Question
Quote: If diet is the culprit then why is there such a double standard? Why isn't it consistent across the board?
That's like asking why secondhand smoke or alcohol doesn't affect everyone the same way. Many people hang out in bars and are exposed to secondhand smoke, but only some of develop lung cancer. Likewise, many people drink lots of alcohol, but only some of us develop liver problems. Do these inconsistencies mean that you can dismiss the theory that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer or that alcohol is toxic? Of course not. It just means there are other factors at work. Same thing with processed food. Assuming it's toxic to the body, then the next question is why are some people better able to tolerate those toxins. But just because some people handle those toxins better doesn't prove that those foods are nontoxic.

Quote: Now, when you undertook on the healthy route, was your acne at it’s climax or was it tapering off?
It was consistent. It was neither increasing nor increasing. But then I was eating the same foods pretty consistently.

Quote: You broke out shortly thereafter eating processed food? Something doesn’t add up. Because pimples take weeks to form, unless there’s physical intervention such as rubbing, picking, etc. If food was in fact the cause of your break out, causing your skin to erupt that quickly, then doesn’t that sound more like an allergic reaction? Your body doesn’t show signs of rejection that quickly unless you’re allergic. Or perhaps you had a slight sensitivity to the change of climate. These are fair assumptions, are they not?
The idea that pimples take weeks to form is largely disputed and there's no consensus among dermatologists. And why does it matter whether it's an allergic reaction or not. The bottom line is that the body is rejecting a food that you've given it. My pimples appear with remarkable consistency. If I eat a significant amount of processed food, I get a pimple within 3 days. If I stop eating those foods, my acne heals and doesn't come back. I think you'll find most people here have had similar experiences.

Quote: The healthiest of eaters, athletes, break out too. These are the healthiest people and they break out like everyone else.
What are you defining as healthy? Most athletes I've seen consume protein bars and shakes along with sports drinks. That's not what I call healthy eating.

[quote]I don’t think it’s good to deprive yourself for the sake of a theory.[quote]

I don't consider it depriving yourself for the sake of a theory. I see it as establishing a baseline by eating the foods that exist in nature, the foods that human beings have evolved to eat. Most scientists accept evolution as fact, not just a theory. They also accept that our genes evolved in relation to our environment. The emerging field of nutrigenomics is based on this premise.

Quote: Knowing your skin’s tolerance level is the best way to combat acne.
That's precisely my point as well. But how can you know what your tolerance level is if you don't define a starting point? That's what eating whole, unprocessed food is all about. You start with the foods that humans have evolved to run on and then introduce processed foods to see how your body reacts.

Quote: Never buy into a system just because someone else had success in it, because what works for one person might not work for the next.
I agree, which is precisely why I encourage people not to pursue treatments like Accutane except as a last resort. But most people don't have the patience that dietary changes require. I read so many posts on this board where people give up on trying to eat better and run off to the dermatologist, but these people didn't really put in their best effort. Maybe they only ate healthy for a week or they didn't cut out all processed foods. We're a quick-fix society which is why Accutane appeals to so many people.

[quote]And no offence, but I think it's irresponsible on your part to impose your successful regimen onto someone else, for that very reason. You do realize that you said diet cures acne, right? You're telling me if I had severe acne, a healthier diet would cure me? Garbage. There's absolutely no concrete truth to that.[quote]

Actually, what I find irresponsible is downplaying the idea that food could have such a powerful impact on one's health. Food has an enormous impact. It can make us sick or make us strong and fit. As for my claim that diet cures acne, I stand by it 100%. And actually there is evidence. Studies have been conducted on hunter-gatherer tribes and not a single individual in those tribes suffered from acne. Those individuals only differed by 1% in their genetic makeup compared to people in the west. Further, there have been studies performed where people in such tribes adopted the western diet and developed many of the illnesses that plague Americans including heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and acne. Have you really tried eating healthy? If so, I would love to hear about your diet and how long you stuck with it. It's been my experience that the people who claim to eat healthy aren't really doing so, at least not to the extent that's necessary or for the duration that's required to see results.

Quote: And I hate to break it to you, but everything that is store bought has been processed, even organic products.
That's certainly true, but the point is to MINIMIZE processing as much as is realistically possible. We live in a toxic environment and our food comes from a highly contaminated food supply. It'll never be possible to have a completely nontoxic diet, but if you can avoid toxins, why not do so?

Answer
Hi everyone,

Here's a new twist for you. I believe acne is a result of improper levels of hormones. If anyone I loved had acne, I would tell them their first step is to have their hormone levels checked and treated by a doctor who understands how they interrelate and prescribes bioidentical hormones. Then, figure out the underlying cause---such as chronic infection or toxin build-up--and get that treated ASAP.

I had cystic acne well into my twenties. Now I know it was caused by improper hormone levels due to adrenal system suppression due to chronic Lyme infection.

Your adrenal system produce a large percentage of your hormones---including estrogen, testosterone, DHEA and progesterone---as well as regulating your immune system. If it isn't working right, or is busy fighting some infection, it can cause all kinds of health problems you might never associate with hormones. Toxins can cause hormones to not get to their receptors.

This idea isn't inconsistent with any ideas about food or vitamins or lifestyle changes having an effect since these all interrelate to the state of your immune system and your health at the cellular level.

Answer
Quote: Here's a new twist for you. I believe acne is a result of improper levels of hormones....

This idea isn't inconsistent with any ideas about food or vitamins or lifestyle changes having an effect since these all interrelate to the state of your immune system and your health at the cellular level.
Diet stimulates the hormone production causing or exacerbating the imbalance. Which is mentioned a great deal in most of the discussions about diet, cleanses and supplements.

Answer
Your diet has nothing to do with your skin. Eating better can help your skin but its not what caused it and it can't cure it. because if that was the case everyone who had a bad diet would have acne and that not true because people that i know who eat bad have flawless skin. that has nothing to do with it.

Answer
Like I said, focusing on your hormones is the key if you want to clear it up fast. Before my Lyme diagnosis, I was being treated for my fatigue and weight gain symptoms with hormones---and my acne came back. (Accutane had taken it away before.) When my testosterone was lowered, it went away again.

Too much testosterone in proportion to other hormones will give you acne.

Keep in mind women have testosterone too.

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