18 replies to this topic

[RaKku]

Hi,
I remember when I went to China a couple of years back, I came back with no acne to speak of. I was only gone for two weeks but I suspected it must have been something I ate or maybe the environment that made my skin so much better. Of course I was dying for American food, so I inhaled tons of lasagna (I know, I know it's Italian ) and I broke out like crazy. I voiced my concern about diet maybe being a factor, but most of the derms I visited since then either denies the connection or just poo poos it.

Fast forward to two weeks ago, I visited Japan for one week and again, I came back with my skin better than ever. In fact, my family marveled at how my skin looked. I only started to break out toward the end because I was dying to eat some McDonalds. Now, as I type, I can already sense bumps under my skin.

Things I remember eating in Japan:

1.) Other than rice, not a lot of carby foods
2.) Drank tons of water, but also had lots of sweet drinks. I would say 1/3 was water and 2/3 was sweets
3.) Didn't eat a lot of fried stuff or large amounts of meat

Maybe environment as well? I was constantly under the sun and got majorly sun burned, but ironically my skin has been smooth since.

Any thoughts you guys might have? Thanks!!

[MysteryTutor]

Happened to me, figured out it was because of the fluoride in American water. I suggest you increase your intake of iodine from live sources such as kelp.

[Ilovemesomevanity]

yeah i always clear up when i go to japan, i think its mainly that the water, and you eat less sugar-y food. and you sweat like crazy cuz its freaking hot and you walk a lot

[Green Gables]

Does Japan have soft water? Most of the U.S. has hard water. Just a thought I had after reading this article: http://www.youbeauty...r-skin-and-acne

[MysteryTutor]

Does Japan have soft water? Most of the U.S. has hard water. Just a thought I had after reading this article: http://www.youbeauty...r-skin-and-acne

Thanks for the article!

[the uphill battle]

Too bad the moisturizer the article recommends to combat hard water issues costs $125..

[whoartthou1]

Man acne is so confusing (a long with other skin problems) it is very difficult to figure out what exactly is causing skin problems for a person.

Rakku, what was your exact diet like in japan. Did you eat mostly a paleolithic diet (minus the rice)? Did you consume any gluten at all, or foods with a lot of lectins?

Did you see a good amount of people with acne in japan, or was it pretty much nonexistant?

I went to India a few years ago, and the amount of people with skin problems over there is ridiculously high.

[Green Gables]

Too bad the moisturizer the article recommends to combat hard water issues costs $125..

You don't need that moisturizer, I doubt it would do much anyway. I have been washing my face with bottled spring water and my rosacea flare-up has lessened. I suppose you could also use a Brita filter or something like that.

[the uphill battle]

I might try the bottled water method, my skin just never looks happy or calm. I hate it.

[MysteryTutor]

But the problem becomes how to shower..

[Green Gables]

But the problem becomes how to shower..

You can easily shower without letting it hit your face by angling the shower head before you turn to face it...

[MysteryTutor]

Body acne..................

[Jamiefaith2]

Because they dont eat the amount of dairy products that americans do!! I eliminated dairyfrom my diet and i have clear skin now

[cvd]

You probably had clearer skin because you weren't eating dairy products! Our diet here (processed junk foods and fast foods) is loaded with dairy and sugar. Dairy has natural hormones that can aggravate acne and sugary foods cause insulin spikes which in turn affects hormones...a vicious cycle that acne prone people should avoid.

[crashoran]

What about people that avoid all dairy and sugar but still break out?

[Green Gables]

What about people that avoid all dairy and sugar but still break out?

They die.

Just kidding, but I was one of those people and I definitely felt like crap when my diet was perfect and I still broke out. In my case, I had to take a hormonal medication that evened out my hormonal issues.

[alexisc]

I would say gluten and corn would be the main difference because everything over there is made with rice. It could also be a dairy issues.. why not do an elimination diet and see what your triggers are? You start out not eating these foods and then add them back in week after to week and see if your acne changes. Worked for me and now if I avoid my triggers im 99 percent clear!

[cvd]

What about people that avoid all dairy and sugar but still break out?

In my experience with resistant chronic acne, diet is just one piece to the puzzle. Acne is much like other chronic inflammatory skin diseases (eczema, psoriasis, etc.) in that a non-inflammatory diet helps but you also have to sometimes take oral meds and apply topical meds to keep the condition from flaming up. Allergies can mimic the symptoms of acne so it doesn't hurt to try avoiding common triggers --- you'll know pretty quickly if that's the culprit. If it's acne then you have to do more. Also avoiding common hormone triggers like dairy helps. It's all about doing everything you can to help the body manage the condition. And this means avoiding things that are inflammatory to the body (sugars, caffeine, alcohol, hard to digest foods - junk foods, cheap oils, dairy). You can experiment with avoiding things for 2 months and then adding them back in. It's very interesting!

Another way to think about it is that acne is like the outside appearance of how an inflamed digestive system would look like...think ulcers, inflammation, swollen areas, etc. What do we do for an inflamed digestive system? We eat simple clean foods, drink lots of water, sometimes have to take antibiotics, use probiotics, and avoid alcohol, spicy foods, etc. We do things that calm the system (walk, yoga, deep breathing, eating well but simply, etc.).

Now add to this image the fact that on the skin, especially the face, we may be genetically sensitive to androgens and our pores may not shed well. So if we suffer from acne we have to do things that help the skin be buffered from androgens and to keep our pores open. Women can take Spironolactone for the androgens, guys can't but they can do everything possible to avoid foods that trigger hormones. Everyone can use cleansers and topicals that help keep the pores open (BP, retin-a, etc.)

So you see for the skin it is much more complicated...lots of things to think about...

[ledzep]

This is an interesting topic, I've travelled extensively in S.E.Asia over the last 3 years and have also had pretty decent skin whilst I was out there. I don't think it could be attributed to the food I was eating though. In my experience, it seems to be that sun, swimming in salt water and plenty of physical exercise all helped my skin- but only temporarily. Inevitably my skin breaks out after a brief period of it looking better. My personal opinion is that acne is correlated to a genetic defect in the immune system unable to properly distinguish between harmful and benign inflammatory issues. I thought a western diet did have a strong element in the production of acne but that doesn't explain how many people in west are able to eat junk food etc and not get acne. Similarly, an Asian diet does not make you acne resistance, as I met plenty of local people who had breakouts when I was travelling in Thailand. I think this seems to point to a malfunctioning immune response but this is purely my own opinion, I intend on researching medical articles to investigate this hypothesis more thoroughly.

Edited by ledzep, 10 September 2012 - 01:55 AM.