Quick preface and background on my situation:
25 year old male. 6'0" 175lbs. Exercise regularly (3 days of lifting and usually 2-3 days of cardio). I've been dealing with moderate acne for close to 10 years. I've had periods of success, but those are always temporary. Having exhausted all medical options, except accutane, I've moved on to other methods.
Typically, I only get a pimple or two a week. Where I lack in quantity, I make up for it in severity. 75% of pimples I get are very inflammed and large. Most eventually come to a head, but I will get the occasional cyst that lasts months. The worst part is the severe post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation that occurs after 90% of my pimples.
My diet has slowly evolved for the better since I graduated college 3 years ago. I decided to give paleo a shot. Like I said, I already ate pretty healthy pre-paleo, so I wouldn't say I'm eating a lot more of anything (so I wouldn't attribute this to an increase in egg consumption, for example). I'm just eating less carbs and legumes. A week into paleo, I've noticed a bit of a change:
- I've broken out a bit more than usual.
- However, most of the pimples are miniscule bumps that only I can probably see.
- The few pimples I have seem to:
- Be smaller than my standard pre-paleo pimple.
- Come to a head faster
- Go down faster
- Still very inflammed and red.
- My skin is considerably less oily at the end of my workday.
While the larger amount of acne than usual certainly has me pretty freaked out, I am intrigued by the change in my pimples.
Has anyone else suffered from a initial paleo breakout? How does it typically go from your first week to first month to first year?
Well, I don't actually do Paleo, I just eat real food.
I have a suspicion that the cystic/nodular acne tends to be a response to an allergen or intolerance. This is based only on my own experience and many posts from others here. I get nodules from most forms of citrus. I figured that out long ago, but it was a while before I figured out that I key limes where amongst the citrus I needed to avoid. So for several years I ramdomly bought lemons, Persian limes, or key limes to have in my water. But I had the key limes often enough that I nearly always had a couple cysts/nodules coming or going, since they take so long to heal, I pretty much always had a couple. Perhaps this is your issue with the nodules.
As for the new acne, are you sure you haven't increased anything to compensate for the foods you aren't eating? Have you ever had this kind of acne before? Have you changed anything topically? What about supplements? You don't do body building shakes or whatever?
Well, I don't actually do Paleo, I just eat real food.
I have a suspicion that the cystic/nodular acne tends to be a response to an allergen or intolerance. This is based only on my own experience and many posts from others here. I get nodules from most forms of citrus. I figured that out long ago, but it was a while before I figured out that I key limes where amongst the citrus I needed to avoid. So for several years I ramdomly bought lemons, Persian limes, or key limes to have in my water. But I had the key limes often enough that I nearly always had a couple cysts/nodules coming or going, since they take so long to heal, I pretty much always had a couple. Perhaps this is your issue with the nodules.
As for the new acne, are you sure you haven't increased anything to compensate for the foods you aren't eating? Have you ever had this kind of acne before? Have you changed anything topically? What about supplements? You don't do body building shakes or whatever?
Paleo is more of an experiment, as I'm starting with the foods it eliminates (dairy, grains, legumes) to see if that affects my acne either way.
I don't consume much citrus, so I don't think it would be that. I really am not sure what the allergen could be, so I'm starting with the most common ones.
The only foods I have increased my intake of are vegetables. Instead of having a grain and/or legume with my meal, I've substituted that with sweet potatoes or broccoli or brussel sprouts. I already had been eating a vegetable with my meal, so I've doubled that.
I have had this kind of acne before. The cystic acne was rare and is a more recent development (within the last year or so). Most of my acne history has been of the nodular variety.
Topicals and supplements have remained the same. I do drink post-workout shakes, but I use hemp protein and not whey. I've been drinking these forever, even during my periods of clarity, and I've gone long periods where I don't drink them so I don't believe these are a problem.
I'm not expecting immediate results. I'm very happy that my acne is smaller, less severe, and going away faster. The quantity of the breakout is what freaked me out a little, but maybe I'm just in a "flushing" stage?
Well, I don't actually do Paleo, I just eat real food.
I have a suspicion that the cystic/nodular acne tends to be a response to an allergen or intolerance. This is based only on my own experience and many posts from others here. I get nodules from most forms of citrus. I figured that out long ago, but it was a while before I figured out that I key limes where amongst the citrus I needed to avoid. So for several years I ramdomly bought lemons, Persian limes, or key limes to have in my water. But I had the key limes often enough that I nearly always had a couple cysts/nodules coming or going, since they take so long to heal, I pretty much always had a couple. Perhaps this is your issue with the nodules.
As for the new acne, are you sure you haven't increased anything to compensate for the foods you aren't eating? Have you ever had this kind of acne before? Have you changed anything topically? What about supplements? You don't do body building shakes or whatever?
I don't consume much citrus, so I don't think it would be that. I really am not sure what the allergen could be, so I'm starting with the most common ones.
The only foods I have increased my intake of are vegetables. Instead of having a grain and/or legume with my meal, I've substituted that with sweet potatoes or broccoli or brussel sprouts. I already had been eating a vegetable with my meal, so I've doubled that.
I have had this kind of acne before. The cystic acne was rare and is a more recent development (within the last year or so). Most of my acne history has been of the nodular variety.
It doesn't have to be citrus. It could be anything. That was just my story about my intolerance. And I think both cystic and nodular acne tends to be a food intolerance. Or could be a topical, although I've never heard of an example.