Acne and Paleo Diet

[Donnyten]

Hi. 

have any of you in the past ever had pro longed acne from teen throughout adult years and found that the paleo lifestyle helped?

[phatdave]

yes yes and yes. I came back from travelling having eaten a 'normal diet' for my whole life (yet albeit on the healthier side with less fried food and more home grown veg/homecooked meals etc) and being partiularly prone to spots because i had weakened my gut through stupidly eating all sorts of food filled with nasty bacteria like a dead clam. Ug, bad times.

So, i spent a year trying different gurus advice, raw vegan, sprouted grains, kefir, goji berries and all this rubbish. I cleared my skin a little because i was eating so little it gave my body a rest to heal, but ended up being incredibly weak and thin such that if i did eat any western food, or had a beer or a late night i was so weak i would break out.

And then i stumbled across a website called 'Marks Daily Apple' which basically said, "Stop eating according to fashions, idealogies and cults, and start eating the way you body has evolved/adapted to eat." Another year of research from that point and I am proud to say I no longer follow 'diets' as such, but rather the only actual diet. Whether or not i eat crap is my choice be at least i know whats what now. Its not a game to be won (ie this diet vs that diet), it is looking at your natural history, trying it for yourself, and opening your eyes to the actual place food has in ones exsistance.

Needless to say I have perfect, glowing skin if I maintain this lifestyle, but if someone wants to not jump in at the deep end because of social conditioning, give up particularly bad culprits like up dairy, grains and nuts.

I must say when i walk past people in the street with bad skin and spots i just know that such a large percentage of those poor people are doing it to themselves with what garbage they eat.

Also dont scrub yourface, wash gently with luke warm (the cooler the better) water, stop using any soaps or products on you skin, drink plenty of spring water (or any other good water) and never ever ever squeeze your stops. A diet with plenty of raw animal fats, moderate raw animal protein and suplimented with some fruit, plus daily exercise and some sunshine will teach you a lesson you will never forget.

Hell if you want 1 to 1 help i'll be happy to. After all the ONLY reason i started taking an interest in this subject was to stop getting spots. Which i did. And i was so misarable back then that ill be happy to help you if you want me to.

All the best,

david

[Donnyten]

Hi.  Thanks for responding.

My acne fluctuates a lot. I know the usual culprits that tend to break me out, ie-processed, refined / fried stuff, but i'm still tryna figure out why I at times break out.   on the onset of my teen years my acne was tremendously horrible, which now, i know was due to all the diary and cereal i used to eat.. EVERY NIGHT. especially when I had sleep overs..  thats all me and my friends ate  thats when i was really young. I am now 23

I have been clear for nearly 3 weeks straight, consuming organic veggies and nine grain bread i buy from whole foods I use coconut oil on. I have been eating spaggheti + grassfed cooked beef everyday for the past weeks and I have not broken out once.  I am quite scared to indulge in anything else at the moment because I don't want to break out..  Whatever chicken my mom makes i make sure to eat only her baked chicken and not fried. I find that avoiding anything fried in vege oil helps.  i will be starting the Paleo diet soon bu can't right now because the money isn't right. I can stomach raw eggs and nice juicy red steak so the steak is what i'll start out with first. I also find that jasmine/ brown rice causes no problems. there are people  at acne.org who are on paleo diets and they claim great results.

I know my spaghetti/ nine grain diet is probably bad ( w/ exception of coconut oil) but its what keeps me clear. I would be interested in any help David.

Thanks

[phatdave]

Its sounds to me like you have a good head about you, and are going in the right direct in regards to nice skin coupled with good health. I have faith you will find your own way given such a positive answer, but don't hestitate to ask for any help.

I will add to this thread with anything I can, but essentially I think the closer a diet/lifestyle is to emulating that of our paleo ancestors the closer to better health and of course healthier skin a person will become.

I also think you are beginning to see that with the results you have had already. Remember that is what is important too, the results you see for yourself with as little bias as possibe.

All the best,

David

[invisible]

Had severe cystic acne for multiple years that persisted even after a course of accutane. Vanished on raw zero carb.

[Guittarman03]

It was one of the first things to clear up when I changed diet (within a week or two).  I never had acne, but at 24, I still had 3-5 medium to large pimples on my face.  Now I only have 1-2 very small ones.   

[Raw in Florida]

Yes I had rosacea and acne and eating raw foods has done wonders in clearing my skin up. I have gotten many compliments on my skin and eyes recently. I have been eating raw foods on and off for the past 8 years. I am 28. Whenever I go back to cook foods, I can count on my acne returning.


If you have bad acne you can speed up the process of clearing up your skin by using your own urine. Yes, I know it sounds gross, but its not that bad.

After your skin clears you can use raw honey in dabs or stone pressed olive oil to help heal scar tissue.

[PaleoPhil]

Had severe cystic acne for multiple years that persisted even after a course of accutane. Vanished on raw zero carb.

That was pretty much my story. I first developed mild acne in my senior year in high school. It became worse over the next few years until it was cystic acne that was frequently rather painful. The dermatologists had me take antibiotics like tetracycline and erythromycin, topical treatments like retin-A, and eventually a round of Accutane. None of it did the job. The Accutane was the only thing that cleared most of the acne, but only while I was taking it. The day after I stopped taking it the acne started coming back. My acne greatly improved when I cut dairy and gluten out of my diet--especially the gluten--but the zits didn't clear up completely until age 45 when I adopted a mostly-raw carnivorous diet. Now I only get them if I eat any more than a smidgeon of carbs or go too long without showering, and even then I just get a couple tiny, painless ones, like when I first started breaking out.

[Donnyten]

Great to hear the wonders of this lifestyle...

I cant wait to begin...

On average how much do you people spend on food a week?

[invisible]

That was pretty much my story. I first developed mild acne in my senior year in high school. It became worse over the next few years until it was cystic acne that was frequently rather painful. The dermatologists had me take antibiotics like tetracycline and erythromycin, topical treatments like retin-A, and eventually a round of Accutane. None of it did the job. The Accutane was the only thing that cleared most of the acne, but only while I was taking it. The day after I stopped taking it the acne started coming back. My acne greatly improved when I cut dairy and gluten out of my diet--especially the gluten--but the zits didn't clear up completely until age 45 when I adopted a mostly-raw carnivorous diet. Now I only get them if I eat any more than a smidgeon of carbs or go too long without showering, and even then I just get a couple tiny, painless ones, like when I first started breaking out.

glad to hear you found something that works after medicines failed. At it's peak my acne covered me from waist upwards, worst on the back and shoulder and blood all over shirts constantly. Looked like leprosy, 50 lesions, some reaching over an inch in diameter. Years of depression with skin permanently scarred but now I don't really give a damn because I don't care about what anyone thinks of me, just moving foward.

[RawZi]

    For me it's just processed food.  As long as I eat absolutely no food that's processed at all and all organic (or equivalent), I have no acne.  However, me eating RAF does get my skin healthier than it ever was.

[snydercharles425]

I have been struggling with Acne for so long, it really sucks.

[cherimoya_kid]

I replied to you in a different thread that you posted in, Charles. See that topic for my reply.

[kalo]

So the difference in acne can just be between cooked and raw meat???

[PaleoPhil]

Update: I can consume more carbs now without breakouts, but still have to be careful to not overdo it on some easily digestible glucose-rich carb sources.