Hi. I am really desperate for advices.

I am a 34 years old man. I have battled acne for 16 years now, so as long as I can remember.

I had managed to get it under control a few weeks back. No more painful pimples, just some old scarring.

I was just on vitamin D3 (1 pill a day, nothing fancy), clinique washgel for men, and clinique moisturizer for men. I had cut gluten totally out of my diet, as well as milk.

I thought it was safe to go back on gluten (because i need to put on some weight).

VERY big mistake. i have painful pimples coming back out. 3 i kept under control and they did not come out. 2 i could not and they are out there, very active, very red.

My question is then, what can I eat? What types of food are gluten-free, dairy free, low sugar (low GI), but still with calories? As a man, i need to be a little weighty.. I am clearly under the weight i should be right now (70kg for 1M82), but I do not find anything that would help me gain some weight without breaking me out in painful pimples.

Also if i lose too much weight, my scars on cheeks are much more visible......

Anyone can advise a low sugar - no gluten - no dairy food??

 

I suggest trying Wai Diet for 2 weeks.

After these 2 weeks you should be 99-100% clear, and then you can start adding 1 non-Wai food at a time, and see whether it gives you acne or not.

This way, you'll end up knowing what foods give you acne and what foods don't.

About what can you eat like a man - fruits, as long as you eat fat (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, nuts, egg yolks) at the same time, in order not to spike blood glucose levels.

Good luck!

Hi Battle --- it's hard to know what to eat when trying to clear up acne! From what my dietician has me on and what I've read works for many people, it seems avoiding sugars, dairy, caffeine, alcohol and common allergy foods like wheat and soy is best. I also worry about keeping on weight but have found some solutions. The biggest change is realizing you can't eat on the run like most Americans do (burgers, sandwiches, etc). Instead it's eating more like our ancestors...cooking a meal and sitting down. Even if you grab a salad at a take-out place...it's too hard to eat while driving! But I try to look on the bright side and think that it's probably much better for my health to eat more slowly. The health food store is your friend. Our health food coop here has been a tremendous resource for ideas and support.

Here's some ideas...

Protein --- meats, poultry, fish, nuts, eggs

Carbs --- potatoes (with skins is not high glycemic), brown rice, gluten-free noodles, rice cakes and crackers to munch on, try other kinds of grains like quinoa, buckwheat, kasha, etc.

Fruits --- don't go overboard but instead eat more berries and stone fruits (peaches) which have less sugars

Vegies --- all of them are good

Here's a sample day...

Breakfast --- this is the hardest meal because we are so used to eating sweets and coffee but these are no-no's. Instead try a big batch of quinoa cooked with rice milk and topped with fruit and a dollop of new balance soy-free margarine (health food store). Make extra and refrigerate to eat over several days. Big green smoothie with banana, flaxseed, walnuts, rice milk, dollop of almond butter and a handful of spinach --- actually tastes fantastic (don't taste the greens --- dietitian says it's gives a whollop of vitamins). Eating a big breakfast will really help you feel better, especially in the beginning. Try eating some fried potatoes, eggs and turkey sausage. My dietitian says it's a must to eat some protein in the morning.

Snack --- rice cakes with almond butter or fruit, etc.

Lunch --- leftovers from dinner or bowl of brown rice with leftover meat from dinner. You can see how planning ahead for leftovers can really help!

Dinner --- baked salmon, baked potato, vegi, and salad. Have two baked potatoes if necessary to make up for not eating breads. Make extra to eat at lunches.

Hope this helps! You may want to talk with a dietitian. It really helped me figure out how to keep the calories up. I do marathons so I need them!

Hi. I am really desperate for advices.

I am a 34 years old man. I have battled acne for 16 years now, so as long as I can remember.

I had managed to get it under control a few weeks back. No more painful pimples, just some old scarring.

I was just on vitamin D3 (1 pill a day, nothing fancy), clinique washgel for men, and clinique moisturizer for men. I had cut gluten totally out of my diet, as well as milk.

I thought it was safe to go back on gluten (because i need to put on some weight).

VERY big mistake. i have painful pimples coming back out. 3 i kept under control and they did not come out. 2 i could not and they are out there, very active, very red.

My question is then, what can I eat? What types of food are gluten-free, dairy free, low sugar (low GI), but still with calories? As a man, i need to be a little weighty.. I am clearly under the weight i should be right now (70kg for 1M82), but I do not find anything that would help me gain some weight without breaking me out in painful pimples.

Also if i lose too much weight, my scars on cheeks are much more visible......

Anyone can advise a low sugar - no gluten - no dairy food??

I suggest trying Wai Diet for 2 weeks.

After these 2 weeks you should be 99-100% clear, and then you can start adding 1 non-Wai food at a time, and see whether it gives you acne or not.

This way, you'll end up knowing what foods give you acne and what foods don't.

About what can you eat like a man - fruits, as long as you eat fat (olive oil, coconut oil, avocado, nuts, egg yolks) at the same time, in order not to spike blood glucose levels.

Good luck!

Wai diet did not help much, unfortunately (

Since my post above in 2011 I have fine tuned my diet and the one I follow now really has made a huge difference in level of inflammation and amount of acne. I no longer get any cysts or big pimples. On occasion I may get a teeny tiny whitehead...that's all. Here's the diet I follow...and I eat a lot of food since I do marathons so it should apply for men too.

Breakfast --- huge (huge) bowl of oatmeal cooked with raisons and add banana and fresh berries. I sometimes also eat an egg or two.

Snack --- rice cake with homemade bean dip (can of fat-free refried beans mixed with a bit of salsa) and sliced avocado on top or some plain soy yogurt (Wholesoy is really good).

Lunch --- leftovers from dinner or wrap with bean dip, chicken, lettuce, etc.

Dinner --- chicken or fish, potatoes or rice, lots of vegetables, salad. I eat two helpings of everything.

I eat a lot of food. The key is to eat very fresh foods and to avoid all added fats (including salad dressings, fried foods, etc.). Eating oils and oily foods make acne worse. I always poo-pooed that notion until I tried avoiding all oils and within a week was amazed by how much better my skin was doing.

Avoid dairy foods (cheese too), sugary foods, nuts (too oily for acne prone skin), alcohol, spicy foods.

It's amazing how much food you can eat if you avoid oils. I really think this is how the body was supposed to function. In ancient times and definitely before industrialization, oil was a precious commodity and used very sparingly. Now everything is drowned in oil, cooked in oils, etc. Even olive oil is not good the way it is eaten now. If I have to eat some oil it is a teensy bit of olive oil...but that is all.

Hope this helps.

It is a big switch from how people normally eat and a pain when eating out but actually people often envy my dinners --- because they look so fresh (i.e. grilled chicken with steamed vegetable and baked potato) versus the usual restaurant fare of food doused in fatty sauces or covered salt rubs (who knows what is in those rubs!), etc.

Since my post above in 2011 I have fine tuned my diet and the one I follow now really has made a huge difference in level of inflammation and amount of acne. I no longer get any cysts or big pimples. On occasion I may get a teeny tiny whitehead...that's all. Here's the diet I follow...and I eat a lot of food since I do marathons so it should apply for men too.

Breakfast --- huge (huge) bowl of oatmeal cooked with raisons and add banana and fresh berries. I sometimes also eat an egg or two.

Snack --- rice cake with homemade bean dip (can of fat-free refried beans mixed with a bit of salsa) and sliced avocado on top or some plain soy yogurt (Wholesoy is really good).

Lunch --- leftovers from dinner or wrap with bean dip, chicken, lettuce, etc.

Dinner --- chicken or fish, potatoes or rice, lots of vegetables, salad. I eat two helpings of everything.

I eat a lot of food. The key is to eat very fresh foods and to avoid all added fats (including salad dressings, fried foods, etc.). Eating oils and oily foods make acne worse. I always poo-pooed that notion until I tried avoiding all oils and within a week was amazed by how much better my skin was doing.

Avoid dairy foods (cheese too), sugary foods, nuts (too oily for acne prone skin), alcohol, spicy foods.

It's amazing how much food you can eat if you avoid oils. I really think this is how the body was supposed to function. In ancient times and definitely before industrialization, oil was a precious commodity and used very sparingly. Now everything is drowned in oil, cooked in oils, etc. Even olive oil is not good the way it is eaten now. If I have to eat some oil it is a teensy bit of olive oil...but that is all.

Hope this helps.

It is a big switch from how people normally eat and a pain when eating out but actually people often envy my dinners --- because they look so fresh (i.e. grilled chicken with steamed vegetable and baked potato) versus the usual restaurant fare of food doused in fatty sauces or covered salt rubs (who knows what is in those rubs!), etc.

Is oatmeal gluten-free?

Sounds like the best diet ever.

For a long time I thought I must be gluten sensitive because eating bread caused breakouts...but interestingly pasta and burrito shells did not. I had two gluten tests a year or so apart and both were totally negative. What I have figured out is that I am actually sensitive to yeasts...i.e. used in breads...and also any fermented foods such as yogurt and wine, beer, etc.

So to answer your question --- no, the oatmeal is not gluten-free since for me gluten is not the issue.

Interestingly, many people with rosacea who get rosacea p&p's (papules and pustules) have the same triggers...and I personally think that many adults who have acne and react to foods also have an underlying case of rosacea. This explains why so many of the typical foods on rosacea trigger lists are the same ones that people on this site complain aggravate their acne.

Yes, I think it is a good diet too cause it fills me up and I need to keep my weight up. I feed my husband who is 6'4" this diet and he's doing great. I'm in training right now for a marathon in a couple of months and so I'm craving lots of food. I double up on everything! Another thing I frequently make is a thick stew with chicken, garlic, leeks, potatoes (lots), chopped greens (chard, collards, etc.) and whatever other vegies I have on hand (zucchini, broccoli, etc.). I eat it over rice. I make a huge pot of it at the beginning of the week...just dice everything up and throw it in all together, add water to cover, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes --- easy and satisfying...plus as I get further in the week what's left over works great in a big burrito with beans and rice.

For a long time I thought I must be gluten sensitive because eating bread caused breakouts...but interestingly pasta and burrito shells did not. I had two gluten tests a year or so apart and both were totally negative. What I have figured out is that I am actually sensitive to yeasts...i.e. used in breads...and also any fermented foods such as yogurt and wine, beer, etc.

So to answer your question --- no, the oatmeal is not gluten-free since for me gluten is not the issue.

Interestingly, many people with rosacea who get rosacea p&p's (papules and pustules) have the same triggers...and I personally think that many adults who have acne and react to foods also have an underlying case of rosacea. This explains why so many of the typical foods on rosacea trigger lists are the same ones that people on this site complain aggravate their acne.

Yes, I think it is a good diet too cause it fills me up and I need to keep my weight up. I feed my husband who is 6'4" this diet and he's doing great. I'm in training right now for a marathon in a couple of months and so I'm craving lots of food. I double up on everything! Another thing I frequently make is a thick stew with chicken, garlic, leeks, potatoes (lots), chopped greens (chard, collards, etc.) and whatever other vegies I have on hand (zucchini, broccoli, etc.). I eat it over rice. I make a huge pot of it at the beginning of the week...just dice everything up and throw it in all together, add water to cover, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes --- easy and satisfying...plus as I get further in the week what's left over works great in a big burrito with beans and rice.

So what you're saying is that oatmeal doesn't contain yeast?

No - oatmeal does not contain yeast. Grain products made with baker's yeast include sandwich breads, bagels, english muffins, most pizza dough, pita bread, some crackers, etc. If you make these at home you can smell the yeast --- same with some very fresh breads.

Sweet breads such as banana breads or desert breads are usually not made with yeasts but instead use baking powder or baking soda to make the bread rise. However these breads have too much sugar and oil for acne prone people. I make a sugar-free, fat-free banana bread with applesauce and lots of bananas instead of sugars or oils --- yummy!

Grain products that are not made with yeast include cereals, flat breads (burrito shells, tortillas. etc.), and pasta. Note that most cereals have too much sugar but whole grain cereals have none. Neither do most flat breads. Flat breads were the most common breads of our ancient ancestors, as well as whole grain cereals.

Yeast and sugars were added as ingredients to breads much much more recently. And interestingly this corresponds with more skin problems!

hey!! the answer is CABBAGE!! Buy an organic white cabbage, cut off a chunk and eat it twice a day raw! you can also make a mask by blending cabbage with Apple cider vinegar and moisten some cotton pads and leave in the face for 20mins, there is a slight tingling sensation but that just means it's working. You will see and feel the difference in one day and then by the third it will be significant! please take my word for it I have tried everythingggggg!!! Cabbage straightens out the liver and heals inflammation, apple cider dries everything up and lightens scars old and new! Don't try or buy anything else!!!! oh you can also add baking soda to the mask or use it to exfoliate!