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Bump. Nobody can't help? Is there any way I could try to improve my acne holistically without trying all the possible methods that could work?
A good diet, natural as possible circadian cycle and physical activity, and stress reduction improves all causes for acne and anything else you might have r be developing.
Btw, orange juice is not healthy. Even if its fresh squeezed, its still high GI. eat the whole orange, but you should try avoiding citrus for a while to test for intolerance, which is fairly common. Oranges give me severe cystic acne.
And add greens to your diet. If you don't like them or know what to do with them, make smoothies.
Also, please don't screw with your hormones as advised in the prior post. Help your body function and manage them itself.
Isn't green peas "green"? Isn't my diet quite healthy already?
I'll begin to drink blackcurrant juice instead of orange juice.
You don't recommend saw palmetto or anything like that. Why?
They green. But they aren't greens.
You can try saw palmetto as long as you avoid mega doses, but be prepared to possibly making your skin worse.
when one says it means many veggies specially the green leafy ones and others.
only peas aint really the idea behind 'greens'.
this 'green' is causing you to miss out on so much.
so many veggies with so much in them, and all you have is peas!
it's restrictive with less benefit.really.
Peas are cheap. Healthy diet is usually expensive and I don't have much money to spare. I need a diet that is cheap and healthy. Where can I find recipes? Or even better, a cook book (or whatever it's called) that contains only cheap but healthy recipes?
Bump. Nobody can't help? Is there any way I could try to improve my acne holistically without trying all the possible methods that could work?
A good diet, natural as possible circadian cycle and physical activity, and stress reduction improves all causes for acne and anything else you might have r be developing.
Btw, orange juice is not healthy. Even if its fresh squeezed, its still high GI. eat the whole orange, but you should try avoiding citrus for a while to test for intolerance, which is fairly common. Oranges give me severe cystic acne.
And add greens to your diet. If you don't like them or know what to do with them, make smoothies.
Also, please don't screw with your hormones as advised in the prior post. Help your body function and manage them itself.
Isn't green peas "green"? Isn't my diet quite healthy already?
I'll begin to drink blackcurrant juice instead of orange juice.
You don't recommend saw palmetto or anything like that. Why?
They green. But they aren't greens.
You can try saw palmetto as long as you avoid mega doses, but be prepared to possibly making your skin worse.
Ok. Thank you very much. I don't try it then. So a healthy diet is my best bet then. No more supplements and vitamins? Does it really help? I'm doubtful but I hope the best. It sounds too easy and I already avoid all the ingredients most often associated with acne.
Hi alternativista! I tried to pm you, but it wouldn't let me..I've been searching through the forums like a maniac and you seem to be very knowledgeable in helping people with their acne. I was just wondering if you could give me some advice. I currently eat paleo, autoimmune protocol as well so no nightshades, nuts, seeds, eggs, alcohol, NSAIDS, and also no citrus fruits. I also stopped eating sweet potatoes as well as any other starchy vegetable. I'm trying to follow an anti-candida/low glycemic diet as well. On top of all that, I just started juicing, only vegetables. I also started taking cod liver oil, milk thistle extract, probiotics and drinking some acv with each meal. I bought some bubbies sauerkraut as well to eat with my meals. For a face wash, I use a brand called Simple, which contains no soap, alcohol, perfumes or dyes. I tone, at night only, with diluted acv, then moisturize with jojoba oil at night. In the daytime, I use a different moisturizer with spf. I'm still breaking out. My digrestion is terrible. I just started taking triphala and 2 tbsp of physillium husk a day to get my bowels going since I am constipated. Been doing this maybe 5 days now. Although I am going more often, my bowels have the consistency of gum and I don't feel like I completely go each time. I guess what I mean to ask is, is there anything else I should incorporate or leave out of my diet? Any supplements I should add or can do without? Also, I want to get back into weightlifting, will this cause me to breakout more? What should I eat postworkout, since I read that lower carbs are better for acne? How can I fix my digestion? Sorry if this doesn't make sense, Im using my phone. If it helps, I've had acne for a couple of years now. I'm depressed as well.. Thank you so much! !!
I'm very happy you found what works for you! I can't imagine dealing with this for as long as you have! !
Bump. Nobody can't help? Is there any way I could try to improve my acne holistically without trying all the possible methods that could work?
A good diet, natural as possible circadian cycle and physical activity, and stress reduction improves all causes for acne and anything else you might have r be developing.
Btw, orange juice is not healthy. Even if its fresh squeezed, its still high GI. eat the whole orange, but you should try avoiding citrus for a while to test for intolerance, which is fairly common. Oranges give me severe cystic acne.
And add greens to your diet. If you don't like them or know what to do with them, make smoothies.
Also, please don't screw with your hormones as advised in the prior post. Help your body function and manage them itself.
Isn't green peas "green"? Isn't my diet quite healthy already?
I'll begin to drink blackcurrant juice instead of orange juice.
You don't recommend saw palmetto or anything like that. Why?
They green. But they aren't greens.
You can try saw palmetto as long as you avoid mega doses, but be prepared to possibly making your skin worse.
I thought I quoted you. Please read what I wrote above†‘
) One more thing, were you experiencing any other symptoms along with your acne? I know you said you had rosacea as well. What about hair loss, dark circles or digestion issues?
Also, I love your blogs! Is there a way I can get an update whenever you post a new blog?
Tyramines. That's what I've been trying to remember. Causes an inflammatory response, often headache & elevated blood pressure. Develop over time in foods so are worse in aged foods. People very sensitive should eat only the freshest foods. Avoid aged cheeses, cured meats, wine, fermented foods, very ripe fruits & veg etc. http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/85/5/1185.full
In searching for potential sources of intolerance, testing for high tyramine foods and histamine containing or releasing foods: citrus, strawberries, tomatoes, spinach, nuts fish & she'll fish, egg whites etc
Microbes that can help protect us from the harmful chemicals we've filled our environment with
Mostly common probiotics. And yeasts, which I don't know if they are common or not. I'd have to look them up. Kefir & Kombucha both contain yeast strains. They are started with a SCOBY which stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria & Yeast.
Example: Per animal studies, Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus casei, common probiotics, can help prevent absorption of BPA in plastics
Just came across some reasons/claims that increasing permeability can be a good thing. From an article about chickweed. A common weed that is very nutritious, medicinal, but also contains saponins.
"Chickweed contains soapy substances, called saponins. Saponins, like soap, emulsify and increase the permeability of cellular membranes. When we consume chickweed those saponins increase our ability to absorb nutrients, especially minerals. They also dissolve and break down unwanted matter, including disease-causing bacteria, cysts, benign tumors, thickened mucus in the respiratory and digestive systems, and excess fat cells"
read on if you want to learn mre about breaking down fat cells. And topical uses in which what I would have guessed to be harmful properties are good things.
http://www.susunweed.com/Article_Chickweed-A-Star.htm
So, are some people's guts not permeable enough?
I have Hashimoto's and terrible acne on my face, neck, chest and back. It is uncontrollable. I do not know what to do. I currently take bioidentical T4, DHEA/pregnenolone, probiotics, vitamin D and B, progesterone days 13-27, and anastrozole to balance my estrodiol for the acne which does nothing. I was told I am estrogen dominant, and am tried varies things to balance my system. I work at home, sleep about 10-12 hours a day, exercise 2 days a week, eat fully organic/gluten free/fish/veggies/no dairy/good oils/nuts-seeds and still my skin is horrible! Any tips, or suggestions? I took Accutane and antibiotics as a teen/20's so I do not want to take those again, Spironolactone works but I want to get pregnant within the year so I stopped taking that and birth control pills 2-3 years ago. What else will get rid of this acne? It hurts. I am using Retin-A topically daily, and topical clindamycin a few times a week, washing with glycolic cleanser and Clarisonic. Nothing is working and I'm just so embarrassed. Please help.
Since you have a lot going on, I recommend to keep looking into acne.org to see if you can find people who had similar prognosis as you and cleared their skin (perhaps other people with Hashimoto's). Some people don't tolerate Retin-A or strong topicals well. If your skin truly is as bad as you feel, and Retin-A has not helped you at all, then you could be irritating it too much, especially with the glycolic cleanser and Clarisonic. You might need to rebuild your acid mantle layer. Clairsonic is fine for people with healthy, unbroken, uninflamed skin. It's possible that you need to heal your wounds before performing heavy exfoliation. You could also look into the water-only method (search forum topics) and see if that helps at all. It's like an elimination diet for your skin, because you remove things that could be irritating it, and help the skin rebuild its acid mantle layer. If it doesn't help at all, then you don't have to keep doing it. Best of all, it's free.
You're taking a lot internally already, so perhaps start with removing the topicals first and narrow it down until you can figure out what's wrong. Since you have Hashimoto's, I hesitate recommending any internal supplements without checking with your doctor first. You can research DIM (name brand Estroblock - a few of my trusted friends tested different brands, and they claim this one worked the best without side effects), which seems to help people with hormonal acne. If it's ok with your doctor and it feels right to you, you could drop the progesterone and switch to Estroblock daily instead. But Estroblock can take 1-3 months to start showing results, so don't rely on only that.
One thing that helped me is to remember that your skin is your friend, not a enemy battlefield that you have to bulldoze. This especially helped me when dealing with picking. If you touch your skin at all, even lightly scratching out blackheads with your fingernails, then read this website: http://www.stoppickingonme.com/ It will teach you how picking damages your pores (causing the same pimples to show up over and over). It can take many months for your underlying skin to heal after you stop picking.
You're eating really well, so if you don't think you're eating anything you're allergic/intolerant to, then that part should be fine. Only other thing I can suggest that might help a tiny bit is to change your pillow case daily, no fragrances in your detergent (some people are allergic), and don't sleep on your face. Once your skin normalizes and heals completely, you don't have to keep doing this. But while your skin is sensitive and inflamed, I recommend being careful with how you sleep.
Also, fyi - you might want to edit the gender in your profile (it shows up for every post); right now it says you're male. Since you said you want to get pregnant...so you don't confuse people. ) I don't visit the forums much anymore, so I'm trying to give as much info as I can in one post, since I might not visit again for a while.
I have Hashimoto's and terrible acne on my face, neck, chest and back. It is uncontrollable. I do not know what to do. I currently take bioidentical T4, DHEA/pregnenolone, probiotics, vitamin D and B, progesterone days 13-27, and anastrozole to balance my estrodiol for the acne which does nothing. I was told I am estrogen dominant, and am tried varies things to balance my system. I work at home, sleep about 10-12 hours a day, exercise 2 days a week, eat fully organic/gluten free/fish/veggies/no dairy/good oils/nuts-seeds and still my skin is horrible! Any tips, or suggestions? I took Accutane and antibiotics as a teen/20's so I do not want to take those again, Spironolactone works but I want to get pregnant within the year so I stopped taking that and birth control pills 2-3 years ago. What else will get rid of this acne? It hurts. I am using Retin-A topically daily, and topical clindamycin a few times a week, washing with glycolic cleanser and Clarisonic. Nothing is working and I'm just so embarrassed. Please help.
One more thing @EpicPropriety, if you wear makeup: I noticed that makeup brushes generally made my skin worse (because the brushes harbor bacteria, and possibly irritate the skin due to micro-exfoliation). Instead, try switching to something you can gently apply with clean fingers every time (like a liquid pump or tube). Smooth gently over skin and pat lightly to blend. If you prefer powder/mineral makeup, I recommend washing the brushes every single night so that they're clean & dry the next morning.
I have Hashimoto's and terrible acne on my face, neck, chest and back. It is uncontrollable. I do not know what to do. I currently take bioidentical T4, DHEA/pregnenolone, probiotics, vitamin D and B, progesterone days 13-27, and anastrozole to balance my estrodiol for the acne which does nothing. I was told I am estrogen dominant, and am tried varies things to balance my system. I work at home, sleep about 10-12 hours a day, exercise 2 days a week, eat fully organic/gluten free/fish/veggies/no dairy/good oils/nuts-seeds and still my skin is horrible! Any tips, or suggestions? I took Accutane and antibiotics as a teen/20's so I do not want to take those again, Spironolactone works but I want to get pregnant within the year so I stopped taking that and birth control pills 2-3 years ago. What else will get rid of this acne? It hurts. I am using Retin-A topically daily, and topical clindamycin a few times a week, washing with glycolic cleanser and Clarisonic. Nothing is working and I'm just so embarrassed. Please help.
A few quick thoughts. 1) neck acne makes me wonder if its a fod intolerance. Are they cysts or nodules
. Try testing avoiding other foods. Lie the citrus that caused my neck acne.
2) why do you sleep so many hours? How much time do you get outdoors into bright light.
Thanks, I changed my gender in the profile.
My face cleared up this week while having my period, though my chest/back got worse (it all usually gets better during my period). My estrodiol is messed up, as I barely mentioned above, that is why I take the anastrozole, to certainly reduce the acne but I have to take a lot more than the wellness expert originally stated, and the pills are $2 a pop (I take 3 a day, so $6/day for clear skin? - that could be lunch!). Yes, I take progesterone (cream) for days 13-27. This acne feels like a hormone, adrenal or cortisol issue (very complex or somehow all of them together) more than a Hashimoto's issue, but with that I just never know. I will certainly try the Estogenblock, and want to try accupuncture again, perhaps even homeopathic remedies again. I'm open to all of it, one of these things has to work. I have not noticed any changes due to switching foods/eliminating foods, or makeups, though no I do not use a makeup brush. Thanks for the feeback.
My current diet
-No dairy, meat, sugar, little to no wheat
- All organic bananas, strawberries, blueberries, kale, spinach, nuts (peanut, almonds, cashews), oats, green tea, lemon water, brown rice, onions, carrots, peppers.
No real progress on acne, any suggestions on what to take out/put in?
My current diet
-No dairy, meat, sugar, little to no wheat
- All organic bananas, strawberries, blueberries, kale, spinach, nuts (peanut, almonds, cashews), oats, green tea, lemon water, brown rice, onions, carrots, peppers.
No real progress on acne, any suggestions on what to take out/put in?
How long have you eaten like that? Did your acne change at all? Oiliness? What's your acne like?
My current diet
-No dairy, meat, sugar, little to no wheat
- All organic bananas, strawberries, blueberries, kale, spinach, nuts (peanut, almonds, cashews), oats, green tea, lemon water, brown rice, onions, carrots, peppers.
No real progress on acne, any suggestions on what to take out/put in?
How long have you eaten like that? Did your acne change at all? Oiliness? What's your acne like?
My current diet
-No dairy, meat, sugar, little to no wheat
- All organic bananas, strawberries, blueberries, kale, spinach, nuts (peanut, almonds, cashews), oats, green tea, lemon water, brown rice, onions, carrots, peppers.
No real progress on acne, any suggestions on what to take out/put in?
How long have you eaten like that? Did your acne change at all? Oiliness? What's your acne like?
Have slowly been changing my diet for a little over a year after I continue to learn about foods and how it it caused from the inside. So this is where I am currently at with my diet. Here is my story 23 year old male, have mild acne (all cystic), got worse after high school. I believe it is hormonal/hereditary because my mother and siblings all have it as well. Like many have tried just about everything over the counter. I went to to a derm a couple years ago and he gave me tetracycline (which i shouldn't have taken) and a sulfur wash which didn't do much. I hated the idea of using harsh chemicals in or outside of the body so I took the holistic approach. I have had laser treatments to remove red pigmentation marks and am currently getting TCA peels every 4 weeks. I also have at home glycolic and kojic peels I do. I also have a blue/red trophy skin light therapy I use mostly everyday. I wash with a salicylic and tea tree oil wash and different all natural types of soap, while using the Indian healing clay mask (100% Natural Calcium Bentonite Clay) mixed with raw honey and organic apple cider vinegar (keep it on for 1 hour). I started using a dermaroller to try to clear up some scars. It is to the point where I don't want to eat anything that I don't prepare myself.
I am very athletic and workout 4-5 days a week. Meditate daily (very spiritual person). Did a 14 day liver detox. Nothing I do stops my acne completely. Sure I breakout less and they may go away faster but the left over red spots WILL NOT leave. My face is constantly oily within 2 hours of not washing it. (oil has gotten worse within the last year) I think I have a problem with my glands (I sweat very easily at the gym or when i get nervous). I get a new red bumps somewhere every few days so I am never completely clear and the red leftover pigmentation spots are the worst. I also get some body acne as well . Overall I think the diet change has helped, relatively speaking. Appreciate any help/advice!
I suspect cystic acne tends to be due to a food intolerance. I'd experiment with methodically adding & removing foods & groups of related foods. Try citrus. It's the cause of my cystic acne.
How in the world do i start a blog here? this site sucks..
Hey
If you click on 'community' in the top bar, you should see the 'blogs' option in the drop down. Click that and on the page that loads, you should see the 'create a new blog' option on the right of the screen.
A lot of people use the 'personal logs' forum section of the site and use it as a blog to keep track of their progress - so that's an option to.
If you have any other questions just send me or one of the other moderators a message - happy to help.
I suspect cystic acne tends to be due to a food intolerance. I'd experiment with methodically adding & removing foods & groups of related foods. Try citrus. It's the cause of my cystic acne.
Or maybe food has very little to do with acne. I got tested for allergies and the citrus food was not the cause of my acne. The dietitian doesn't think so either. Sometimes, people just have really bad skin and the diet doesn't change the situation.
I suspect cystic acne tends to be due to a food intolerance. I'd experiment with methodically adding & removing foods & groups of related foods. Try citrus. It's the cause of my cystic acne.
Or maybe food has very little to do with acne. I got tested for allergies and the citrus food was not the cause of my acne. The dietitian doesn't think so either. Sometimes, people just have really bad skin and the diet doesn't change the situation.
And I suppose sometimes people just get fat, diabetes, heart disease, etc. diet has nothing to do with it?
Allergies are only one of the many ways diet affects acne. And it is absolutely impossible for it not to. Diet affects everything happening in your body and I've clearly unlined many specifics in this thread.
Also, it's very possible your allergy tests are useless. They are all prone to false positives and negatives. And the average test and allergist is only concerned about IgE antibody mediated responses which are not the type involved in acne other than anything that increases inflammation will aggravate acne.
There is a difference between acne caused by bad eating habits and hereditary acne.
I don't think that someone who is prone to having acne because of their genetic makeup would benefit from cutting diary and gluten if they are used to buying organic and follow a low GI diet in general.
It's needless to say that processes packaged food, refined sugars (as well as sugar in general), soda and hormone-stacked products have no place in a healthy diet, so I understand how someone can improve their acne by completely removing these types of "food" out of their diet.
What I don't agree with is the claim that diet can remove or lessen any person's acne. Some people who have had a healthy diet most of their lives can't prevent acne from happening if they are predisposed to having it.
A massive study of 458 pairs of identical twins and 1099 pairs of fraternal twins found that genes explained 81% of the difference in acne prevalence. Only 19% was explained by non-shared environmental factors (such as diet and stress).
Also, another study compared 204 acne patients with 144 non-acne controls. The researchers compared the difference in rates of acne in first-degree relatives (parent, sibling, and offspring) between patients and controls. They found that having a first-degree relative with acne increases your risk of getting it by 4 times.
There is a difference between acne caused by bad eating habits and hereditary acne.
Wrong. We are all prone to having acne because of genetics. Myself included. And everyone else that had posted here about their diet success, And I cleared my skin and keep it clear via a healthy diet and lifestyle.
Point me to that twin study. Where's the link. Who did it? When?
Because your genes do not really control that much. They once thought so, but then our genome was mapped in the last century.and it was discovered that we really don't have that many genes. It is what you do to yourself that matters and is more like 70- 80% of the liklelihood of developing a condition. What matters is gene expression and this changes according to environmental factors, in other words, what you do to yourself. Even your eye color can change as many blue eyed users of Latisse discovered.
Phenotype and epigenetics are two terms you need to learn. Your genes are just a blue print that is not followed to the letter. I don't care what health condition you are talking about. You can say 'it's just your genes' all you want, but you'd be wrong.
I don't know why you are criticizing a thread you clearly didn't read, but if you go back to the first post, you'll find links to threads about all of this.
Hey,
I don't come up with those ideas myself, so if you think that the published research is wrong that's your prerogative. I'm glad that the changes you've made in your diet and lifestyle have cleared up your skin! From your profile name I could already guess that you're already heavily biased in your views. The fact that you're almost 50 years old is also a huge plus, because statistically speaking you're past the age of getting acne. What's more important is that your acne can be easily manipulated as you've stated, so you should consider yourself very lucky! Since you don't have past pictures of the severity of your acne, I doubt it that it was that bad to begin with.
Before you go on judging people, please don't forget that some are predisposed to having it more than others,and that you shouldn't imply that they are following an inferior diet/lifestyle. It's rude. You probably never had it that bad on first place, or you consumed low quality food. I know Texans deep fry everything Whatever the case is, I understand how the switch has worked in your favor.
Just remember that not every single person's acne responds to diet and lifestyle, particularly if one has already been leading a healthy life for years. This is why we have dermatologists who work with patients who are predisposed more than others to having acne and cannot treat it with over the counter products or home remedies. You can easily locate the studies on NIH's website. Regarding your thread- it's 16 pages long and quite disorganized. Maybe you should write a book one day which I'd definitely buy