Hi,
I have cut out gluten for nearly 3 weeks now and I did not notice any difference, I'm even inclined to say my acne got a tiny bit worse. I am not really sure it got overall worse but I now have pimples in areas where I normally never have them - on the cheeks, chest (I do have blackheads on the chest but right now I have 4-5 red pimples which I find unusual), and above the upper lip.
Here is some rundown how my diet actually changed:
Before:
- a lot of flour products (eating 6-8 bread rolls a day, tortillas a few times a week)
- processed food (crisps, kabanos)
- eggs
- very limited (almost none) sugar intake
- very limited diary intake (I would only consume hidden diary i.e. in sause served in kebab)
- very occassional intake of fruits and vegetables
In general high on cards (and processed food), low on meat & sugar & diary
Now:
- no flour products (actually I ate traces of flour - ate a 380g bread during the 3-week time period)
- still no sugar & diary
- ate 500 ml olive oil (although I recently heard that olive oil from Italy - which I have - are often illegally spiked with veg oil, and indeed I was having a lot of gas after consuming each time. I dont know)
- vegetables (olives, iceberg lettuce, tomatoes) - not that much in fact
- fruits (mostly bananas, rarely avocados, oranges)
- white rice (gluten free) every other day
- pumpkin, sunflower seeds
- coconut milk
- a lot of meat per serving every day (chicken legs and breasts, pork (becon))
- fish (samlon, mackerel)
- even more eggs
In general pretty low on cards, high on meat and healthy fats.
I know 3 weeks is not a lot of time but I am curious why do you think I break out in those unusual for me areas? And do you think it can get worse before it get better? Should I continue the new diet?
I'm inclined to say cutting out gluten will not do anything for you, unless you have a true allergy to gluten which you must get tested in a clinic. Otherwise, you're just scaring yourself silly. Eat away if you don't have any intolerance. I'm starting to get sick of this diet thing that I'm trying out myself at the moment. Though I will still persist in having more vegetables and fruits. That's good for my general health. I'm even going to add in milk again, which has had no effect on my acne but I don't understand why I'm cutting it out.
In my personal experience with quitting gluten to improve my skin, I found that I saw no improvement for at least the first month. Also I would highlight the importance of not only cutting foods out of your diet, but replacing them with healthy nutritious foods that will encourage your skin to heal.
Also I notice that you are eating a lot of meat and eggs in your diet. Are you aware that dairy and animal by-products is a common cause of acne for many people, largely due to the amount of hormones that are ingested when eating these products.
I encourage you to give any new diet at least 8 weeks to show any improvement. Especially if you believe you may have an intolerance to wheat, since eliminating gluten is only the first step in the journey towards healing your gut and repairing the inflammation in your body that can be caused by a food intolerance. Please let me know if you have any further questions. I have had great success in treating my acne with diet and, although every body is different, would love to be of help if I can!