Blog

3

Hey guys, I'm a seventeen year-old girl and I've got a bout of acne that won't go away. It started back in October 2011 and it hasn't gone away. I've been relatively paleo since December 2010, and until October, I only got zits in my t-zone and they only got inflamed and nasty if I picked at them. So those were fairly normal and tolerable. Now let me break down what's going on with this new break out:

  • It's on my chin, and according to many, this is an indication of hormonal changes. I am not on the pill and the most medication I'll ever take is a decongestant or a tylenol, but I've got to be really rotten sick before I take even that.
  • There's some good reason to believe I'm going through a "second puberty" as I often jokingly call it. My chest seems to think so, as I now fill out my bras a bit better

  • My dairy consumption has gone up a bit since September. I'm currently cutting all but hard cheeses during Lent and I'm hoping that will do it. What's your thoughts on this? I've had dairy before without too much issue before.

  • My skin is super sensitive. Tap water leaves my skin burning, peeling, and redder than a steamed lobster. I've stopped washing my face a couple weeks ago. My pores seem no different than when I was cleansing via oil cleansing method or even using a mild neutrogena cleanser.

  • I'm currently supplementing with 50mg of Zinc, 2000 IU of Vitamin D (I never get enough sun), 1200mg of fish oil, and 2000mg of Vitamin C. I added the Zinc, D, and fish oil a week ago. I eat quite a bit of bacon (I always have), but I'm hoping the fish oil might offset whatever the O3-O6 ratio is contributing. When should I expect results from that?

I'm on the verge of taking antibiotics (I think we all know why that's a bad idea), and my dad is poking fun at my face in public because I refused the tetracycline routine he's offered (he's taking things a bit personally-- he's the biggest Korg in the family). I've got a powerful topical antibiotic, but naturally I'm apprehensive on taking it.

Any other advice guys? Do you think my acne is just a little hormonal blip that will end in a few months?

flag
"I neve get enough sun".. you might have the answer. – josh Feb 24 2012 at 0:02
Congrats for resisting to the pressure of antibiotics. From what I read, antibiotics are only temporary (over time the tetracycline will be less and less effective) and harm your gut flora (by destroying both good and bad bacteria). – Poisson Feb 24 2012 at 0:09
She takes vitamin D... – Korion Feb 24 2012 at 7:48
you can surf all the "acne" tagged posts paleohacks.com/questions/tagged/acne , unfortunately there is no real formula that works. If one would try to incorporate all the tips then there is nothing left to eat - lol. I suspect hormones are a the biggest culprit, no matter if you're on a paleo diet or not. – Paul Feb 24 2012 at 9:29

4 Answers

6

Acne on the chin usually means stress : bad sleep, just standard school stress, ... You often see it in older women (one zit on the side of their chin, like my mother, my aunt, and many other women I saw).

What could really help you is a diet high in fruit and root veggies, coconut oil, gelatin, organs, bone broth etc. and low(er) in muscle meat, leafy greens, ... Ditch the chicken and the pork.

Liver will give you retinol, which should really help with your acne, especially if you don't wanna quit dairy.

Paleo often puts too much emphasis on going low in carbs and supplementing magnesium and vitamin D, but if you have acne every mineral/vitamin/micronutrient is important, not just those two. Calcium should not be neglected, and vitamin k2 can be an awesome addition.

Some people also put too much emphasis on diet and forget "life" in "lifestyle". Make sure you walk a lot, in the sun preferably (don't walk if you really don't want to), make sure you move around and get your blood flowing. I'm not advocating cardio for this, since it would increase stress levels.

An important part of the process is gut healing (acne is probably the result of a leaky gut) : add probiotics, or (preferably) eat fermented foods you tolerate. Start with water kefir, maybe add some sauerkraut or kimchee, etc. Bone broth is a great aid.

All this should already help a lot. Never give up, everybody deserves clear skin, and there is always a solution. The good news is : clearing up acne usually clears up the other health problems first (digestive issues, mood issues, skinny fat body, insomnia, ...)

link|flag
1 
+1 I wold also suggest getting your Vitamin D tested. 2000 IUs may not be enough if you are very deficient. You want a blood level of 50-60 ng/ml. D is a hormone precursor, so it is essentail for hormonal balance along with Magnesium, K2, A and Zinc. – Dragonfly Feb 24 2012 at 14:24
2

Before you take antibiotics please read this!
http://www.gutpathogens.com/content/3/1/1 And once you are done, consider investing in a good probiotic rather than an anti-biotic. This stuff is expensive, but my functional doctor recommended it to me to help heal my gut. http://www.vsl3.ca/about.html

I began suffering from cystic acne at the age of 30. It's been a long slow road, but I finally got it under control after realizing my breakouts were actually inflammatory breakouts to food allergies. Also, I learned that I had leaky gut syndrome, which ties into the above article. I recommend going on a lectin ellimination diet to see if there is a lectin group that you are particularly sensitive to.
Read more here:http://www.krispin.com/lectin.html

Also, pork is highly inflammatory. I break out every time I eat it in any form. I've also found if I eat too much fat or sugar I break out.
Here's another article that discusses the relationship between sugar (in any form) and hormonal acne. http://www.natural-acne-treatments.com/sugar-acne.html

Hope this helps!

link|flag
Some past paleohacks would disagree with pork, see posts about a positive effect of bacon on their skin - though it is not clear whether it is due to bacon itself. – Poisson Feb 24 2012 at 10:39
2

You mention a problem with tap water on your skin, have you tried going a week without any tap water on your face? I often read about bad reactions to some types of tap water, though its never clear whether its well founded. Also, have you tried coconut oil and lots of saturated fat but minimum amount of polyunsaturated fats?

link|flag
Saturated fat is great for the skin, good call. – Korion Feb 24 2012 at 12:29
-1

I am going to suggest something.

  1. NO DAIRY PERIOD. NO HARD CHEESES, soft cheeses, butter or anything like that.

  2. Try eating ONLY: vegetables (no nightshades) lots of cabbage family and green leafy ones

                berries (preferably organic)
    
    
    
            meat/fish/poultry (preferably grass-fed, no eggs)
    

    No salt, no sugar, nothing else for one week. I would not even take vitamins.

Just try it for a week and see if it makes any difference (it is called elimination diet).

If your acne won't get better with this diet, come back to Paleohacks.

Good luck!!!

link|flag
Not even clarified butter? – Adulescens Appetens Feb 24 2012 at 7:19
1 
VB, why lots of cabbage family? And why no butter/ghee? If tolerated, those are great fats... Why no salt? Why no vitamins? Salt is actually great for acne, and some vitamins are damn powerful. – Korion Feb 24 2012 at 8:41
Those kind of diets may work for a while but it's mostly due to low calorie and nutrient intake and therefore decreased thyroid. Veggies, no salt and no sugar will cause big hormonal interruptions. The presumption that acne is triggered by "allergic foods" is mostly wrong. As soon as she increases sugar or salt she could get a breakout, but not because of its allergic value, because salt is not an allergic food. People only fool themselves on such kind of regimes. But of course, by all means she could try it. – Paul Feb 24 2012 at 13:19
1 
@ Korion yes, organs are very good. I eat liver 2 times a week. Backne is much more difficult to get rid off. I've no idea why. – Paul Feb 24 2012 at 16:55
3 
"You don't really need vitamins if you eat well." I guess, but eating well is not that easy. It's time-consuming and often expensive. Cheap supplements like vitamin D and magnesium citrate can really make everything easier. "I believe that acne is triggered by poor digestive health." it seems more and more likely :). That's why I'm trying out water kefir tomorrow (I'm letting them ferment right now). – Korion Feb 24 2012 at 18:05
show 5 more comments

Your Answer

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.