I’m a big believer in linking the health of your skin to your overall health. The better your health gets the better your skin usually looks.
Occasionally I get emails from people who say they’ve been so healthy and eat such a good diet, but still their acne keeps getting worse and worse. When I ask them tell me the foods they actually eat and describe their lifestyle it quickly gets obvious their idea of health and healthy diet is a bit off the mark.
So of course these people have problems getting clear.
Here’s a bit of a test for you.
I listed 5 common diet myths/mistakes I see repeated over and over. See how many hit home for you.
Whole grains are healthy
How many times have you heard or read about the benefits of eating whole grains? It’s one of the most pervasive health myths in our society.
I just finished reading Dr. Graham’s book ‘Grain Damage: Rethinking the High-Starch Diet’ and it gives quite a bleak picture of the "staff of life". Here are just few negative points about grains (whole or processed):
- Highly allergic, especially grains containing gluten. Allergic reaction always involves the immune system, and that means more inflammation and more acne. Dr. Graham: "All of us respond adversely to gluten consumption. Celiac disease affects everyone who consumes gluten, to some degree."
- Irritates the digestive track and may lead to nutrient deficiencies. Grains contain insoluble fiber which is not compatible with the human digestive system. We need soft, soluble fiber from fruits and vegetables not the coarse and sharp insoluble fiber from grains.
- Absolutely tasteless and unappealing. To make grains palatable you need to add spices and eat them with other foods; usually fat or protein.This creates a terrible food combination where neither grains or the food eaten with them is digested completely. Further difficult food combinations require huge amounts of energy to digest even partially, leaving you drained.
- Addictive. How often do you crave fruits and vegetables? Probably never. But how often you get cravings for starchy foods? Probably very often. Gluten grains contain addictive chemicals that cause withdrawal symptoms once you stop eating them.
"The peptides from gluten and casein are important because the react with opiate receptors in the brain, thus mimicking the effects of opiate drugs like heroin and morphine. These compounds have been shown to react with areas of the brain such as the temporal lobes, which are involved in speech and auditory integration."
http://www.greatplainslaboratory.com/gluten-casein.html
Also see: Celiac Notes: Opiate Withdrawal from Gluten and Casein? - Easy to overeat. Complete carbohydrates in whole grains take long time to digest. Since they take long time to affect blood sugar levels our brains don’t get the signal that we have eaten enough. So we often eat until we are stuffed. Overeating leads to insulin resistance, weight gain and other health problems (including acne). On the other hand, it’s almost impossible to overeat with fruits since they are digested quickly and the brain gets the signal that we have eaten enough and turns off hunger.
This was just a small sample of dangers of grains. Hopefully it’s enough to get you thinking the next time you want to get a sandwich.
Sugar is evil
This is another pervasive healthy myth, and a dangerous one because it scares people off fruits. Instead of fruits we should eat more complete carbohydrates (such as grains) and fat - or so we are told.
I admit there’s a grains of truth in this myth. Refined sugar is bad for you, but that’s about as far as it goes.
Riddle me this. If glucose (the simplest sugar) is the fuel for all of your cells, how can it be bad for you? It’s like saying petrol is bad for your car. Of course that makes no sense at all.
Sugar and carbohydrates have bad rap because they’ve said to cause blood sugar problems. But that’s not true. The real problem is insulin receptors. Insulin is the hormone that escorts glucose from the bloodstream to the cells. People with insulin resistance these receptors have desensitized to insulin. So the glucose levels remain too high and the pancreas must pump more insulin to get them down.
Insulin resistance is not caused by eating sugar or carbs. It has many causes, but eating too much fat, overeating, sleep deprivation and chronic inflammation are among the main ones. I explain this in detail in Clear for Life.
Remove insulin resistance and fruits are no longer a problem. As has been demonstrated by Dr. Graham, who has been treating diabetics with high-fruit, low-fat diet for over 25 years, Pritkins Longevity Institute, with impressive track record on healing people with low-fat diets, and other doctors.
And closer to home, people who follow Clear for Life program show remarkable improvements in their skin within the first few months.
Bodybuilders and athletes require more protein
Many people believe they have to eat lots of meat to get enough protein, especially if they are athletes of bodybuilders.
This is the ‘protein myth’ and is not supported by science or real life experience.
First, yes athletes need more protein, but they also need more calories. Since all whole foods contain calories, more calories also means more protein. As long as you meet your calorie needs from whole foods it’s impossible to be protein deficient.
Institute of Medicine/Food and Nutrition Board conducted an extensive study on protein requirements. Here’s what they say:
"There is little evidence that muscular activity increases the need for protein, except for the small amount required for the development of muscles during physical conditioning. In view of the margin of safety in the RDA (10% of calories from protein), no increment is added for work or training."
Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids (Macronutrients)
Food and Nutrition Board
INSTITUTE OF MEDICINE OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
Aside from studies athletes in real life have shown that it’s possible, and even recommended, to eat a diet high in fruits and low in fat. Few examples of athletes who have worked with Dr. Graham are tennis legend Martina Navratilova, NBA pro basketball player Ronnie Grandison and bodybuilder Kenneth G. Williams.
If they can do it, I’m sure you can too.
Drinking fruit juices is healthy
What? Didn’t you just say that fruits are healthy and we shouldn’t be afraid of sugar?
Yes, I did. And sugar as such is not a problem. It becomes problematic when blood sugar levels raise too high.
Fiber in fruits slows down the absorption of sugars. Juicing removes the fiber from fruits. When you drink fruit juices the sugar goes into your bloodstream almost instantly. And this spikes up the blood sugar levels and leads to massive insulin spike.
Combine this with insulin resistance and you start to get major issues.
Best source of a nutrient is the food that contains most of it
When it comes to exercise and sunlight we understand that more is not always better. We need both of them in sufficient quantities, but too much is bad for us.
The same concept applies also to nutrition.
Getting more of a specific type of a nutrient is not always better. What you need is enough of a nutrient to meet your requirements, and in correct balance with other nutrients. Too much of one nutrient can lead to imbalances and deficiencies in other nutrients.
This is why I don’t recommend supplements. Nobody knows for sure the correct balance of every nutrient, and we probably haven’t even discovered all the nutrients yet. So a pill by definition cannot meet your nutritional requirements.
Only healthy, whole foods can do that.
—-
So how did you do?
Already knew all 5? Then congratulations, you know more about diet and nutrition that 99% of the population. And your chances of getting clear are pretty high because of it.
On the other hand if that left you scratching your head and you’ve struggled to get clear, you may need get up to speed about diet and nutrition. There’s so much BS and misinformation floating around that it’s easy to waste years trying to sort it all out. Unfortunately it’s something you have to do if you want to get over acne.
Or you can choose the easy way and let me tell you.
Get Clear for Life, go through it, and you are up and running in two hours.
Give me your email address and I'll take the mystery out of curing acne.
For immediate access just fill in this simple form, and start on the road to clear skin already today.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:00 am
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August 14th, 2008 at 12:18 pm
The information about grains and protein was very enlightening. So many of the fitness eating plans highly promote these two food groups. By reading your blogs, a person can become very knowledgeable about nutrition as a whole, not just in relation to acne. You’re a valuable and generous resource.
Thanks,
Keisha
August 14th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I don’t buy into the whole, “grains are bad for you” deal. That is absolutely ridiculous. No one really seems to know what is actually good for your health and what is bad. One day something is good for you, the next it is bad for you. It changes on a daily basis. How frustrating!
August 14th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
i am still struggling with acne but following your advise by blood sugar hi/los have improved 90%,ive lost 25lbs my cholesterol is now normal my high blood pressure is now normal.I still slip on the diet part but in general im winning thanks for all your help
August 14th, 2008 at 3:42 pm
Melissa, I agree with you 100% that diet can get confusing. Amazon carries almost 300′000 different diet books. Each probably has a different ’solution’.
But I have to say that what’s good for us (humans) has never changed. The only thing that changes is our idea of what’s healthy.
One reason for that is that these scientific studies are usually conducted on general population.
And the general population is by no stretch of imagination healthy.
So the only thing, for example, those studies on whole grains show is that by replacing refined grains with whole grains horribly sick people get little bit less sick.
So in context of standard Western diet whole grains are healthy. But in reality you are just comparing two evils together. One happens to be little bit less evil than the other.
I’m talking about these things in context of what’s really healthy for humans. For achieving optimal health and wellness, and curing acne. In that context whole grains are really, really bad.
And once you eat a healthy diet for a while you’ll notice the effect grains have on you - and it’s not a good one.
The other reason for confusion is our fragmented view of health. We tend to look at things in relation to a specific illness. For example we say whole grains prevent heart disease. Or that supplement X fixes problem Y.
While those may be true we often forget the other side of the coin. We often just replace one symptom with another. Whole grains might lower the risk of heart attacks, but gluten in grains increases the risk of celiac disease and other autoimmune conditions. And supplement X may give you some nutrients which help with condition Y, but at the same time creates nutritional imbalance, which shows up as symptom Z later on.
When you look at things in this fragmented way, they do look confusing.
That’s because health and nutrition doesn’t work that way. You have to look at it holistically. Which foods and lifestyle choices create the conditions for optimal health and wellness.
Forget the symptoms for a while. The body will deal with those.
Concentrate on creating/building health. And when you do that everything suddenly gets very, very simple.
Like I explain in Clear for Life.
August 14th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
Randy, excellent job! Comments like yours really make doing this worthwhile.
And don’t stress about acne. It will also clear in time.
Lowered cholesterol, stabilized blood sugar levels and lowered blood pressure are all signs that the underlying conditions that lead also to acne are fading away.
August 14th, 2008 at 7:26 pm
my acne has improved a lot by cutting out beans and flour. But i still eat brown rice, i was wondering if i can substitute it with sweet potato. My diet lacks in calories because im a vegan, so i need some sort of starchy food to build these calories.
August 15th, 2008 at 9:06 am
Kerri, good to hear your skin looks better.
There’s nothing in vegetarian diet that would make it inherently lack calories. It just depends on what you eat and how much you eat.
You can safely substitute brown rice with sweet potatoes or potatoes. Though I’m not sure if it’s going to help you that much. Rice doesn’t have gluten, so it’s less allergic than other grains.
Why not just try eating more fruits? That would be the best choice.
August 16th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
As recommended in your clear for life book, I started making me a huge green smoothie everyday. I usually just peel the skin of the fruits off, chop them into smaller pieces and chuck everything into the mixer. Is this as bad as drinking fruit juice or is it the same as eating whole fruits because I have used the whole fruit rather than just the juice?
Off topic:THANK YOU for making this website and the book!!! I’m really happy I bumped into it.
August 16th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
Lily, no, thank you. I couldn’t do this without customers and encouraging feedback.
Green smoothies are perfect. When you blend the fruits as whole the fiber is still there. So they won’t spike up your blood sugar levels.
Blending is good because the blender ‘chews’ the greens for you. That way you’ll get far more nutrition out of them.
August 19th, 2008 at 5:42 pm
What kind of greens are suggested?
August 19th, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Hi, I m really pleased with your information but want to know that do I have to live on the fruits & vegs for the rest of my life.
thanks
August 19th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Kurt, with greens I mean leafy, green vegetables; such as spinach, lettuce and kale. Celery is also more than worth its salt. Just check what’s available at the produce section in your super market. Anything from there should do fine.
August 19th, 2008 at 9:13 pm
Shaks, you don’t HAVE to do anything. Fruits and vegetables are the optimal food for humans, but you can include other things into your diet also.
It’s just that once you’ve tried living on fruits and vegetables you probably don’t WANT to eat anything else. They just make you feel so much better. And eating anything else will just make you feel worse.
August 20th, 2008 at 11:59 pm
Are seeds good also? Pumpkin seeds? How about sunflower seeds?
August 21st, 2008 at 11:20 am
Thanks Suppo, also if acne is caused my blood sugar problems so y doesnt sugar in fruits causes acne & can we take whey protein shakes low in fats.
thanks.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Kurt, seeds are ok in small quantities. They have quite a bit of fat, so don’t eat too much of them.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:22 pm
Shaks, sugar as such don’t cause blood sugar problems. Yes they do increase blood sugar levels, but that’s not really the problem. The problem is that the body cannot bring the blood sugar levels down. So they remain too high.
That’s a condition called insulin resistance, and one of the biggest causes is eating too much fat.
Though I don’t recommend eating refined sugar it alone (in the absence of fat and insulin resistance) will not cause blood sugar problems. The body is very good at regulating them. It becomes an issue when we have too much fat in the blood, and that prevents the body from clearing excess glucose.
That said, it’s still not good to eat refined sugars and fruit juices because the body doesn’t like spikes in blood sugar levels.
Fruits have fiber in them which slows down the absorption of sugar so that blood sugar level rise gradually.
August 21st, 2008 at 5:11 pm
Seppo! i m grateful to your quick reply & knowedge, so can we eat large quantities of fruits?? i have heard that body converts the excess amount of carbs not needed into fats & stores it in the body, can tht body fat be dangerous too??
thnx a million
August 24th, 2008 at 5:46 pm
Yes, fruits are perfectly fine.
The body converts all excess calories into fat. It doesn’t matter where they come from. Overeating is bad, no matter what you overeat.
August 28th, 2008 at 6:59 pm
Thanks for the information! I’ve been drinking green smoothies for a few weeks and my PMS symptoms are gone. I still have acne, but I feel like I’m on the right track.
Are beans okay, or are they similar to grains?
August 28th, 2008 at 7:08 pm
Alissa, good to hear. I’ve heard from many women that their PMS symptoms ease or go totally away when they follow Clear for Life.
As far as I know PMS symptoms are another sign of hormonal imbalances.
Fix the diet and lifestyle that created those and you’ll fix all or most health challenges.
So that’s a definitely an encouraging sign. Keep up the good work.
Beans are ok, but not optimal food. They are hard to digest for some people. Still in the context of modern foods beans rank pretty high. I still eat them occasionally. In fact today I put one can into my salad.
September 7th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
I get all my food and drinks at whole foods and wanted to know if getting pasta’s that are gluten free ok to consume in moderation? Also, i drink a green smoothie in the morning but it is store bought and wanted to know if it is just as good as juicing?
September 8th, 2008 at 9:31 am
Josh, gluten free pastas are better since they don’t have that many allergic issues. Still, the other points mentioned about grains still apply to gluten free pastas also.
Nothing equals to freshly made green smoothies. You never really know what’s in them.
Still, if you can’t make your own then store bought ones are a good option.
September 11th, 2008 at 11:19 pm
in your clear for life readings i know you say it’s good to get sunshine, i was curious on the amount of sun i should be exposed to per day, and also should i use a sunscreen or not?
September 12th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Josh, as long as you don’t burn yourself it’s almost the more the merrier with sunlight. But minimum 15 to 20 minutes a day.
Use sunscreen only if you have to be in the sun so long that you’ll burn yourself. Otherwise not.
September 17th, 2008 at 9:55 am
Seppo - where were you 15 years ago? I wish I had of known of you when I was a teenager with acne. Oh well, at least as an adult with acne I have discovered you!!
Can you pl give me your opinion….a few months ago I went on a ketogenic diet to lose some weight. No dairy, no refined sugar, no alcohol, no carbs except fruit and veg. I ate lots of greens, salad, protein, 2L of water, eggs, nuts and oil.
I was also taking good quality vitamens - iron, zinc, estrogen, some fiber drink, some anti stress vitamens.
Anyway, my skin cleared up beyond belief. I have never had such clear, soft, blemish free skin in my life.
Out of the things I was doing, what do you think would have caused this? The reason I ask is that it is not good to stay on a keto diet long term and the vitamens were expensive.
What are your thoughts?
PS I am going to buy your book for me, and friends with acne!
September 18th, 2008 at 6:04 am
Kate,
15 years ago I just getting my first pimple while stuffing my face at McDonalds. So I don’t know how much of a help I would have been for you back then : )
I know many people have cleared their acne with ketonic diets. On the other hand I know many people who have got nothing but trouble out of low-carb diets.
If it works for acne I’m sure it has a lot to do with eliminating grains and processed foods. Plus ketonic diets are often calorie-deficient. Calorie restriction is anti-inflammatory and reduces insulin resistance.
Plus when people go on those diets they often start to eat more vegetables.
So I’m not surprised some people clear their acne with them. But it has nothing to do with the claim that low-carb diets are good for blood sugar control.
By definition they are high-fat and high-fat diets have been known to cause insulin resistance for decades.
High-fat diets are also disaster for your health in the long term. So I wouldn’t recommend them to anyone.
Especially since it’s easy to clear your acne with healthy diet also.
September 20th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
Binge eating = High Glycemic Load = Hyperglycemia = Acne
It does not matter what type of foods you eat, high calorific intake in single sittings will cause acne.
Hunter gatherers around the world have differing diets, look at the Pimas compared to Eskimoes compared to Kitvan Islanders compared to Masai warriors. Their carb to fat to protein ratios all differ form each other yet their calorific intake to calorific needs ratio is way lower relative to westerners.
The Japanese diet before becoming westernized has high GI rice yet they had no acne. Why? Their portion sizes are small. Same with the French Paradox. They eat what is viewed as an unhealthy diet yet they exercise portion control and are healthier than the USA.
Stress and infection exacerbate hyperglycemia. So acne feeds back into the situation with the undue stress it causes coupled with the infection.
In eating disorders acne is common. Anorexics are usually non-purging bulimics. So paradoxically they lose weight whilst having acne. As they fast and exercise between binges.
With all these crazy acne diets where certain foods are restricted you will eventually binge, and lo and behold breakout badly.
Evaluate how many calories you need and distribute them evenly over at least 3 meals and preferably 4-5 and your acne will be reduced significantly. Follow the 80-20 rule, 80% healthy and 20% treats and you will be less likely to binge. The treats should still be calorie and portion controlled. A small sugar only boiled sweet by itself has a low glycemic load even though it has a high index.
Diabetics are told how important portion control is and total calories is now.
Lowering blood glucose in hospitals gives significantly better outcomes in infections.
Exercise reduces calories and can lower blood glucose, however as diabetics and athletes note intensive exercise can actually cause hyperglycemia as can caffeine.
Anecdotally apple cider vinegar, green tea and vodka are touted as helpful in acne, isn’t it interesting that they all reduce GI of meals. However even these can’t suppress a crazy binge. First and foremost calorie and portion control is essential.
As the Mann study showed a low glycemic load diet decreased acne significantly.
http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/abstract/86/1/107
A calorie and portion controlled diet with calories evenly distributed over day has a low glycemic load.
September 22nd, 2008 at 6:52 am
Sean,
Calorie control is important in reducing insulin resistance and keeping blood sugar levels under control. Still, there’s much more to the issue than it.
Inflammation is one big thing. If you eat plenty of transfat and other inflammatory foods you’ll get insulin resistance, even if you eat less calories.
I wouldn’t also draw too many conclusions about the diets people eat on different sides of the planet.
The fact that their rates of various diseases are much lower in the West doesn’t mean their diets would be optimal. There’s more to the disease process.
Research is quite clear on the fact that eating too much fat leads to insulin resistance. Overeating anything will lead to that, but you don’t have to eat that much fat for it to affect your insulin sensitivity.
Masai, eskimos and other people who eat high-fat diets have other lifestyle factors that offset the damage caused by eating too much fat. They are much more active than we are and eat foods in their natural state.
These things probably keep a lid on full blown diabetes and other diseases associated with eating too much fat.
One more thing. If you are not gaining weight then you aren’t eating too many calories. In these cases insulin resistance shouldn’t then exist. But it does, so there’s more to the story.
October 24th, 2008 at 12:13 am
Sorry to be a hassle but i would greatly appreciate some conformation, so if what your saying the optimal nutritional balance should consist of, is basically all fruits and vegetables. How in the world do you make ends meet (calorie-wise) so you won’t starve. I’ve looked it up, and you would need much over four liters of green drink only to keep your body running. can you help clear my confusion please? Also, is it illogical to make large smoothies in the morning and drink through the day, because the enzymes dying off?
October 26th, 2008 at 10:57 am
Nobody said that you have to eat only fruits and vegetables. Nutritionally it’s the optimal thing, but you don’t have to do it. I don’t eat 100% fruits and vegetables. In some days I do, but not all days.
I have no problems getting the calories I need. In fact, it’s darn easy. 5 bananas gives me approx 500 calories, and that’s usually enough for one meal.
I’ve also noticed that my calorie requirements have gone down. I simply don’t need to eat that many calories anymore to feel full and satisfied.
Interesting that you think it’s illogical to store green smoothies because of ‘enzymes dying off, but it’s not illogical to eat foods that have no or very little nutrients (as in the case of standard diets).
I don’t mean to be mean, just to point out the illogical confusion many people have (it’s not only you).
If you eat plenty of fruits and veggies you’ll get far more nutrition than you would from any other diet - even if some enzymes would die off.
Besides the loss of nutrients is very small compared to the nutrients you’ll get. So it’s not something you need to worry about.
Besides the whole ‘enzyme theory’ is illogical anyway. The enzymes in fruits are there to RIPEN the fruit. Your body has its own digestive enzymes and you don’t actually GET any enzymes from eating fruits and veggies.
October 26th, 2008 at 10:08 pm
I’ve heard before that drinking fruit juice isn’t that great for you, and you’re way of explaining it is definitely a lot easier to follow. I’m just curious though, if juicing eliminates the fiber in fruits, what about blending? As in making smoothies or something? Does that have the same affect or does the fiber stay if you only blend the fruit? Because it’s really only like cutting up the fruit into tiny tiny pieces, but then again juicing would just be like mushing it up even smaller…. I don’t know. Just curious.
October 27th, 2008 at 2:10 am
Joline,
When you blend fruits you retain all the parts of the fruit - you don’t throw away anything like you do in the case of juicing. You still eat the whole fruit.
The blender just does the ‘chewing’ for you, but the sugar is still attached to the fruit fibers. So it doesn’t spike up blood sugar levels nearly as much.
October 29th, 2008 at 5:46 am
is oatmeal a whole grain?
tnx
October 29th, 2008 at 6:00 am
i’m just wondering, can u simplify the meaning of insulin resistance, i’m not into english very well
tnx seppo.. i have my break outs now on my forehead and i’m really sad bout it, it’s red and nasty, my mentrual period is over, i think my period is causing it? or my diet? i eat lots of rice and no fruits, yea and i eat lots of peanut butter with white bread, is that bad? 
is egg bad for me? i eat one egg a day, then sometyms i get this hives,,,grrrr..it’s really frustrating..pls help..i really appreciate your efforts in putting acne into an end.. more power 
October 29th, 2008 at 6:05 am
one more thing (sorry for the multiple comments) can i clear up my acne w/out eating fruits? i mean by just drinking lots of water and avoiding sugar? can i eat chicken? (not fried) i’m in the Philippines so it means rice is my everyday diet
is that bad? sorry for the questions, i’m just really confused, i’m 16 yrs. old 
October 29th, 2008 at 10:23 am
does chicken, beef, or pork cause acne? even if they are not fried, i mean cooked in a different way.. and btw cooked veggies? i mean veggies that’s cooked with meat already? are they safe? tnx seppo, ur the best!
i really appreciate that ur doing this for our sake, not for the sake of money, i feel lucky i’ve found you 
October 29th, 2008 at 1:58 pm
Bea,
Whether oatmeal is a whole grain or not depends on the processing. If it’s whole grain it says so in the box.
Insulin is the hormone that takes sugar (glucose) from your blood stream into your cells. Think of your cells as houses. Insulin knocks the door of these ‘houses’ so that food can go in.
Insulin resistance means that the people on those ‘houses’ don’t always hear the knocks. So insulin has to knock harder and longer (means more insulin). The more resistant to insulin you are the harder and longer it has to knock.
Peanut butter with white bread is definitely bad. I wrote about acne and grains here: http://www.natural-acne-solution.com/grains-and-acne.html.
Sorry but I can’t give simple answers to your questions. For some people the foods you mentioned give acne, but not to everybody.
The best thing for you would be to start eating as healthy as possible. That means more fruits and vegetables and less fried food. Rice is not that bad, so it should be ok for you.
October 29th, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Jeff,
Please don’t praise my altruistic reasons too much, or I’m going to feel bad by telling you that I do make a living with this. But I guess it depends how you do it.
To your questions.
There’s not a single food that would ’cause’ acne. To put simply, acne is caused by the less than optimal state of health your body is in.
So instead of asking ‘does this food cause acne?’, a better question would be ‘is this good for my health?’. All foods that are bad for your health can, at least indirectly, make it more difficult for you to get clear.
So are chicken, beef and pork optimal foods for humans? Definitely not.
That said, don’t take this thinking ‘too far’ or you’ll end up shooting yourself on the foot with it.
In Clear for Life I stress the need to find a balance between health and other concerns in your life. If you stress health too much the other parts of your life suffer, which can stress you out and hence make it more difficult to get clear. Try to find the sweet spot that’s healthy enough for you to get clear, but not so healthy that it makes you wanna pull your hair out.
Getting back to point.
Chicken, beef and pork are definitely not optimal humans foods, but if your diet is other wise good eating them occasionally is not that bad.
Raw veggies would be better than cooked, but one can’t really say that cooked veggies would be horribly unhealthy either (as long as they are not friend and saturated with fat).
So sum things up. When you think about your food choices think about their impact on your health, not whether they cause acne or not. Because whether you get clear or not ultimately depends on whether you can improve your health or not.
October 29th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
is beta glucan different from gluten?
i really love ur forums
tnx for the replies
October 29th, 2008 at 3:18 pm
Bea,
I’ve never heard of beta glucan before, but according to Wikipedia it should be pretty good for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beta-glucan
Whereas gluten is very unhealthy for you: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluten_sensitivity
October 30th, 2008 at 4:15 am
cashew nuts are ok ryt? and i think canola oil is fine
November 1st, 2008 at 11:37 pm
Is peta bread find bcuase I’m Middle Eastern and we a lot of peta bread. I know they are very low in fat.
November 2nd, 2008 at 9:53 am
Bread is made of grains, so it’s going to give you problems. How much depends on the kind of grains it’s made of. If it’s wheat then it has gluten and can give you major issues. Naturalnews just published my article on gluten acne connection (<– click to read it).
Oils are 100% fat. So by eating oils it’s easy to eat too much fat, which can lead to insulin resistance.
November 3rd, 2008 at 7:44 am
Is it alright to eat bread once in a while like 2 mouth but small amount?
What about Olive oil?
November 5th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Look, I can’t tell you whether it’s ok to eat some foods or not, meaning whether they’ll give you acne or not.
We are all individuals and react differently to these foods. All I can tell you whether some food is generally good for your health or not, and if some foods are more likely to trigger acne than others.
Wheat is highly allergenic and thus one of the works foods for acne sufferers. If you are highly sensitive to gluten then even small amounts can be harmful. But not many people are that sensitive.
Olive oil, flax seed oil, grape seed oil, fish oil, turtle oil, rat oil, elephant oil, tiger oil and what not… they are all 100% fat. Too much fat, no matter what fat, is going to be bad for you.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:39 am
If you should stay away from grains, what can you eat??? Everywhere you look, everything contains wheat, whole grains and gluten to some degree… everything. And the foods that dont are relatively expensive.
what is a good substitute for bread?
For rice? And pasta?
November 7th, 2008 at 10:37 am
Rice is not that bad actually. It doesn’t have gluten so it’s not as allergic as wheat. That makes it far safer for people with acne. Of course is still has all the other problems associated with grains.
Fruits are the best substitute for bread and other grains. Potatoes, other starchy vegetables, beans, lentils and quinoa are also good ones.
November 9th, 2008 at 6:37 pm
Hey, Seppo! I have to say, all of your lessons have helped me SO much. I get a few breakouts here and there, but I’ve only changed my diet for a week now, so I still have a long way to go. I just had one question for you, because I’ve never been able to get an answer from anybody about it. Would eating about 6 tablespoons of peanut butter a day probably trigger some acne problems? I know it depends on the individual, but if you were me..would you eat it? ‘Cause I have to say..ever since I got rid of of my chocolate and other sweets in the house, that’s kinda my “somewhat healthy” alternative. Thanks again, Seppo!
November 11th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
Becca, no I would definitely not eat 6 tablespoon of peanut butter a day. Peanut butter is 70% fat and 6 table spoons gives you a whopping 50 grams of fat.
http://www.nutritiondata.com/facts/legumes-and-legume-products/4452/2
That’s more fat than I eat in 2 days.
All that fat can give you major blood sugar issues - especially if you also eat lots of fruits.
Plus peanuts allergies are very common. If you happen to also be allergic to them, your acne gets a double whammy benefit.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:33 pm
Hey Seppo-
I am very overwhelmed at the start of my acne free journey. I have been hyperglycemic my entire life, so my diet NEEDS to change. I do have acne, I am 20.. and a poor college student so buying your book, which I am hoping to do is a big deal for me..lol. But, I need to do something about my skin and overall health. I am 5 2″ and 113, I look like I’m in shape. However- I am out of shape like an extremely overweight 50 year old. I need to excercise also.
I can’t get the amount of sun I would like because I work all day indoors and it’s very cold out in November in PA. Can I pleeasse go tanning? Or is that a no-no? And I feel very appreciate of your work, just as the others have said as well.
November 12th, 2008 at 8:26 am
Lauren,
At least you know know what you need to do. And if it means making many changes, then it means making many changes.
It may feel like it now, but most of these changes are not such a big deal. They do take a fair amount of persistence, but anybody can do them. Just go slowly and easy and you’ll get there.
I know winters can be tough for sunlight. From everything I’ve read it seems there’s no difference between natural and ‘artificial’ light. If both have the same frequencies (spectrum) both should give you the same benefits.
So tanning should be ok. But before you go, just check from the salon the spectrum of light their light tubes emit. And do make sure they emit UVB radiation - that’s the one responsible for vitamin D production and probably many other health benefits also.
Finally, like with sunlight, moderation, moderation, moderation… don’t fry yourself.
November 12th, 2008 at 9:42 pm
Hey Seppo,
I just have one more question for you. (I’m really sorry, but you always have the best answers! lol) So you say that 50 grams of fat is waaay too much to digest for one day…So what’s your recommended amount per day? Thanks again, and I promise that this is the last question from me. (I’m off to finally buy your book…I’m so excited!)
November 14th, 2008 at 9:51 am
Becca,
There’s no straight answer to that question. It depends on many things.
First about the diet you follow. If you are one a low-carb diet then you need to eat lots of fat to get your calories.
I’m not going to venture here into why I think low-carb diets are not only ridiculous but only health disasters. So in those diets eating lots of fat is the only way to get your calories. And eating too many carbs would lead to all kinds of problems (mainly because of eating too much fat makes carbs dangerous).
On the other hand if you eat plenty of fruits then you need to limit your fat consumption. Once your fat intake gets close to 20% of your total calories, or goes over it, you start to get blood sugar problems.
Fat and sugar simply do not mix together.
So for 2000 calories a day you should have max 400 calories from fat. Fat has 9 calories per gram so that means 44 grams of fat a day.
And that’s already on the high side. Most credible health experts recommend 10% of your calories from fat.
So the blood sugar issues start to appear after your fat consumption goes over 10%, but they don’t get that serious at 15 to 20%. But once you cross 20% or hit 30% (like most people do every day) you are in a world of trouble if you start eating lots of fruits (or anything else that has sugar).
November 30th, 2008 at 12:52 am
Seppo,
I have read Dr. Graham’s book, am also a raw vegan myself but have an allopathic nurse for a girlfriend (whom, btw, is largely into holistic health such as myself). I have tried eating mostly fruits with minimal fat and loads of greens vegetables (have a huge blended salad in a vitamix once, sometimes twice a day). However, restricting the amount fat in your diet ultimately leads to hair loss and brittle, breakable hair. What are your thoughts on this? Would this not lead us to believe that more fat is required in the diet? Also, studies point to the fact that fat-restrictive diet in the long run have incredible repercussions on our health. Would love to hear your thoughts… thank you.
November 30th, 2008 at 2:01 am
On a diet eating mostly fruits and vegetables (the next step for me) would say, an egg a day be damaging? Also, are canned tomatoes (with no sugar, gluten or anything added) likely to cause problems? Thank you for providing us all with such information loaded replies!
November 30th, 2008 at 6:46 am
David,
I don’t pretend to have the truth on this, but here’s what I think.
For the most part I’ve heard positive comments about 80/10/10. Though some people have commented that restricting fat too much have led to some problems (such as dry skin).
Adding a bit more good fat into their diet has usually helped. Not huge amounts. You shouldn’t take this as a recommendation to eat 50% of your calories as fat. But perhaps bump it up to 20% or so.
I don’t know if this is a temporary thing or a result of some deficiency. Also this doesn’t seem to happen to that many people. So it could be a result of impaired absorption of some nutrients.
And additional recommendation would be to take a B12 supplement. Due to our farming methods our lands have become depleted on B12. So a supplement is a good insurance policy.
I’m not aware of any such studies, but if you point them out to me I’ll take a look.
November 30th, 2008 at 6:47 am
Angel,
No, an egg a day wouldn’t be such a big thing, if, for some reason, you want to eat them.
December 4th, 2008 at 4:24 am
Seppo,
Riddle me this, sir. I love the information you are giving to people in an effort to help, so please don’t see this as a flaming comment as it is far from that… it is a genuine and confused concern of mine. I have been 811rv for many, many months now. Apparently I have been underconsuming calories as my body started to store fat underneath my chin and mid section (even though I’m big into high intensity weight training). So, I started to highly increase my consumption of fruit (2100-2800 calories daily) based on activity level. My acne is roaring and on fire now! I’m getting huge cystic nodules on my neck and legs. My fat % is at 10% as it has been in check for a long time. The fruit itself seems to be what is breaking me out. When I went on a 1 week enema cleanse with minimal calories (what started the whole turmoil of not eating enough and fat storage) while drinking a gallon of water a day, my acne cleared up. Why? I need the calories for energy but when the sugar consumption goes up, the skin gets pissed. I’d like to know your take on this… I also eat many, many greens and vegetables at the end of my day. I’m so confused, self-conscious and frustrated as I’ve put countless hours into research and nothing and I mean nothing… works. I’m a raw vegan and plan on staying that way. Any advice or overlooked information would be greatly appreciated.
Truly,
Dave
December 5th, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Hi there,
Thank you for your enlightening information. I wanted to know if you knew anything about kidney function and acne. None of my family either direct or cousins aunts and uncles ever had acne, but i am the one that got lumped with it. there is diabetes and kidney disease on both sides and i was wondering whether kidney’s had an effect on acne,
Thanks so mucha nd keep up the excellent work!
December 6th, 2008 at 10:56 am
David,
Don’t worry I won’t get offended by such questions. This isn’t about following a certain diet. This is about getting health and clear. If something doesn’t work for you then better try something else rather than blindly following a dogma.
And sorry about my late reply. For the past days I’ve been busy launching Clear Skin Space and have pretty much ignored emails and comments.
To your questions.
I’m certainly the first one to admit that things don’t always make sense - at least in the short term.
Why you broke out? I can’t say for sure, but I can give you few things possibilities. I have to admit that transitioning to 811 is not my specialty. So you might get better answers from asking someone else.
Anyway…
Are you sure that you are not eating too many calories now? I don’t eat that many calories - even if I exercise heavily. Does your body want all that food or do you sometimes have to stuff yourself? In other words do you need all that food to be satisfied? Or could you do with fewer calories?
So overeating could be one factor.
It doesn’t really make sense that sugar would cause that (in the absence of insulin resistance). Because no matter what you eat your body converts it to sugar. So, aside from going to ketosis, there’s no way to avoid sugar in the bloodstream.
Could it be something else in fruits? Perhaps you are allergic to some fruits you eat?
One possibility is that you were starving yourself before. This puts the body into a survival mode and it slows down uncritical activities (such as detox). Could it be possible that now that you started eating more calories your body is getting back to live and started detoxing again?
I get many comments from people who breakout within the first few months of switching to healthier diet and lifestyle. It’s a normal part of the detox/healing process. Often the breakouts ease off after few months.
I also know that some people, at least initially, do better with a bit more fat in their diet. With a bit I mean a bit. Not like eating 50% of your calories from fat, but perhaps upping it to 20%. Have you tried that?
Those are few things I could think off. I hope they can help you out a bit. But as I said, it’s impossible for me to say the exact reason in your case. If nothing helps why don’t you contact Dr. Graham or someone else who is more familiar with transitioning to 811.
December 6th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Samwise,
Kidneys are part of the elimination system in the body. So any deficient in their function could affect acne.
Still, it’s not an issue I would focus too much on. Not because it’s not important, but because building health should help your kidneys also.
December 8th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Where do you stand on dried fruit such as dates and prunes? Do the sugars become problematic during the process? Thanks for your time
December 8th, 2008 at 9:29 pm
aren’t sprouted seeds and nuts easier digestable and more compacted with nutrients? I don’t know if I entirely agree with cutting out most fat in the diet. I mean, hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, red palm oil and olive oil are all high in omega 3′ as apposed to omega 6’s. Omega 6’s are clearly proficiant in the standard American diet which is pro-inflammatory. Omega 3’s have the opposite effect, being ani-inflammatory which in theory I would think would help diminish acne. What are your thoughts? And lastly, what do you think about mixing fruits and veggtables together? There has been some thoughts in the health food community that by mixing fruits and vegtables together, it will cause digestive disturbances. I don’t know. I would love to hear your opinions. Thanks.
December 8th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I also wanted to ask, what is your opinion about super foods such as spiralina, chlorella, maca, gogi berries, noni, acai or raw cacoa? I know that you mentioned that you do not promote or reccomend supplements. But what about whole food supplements like curcumin, resveratrol, bee pollen or medicinal mushrooms? I don’t believe that our soil is as nutrient rich as it once was, it is now lacking in many minerals, particularly selenium. Therefore, I don’t think that we can accumulate all of the neccesary vitamin, minerals and plant sterols that are so important when only eating our regular foods, even plant foods. That is why I believe that adding whole food supplements to our daily routines can aid in eliminating acne or other chronic and degenerative diseases.
December 10th, 2008 at 6:12 am
Angel, dried fruits are ok. I wouldn’t recommend them too much, but definitely better than most other snacks.
Since they don’t have water they can be a bit difficult to digest. Plus they stick to your teeth like crazy. So you have to clean your teeth carefully or you are going to get dental problems.
December 10th, 2008 at 6:42 am
Christa,
Yes, sprouted nuts and seeds are easier to digest. And the nutrients in them become more available.
Nobody said you have to cut out all the fat. Just don’t eat too much of it. Omega 3s are good for you. And you’ll get them from fruits and vegetables also. If you want more you can eat fatty fruits like avocados and olives, or some nuts and seeds.
Most fruits and vegetables go together nicely. Just don’t mix fruits with very ‘tough’ vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower. Those take some time in the stomach. Others like tomato, cucumber and such shouldn’t be an issue.
If you believe the soil is depleted to the point where you can’t get all the nutrients and want to eat those ‘whole’ food supplements then go ahead and do so. I don’t think they do you any harm.
On the other hand I don’t believe they have any magical properties you couldn’t get from eating a good variety of normal produce from your local supermarket.
Plus whole food supplement is an oxymoron. There’s nothing whole about those things anymore.Whole is the way you see them in nature. Their natural state has little resemblance to what you see in supplements.
Anyway, they may or may not help in getting clear, but not eating them certainly won’t prevent you from getting clear.
December 18th, 2008 at 7:27 pm
“one mans medicine, is another mans poison”. Thats why there is so much conflicting information. Everyones body reacts differently to different foods. Some people do well with grains..i’ve seen it. Others get very sick.
December 20th, 2008 at 8:39 am
Here’s why I think one man’s poison is also another man’s poison