I'm a 24 Male, hadn't eaten right all through high school, skipped meals started smoking at 15 full time...Been dealing with acne for about 4-years now, started off minor as small whiteheads, not too bad and over the years got worse and worse, started to calm down last year times, When i say calm down i mean no cystic acne, but slight inflammation on chin and reder nose and cheeks...constant. as well as dandruff on chin and beard all time when i grow it out. I though it was just smoking, so when i quite at 19 i thought that would be enough.However, It's still big problem for me. Its effected me in ways as to where i may be going ocd on certain diets and regimens, ironically, which might be doing negative effects rather than positive on my skin and health, I realized that recently that acne is down to your organs and internal health and workings, good skin comes from all your parts working properly, don't ask my why i didn't put 2and2 together then. Unfortunately i fell for smoking again last year, (just to add most of my smoking career was cigs and vast amount of weed. Anyways, i started again last November and managed for a couple of months with no major skin problems, until June times when I was forced to quit and seriously rethink my mindset as my skin was breaking out ridiculously again all over... i noticed, as i was breaking out my gut was playing up, extreme hunger feelings, all the time and my kidneys & spleen i think aches quite a lot. My digestion is bad, slow and i have to sort of force myself to poo. Constipation which in turn leads to my inflammation being worse. I've been to dermatologists before this and turned them down because im not taking shitty drugs when i know the answer is within. I keep seeing so man diets and info on candida, leaky gut, SIBO, TCM on kidneys and liver etc....Having had a few stool tests and nothing come back negative, I'm still not satisfied as their tests are not the comprehensive ones. Anyways...I've been racking my brains, self-diagnosing, being tortured over what foods i should shouldn't eat etc.... GAPS diet, Paleo diet all that shit, and I really need other peoples opinions, stories. I try the low carb stuff but its honestly not enough food for me, i end up being starving and feeling worse, not sleeping because i don't have all the right foods. I do think its something out with my gut, stomach and other parts kidneys liver and spleen, which I've ignored for years, by eating big bowls of curry pasta, etc...filling my food cravings and not dealt with it fully. It's now coming for November, and my forehead is generally OK and cheeks OK touch wood. My nose is always red-er and cheeks slightly red-er as well, which doesn't look good, i hope its not rosacea beginning. Also, only acne is around chin always red, and either side of chin keep getting big red cycstic ones. Also red inflammation around nose trills. Oh yea this dandruff like shit on my mustache and chin, chin hair. Wont go no matter how many years of shaving....Sorry to flood you with all this nasty story, But i need others stories etc...Peace....
Any comments, if any1s dealt with this as well.
I think you are on the right track with fixing the inside problems with diet. I truly understand why all this info on diets, what to eat, and how to actually be full is a problem. I had the same problems.
I am on a like 70% paleo-ish diet myself. I do so called carb-cycling. So before any exercise/gym i will eat a huge bowl of some carbohydrate but low glycemic. In the morning this is mostly oats and in the afternoon it is brown rice or whole wheat pasta.
I never break out from oats, but I do break out from pasta if I do not use up the carbs in the gym (like if I sit on the couch;)).
Everything else (for lunch and dinner) i eat all sorts of vegetables and low fat meat, like chicken, turkey, beef. I also add olive oil (extra virgin). Sometimes I eat dark chocolate (like 80% cocoa) sometimes i drink diet coke but not very much. I also enjoy a glass or two of red wine sometimes.
I had acne, but I am pretty much clear now I also experienced ichi scalp and dandruff and startet to shred some hair. All this has stopped now. When my diet is the above I will see one or two small pimple every two weeks. I have tried a couple of times to eat pizza, candy or a couple of days with standart american diet, I will see 5-10 soemtimes more pimples in the follwoing days and week.
So i eat oats and a big apple in the morning. Then I go for a quick run. Sometimes i am hungry after the run, then I eat some more oats.
Of to university and if i am hungry before lunch i snack on carrots or nuts
Lunch is pretty much allways leftovers of yesterdays dinner.
Afternoon: big bowl of low Glycemic carbs then off to the gym.
Dinner: Some type of meat and vegs. To make it easy I just tear it all up and put it in a pan add olive oil, fry it and eat it 
Snacks is mostly vegs, fruits, berries, nuts but sometimes the low sugar chocolate or 'diabetic' chocolate (with no added sugar)
I hope this helps a little. Best of luck.
Hey
Have you by any chance taken a lot of antibiotics? I'm just asking because they can have a large impact on both the gut & how your liver functions.
I am currently taking acidophilus fforte & my digestive health has improved immensely!
Also milk thistle can support your liver function.. vitex do a good one in drop fform
These are by no means miracles though & take time - they may not improve your acne at all.. It didn't help mine - but I do feel healthier overall
As fofor your diet .. There is no need to freak out. . I've a sensitive stomach & find a good rule of thumb to be eat like nan & grandad did .. being from Ireland stuff like cabbage , rhubarb, carrots turnips are what I feel like my body was probably designed to eat .. so I go for them & avoid processed sugar as much as I can (when you stop having it you don't miss it so much) but even my grandparents had a slice of cake on Sunday so I won't deny myself ! Everything in balance , everything will work itself out when you take care of yourself
I'm a 24 Male, hadn't eaten right all through high school, skipped meals started smoking at 15 full time...Been dealing with acne for about 4-years now, started off minor as small whiteheads, not too bad and over the years got worse and worse, started to calm down last year times, When i say calm down i mean no cystic acne, but slight inflammation on chin and reder nose and cheeks...constant. as well as dandruff on chin and beard all time when i grow it out. I though it was just smoking, so when i quite at 19 i thought that would be enough.However, It's still big problem for me. Its effected me in ways as to where i may be going ocd on certain diets and regimens, ironically, which might be doing negative effects rather than positive on my skin and health, I realized that recently that acne is down to your organs and internal health and workings, good skin comes from all your parts working properly, don't ask my why i didn't put 2and2 together then. Unfortunately i fell for smoking again last year, (just to add most of my smoking career was cigs and vast amount of weed. Anyways, i started again last November and managed for a couple of months with no major skin problems, until June times when I was forced to quit and seriously rethink my mindset as my skin was breaking out ridiculously again all over... i noticed, as i was breaking out my gut was playing up, extreme hunger feelings, all the time and my kidneys & spleen i think aches quite a lot. My digestion is bad, slow and i have to sort of force myself to poo. Constipation which in turn leads to my inflammation being worse. I've been to dermatologists before this and turned them down because im not taking shitty drugs when i know the answer is within. I keep seeing so man diets and info on candida, leaky gut, SIBO, TCM on kidneys and liver etc....Having had a few stool tests and nothing come back negative, I'm still not satisfied as their tests are not the comprehensive ones. Anyways...I've been racking my brains, self-diagnosing, being tortured over what foods i should shouldn't eat etc.... GAPS diet, Paleo diet all that shit, and I really need other peoples opinions, stories. I try the low carb stuff but its honestly not enough food for me, i end up being starving and feeling worse, not sleeping because i don't have all the right foods. I do think its something out with my gut, stomach and other parts kidneys liver and spleen, which I've ignored for years, by eating big bowls of curry pasta, etc...filling my food cravings and not dealt with it fully. It's now coming for November, and my forehead is generally OK and cheeks OK touch wood. My nose is always red-er and cheeks slightly red-er as well, which doesn't look good, i hope its not rosacea beginning. Also, only acne is around chin always red, and either side of chin keep getting big red cycstic ones. Also red inflammation around nose trills. Oh yea this dandruff like shit on my mustache and chin, chin hair. Wont go no matter how many years of shaving....Sorry to flood you with all this nasty story, But i need others stories etc...Peace....
Any comments, if any1s dealt with this as well.
charles, your skin situation sounds quite aimilar to mine but your life description was almost a description of me!
I too think you are on the right track. I have a few rules built from experience those are:
1) i will never take oral treatments or pharma products for skin
2) everything in moderation, i too am edging closer and closer to using just warm water to wash my face.
3) foods help a lot, eating a natural organicdiet with reduced meat for a month will prove this to almost anyone.
4) sunlight can beboth incredibly good and very damaging to the skin. But to those of us with issues it is invaluable - In moderation! If you start to burn AT ALL get out of the sun and avoid increasing skin cancer risks.
I started smoking on a similar timeline and as a 22 yearold male, have been smoking weed daily for a good 2-3 years now, the weed hasnt been an issue for me quite opposite infact, my skin cleared up from most spots and a lot of my other health infringements have disappeared. I still smoke rolling tobacco a few times a day but am trying to cut down. I have had a lot of the issues you describe, recently having kidney stones due to stress and over intake of caffeine, therefore causing dehydration..... all of these symptoms tie in with stress for me, the job i've held for the last 2 years was high up in a medical company which was stressful and contributed to my bad diet and over consumption of caffeine.
Its been a month since I left and reduced coffee to max 1 a day. My drug intake is almost completely limited to the illegal variety, though it rarely escalates beyond weed. I point blank refuse to take any pharma products, i didnt even take the pain meds for passing the kidney stones which takes comitment. I wont go into how i know the amount of crap in them, but i wont ingest them or reccommend them. I have been eating more healthily and exercising properly (no big gains bodybuider techniques) and my skin is looking better than ever minus the winter tan reversal.
To further that edge of discussion, one of my friend groups are all avid drug takers and have been for around a decade, most of them have absolutely shocking diets (talking exclusively fried meat, potato, or sweets) and thats it. Curiously, all of these people have amazing skin, with all different skin types. Doesnt make sense does it...