with blueberries), etc.

Lunch --- leftovers from night before, salad, quick stir-fry (brown rice, leftover meat, green leafy like chard, garlic)

Dinner --- fresh turkey or wild fish or dish with beans, potatoes - yams, baking and red (I know there is a lot of argument about if potatoes are good to eat or not but I have read that if you eat the skins they are okay and they have lots of vitamins), brown rice, quinoa, fresh vegetables, salad.

I am never hungry. My weight is perfect. I have no argument with eating gluten-free foods except that many of them are wierd...meaning that they are not whole foods and usually have lots of sugars in them. The only one I have found that is a whole food and doesn't have added sugars is Food for Life Gluten-Free Seeded Brown Rice Muffins. They also have an unseeded version.

Hope this helps you. Please feel free to message me if you have questions about what to eat. Alternativista is the expert. I am still learning as I go along but have discovered it isn't too hard to make the switch.

Oh --- and your kids may like this more than you think. All it takes is prep...for example having a big bowl of cut-up vegies in the fridge. Or having an "Asian night" with stirfry and people adding their own toppings. Setting up a "salad bar" is always fun too. Or a "Mexican night" with toppings for corn tortillas (...yeah this is cheating a bit but once in awhile is okay).

[Tony1990]

Drummer82 I would be happy if I was you. The only reason why I'm saying that is because you are on the right path of finding your cure. Please don't think that vitamin D wont help with your acne. I was suspecting that I was lacking some vitamin d so I got my blood tested, the results were 29 and my doctor said a level of 70 was considered to be normal so you can see I was pretty low, he also explained to me many people dont consider vitamin d as a "skin" vitamin. This is wrong.. Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamin there is, it helps with every single cells in your body. Anyways he told me that I was breaking out because I was lacking vitamin D, I've been taking 4000iu a day for nearly a month and I have seen great results (make sure it's vitamin D3 not D2) also I try to get approx 20-30 minutes of sun everyday ( this is what my doctor told me to do)

The thing with diet is hard, I still am pretty confused just like you. But seriously dont overstress yourself with figuring out what to eat. everybody is different. I think stress is the main thing for acne. I was so stressed out about my face, constantly looking at it every 2 minutes. So I told myself not to look at the mirror so much anymore so that I would not have to think about my face and no joke it's only been a week I have been stress free and it's really showing up on my face. EMOTIONS is important! I know it is hard not to stress out about your skin but you just gotta be discipline and tell yourself that it WILL get better.

Some of the few posts above has very good ideas of which food to eat so I'm not gonna go into that.

But overall just dont count out Vitamin D yet, it could be your answer..

Goodluck!!

[Drummer82]

For some reason the post I made yesterday is not showing anymore, nor the last reply??

Anyway, been starting to make a list of whats gluten free and not in my cupboards and doing alot of reading on the net, looking a bit easier. Ive started taking my vit d tablets, dont feel any better yet, but feeling positive they'll help my tiredness. I have slight hopes they might help my skin but not getting them up too high as I'll only be disappointed. Ive read a few threads on here where its helped people, but I dont see a magnificent difference in the summer to be honest which seems a clear indication that vit d might help in some people, however I do cover up when I go out, and dont like to sit in the sun too long, plus the british weather isnt fantasic so who knows.

Ive also ordered a home test for coeliac disease, which is said to be reliable and been endorsed by the coeliac society here in the uk, its not alot of money and will at least hopefully rule one thing out playing on my mind. This disease is very common and after reading up on it realised alot of my close family, my mum, her mum and aunties all had illness linked to this. I will have to eat gluten still until Ive taken the test, but even if it is negative I will still be cutting gluten after all Ive read about it now.

[alternativista]

Did you verify the the vitamin D is D3?

Also, even if you aren't celiac, gluten isn't good for anyone. It damages mucosa linings in your digestive tract. This is what protects your body from digestive acids. You should minimize it, try to only consume wheat products that were prepared with traditional, millenia-old methods i.e. soaking, sprouting, and fermenting. That really applies to all seeds, but some are worse than others and gluten grains and soy are amongst the most harmful. Also, consume foods that repair/limit damage.

[Drummer82]

Yes Alternativista, I did make a post, so annoying its disappeared, they are d3, 500mg calcium and 400iu vit d to be taken twice a day, I have 100 tablets to take.

I will certainly be cutting gluten even if not coeliac like you say, Ive found alot of bad stuff about it,it doesnt seem fair that people dont realise the damage they are doing to their bodies. I mean here a wholemeal bread is considered very healthy, most kids have sandwiches in their lunch boxes everyday, including mine. Im trying to find some inspiration for their school lunches that are practical and inexpensive aswell now, Im definatly want to cut their bread intake down.

Does anyone know if things like rice flour, gram flour, cornflour, etc are good alternatives? I think specially with the kids it will be a weaning process and they will still want a few biccys and chocolate here and there but if I can make them gluten free thats a start, alot of recipes call for rice flour which Ive never tried, I have a gluten free flour Ive used before and produces ok biscuits and cakes, I replace the sugar with xylitol aswell.

[dejaclairevoyant]

I'd steer clear of the corn, but rice flour is probably okay (or at least a HUGE step in the right direction) for the average person.

[bobbi364]

millet flour, white rice flour, potato starch, tapioca flour, and sorghum flour, those are recommended for gluten free breads

[Tony1990]

I'm not sure if 800IU is enough? My doctor told me to take 4000IU for the first 2 months and gradually bringing it down to 2000IU a day.

[alternativista]

Yes Alternativista, I did make a post, so annoying its disappeared, they are d3, 500mg calcium and 400iu vit d to be taken twice a day, I have 100 tablets to take.

I will certainly be cutting gluten even if not coeliac like you say, Ive found alot of bad stuff about it,it doesnt seem fair that people dont realise the damage they are doing to their bodies. I mean here a wholemeal bread is considered very healthy, most kids have sandwiches in their lunch boxes everyday, including mine. Im trying to find some inspiration for their school lunches that are practical and inexpensive aswell now, Im definatly want to cut their bread intake down.

Does anyone know if things like rice flour, gram flour, cornflour, etc are good alternatives? I think specially with the kids it will be a weaning process and they will still want a few biccys and chocolate here and there but if I can make them gluten free thats a start, alot of recipes call for rice flour which Ive never tried, I have a gluten free flour Ive used before and produces ok biscuits and cakes, I replace the sugar with xylitol aswell.

We have many recipes for substitutes here in the various threads linked to from the Food and Recipe thread. Oh, and if I were you, I'd take about 3000 IU of D unless you can get out into the sun.

Edited by alternativista, 20 April 2012 - 08:11 AM.

[Drummer82]

The dose given to me is probably not enough, but I have to take what the doctor has prescibed, unless I buy some more supplements to take on top,I'll have to look into whats avaliable.

I did the home coeliac test which came back negative, so Im not going to take that any further, have started getting on the right track towards eating less gluten anyway.

My skin has been very good the past week, the past 3 days Ive had no new breakouts, Im hoping its down to the vitamin d but I have had good days like this before and its literally only a few days so we'll see, if I go a whole week without new breakouts then I'll know something good is happening, I'll post an update if thats the case.