Does fasting cure acne? page 3

[Mr. Anthony]

Not nutrition-related, but one of the best things you can do for acne is to get a good supply of hand towels and put a fresh, clean one over your pillow every night.

[aleksandra]

Hi, I've registered just to answer this topic. I know anecdotal evidence isn't worth much, but that seems to be what most people here use anyway, so I guess it fits. Yes, I think acne can be "cured" by fasting. It seems to have fixed mine. Sorry about the wall of text to follow.

I've been fighting acne for ten (!) years and I've tried everything doctors would offer me (I haven't heard of anything I haven't tried, anyway). I also attempted a good deal of homemade remedies and dietary changes, as hard as it was considering that everyone seems to have different beliefs on this or that being *the* culprit (usually with zero evidence for support). I used all sorts of anti-acne cosmetics and then ditched all of them, using only the mildest micellar fluid I could find. The only thing that seemed to improve my acne, but still didn't fix it, was restricting high GI carbs.

Guess what? A while ago I've heard of IF and attempted it, never considering it could influence acne. I did the "lite" version, so called 5+2 (eating <500 kcal two days in the week and not restricting yourself the rest of the week). You can imagine my surprise when after two weeks, I had no new acne changes on my skin. None. Whatsoever. For the first time in ten years. I've been eating fruits the whole time, had some starch from quinoa and oatmeal, even experimented with having some sugar, and I have no new breakouts so far.

My hypotheses as to why it worked for me revolve around mild case of SIBO (I have *no* gastric issues whatsoever, so it's kind of unlikely) or simply fixing my metabolism somehow. I don't know if that's the case, but I'm glad it worked. I'll come back and update this post if there's a remission and it turns out to be ineffective in the long run, of course, but somehow I don't think it's coming.

TL;DR Yes, it seems it can cure acne.

[Sabre]

Vegetable oils and gluten make my skin sort of blotchy and shit looking.

There is, without a shred of a doubt, a connection between diet and acne; it doesn't mean diet causes acne, but that you can exacerbate or improve the condition with diet

[Sabre]

Gotta deliver some crappy news here, which it's important to be aware of:

Calorie restriction is known to temporarily alleviate acne. As for curing it, I'm not so sure. I don't have the answers, but it's easy to get overexcited when reducing calories shows an improvement in skin condition during the first few weeks.

In my opinion, staying to a paleo diet probably could reduce or minimise acne, but this may take up to 6 months and beyond

[Knifegill]

Here I am at two years. Went from good coverage of face and back with huge cystic pustules to white, flat skin. I have one tiny zit on my neck right now from pizza I was truly obligated to eat a few days ago. Otherwise, no redness or oozing pus craters anywhere.

I DO IF, every day just about. Especially on my work week.

[Gilleh]

I've been fighting acne for ten (!) years and I've tried everything doctors would offer me (I haven't heard of anything I haven't tried, anyway). I also attempted a good deal of homemade remedies and dietary changes, as hard as it was considering that everyone seems to have different beliefs on this or that being *the* culprit (usually with zero evidence for support). I used all sorts of anti-acne cosmetics and then ditched all of them, using only the mildest micellar fluid I could find. The only thing that seemed to improve my acne, but still didn't fix it, was restricting high GI carbs.

Guess what? A while ago I've heard of IF and attempted it, never considering it could influence acne. I did the "lite" version, so called 5+2 (eating <500 kcal two days in the week and not restricting yourself the rest of the week). You can imagine my surprise when after two weeks, I had no new acne changes on my skin. None. Whatsoever. For the first time in ten years. I've been eating fruits the whole time, had some starch from quinoa and oatmeal, even experimented with having some sugar, and I have no new breakouts so far.
TL;DR Yes, it seems it can cure acne.

My n=1 experience supports your claim: for me, as long as I keep my insulin jumps to once a day (and eating whole foods, avoiding toxins ofc.) my skin looks great. I'm never going to count calories or starve myself for anything in the world.. Although I'm sure that if I give up on starches all completely and stick with just low GI fruits I'd look better faster, it's not such a high valued target like it was before. I'm simply no longer stressed by it and rather eat my starches for body building.

I advise you to try having a one big meal a day with fruit snacks instead of extreme calorie restriction that to me just doesn't sound healthy.

In my opinion, staying to a paleo diet probably could reduce or minimise acne, but this may take up to 6 months and beyond

I totally agree. I'm 9 months into paleo/primal and after a lot of tweaking and figuring what exactly triggers me (over-consumption of eggs, any consumption of dairy, too many insulin jumps a day, too much alcohol, lack of sleep, not spending enough time out in the sun, using over-drying soaps, stress, hands on face..) my skin is healing and the die-offs bumps period is over.
I'm finally healing. It takes time and you have to use your head and experience a lot!
It's naive to think few months of primal/paleo eating can cure years of SAD eating, but whoever reads this - don't get discouraged - your patience will be rewarded.

[aleksandra]

My n=1 experience supports your claim: for me, as long as I keep my insulin jumps to once a day (and eating whole foods, avoiding toxins ofc.) my skin looks great. I'm never going to count calories or starve myself for anything in the world.. Although I'm sure that if I give up on starches all completely and stick with just low GI fruits I'd look better faster, it's not such a high valued target like it was before. I'm simply no longer stressed by it and rather eat my starches for body building.

I advise you to try having a one big meal a day with fruit snacks instead of extreme calorie restriction that to me just doesn't sound healthy.

But that's precisely what I'm doing. 400-500 kcal is a big meal for me when starches are excluded (I'm a rather petite female, though). I don't starve myself.

Calorie restriction is known to temporarily alleviate acne. As for curing it, I'm not so sure. I don't have the answers, but it's easy to get overexcited when reducing calories shows an improvement in skin condition during the first few weeks.

That's good to know. I've restricted calories before switching to 5+2 (which is effectively 2x24h fast) and that alone didn't seem to have helped, however. As I said, I'm waiting to see if the effect is only temporary.

ETA: I probably haven't been clear enough before: I never ate SAD, and that's not just because I'm not American. So I'm not claiming two weeks is enough to get over that. I've been eating my meat and veggies for years, just with too much whole grains and sweets and occasional junk food which I avoid now.

[tests]

I am kind of confused, how exactly should one intermittent fast? Does it consist of eating two meals a day, spaced 14-15 hours apart, but in those meals you can eat a ton of food?

How many insulin spikes could you guys have a day and still not get acne? If you ate say 100-150 carbs in one meal, would you get acne?

thanks

[Gilleh]

Don't count your Carbohydrates. Simply eat more meat with your potatoes to slow down the digestion and reduce the spike.
In regards to IF, there's no need to be confused. It consists of one main thing - don't snack all day.
I'll add one more important thing: don't expect magic to happen. If you had acne for most of your life or for many years, the problem will not disappear in days, weeks or even months. It takes time. Use this time to figure what's working for you - soaps, no soaps, certain foods and their amounts.. Find your 'sweet spot'. Don't get discouraged.