Greetings holistic health forum.

I'll begin by stating that I've had acne since I was 13 (30 now), without a single week of being truly clear. Why do I mention the time period of a week? Because that is all the time it took for the clear skin I had struggled for, to become riddled with giant cysts behind my ear, under my jawline, and in various spots on the face.

I've tried everything, minus accutane. Retin-A, Minocycline, Clindamycin, Salicylic Acid, Vitamin B5, Witch hazel, Lemon juice, Egg whites, Zinc, Fish oil...

I should stop before I bring back traumatic flashbacks of false hope, trial, and much error.

Dan's regimen worked for me, but it didn't work for my cysts. They'd hide under the surface for a bit, lingering, until they come to a head and eventually fall off (I always popped them, personally). Anyone with cysts can attest to the painful experience of washing their faces. Is it normal to feel a shooting pain down your entire body and feel it in the heels of your feet when you pop a cyst that is behind the ear?

I tried dieting before with success, but at the age of 22, I lacked the discipline and finances to fund a new diet, and so this failed. I wrote it off as a failed experiment and continued on with the topicals, until I discovered the BP regimen.

Several documentaries and sleepless boil-lancing nights later, I decided equipped with more knowledge than "eat moar broccoli," I would spend a good half hour at the grocery store with my shopping list :

- Tilapia

- Kale

- Quinoa

- Zucchini

- Mushrooms

- Brussel sprouts

- Almonds

- Berries

- Eggs

- Honey

- Lemons

- Strawberries

- Berries

- Avocado

It was a simple diet. I paid no attention to being specific, other than a few key points :

- More vegetables

- Less carbs

- No wheat or dairy

- No processed food

I was (and still am) a novice at eating to heal my body. Obviously the four bullet points above do not entail much knowledge of nutrition. My main goal here was to try and "balance" my body. It was ballpark, and it was better than whatever I was eating before, which included :

- Jack in the box / McD's / BK

- Friday's

- Jollibee

- Beer

- Pizza

- Chinese food

- Cookies

It was difficult to eat Kale after a diet of so much artificially derived flavor. I found a Japanese ginger dressing worked well with Kale, and so I stuck to it. I began to incorporate avocado into the chopped Kale, and even bacon.

2 weeks later...

No swollen cystic acne behind the ear, or below the jawline. Not a single one. I took a bike ride after looking at myself in the mirror one day, and saw clarity that was induced not by topicals, but by a dietary change. I couldn't believe it for a single moment. Healing from the inside? No cysts? The realization nearly brought me to tears.

I had lowered my sugar intake, increased vegetable intake, along with my good fats, cholesterol, and protein.

I'm sorry that I cannot provide anything concrete or specific about what cleared my acne.

I merely acted on the suspicion that I may have a gluten intolerance and a poor response to a diet high in sugar and carbohydrates.

At this point, the information from the world of vegetarians and meat-eaters was overwhelming. We have documentaries like SUPER-SIZE ME, the CHINA STUDY, FORKS OVER KNIVES, FATHEAD, and much more. We have SKD diets like Atkins, which is a "standard ketogenic diet." We have diets that involve radical fasts that involve lemons or blended vegetables that many wouldn't dare to drink.

If anyone has read this, even a single person... I urge you to try a new diet. Nothing radical, just lower your carb intake to less than 100g a day, eat less processed foods, and cut out wheat and dairy. Cook your meals, eat more fish, and a ton of vegetables. I think the goal is to lower the inflammation in your blood vessels and the amount of sugar in your diet.

(I still use the following :

- Dan's BP gel

- Dan's cleanser

- AHA)