With so many threads and posts about the diet-acne correlation, I thought that by now most acne sufferers that come to this forum would understand the knowledge and apply it properly.
However, that is isn’t the case.
As an acne war veteran, I still keep reading and reading numerous posts and threads of people claiming to be eating “healthy”, and other threads and posts with people giving advice to others to eat “healthy” and to eat “lots of fruits and vegetables.” Eating lots of fruits and vegetables can be one of the best and TERRIBLY WORST things you could do to your face.
Tell me first, what is healthy? Please define what is healthy.
Tell me, Is the Atkins diet suppose to be healthy? It is heavily controversial, with the Atkins Diet leading to many long term health consequences.
Next, is Milk suppose to be “healthy?” Sure, got milk? = Got height?
But this is the same case for Got Milk? = Got Zits? Got Milk? = Got Mucus? Got Milk ? = Got Fat? Got Milk? = Got Prostate cancer?
Now, when you are defining “healthy,” most of you think of “healthy” in terms of general well-being of the body and fighting long term fatal diseases like cancer and heart attack. However, “healthy” for skin and “healthy” for the entire body is not the same thing. When most of you think of “healthy”, you simply eliminate the oils and fatty foods and whatever society condemns as “unhealthy.” That’s a good starting point. Instead, you are eating what you regard as “healthy”. Make no mistake about it, these foods may be indeed “healthy” in providing essential nutrients for the body, but at the same time, they may be triggering acne. Simply put, there are HEALTHY FOOD THAT CAUSE ACNE.
For example,
Eating carrots provides a certain type of vitamin A good for vision and is also a source of vitamin c, but carrots are high in sugar, that can cause acne.
Eating bananas provides potassium, but also causes acne.
Eating milk can make you grow taller and develop stronger bones, but can also cause acne.
Eating fish can be a source of protein and can lower cholesterol, but it is rich in iodine, which can possibly trigger acne.
Eating breads and pastas provide are carbohydrates that provide energy, but are converted into sugars that not only cause fat but acne as well.
Fortunately, many of you have begun to stop eating foods such as breads and pastas can contribute to acne. That’s a good start. Next, many of you have already been avoiding junk foods, greasy foods, and sweets. That’s another good thing. But again, many of you still fall into the misconception of what is “healthy” and what is not.
Another example, some people eliminate eating bagels, greasy fried eggs, and fatty sausages for breakfast. Instead, they start eating the so called healthy breakfast cereal and milk, which is no better. Corn is a possible cause of acne. Cereal is a type of a corn. What makes things worst: cereal + milk = acne tag team power combo. I suggest eating oatmeal instead.
Therefore, stop advising other people in this forum to eat “healthy”. It is such a vague term and often misleads them into eating the wrong foods. First, you have to define what healthy really is. Think in terms of what is “healthy” for your skin. Next, stop advising other people to “eat lots of fruits and vegetables.” This is a terrible, and I do mean TERRIBLE, generalization to make. Again, you might lead them into signing their death warrant for their face. (this is what happened to me before).
Another thing, this is not just the issue with food, but this includes vitamins as well. I used to take Centrum, with the assumption that it was healthy for my face and it broke me out terribly.
Trust me. Really. Seriously. I have read many many horrific tales of people taking the so called "healthy" appoach by eating "lots of fruits & vegetables" and their face getting worst. People are so misled. So for your sake and your skin's sake, please open your mind and really look at ALL the food you are eating. Stop assuming that what is traditionally regarded as "healthy" won't hurt your face.
Instead of unhealthy vs healthy, think in terms of inflammatory vs anti-inflammatory.
There are many threads and posts with diets with foods, and if you research well you will notice how many healthy foods some people lists as possible precipitator of acne. From there, it is up to you customize what foods would apply to you.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
So basically we're all screwed. ha.
Since I've become older, I have become more health conscious. However, I still eat crap and love the crap I eat. But I do take vitamins everyday and have been for quite a while... and I don't mean just the "multi-vitamin"... I take 12 vitamins a day. Some of them twice a day. Some of them I have to take with meals and others on an empty stomach....
Not only do I feel more well rested, have NOT been ill or a small small cold (sniffles, cough, etc) for 3 years now, but my acne has dramatically reduced. Now, the only time I break out is the week of my period.
Vitamins have worked for me. but peoples bodies are completely different from one another, so this could really mess up someone else.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
frogprince and acid rain, your posts were very informative and i agree with alot of what you both have posted. We all know what foods are healthy, but u are correct that some of these "healthy foods" do aggravate acne. We need to figure out what foods effect our own skin because we are all different. some people have oily skin with acne, while others have dry with acne, some with little breakouts and some with cystic acne...all acne is not the same and while alot of us come on this website to find help and cures, we have to remember what helps one person might aggravate somone elses skin. i know from my own personal experience that fish and carrots do not break me out, but it might break someone else out. i agree with u acidrain when u say milk is horrible, u really dont need to drink it. But as for fruit and veggies i believe they are very important (im not advising everyone to eat them to achieve clear skin) but i know id take a carrot over a doughnut or a nasty cheeseburger anyday, even if the carrot gave me a pimple, for my own satisfaction i would feel so much better putting that into my body rather than a discusting doughnut or a cheeseburger. I know im rambling and what im saying might not make sense but all i know is do whats right for you and just because one person says they cleared their skin a certain way dont expect it to work for you. I should tell you that currently i dont have any pimples and i found out from my own experience what is right for me, and although i do appriciate what has worked for others and i do post what has helped me, in short, everyone is different.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissK
So basically we're all screwed. ha.
Since I've become older, I have become more health conscious. However, I still eat crap and love the crap I eat. But I do take vitamins everyday and have been for quite a while... and I don't mean just the "multi-vitamin"... I take 12 vitamins a day. Some of them twice a day. Some of them I have to take with meals and others on an empty stomach....
Not only do I feel more well rested, have NOT been ill or a small small cold (sniffles, cough, etc) for 3 years now, but my acne has dramatically reduced. Now, the only time I break out is the week of my period.
Vitamins have worked for me. but peoples bodies are completely different from one another, so this could really mess up someone else.
so again we're all pretty much screwed.
Seems that your liver can't handle all the hormones it's getting during your monthly cycle. Try to detoxify your liver and take milk thistle. This should help strengthen it up so when the time comes it can handle it better. :-) Hope this helps.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Quote:
Originally Posted by Needzhelp
Seems that your liver can't handle all the hormones it's getting during your monthly cycle. Try to detoxify your liver and take milk thistle. This should help strengthen it up so when the time comes it can handle it better. :-) Hope this helps.
hmmm. thanks for the advice. maybe i'll finally be acne-free! haha.
what is milk thistle? and can i get it where i purchase my vitamins??
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
yea they sell it in the vitamins area and i also heard chasteberry is good for females that get acne because of their cycle, maybe you might like to google that up.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
For some women, chaste tree supplementation may help to relieve hot flashes and other symptoms associated with menopause. Initial evidence from small studies suggests that the progestins in chaste tree berries may also help to treat acne in some individuals--especially women whose acne seems to be associated with their menstrual cycles. Women who have symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, menopause, or menstrual-related acne should talk to their doctors before beginning to use chaste tree berries, however.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Quote:
Originally Posted by Needzhelp
For some women, chaste tree supplementation may help to relieve hot flashes and other symptoms associated with menopause. Initial evidence from small studies suggests that the progestins in chaste tree berries may also help to treat acne in some individuals--especially women whose acne seems to be associated with their menstrual cycles. Women who have symptoms of premenstrual syndrome, menopause, or menstrual-related acne should talk to their doctors before beginning to use chaste tree berries, however.
Lol I did it for you I guess.
haha. thanks!! I'll try the milk thistle first. adult acne is a pain; at least now I know it only pops up during my cycle.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
It's nice to see that many people are recognizing the fact that many of their so called "healthy" food are indeed the acne triggerers.
For me, having been an acne war veteran, I know my skin so well. I just wished I possessed the knowledge I do now about the acne-healthy food correlation back then so I wouldn't have had such bad scarring on my face. If I had stopped foods such as carrots, corn, peas, diary products, and other "healhty foods" the damage on my skin could have been prevented.
In the past I just kept blaming oily foods and fatty foods and avoiding these never even made a difference.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
You've definately got a point that the term "healthy" is about as specific as "a little" or "a lot"!!
I think there are many stages of 'healthy' eating....give up coffee, give up processed foods, eat more veggies, eat ony organic veggies, exchange rice for quinoa or millet, get rid of dairy, portion control, and the final - and I think ultimate stage - is (mainly) a live, raw diet.
I think we made moderations, declare our diet sound - only to discover that we must omit more things. And so on, and so on.
But, I think discourse about diet - via this site amongst other places - is defineatly a positive thing as it makes us think more about what we put into our bodies.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Quote:
Originally Posted by MissK
hmmm. thanks for the advice. maybe i'll finally be acne-free! haha.
what is milk thistle? and can i get it where i purchase my vitamins??
thanks again!
Milk thistle is a herb that has been used for centuries to help protect and regenerate the liver (both cure and prevention!!). You can buy it in any healthfood store.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
you guys have a lot of good points here; there needs to be a lot more posts like these on the web. Most people are on the antibiotic and prescription cream craze and they don't even realize that acne is an internal problem. Also while some foods can be eaten by one person w/out breaking out it might make another person breakout. So it reallly is about customizing your own diet eliminating what triggers acne on you and not from what others say. Like most people agree that dairy breaks you out but I eat plain yogurt everyday and that doesn't break me out. This whole diet thing is rea;ly hard but it seems like its the only thing that really works. The best way to do it is to eat only fruits and vegetables that are known in general not to cause acne and then start adding food little by little to see what causes breakouts.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Quote:
Originally Posted by Anibanani
you guys have a lot of good points here; there needs to be a lot more posts like these on the web. Most people are on the antibiotic and prescription cream craze and they don't even realize that acne is an internal problem. Also while some foods can be eaten by one person w/out breaking out it might make another person breakout. So it reallly is about customizing your own diet eliminating what triggers acne on you and not from what others say. Like most people agree that dairy breaks you out but I eat plain yogurt everyday and that doesn't break me out. This whole diet thing is rea;ly hard but it seems like its the only thing that really works. The best way to do it is to eat only fruits and vegetables that are known in general not to cause acne and then start adding food little by little to see what causes breakouts.
You're so right about people looking for drugs or topicals without regard for diet!!
I went exactly that route and now I'm back where I started but with a 'clean from within' mentality.
Although, I have to say that the medical community doesn't exactly help the lay person when it comes to acne. The first visit with my derm I asked "what should I be eating?" (of course, in addition to my drugs!!) and she said "acne isn't caused by food"
Is there any wonder that we don't first consider food when those who have a doctorate in skin tell us food has no bearing??!!
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Timber,
As a general rule you should eat mainly fruit and vegetables, and some lean meat. There are some fruits which can be problematic, but it is generally see what works for you. From what I've read here and elsewhere our bodies prefer clean burning non-starchy carbohydrates - that is vegetables. The thing about vegetables is they release energy slowly, and they burn clean. They do not cause the release of copious amounts of insulin, IGF, etc, which in theory throw out one's delicate hormonal balance. Frogprince has done a good job with this thread, but you should also see posts by Sweetjade1 who has been very thorough in this area.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Karl,
For about 2 months I ate only vegetables and fruit (except bananas, corn, peas and carrots), meat, eggs, beans, quinoa, nuts, and occasional brown rice. I also took zinc picolinate supplements and a multivitamin.
I gave up a few days ago because I saw no change in my skin. Either I was still doing something wrong, or my diet really isn't correlated with the condition of my skin. What do you suggest?
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Timber,
The theory that underpins the diet approach to clearing skin is that the acne sufferer is highly sensitive to a normal amount of circulating hormones; the acne sufferer's androgen receptors are overly sensitive. Remember for Androgens to express themselves, you need to have functioning androgen receptors. So, at the very outset the acne sufferer is in trouble compared to the average person who has no predisposition towards acne. Now, the theory is that drinking a couple of cokes a day, along with bread and maybe some milk is enough to raise your hormones to a level which will induce acne if you are predisposed (read: if you have overly sensitive androgen receptors). Now if you are not predisposed the aforesaid food shouldn't really cause a problem in general. Now when doctors/scientists say that food and acne are not related they are working from the prior point. At best the food=acne hypothesis is a secondary culprit for many acne sufferers, but not all, unfortunatley; but it should not be disregarded. Just as important, if not more important, as monitoring fluctuations in hormones potentiated by incorrect food choices is the blockade of androgen receptors by synthethic/natural means, and DHT inhibition. If the diet approach has not worked for you personally I would look into drugs like Spironolactone and Dutasteride, and natural alternatives like Saw Palmetto, Beta Sitosterol, etc. Personally I have the found the synthetic drugs to be very effective. Please disregard the hairloss drug Finasteride as this induces acne.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
Quote:
Originally Posted by Timber
Frogprince you've told us what NOT to eat. Now tell us what a good, healthy acne diet is? What SHOULD we eat?
I can't tell you what to eat and what not to eat. That's up to you to find out. I wrote this thread mainly so that people would broaden their perspective in the diet aspect of food-acne connection.
The problem with the diet perspective right now is that people are jumping to the wrong conclusions and making generalizations too fast about certain food groups. Some generalizations are ingrained in society that people do not even stop to consider that one man’s food can be another person’s poison.
What to eat? That’s for you to find out for yourself. If you search through this forum, a lot of people have actually posted lists what specific foods they avoid.
I research these lists in many forums and experimented with my face.
Ask yourself a question ==> Has avoiding all the sweets, oily, and fatty foods made a difference in my face? Has it really made a difference? For many many people in this board, especially for those with more severe cases, it hasn't. When people start seeing that avoiding these oily and fatty foods has done nothing to stop acne, then people start assuming that the diet- acne correlation is non existent and they start looking for other factors such as stress, dirt, etc… when in reality they haven’t even opened up to other possibilities within the diet realm.
Again, most people have actually started recognize the diet-acne correlation, but the thing is they only avoid carbs. Avoiding carbs is a good thing, but they have to be more careful
Here is a SAMPLE list of so called “healthy” foods that have been mentioned in people’s lists. (This is by no means an official list)
Bananas = > very popular item people avoid. Even in perricone’s book.
Carrots = > not very common in people’s list, but I believe it’s one of the secret Killers. I have heard many people who tried eating lots of carrots
Thinking that the vitamin c would stop acne, only to have it backfire.
I’m one of those people, and my face was destroyed by carrots
Corn = > very destructive. Comes in many forms: cereal, corn oil, corn flour. Popular item as well.
Grapes = > heard a few people mention that grapes were bad. For me, I’m fine.
Mango
Papaya
Peas = > in perricone’s book as well. I hate peas.
Potatoes = > break many people out. Along with that, Absorbs oil easily. Makes you fat.
Pumpkin = > don’t know much about this.
Tomato = > some people break out from this due to iodine. Personally, I don’t think it’s a cause of acne.
Nuts = > controversial item. Some people say its actually good for your skin,
And some people say it has broken the mout.
anything Diary = > as mentioned, Got zits?
Fish – iodine. The iodine –acne connection is about the only thing dermatologists
recognize.
In trying to find out what food causes acne, it is very difficult and confusing? Why? Because you will always be eating different varieties and types of foods.
Ex:
= > when you break out, you may think that it was oily and fatty food you just ate, but when in reality, it was the sweet and sour sauce.
= >when you break out, you may think that eating a banana broke you out, when in reality, it was the carrot that you ate at that same meal.
= >when you break out, you may start blaming the candy, when in reality, it was the corn that you put in your salad.
It’s so easy to blame the wrong cause because there is no indicator to tell us what in our body is the one triggering out acne.
Add in more factors, and it gets even more confusing:
= > a person may blame her breakout on stress, when in reality, it was the fact her pillowcase is really dirty and hasn’t been changed
= > a person may blame carbs, when in reality, when in reality, he was merely having the “initial breakout” of taking B5.
= > a person may blame acne on the ice cream he just ate, but when in reality, it was the fish he ate in the meal.
= > a person may blame acne on having her period, when in reality, it is the fact his skin is very sensitive some of the topical products she applies on her face.
= > a person may blame a topical product
when in reality,
get the idea? There are so many factors working out at once and it so easy to blame the wrong one.
Another thing that makes it even more confusing is that the length of formation of acne. Some acne can pop up right away after the cause has happened while other acne can take weeks. It varies. Personally, if I eat or do something that causes acne, my acne would usually pop up within the next day or two. That’s easy to identify. For others, it may be more difficult to identity the factors because their acne was formed as a result of something they ate or something they did a few weeks ago, and it just took longer to come out. That's why it's good to keep a "face" diary.
Re: Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy”
My problem is, like I said, that I ate only meat, fruit, vegetables, eggs, occasional brown rice and some nuts and seeds. I wasn't eating any of the foods on your avoid list. I wasn't eating any wheat, sugar/carbs, or dairy. I was still breaking out after 1.5 months on that diet. I don't know how else I can possibly identify what's causing my acne when I eliminated all of the things that I've heard people here say causes their acne.
I would love - believe me - to control my acne with diet. But I can't find a food or group of foods that I can correlate to breakouts. I'm desperate at this point but I don't know what else to do.
Getting thePoint Across: Definition of “Healthy” 
