I've had a bout of depression which sucked away my appetite for a good 2 weeks. In this time i was living off of protein powder and oat powders as it was all i could make myself eat.
In this time, I got almost 0 acne. My skin was looked the best i've seen it in a long time. How strange? i'm now thinking something i regularly consume gives me the mild acne i get these days. I thought it could be dairy. I did cut all major dairy sources out a while ago, but i still have it in the form of butter, and with dinner that my family prepares if it happens to be an ingredient.
do any of you have any major triggers from food?
I can't seem to tolerate many sugars/carbs. I only eat grains occasionally and also am careful with high sugar fruits/other natural sugars.
If i keep to a lowish carb/paleo type diet my acne improves alot. Not sure if its related to blood sugar issues, hormones or gut bacteria overgrowth.
Too much sugar raises insulin in the blood which can elevate androgen levels from what i've read. If you were just having protein powders perhaps that kept your blood sugar low?
I don't have all the answers yet but diet definitely does have an impact on my skin.
It was mostly oat powders and protein powders. I'm unsure if fat is anything to do with it, but i cannot go on a low fat diet as despite what people believe it is the most important macro you can get.
I need to try eliminate ALL dairy i think. Then see how i react to my normal diet and play a game of deduction. the trouble is, being an avid strength athlete i have to consume quite a lot of food to progress, and cannot afford to be super strict otherwise it ruins my training.
9 hours ago, BaxterMcDoobinson said:It's hard to explain, but it makes perfect sense.
i'm guessing it has a lot to do with insulin and androgen activity? The hormonal changes from consuming such low fat and calories in general probably had many negative side effects, but a `side`- side effect was lower acne.
38 minutes ago, BroncoBilly said:
i'm guessing it has a lot to do with insulin and androgen activity? The hormonal changes from consuming such low fat and calories in general probably had many negative side effects, but a `side`- side effect was lower acne.
Insulin production in response to glucose uptake (glycolysis) does have an androgenic effect upon the physiological being, however it'd be quite an understatement to think that's the only culprit. Simple/complex carbohydrates are the go-to macronutrient and produce the most readily available form of energy. When these are limited (along with your other macronutrients) your body begins to seek alternative methods to provide energy. This is "generally" the oxidation of fatty acids ie. lipid metabolism.
Now you have to remember our skin is essentially made up of various layers of lipids. When you increase the efficiency at which lipolytic activity occurs, you are increasing the ability to recycle our epithelial layer of our skin. A pretty tone downed explanation for a small fraction of what could have possibly happened, but I'm sure you get the point hopefully. There is a myriad of other regulatory actions that are occurring, but I'd rather not over complicate the thought. 🙂
You can try something along the lines of cyclical carbohydrate manipulation or "carb cycling" for short. In my opinion you should never try to undermine the importance of fats in a diet. Your mono/poly unsaturated fats offer cardiovascular benefits. I generally keep my fat intake on a daily basis around 60-75 grams. Saturated fats aren't entirely horrible either like many preach, but it's like the age old saying...
Everything in moderation.
Are you under the impression that majority of your acne is linked to dietary predispositions? Were all different, but if that's what you're feeling with your body then stick to it.
Absolutely. My Acne is from high stress, and diet alone. It may have even always been that way, but i only understand it in recent years. I'll continue to mess around. I'm working on eliminating dairy from my diet completely, but it is very difficult to live normally/hassle free when you have to be so particular with the diet.
I'm also a power lifter so I need to get the calories in large numbers pretty much daily. Carb cycling is something I try to reserve for weight loss, but maybe it'll be worth playing with even in a growth phase.