I haven't been on here in years. Seems to happen to most that get clear, and seem to vanish right? I figured I'd just drop a line to tell people what has kept me more or less crystal clear for 4 years now. I too was like many on here, frustrated, and down right horribly depressed. I don't want to sound conceited, but I was fairly attractive, and unfortunatly plagued with acne that just kept getting worse as I got older. I got to a very very low point, where I was completely shut in, crying every day, and quit my job and moved half way across the country because of it. I spent thousands of hours doing research. What did I come upon????
In a more complex, and lengthy way than I have time to get into, a lot of it has to do with adrenal function. But want a short cut?
Low carb.......that's right. It's the easiest, fastest way to get crystal clear skin. For me anyways, and I imagine a lot of other people. I'll tell you though it wasn't easy when I started because my body and hormones were so used to running on a high carb diet, that I had a lot of problems, but I figured it out after awhile.
It's really about controlling your insulin levels. Insulin is the #2 cause of major inflammation. #1????.......stress
Yeah low carb does work for some people, like ya said having to do with insulin and release of adrenal hormones. Blood sugar.. etc. Others high carb low fat works lol, it is crazy ya just gotta see what works for ya. Some people on 80/10/10 claim their acne went away on it and that diet is all carbs. For me balance works best. Without carbs I have no energy and and get too skinny. But yeah congrats to ya 
Well my diet has fluctuated throughout the years. If my skin starts to flair up I get it under control by manipulating the diet. But in order to stay clear with moderate amounts of stress I usually try and keep the carbs under 100grams. I will usually eat a lot of vegetables, animal protein, and sources of fat. Foods that I've found through years of trial and error that can cause acne for me are: Grains, fruit, excessive root vegetables, and coffee, so basically foods that illicit a strong insulin response. Interesting note........I found that I could eat an unlimited number of refined carbs(I tested upwards of 400g) if I did absolutely nothing all day, i.e....sat in my pajamies all day and watched tv(NO STRESS). I found that to be incredibly fasinating and thus made the adrenal/hormone connection. So depending on the level of activities I will be doing for the day will determine my carb load. I could really talk at length about it, but this is the most brief and simplistic way to put it. I literally studied everyday for hours, and hours, for years about the endocrine system, human anatomy and physiology so that I could fix my acne. Now people compliment me on my skin, and I've gotten used to it over the last several years but was always taken aback at first. I would explain that I used to have very problematic skin that caused horrible emotional trauma for me. So I suppose I wanted to post this so that people don't give up. I was in your boat too, and through sheer persistance I figured out what was personally causing my acne, and you can too. Everyone is unique and it's nature's way of letting you know that you are out of balance, and to correct it.
I will put a sample diet for a normal workday:
Breakfast: 1 sausage, 1 egg
Snack: turkey slices, hummus, celery
Lunch: Salad, w/meat and dressing
Snack: 1/2 apple, cottage cheese, few almonds
Dinner: Pork Chop, sweet potatoes, broccoli
Bedtime snack: rice crackers, goat cheese
Sure, does it need to be more elaborate?
No. You can link to this thread.
Stress Is a big factor for any peope, but you really should be moving around when eating high carb. You need t o burn up the sugar stored in your cells or they won't take in any mor. And sugar in your bloodstream is damaging. And your body will kep secreting insulin to try to get it out.
^^haha Im pretty sure she just meant that one day or here and there.
But anyway what refined carbs did you eat 400g of? And fruit doesn't cause an insulin spike, I've read a lot of diabetics testing that theory any only some dried fruits like dates spike insulin. There was one study where a guy ate 15 bananas in a row and didnt spike his blood sugar or insulin. And yeah Ive done countless hours as well throughout the years, Im all good now too I come on this site for this nutrition forum because I find it all interesting somethin to read when bored. My diet is similar to yours but I eat probably double the calories at least haha, I'm a male so need to eat to stay muscular. The only carbs I eat are lentils and bananas, lentils are very low GI and have actually been shown to HELP insulin resistance. I eat sweet potatoes as well here and there. But ya good for you bet you are a pretty girl from the looks in your avatar pic hit me up haha.. half jokin.. peace.
Unfortunatly crashoran digestive enzymes have little to do with your insulin receptors. Thehoper I'll tell you what I ate during my little experiment: poptarts, muffins, pizza, candy, ice cream, soda, etc...you get the picture The key for me to not breakout while eating these things was to literally have ZERO stress. No phone calls, no going anywhere, not doing a dang thing but getting up and watching tv, and internet. Literally my adrenals didn't have to pump out one stress hormone. I was actually amazed. I did this experiment for over a year. I would have a normal work day, one I didn't even consider stressful and would modulate my carbs anywhere from 20-150, and moniter my skin. I would start to get flairups if I went upwards of 100 or so grams depending on how active I was at work. Then I would have maybe a day or 2 off, and I wouldn't even leave my apartment for anything. I would get up, no shower, no obligations, turn my phone off, and just eat whatever ridiculous junk food I wanted while watching tv all day. I would even do this for days, and weeks(no job) in row, and the same thing......my skin stayed cleared. But bam, as soon I started doing stuff again, like working, hanging out with friends, running errands, etc my skin would flair up again by even a morsel of those type of refined carbs. Now I will say too, I also suffer from psoriasis and when I would eat the refined carbs(wheat is the main culprit) after a couple week it would flair up, but not my acne. So of course I made the adrenal/hormonal connection. I have poorly functioning adrenals due to years of drugs, alcohol, and sugar abuse.
NOTE: I am not at all advocating this type of junk food eating. I did it as an experiment. If you eat junk food over a period of time, you will damage your insulin receptors and have to work twice as hard to restore insulin sensitivty. Not only that, but you will damage you intestinal lining which will make you suseptibility to acne greater due to increased gut permeability and undigested proteins. Undigested proteins in the bloodstream= Inflammation. Inflammation= Acne.
Alternativista I'm not sure how to link the post????
^^haha Im pretty sure she just meant that one day or here and there.
But anyway what refined carbs did you eat 400g of? And fruit doesn't cause an insulin spike, I've read a lot of diabetics testing that theory any only some dried fruits like dates spike insulin.
Yes, it can. I finished an apple right before walking in to a doctors office and while my insulin wasn't high, it was higher than he thought it should be for someone who exercised as much as it looked like I did because of the way the questions on the form were worded.
Alternativista I'm not sure how to link the post????
Go back to the menu. Right click on the link to this thread and copy the address. OR go to url bar at the top of your browser and copy the address. Then go to the success compilation page http://www.acne.org/messageboard/topic/172158-success-compilation-thread/ and create a new post and paste the url.
Hey! I have a few questions.
I totally agree with you. I tackled insulin induced inflammation to get clear. However, I found it interesting that when you stayed home, your body could handle much more. I am also on a break from work and going to restart next week.
1) So what would you suggest I should do to counter/prevent any undue stress or whatever besides limiting carbs when I get busy?
Also even though Im not getting any new pimples, my healing seems to be very very slow. My skin seems to be the same to me as it was in last two weeks.
2) Any tips on what makes healing faster?
3) How to fade the leftover brown marks faster?
It would be great help if you give your insight from your experience.
1) Take supplements to support your adrenal glands. It will really go a long way. Do a little research into the topic and you will make the connection. This was another very important component in my healing. You see even when I was 100 percent compliant with my low carb paleo diet for the first year I was still breaking out. It was because I was putting a lot of stress on already fatigued adrenals.
2) The single best thing I found that healed my skin faster than a modified diet was getting A LOT of sleep. You will heal so much faster if you are able to sleep 9 hours a night.
3) I too had leftover red and brown marks. I used apple cider vinegar, and a light scrub. I would dilute the ACV with water and with a cotton pad would "cleanse" my skin every morning and night. I did that only for about a year because I was so paranoid to do anything else to my face. I still occasionally do that, but when I do wash my face with a mild cleanser now I will use a light scrub afterward. Really the key is just to lightly speed up the exfoliation process.
Supplements for adrenal fatigue is risky business though. It's not even a fact if adrenal fatigue exists. I believed that hardcore too and did some supplements for it that just seemed to make it worse. Like licorice root and ginseng and those. Getting good sleep can make all the difference and is best for hormonal balance.
Well I guess it's relative if anything "exists". But if you test your hormones and your DHEA, and Cortisol are out of whack it is usually because of a dysfuntion from the HPA axis, which is usually a result of all the things that damage your adrenal glands, seeing as they are the strongest component in the sex hormone triad.
I actually use quite a variety of supplements. Nothing is really quite static in my program, as your body/enviroment changes all the time thus the program needs to change. I got tested some years ago a complete hormonal and CBC panel, as well as thyroid. This inculded: DHEA, 4 point cortisol, progesterone, estrogens, testosterone, minerals, liver function, cholesterol, thryoid panel(TSH, T4, and T3). It was very revealing, and gave me more insight. I actually worked at a health food store for 5 years during the time. I ended up being trained and the lead specialist, and hormone profile analysis, and further consultant for the 3 stores in town. I was able to travel, train and converse with some of the best naturopathic, and vitamin company C.E.O.'s in the country.
The supplements/herbs that are included in the protocol, although not necessarily simultaneously are: Licorice Root, Siberan Ginseng, Maca, Rhodiola, Vitamin C, Wobenzyme, Fish Oil, Pantothenic Acid, B-Complex, Selenium, Kelp, L-Tyroisne, 5htp, Adrenal glandulars, Thyroid glandulars, Mineral complex, Magnesium, Digestive Enzymes, Digestive bitters, ox bile, and various others depending on what is going on in my life. Some are only temporary, some I take more regularly.
Hmm wow interesting. How did those tests come out what if anything was way out of whack? Like a year and half ago now I got tons of blood tests done, filled 19 viles almost passed out lol. And everything was fine the doctor actually told me I was extremely healthy and wanted to know about my diet. Pretty sure I got all those tested as well.. don't know about liver enzymes and DHEA though, my thyroid was all normal though which I was really surprised at, my sister is Hypo and we are like twins, so I thought Id by hypo too. Id like to go to someone in a position like you were and get all those things tested.
Well my I had very serious issues. My progesterone was very low(low body weight at the time), my 4 point cortisol definitly indicated pretty severe adrenal insufficieny(very low morning, high night). My T3 levels were low, I had elevated liver enzymes, and a low white blood cell count. I wasn't suprised by any of this, hence why I got all the testing done. You mentioned viles..... Testing your hormones through blood is a very inaccurate way to do it. Saliva is the most accurate for free flowing hormone levels. Of course a regular medical doctor will not test in this manner as it is a matter of expense. You can test independently for what I consider a reasonable price through ZRT labs. They are probably the most reputable independent lab to do saliva based hormone testing. How old are you? I get the impression that you are young, and I wouldn't be suprised if your hormones are normal. Being a male is also quite a hormonal advantage in terms of adrenal, and thyroid integrity.
I'm 22. Tonight is my last night of 21 years old.. tomorrow is my birthday I think my hormones definitely aren't normal. Had bad acne from 15 and then cleared 95% of it through diet, supps and healthy living when I was about 19-20, skin has been mild ever since but I still get breakouts here and there around my mouth/jaw. Which most people say is hormonal.. Hopefully things balance out in the next couple years.. really nothing else I could do at this point I know acne through and through and exactly what to do to treat it but I don't even know if its possible to 100% eliminate it. In the past year I just haven't cared any more and if I get a breakout I just don't even think much of it, better this way then to stress over completely perfect skin..
but ya my tests were blood so would be interesting to tests through saliva.. Things is.. even if levels are messed up, what would you do to combat it? lol, Ive done everything to balance hormones naturally, and not interested in taking any severe doc medication.. think Id rather just keep doin what Im doin any hope the breakouts stop with time.