Acne and fat page

[spiritofstillwater]

hello everyone,

I have some questions, any personal experiences would be helpful! Previous to eating primal I was following an anti candida diet and ate soaked grains and beans, no sugar, no dairy for a year or so and then started having greek yogurt and kefir, and cleared my problem skin, finally! Well after eating paleo for a while I started breaking out again. It took me a long time to make the connection but I have realized that coconut oil, butter, and olive oil make me break out. Probably the fat in meat and eggs as well, although I have pretty well stopped eating all meat except some salmon and tuna for fear of breaking out. I was eating a lot of coconut oil and butter, a little olive oil here and there. I was having trouble sleeping, like laying awake all night, every night.

I knew something wasn't working with this way of eating for me. I also had a girl muscle test me, asking if meat was good for me and the answer was no. I had previously believed in the acid alkaline balance then thought it was hog wash since meat was apparently good for us. Now, I think I was too acidic, and was eating too much concentrated foods. I`ve had to start eating soaked grains and beans again because trying to limit my meat, eggs, and fat, left me too hungry and spaced out to function. No one can sustain themselves off mostly vegetables! I believe my liver is weak, and I can barely have any fat without breaking out. My back is even breaking out horribly.

This is long, I know, sorry. I am wondering if maybe the paleo/primal diet is not for everyone? We all come from different ancestral areas. Does anyone have any experience with the blood type diet?

Thanks for any insights!

[mmsantos]

My acne cleared almost completely when I started eating primally. When I started taking fish oil it improved even more. I honestly doubt the fat is causing acne, but you may have an underlying condition. I'd eat primally (yes, lots of fat) for a couple of weeks. If it persists, go to your doctor and get yourself checked out.

[spiritofstillwater]

My acne cleared almost completely when I started eating primally. When I started taking fish oil it improved even more. I honestly doubt the fat is causing acne, but you may have an underlying condition. I'd eat primally (yes, lots of fat) for a couple of weeks. If it persists, go to your doctor and get yourself checked out.

Thank you for your reply. I have no doubt though that fat is making me break out. I cut it out and then have it for a couple days and break out all over again. I did the primal for quite some time, maybe a year, and didn't have problems at first. It took me a long time to realize it was the excess fat causing the breaking out. I'm getting some blood work done this week. I had someone mention that being low carb for so long can cause problems with blood sugar levels, causing a person to start converting hormones to androgens which cause acne. I was really low carb because I was following an anti candida version, just meat and vegetables. Who knows, what the heck!?

[Knifegill]

Your olive oil is probably fake. Even tiny amounts of vegetable oil (what most olive oil actually is) will give me boils.

Fake Olive Oil - How to Spot Real Olive Oil - Delish.com

I am a litmus strip of acne. But you are not me. Things that give me acne will have me breaking out within a day. I'd try cutting out the "olive oil" and see what that does for you. And make sure all your sources are clean. Canned tuna usually has soy in it now, and that's another acne generator. If nothing else, drop down to just the coconut oil and cook with that.

[spiritofstillwater]

Hi knifegill,

I guess I should have mentioned I no longer eat any fat other than coconut oil, even that is causing a problem. I think my liver is weak, maybe because I ate a higher ratio of meat and fat than vegetables for so long? I was also following the advice of a lady who's diet was paleo for healing candida and she said we didn't even have to eat vegetables if we ate enough fat with our meat. She gave the example of the Inuits who eat an all meat and fat diet. I can't eat much at a time so I'd eat a larger amount of meat and fat to stay full. Maybe I was eating too much protein and my body didn't need it. Anyway, I now believe it's not good to not eat vegetables and too much concentrated foods such as meat and fat. There must be a balance, like the 80 percent vegetables in a meal with 20 meat and fat.

maybe I should just cut out fat for a while to let my body get back in balance and then try again? One problem is I can't afford organic meat anymore and I just hate eating factory farmed meat.

Thanks!

[ozbuckley]

Spirit,

I know which candida diet you were/are on.

I have found that adding some GAPS diet principles has REAAAALLY helped my acne. Especially these: drinking lots of bone broth, taking probiotics, drinking raw homemade goats kefir.

I still eat plenty of butter, CO, and Im taking anti fungals too. I would normally break out on my nose... but so far, 95% clear.

[ASmallOne]

Growing up, my acne always corresponded with eating even a single taste of nuts or peanuts, and slightly more copious amounts of vegetable oil. As I weened these from my diet going primal (although invariably, yes, I sometimes end up eating some nuts or oils incidentally) I had less acne. I can tell when I'm getting weak in my resolution to stay on diet when I start getting zitty.
That being said, I can eat a steak fat-first and not get a zit at all....
I wonder, and I don't have any idea the answer to this, if acne is an immune-type response reflecting a mild allergy?
::hopes that smart people will come along to confirm or deny this idea::

[jsa23]

I wonder, and I don't have any idea the answer to this, if acne is an immune-type response reflecting a mild allergy?
::hopes that smart people will come along to confirm or deny this idea::

I'm not certain it's been proven conclusively, but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence to suggest that there is an inflammatory component to many cases of acne - and thus certain foods may be potential triggers for it - and similar to how different people have varying tolerances for certain foods, those trigger foods may vary from person to person.

I think one of the best strategies to follow if you think this may be an issue is to keep a food journal - note in detail what you ate each day, and how you felt - if something goes wrong, look at your menu for the previous couple days. Repeat. If you notice any trends, consider trial and error with eliminating and re-inserting the food you have a question about, and see how your body responds.

[Gilleh]

Hey Spirit
Try dropping the eggs. Except the O6 in them, I read many people gets flared because of them.

[fiercehunter]

Acne is a kind of skin diabetes that is linked to insulin and hormonal imbalances which are caused probably also by insulin. You say you cut out dairy which is healthy since it is a source of a lot of hormones that no one needs as well as potently insulinogenic. Hmmmm not sure why you are having trouble. I had acne on a low fat diet personally, have been off the pill a year and have hormonal imbalance for sure due to being middle aged but I no longer break out. I personally thrive on high fat, low carb.

What Causes Acne: Insulin Resistance and Inflammation