Hello I am an 18 year old male and have been dealing with acne for several years. I have recently changed my diet as of 2 months ago and have noticed improvement in my acne, but not the results I am looking for. I am a very determined and dedicated person. When I want something I will work very hard to achieve whatever it is I want. The thing is, how am I supposed to work towards something where I have no clue to why it is happening, waking up every morning looking in the mirror and thinking, how does this happen? I am willing to do just about anything to get clear and have some questions so if you guys could please help me out I would greatly appreciate it.
I know I am a teenager and my hormones are going through the roof increasing my sebum production. So I have heard eating junk foods, sugars, dairy, chocolate, refined carbs, and so on cause your insulin to go really high which (correct me if I'm wrong) triggers your hormones to imbalance more, creating more sebum production, which results in more acne or aggravating your acne. Regardless if that is all 100% true here is what I have been eating for the last 2 months so help me if you think anything should be taken out: Strawberries, blueberries, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, pistachios, cinnamon roasted almonds, baked salmon, canned tuna, grilled chicken breast, vans whole grain waffles, black beans, whole grain rice, steel cut oatmeal, "brown eggs" or omega 3 enriched eggs, and some flax seeds. I take adult calcium pills followed by a multivitamin everyday. I have propel sometimes after I workout but not a lot.
Another thing is when I am trying to see if a food or drink aggravates my acne I cant really tell when it shows up. So if I were to eat chocolate which I know will break me out when will it show on my face? The next morning? Or will it be the following week? This would help my trial and error with foods I question.
Lastly, my dad had acne as a teenager and he said it cleared up by his late teens early twenties. The thing is I know he didn't eat healthy while he had it but he "grew" out of the acne I guess. My question is, when you finish puberty I am guessing your sebum production reduces so does that mean eating unhealthy wont affect you as much? Should I even bother trying to continue my diet? I feel hopeless and nothing I try works. I also see all my friends consume chocolate, soda, junk food, and smoke everyday and their skin is flawless. How the HELL does that make sense??? They are all teenagers too, with "raging hormones."
There are so many factors that contribute to acne I am overwhelmed by it. I hope you guys read this and have some answers for me because I am very lost. THANK YOU ALL AND WISH YOU THE BEST TOWARDS YOUR FIGHT WITH ACNE.
That insulin spike is bad for health, period, so keep avoiding it. Every time you consume more sugar than your cells can take in, damage ill be caused. As you get older, your body will get less and less able to deal with it and recover from the harm. That's the reason type II diabetes used to be a disease of the elderly. Used to be. Now that people raise their children from infancy on a diet of crap, children get diabetes.
Flax seed can help, but it makes many people worse. Often, a lot worse. Especially males. It's estrogenic, like soy.
And look for a low sugar dark chocolate and have a little, along with some nuts to lower the glycemic impact. It's the glycemic load of the meal that matters.
Also, add some greens to your Icet, on the days you don't eat broccoli. Make green smoothies if you don't like eating them.