Hi All-

I'll give the usual "I never post, just lurk" start off so that you know it's surprising that I took the time to write this down to share and track progress.

I'm a 26 y/o female who has had acne on and off again since 13. I've been on everything you can name including one coarse of Accutane which helped with the cystic stuff for maybe 6 months after the completed coarse but the acne gradually came back and bounced from being severe to mild and sometimes clear over the last two frustrating years.

Now I'm on spironolactone which has helped me tremendously! Those cystic nightmares are fewer and farer in between. I have weeks when I'm clear however I do still breakout in waves mostly in whiteheads and pustules on my lower cheek area with one cheek predominately more prone than the other. Because Accutane was such a temporary fix and I've seen more progress with Spiro, I chalked up my acne to out of whack hormones. And while I do believe that to be true in my case, I also have experienced diet related breakouts. Once you believe there's something in your diet (or something lacking in your diet), you start going crazy trying to pinpoint exactly what it is! So the last two years have been a struggle with testing, abstaining, worrying, and resisting.

Diet/Holistic-wise here is what I've done with my diet over the last two years and my general feedback with how it worked for me:

Raw Food diet- This was hard on my stomach and although I believed I was pretty healthy following this diet my acne worsened. I have found that my body likes steamed veggies rather than raw. Low sugar fruits are ok in moderation.

High Fat Diet- All types of Nuts, Seeds, Avocados, CO, Flax Oil, Hemp Seed, EVOO, Olives (with moderate protein intake). Skin initially cleared. But I had more clogged pores which eventually escalated into pustules. I think it really helped in the beginning as I probably was fat deficient in my diet but after a while it wasn't helping as much and skin was getting bad again.

Coconut Oil w/ every meal- This is a tricky one. Been using CO on and off again for a year. I thought it was a miracle in the beginning. I had the die off reaction where I felt very sick for the first week but my body adjusted and my skin got very clear. I was telling everyone that Coconut Oil was the cure for all ailments and my friends were joking that I should be a coconut oil spokes woman! BUT I also attribute CO to the worse acne breakouts I've had too. It's just a very tricky oil to get right. Too much or at the wrong time can turn into your worst nightmare and eventually I was just worrying every time that I used it so I have really limited my consumption and usage.

My diet right now is where I think Ive found the right combo.

Diary- I havent included it in my diet in the last two years (which the odd exceptions). Im not sure if dairy really is a trigger for me but seeing that acne sufferers have sworn off the stuff, I think Ill jump on the no-dairy bandwagon to play it safe. Im not sure if dairy really causes a reaction in me but I do not care to test it out and have seen flare ups after cheese and yogurt consumption so I probably have some intolerance

Gluten- Hard to stay away from but probably for the best. In small portions might not cause a flare but definitely in larger portions will. I also notice lots of bloating after eating gluten. I am not a big bread eater but crackers and cookies in my diet has worsened acne on me before and I think the sugar and gluten probably had a lot to do with it.

Nuts- This is my most recent discovery. I have had a love affair with nuts over the past two years. I have had it as my go to snack. Fun to eat and packed with healthy fats and protein, I thought I was doing well. But after slowing down and not eating them for a few days, Ive seen my acne subside. I am amazed that I never made the connection before. I think I was just in denial and saw that it didnt always cause a reaction (probably due to me being intolerant of some types of peanuts and seeds but not all)

Ive also cut back on my facial products. I try to treat my skin gently and not use products designed for acne as I think it irritates my skin and makes it worse. Olay of Olay gentle wash for sensitive skin. Ren Clear and Calm Night Time Serum. Difference Cream (sometimes) Derme Hyaluronic Acid Rehydrating Serum. Chanel Foundation.

I want to stick with this for a while. Im very hopeful that Ive finally found the culprits and I have the right information and plan to let my skin heal. Ill let you know how it goes.

 

I can say that once i cut gluten out i saw improvements but not to the point where i could fully come off meds.

I believe nutrition is beneficial but i am not sold that it is a 100% solution.

Dairy. Again no convinced this is a trigger point.

Saying that everyone is different and responds differently. I think you are doing the right thing by trying to find what is right for you but try to only have one variable going on at once. That way you can successfully eliminate what you are sensitive to.

So It's been a little less than a week and I have to say I'm a firm believer that this is what I need to do to stay clear. monday-thursday I was really good. I can count one instance in those four days when I knowingly consumed peanuts (snack mix, was drinking) and I was fine! And my skin cleared up so much. I swear. I was just covering scars and put tamuru oil?? On. And Thursday I went out a date and I didn't want to act like a freak (I'm skinny as is from my love of running and didn't want him to think I had an eating disorder off the bat) so I ordered something that I thought was fairly safe (salmon with squash spaghetti) and for appetizer we had something with a little cheexe in it. I was fine. But Friday I was hungry and stressed over so much so I had gluten in the morning. Gluten in salad. A thing of sunflower seeds. Cashews that had a milk product in it. A bite of a cookie. So basically I qad consuming the three things I was trying to stay away from and on top of it I feel like I'm getting sick. I woke up. One small one under my most hurts. But that's it. I'm kind of bummed that I fell off the wagon. It probably is more the fact that I'm fighting off a cold but I'm sure the junk didn't help. And its one small thing.. nothing to freak over. But I just don't want it to snowball like its prone up doing on me. I had a couple of cashews this am. A green apple. Rice. Coffee. Except for nuts, I'm fine. Its just hard to be diligent on diet when I feel sick! But I have to stick with it if I think this helps. I will go grocery shopping today. I hate grocery shopping. I like to get things to eat along my way everyday. When I grocery shop, I feel so stuck with what I picked up.