diet

So i have read that diet has no effect on acne.

....AND I have read that having antioxidants, plenty of fluids, omega 3, low glycemic diet, and avoiding dairy, meats, caffeine, and gluten can help reduce acne.

A lot of people say that in certain parts of the world, it is because of the particular diet that rarely anyone has any acne. I guess it could be environmental factors though like humidity and temperature. (Recently I went to Miami and for those few days, my skin seemed to have improved a bit, possibly due to the humidity?)

I don't want to turn to hormones again. I really prefer to find a sustainable method for treating my acne. Going back on birth control is only a temporary solution in my mind because I will soon want to start a family.

today I went to Sephora to look for possible skin cleaning products (which I'll write about in a separate entry) but noticing all the sales people who also had issues with their complexion made me think that the solution is not necessarily in skin treatments either. If these treatments worked, then wouldn't the Sephora employees be benefiting the most? I tend to stick to a very simple regimen, but out of desperation, I went and picked up some products

Altered diet:

Anywho, all this to say, I figured I would try to alter my diet, thus taking a natural approach. It never hurts to improve your diet anyway.

For some background, I should say that I had already given up eating beef a couple of years ago, and pork about 6 months ago. I was gradually trying to become vegetarian. So my meat intake is already pretty limited. I had also limited my sugar intake about a year ago so eating sweets like desserts  of any sort, sweetened drinks, or even sweetened products like salad dressings and sauces for example, were pretty limited anyway. I had also given up alcohol of any sort about a year ago, as well as caffeine (except for the rare times when I drink regular black tea instead of decaf). And finally, I had limited gluten in my diet, eating for example gluten free bread, and rice based crackers instead of usual crackers.

YES. i sound completely crazy for already having cut out/down caffeine, alcohol, beef, pork, sugar, gluten.  But at least having already made all these changes, I figured, what's a few more?

In the past couple of weeks I have been sticking to a low glycemic diet, cutting dairy, and focusing on maximizing on antioxidants. I've also started taking multivitamins with omega 3. Unfortunately because I work in the community, having to travel throughout the day, I am limited in how much I can drink because I have the smallest bladder in the world.

I have stopped eating breads, pastas, potatoes, etc to accompany my meals. just stick to protein, veggies, and fruits. The hardest part though was giving up cheese.... ooooh, how i miss cheese!

a couple of months ago I started substituting milk with rice milk. now i've cut out rice milk because of the high glycemic load. Instead I have soy milk, flax milk, or almond milk. Although nothing compares to a yummy tall glass of cold milk, I usually just add soy/flax/almond milk to my teas anyway, so the change is bearable.

Examples:

Some typical meals that I've been having for example:
- spinach salad with lots of nuts, strawberries, avocado, with side of fruit salad
- fish with vegetable sides

typical snacks:
- lots of fruits
- lots of raw vegetables
- various nuts like walnuts, soy nuts, peanuts, pistachios

Difficulties:

In addition to missing my milk and cheese, i find it's so difficult to go out to eat. so rare does a meal not come with high glycemic sides like potatoes, bread, fries, etc... things i also LOVE. Especially when i have to endure watching my husband munch away at these wonderfully delicious items... so naturally I steal a few bites.

Another part that's difficult is cutting out my yummy rice chip snacks. I had stocked up on these thinking I was making such a healthy move, choosing rice over gluten products. Alas, the rice snacks all pile up in my cupboards uneaten.

The first couple of weeks were going ok but having went to miami last week and having eaten out every meal, I think I'm falling back into some old tendencies. I find myself cheating and eating a few cookies here and there, a bite of bread, or a couple of fries. but generally I stick to my diet up until after suppertime (prime snack time).

Results:

Has the low glycemic load, no caffeine, no alcohol, no dairy, gluten free, high antioxidant + Omega 3 diet been helping with the acne?
Nope. :(