You say you're eating cereal; have you tried to cut out all wheat products (all forms of wheat flour products)? Many find their acne is exacerbated these foods. I know, it seems like your diet is already clean enough, right? Read some of the info on diet in the Holistic forum. Many incredibly insightful folks on there, with many ideas and thoughts on diet & acne.
The hot flushes could be due to low progesterone or high estrogen, or even a histamine reaction. And honestly, with diet, you just need to keep track of what you eat every day (like a food journal) and possible allergic reactions to environmental things or even body lotions (to see if that helps with itching) for at least 1-2 months. Some pimples can take up to 2 weeks to come to the surface, so it's hard to know what caused them in the first place especially if it's food related. I had a pretty clean diet with lots of fruits and vegetables, then I realized I needed to cut down on the fruits and even veggies/fruits I used to eat every day thinking they were good for me (like tomatoes). I discovered I was getting a histamine reaction whenever I consumed/ was exposed to many histamine triggers like humidity, body lotions, tomatoes, cider, but it took a while to make this connection and then it took some blood work to confirm it. So you just have to give it time and find a diet that works for you, there is no quick fix for putting your body through stress and poor diet. I'm not being judgmental, trust me I have been there and abused my body to no end and now I'm paying for it! Just try not to go crazy with elimination diets, go slow and be patient. Check out my log for my trial and error to discover my sensitivities - I posted a scary before pic today.
As for soy milk, it depends on your body....personally, I have never broken out from organic unsweetened soy milk and in fact I think it helps my skin in small quantities. It's supposed to be estrogenic, so I try to balance it with magnesium to help raise my progesterone.
Still keeping to the non dairy , non sugar diet. It's hard work , but I'm getting there. I've switched to un sweetened almond milk, which I think is quite nice and have cut down on coffee, to one every other day. My two local coffee shops are also able to do soy milk latte , so I occasionally have one...
Yeah, I'm still doing the cereal in the morning, but just a handful with sunflower and pumpkin seeds to bulk it a bit and also to provide me with additional zinc. I could cut that out for a while to see the effects,as I'm now back to making fruit and green veg smoothies to have after work, before dinner.
I do think the zinc is helping and also cutting out the huge amounts of chocolate I used to binge on.
I've had a flare up of pimples on my left cheek and also 2/3 on my forehead.....my period is due though, so it could be related to that.
I'll check out your log , wishclean.
Thanks again all, I'm feeling low today. I just want my clear skin back (don't we all....... )
Am also snacking on nuts and because we still have some sun in the uk, I am still able to get at least half an hours worth each day. So that's the vit d, for now.
Just one further question, what is the best way to obtain vit d in the , very long , winter months ? A lamp or a supplement ? Thanks.
I take a supplement every day. Since adding D3, my acne has decreased greatly. DIM was the real kicker though. As WishClean said, you have to find a diet that works for you. Go slow & be patient. Have you looked into seeing a naturopath to be tested for food sensitivities? This is an alternative to the daunting process of elimination and supplementation by guesswork and trial by error. I have exhausted myself in the guesswork game. I am 35 and wish I had seen a naturopath 20 years ago, to have saved myself decades of anguish of acne & thousands of dollars spent trying, fruitlessly, to clear my acne with endless treatments, diets, procedures etc. I am finally clear after only 2-ish months of following advice of a naturopath, cleaning my diet of the crap, avoiding foods to which I am sensitive and taking the supplements she recommended daily and cinnamon before eating. I also am getting acupuncture once a week, for the last 6 weeks and think that's helping to alleviate anxiety and calm my stress. Great benefits for clearing acne.
One person's Holy Grail may be another person's Kryptonite...it is very helpful to be tested to find out what your Kryptonite may be, AND AVOID IT!
I truly do feel your pain. I know the struggle, it feels endless but I promise, there is an END to this acne and you will find it! Keep asking questions, don't give up.
Thanks for this info, 3lilpigs. I have googled local naturopaths and there are a couple in my local area. the consultations look affordable so I'll give this some thought , as it looks like a natural way to get to the root causes. I also have other conditions which may be treatable by this approach. It's odd, because for years I've just put whatever I fancied into my body , yet over the past 2 months have made the changes I've mentioned above and I do really think that eliminating dairy and sugar is making a difference. The addition of zinc (and a mulit vit supplement) seems to have made a difference too.
Also I got my period this morning ( not too much info,I hope!) and this coincides with this weeks flare up. The good news is that this is month 2 of regulated cycle.
Sorry to keep asking questions , but is it safe to take a vit d supplement , especially when taking extra zinc ? I've read that vit d supplements long term can cause further issues.
Thanks for the support x
I've just started taking vitamin D, but only 1000ui a day (which is just what it recommends on the bottle). Haven't noticed a difference yet but it's only been a couple of days. I decided to start taking it because I avoid the sun, and when I'm in it I wear SPF30+ because I'm so pale I haven't heard anything about it being unsafe, but I'd like to hear some other perspectives.
Just a quick question Mesha, have you seen a noticeable difference from cutting out sugar and dairy? I think we started to cut it out around the same time. I ate a load of ice-cream (and cheese and sour cream!) about a week ago and I've broken out! I've always thought I'm fine to eat it, but then again I've always had mild acne so I'm thinking there could be a connection! Shame because I love cheese haha.
Sorry for the previous post, was grumpy due to period and also a couple of new ones popped up on my chin, lol!
Yes, sorbet, I have most definately noticed a difference in cutting out all sugar and dairy. I too loved ice cream, cake and chocolate also cheese, yoghurt and milk. Its all been cut out of my diet and I have noticed a difference. The spots I am getting are much smaller and don't actually hurt as much, there not white or black heads, just tiny pimles. Are you seeing a difference at all ?
My multi vit contains 5 ug Vit D , which I believe is 200 iu (RDA) so am sticking with that at the moment and grabbing at least half an hour sun each day. I'm pale too, but I'm going to try it anyhow.
Check out Green Gables post 'the big hormone post for both men and women' if you haven't already. Lots of really good info there.
Thanks for the almond milk tip, I've switched to unsweetend almond.
I've been following an awesome blog/website that has given me the majority of ideas which have directed me down the right path to clear my skin. The author, Tracy, is all about using natural methods to help clear the skin of acne and other issues from which acne may stem in the body. This link is directly to a somewhat recent article http://www.thelovevitamin.com/6855/treat-female-hormonal-acne/ it is a basic overview on her journey to clear skin. I highly recommend reading through her articles and keep notes on some of the things that worked for her.
I've read through a couple of blogs , very interesting stuff and covers a lot of the things we've all been talking about on here.
I'm definitely going to look into seeing a naturopath and will also add burdock root tea to my daily routine. My friend mentioned this to me ages ago, should have taken her advice then !