...personally and professionally I don't believe in food intolerances and think the whole concept of excluding specific things unhealthy. Some people find they have better skin eating a healthy balanced diet - which we should all aim for anyway but there is no need to exclude anything...

I would be interested to know what your profession is.

How can you not believe in something that has been proven? Food intolerance is documented on many websites, including the NHS:-

http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Allergies/Pages/Foodallergy.aspx

When I started my regimen a few years ago, I read many posts about how dairy could affect acne, so part of my regimen was to eliminate dairy completely from my diet. After I became clear, there were 3 seperate instances when I consumed dairy, and on each occasion within a couple of days I had a couple of spots appear on my face, an area of my body that has been completely clear for years. I don't think it was a coincidence.

I agree that eliminating too many foods at one go could be detrimental, but I see no harm in eliminating 1 type of food at a time.

This is my last post in this thread. Understandably this is an emotionally charged subject. I stuck my nose in because I was concerned about the effect a bunch of well meaning but misinformed internet enthusiasts could be having on impressionable people; but honestly I dont have the time or energy to try and rationalise with people who already have strong and seemingly fixed opinions on the matter.

I dont come to this board as a doctor but as a person with acne who happens to be a doctor. Not a dermatologist or an immunologist just a junior doctor. My opinions are my own and dont necessarily reflect those of the medical profession.

To my knowledge there is no good scientific evidence of a causal link between foods eaten and acne. Thus it would be unethical to recommend eliminating foods to treat acne when there is proven risk of harm. Of course genuine food intolerances exist (what I meant before was that they don't cause acne) but it is my belief that a huge proportion of people who believe themselves to have food intolerances actually do not. These people are desperate to fix a problem such as acne or irritable bowel syndrome or psychological problems that they may or may not admit. Spurious improvements in symptoms temporally related to changes in diet and bad science pasted on the internet give people hope, a sense of control, and reinforce the belief that they are doing something positive to help themselves. Meanwhile they become unnecessarily preoccupied with food or even obsessed. It doesnt have to be a full blown eating disorder for it to impact negatively on a persons life. And, contrary to what people are suggesting here an eating disorder is not a choice! You cant decide that it wont happen to you.

I personally find it very upsetting to see people every day posting to suggest others eliminate foods and that is why I spoke up. Some of you are very forceful and I imagine influential. For example, dejaclairevoyant, you do make some good points but then you say you would be dead if you hadnt eliminated gluten and soy! By what mechanism? Unless you are talking about suicide I dont buy that for a second and saying things like that will either stop people from taking you seriously or scare someone vulnerable.

Of course people have responsibility for themselves to decide if the information they read is good or bad but on this subject there just seems to be a tirade of bad information and very little counter-argument.

Please see Dr. Hyman's post on "Do Milk and Sugar Cause Acne?" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/do-milk-and-sugar-cause-a_b_822163.html

Med school has traditionally taught that food and acne are unrelated. There is new research that shows they are. Remember that we are not necessarily talking food allergies here. The way that a lot of food affects acne is because it affects HORMONES and hormone issues, particularly elevated testosterone or overly sensitive androgen receptors, are linked to acne in many clinical studies.

I can't comment on a link between acne and food "allergies." While I have definitely seen many people who have bad reactions to certain food, I haven't seen a lot of evidence that acne specifically is an allergic reaction...but it can definitely be a hormonal once, hence the widespread treatment of acne with hormonal birth control pills and anti-androgens.

...To my knowledge there is no good scientific evidence of a causal link between foods eaten and acne. Thus it would be unethical to recommend eliminating foods to treat acne when there is proven risk of harm. Of course genuine food intolerances exist (what I meant before was that they don't cause acne) but it is my belief that a huge proportion of people who believe themselves to have food intolerances actually do not...

The official NHS line on acne & food is that "There is no evidence that diet plays a role in acne", so as a doctor I'm not surprised that you are towing the line. However, how do you explain all the empirical evidence posted on these forums which clearly show a link between certain foods & the effect they have on acne?

While they may not be the cause of acne, certain foods can obviously alter the severity, or even stop outbreaks altogether. In my case, I am 100% convinced that dairy causes me to breakout, as is the case with many others according to posts in these forums. How is that explained? Are we all imagining it? Is it coincidence? Are we all telling porkies?

Don't rule out what you see & hear with your own eyes & ears, just because of your formal training. Have you ever watched The Food Hospital?

...To my knowledge there is no good scientific evidence of a causal link between foods eaten and acne. Thus it would be unethical to recommend eliminating foods to treat acne when there is proven risk of harm. Of course genuine food intolerances exist (what I meant before was that they don't cause acne) but it is my belief that a huge proportion of people who believe themselves to have food intolerances actually do not...

The official NHS line on acne & food is that "There is no evidence that diet plays a role in acne", so as a doctor I'm not surprised that you are towing the line. However, how do you explain all the empirical evidence posted on these forums which clearly show a link between certain foods & the effect they have on acne?

While they may not be the cause of acne, certain foods can obviously alter the severity, or even stop outbreaks altogether. In my case, I am 100% convinced that dairy causes me to breakout, as is the case with many others according to posts in these forums. How is that explained? Are we all imagining it? Is it coincidence? Are we all telling porkies?

Don't rule out what you see & hear with your own eyes & ears, just because of your formal training. Have you ever watched The Food Hospital?

I actually think 'diet' does play a role in acne (as I mentioned briefly earlier in this thread) but not specific foods via food intolerances via hormones - see Green Gables' post above. For example being overweight can bring on PCOS of which a symptom is acne. Thus it is important to eat a healthy balanced diet and try to maintain a healthy weight. Sugar and dairy as you have found can affect acne by their impact on hormones; but this doesn't mean that you are intolerant to them or should exclude them completely. It is moderation that is the key.

I'm not saying that there is no value in anecdotal evidence - after all associations have to be made somewhere before they can be investigated fully. What I am saying is that these observations alone are not reliable enough to base healthcare policy on (i.e. to make someone take a risk for) and also you have to be careful with interpretation and some of them are rendered invalid by bias or failure to control for other variables.

I'm sorry that I have offended you, and I have not watched The Food Hospital but I certainly do not rule out what I see and hear. You are mistaken to think that would be at odds with my formal training. I'm sorry I seem to have contributed to this idea that doctors are bad or 'don't get it' - believe me I have been there as a patient, but I have also seen it from another side and I wanted to share what I thought was an important message but I got angry and defensive and it didn't come across well.

I actually think 'diet' does play a role in acne (as I mentioned briefly earlier in this thread) but not specific foods via food intolerances via hormones - see Green Gables' post above. For example being overweight can bring on PCOS of which a symptom is acne. Thus it is important to eat a healthy balanced diet and try to maintain a healthy weight. Sugar and dairy as you have found can affect acne by their impact on hormones; but this doesn't mean that you are intolerant to them or should exclude them completely. It is moderation that is the key.

I'm not saying that there is no value in anecdotal evidence - after all associations have to be made somewhere before they can be investigated fully. What I am saying is that these observations alone are not reliable enough to base healthcare policy on (i.e. to make someone take a risk for) and also you have to be careful with interpretation and some of them are rendered invalid by bias or failure to control for other variables.

I'm sorry that I have offended you, and I have not watched The Food Hospital but I certainly do not rule out what I see and hear. You are mistaken to think that would be at odds with my formal training. I'm sorry I seem to have contributed to this idea that doctors are bad or 'don't get it' - believe me I have been there as a patient, but I have also seen it from another side and I wanted to share what I thought was an important message but I got angry and defensive and it didn't come across well.

Firstly...in no way have you offended me! Perhaps it should be me apologizing to you. Sometimes my posts appear to come across "with attitude" when I read them back afterwards. It's not intentional. My thoughts don't always translate very well when applied to the keyboard. LOL.

OK about the use of the word "intolerent". Perhaps it was the wrong word to use (as per the medical definition). I was just trying to get across the fact that dairy (or cow's milk in particular) affects my acne in some way.

As for my perception of doctors. I have nothing but admiration for them. The years of training, long hours, responsibility, etc. cannot be easy.

The Food Hospital was a good programme. I missed the first series, but watched all of the second. Just shows how diet can affect many types of ailments.

This is my last post in this thread. Understandably this is an emotionally charged subject. I stuck my nose in because I was concerned about the effect a bunch of well meaning but misinformed internet enthusiasts could be having on impressionable people; but honestly I dont have the time or energy to try and rationalise with people who already have strong and seemingly fixed opinions on the matter.

I dont come to this board as a doctor but as a person with acne who happens to be a doctor. Not a dermatologist or an immunologist just a junior doctor. My opinions are my own and dont necessarily reflect those of the medical profession.

To my knowledge there is no good scientific evidence of a causal link between foods eaten and acne. Thus it would be unethical to recommend eliminating foods to treat acne when there is proven risk of harm. Of course genuine food intolerances exist (what I meant before was that they don't cause acne) but it is my belief that a huge proportion of people who believe themselves to have food intolerances actually do not. These people are desperate to fix a problem such as acne or irritable bowel syndrome or psychological problems that they may or may not admit. Spurious improvements in symptoms temporally related to changes in diet and bad science pasted on the internet give people hope, a sense of control, and reinforce the belief that they are doing something positive to help themselves. Meanwhile they become unnecessarily preoccupied with food or even obsessed. It doesnt have to be a full blown eating disorder for it to impact negatively on a persons life. And, contrary to what people are suggesting here an eating disorder is not a choice! You cant decide that it wont happen to you.

I personally find it very upsetting to see people every day posting to suggest others eliminate foods and that is why I spoke up. Some of you are very forceful and I imagine influential. For example, dejaclairevoyant, you do make some good points but then you say you would be dead if you hadnt eliminated gluten and soy! By what mechanism? Unless you are talking about suicide I dont buy that for a second and saying things like that will either stop people from taking you seriously or scare someone vulnerable.

Of course people have responsibility for themselves to decide if the information they read is good or bad but on this subject there just seems to be a tirade of bad information and very little counter-argument.

"To my knowledge there is no good scientific evidence of a causal link between foods eaten and acne."

Stopped reading right there. You are painfully ignorant. There is overwhelming evidence!

Firstly...in no way have you offended me! Perhaps it should be me apologizing to you. Sometimes my posts appear to come across "with attitude" when I read them back afterwards. It's not intentional. My thoughts don't always translate very well when applied to the keyboard. LOL.

OK about the use of the word "intolerent". Perhaps it was the wrong word to use (as per the medical definition). I was just trying to get across the fact that dairy (or cow's milk in particular) affects my acne in some way.

As for my perception of doctors. I have nothing but admiration for them. The years of training, long hours, responsibility, etc. cannot be easy.

The Food Hospital was a good programme. I missed the first series, but watched all of the second. Just shows how diet can affect many types of ailments.

I'm glad we cleared that up It is hard to infer tone from written words sometimes. People use the word intolerance to mean a range of different things. I don't think you are necessarily wrong to use it, but I was trying to distinguish what I was talking about with you from what others were referring to earlier in the thread.

"To my knowledge there is no good scientific evidence of a causal link between foods eaten and acne."

Stopped reading right there. You are painfully ignorant. There is overwhelming evidence!

Well then the NHS is painfully ignorant too. Or maybe you are just no good at critically appraising scientific papers? If you even read them. There may be 'evidence' but whether or not it is valid is what matters.