Acne and Oil

[ilovetodance]

Hello! I have read all about Nina and Randa's acne success story and I watch their videos on YouTube. I just had a few questions about diet and acne. Currently, I am following the McDougall plan so I eat no animal products and no oils. I have been doing this for about two-three months. Before this, I was vegan but I ate oils because I did not know how bad they were. After eliminating oil, I found out that my acne cleared up. So here are my questions.

1. For acne problems, do I need to completely eliminate all fats. I currently eat peanut butter that has one ingredient, peanuts, and I have not noticed any acne?
2. Are chickpeas considered a fat, like hummus, even if I make homemade hummus without any oil?
3. Is it normal to notice acne the next morning if I accidentally ate oil? I went out to dinner one night and had some hummus as an appetizer and the next morning my face exploded. I don't think it was the chickpeas but the fact that it had oil in it? Could this be the case?
4. Should I use all oil free skin care products? I noticed that I get acne when I accidentally eat oil but I have dry skin so I never use an oil free face wash. Is putting oil on my face in the form of face washes and face lotions just as bad as eating it? Also, is it bad to put cocoa butter and oils on my body to moisturizer my skin because my family just has very dry skin?

So my main question of all of this is even though Nina and Randa eliminated all fats, is this completely necessary to completely eliminate acne. I noticed a huge difference when I stopped eating oil so can I continue to eat my natural peanut butter, homemade hummus, and olives?

Thank you!!

[Timaca]

I'm guessing it is a very individual thing and it will be trial and error for you. It's great that your skin cleared up when you cut out the oil! If it is clear when you eat peanut butter, olives and no oil hummus than keep eating those foods. There is no reason to restrict foods if you don't have too!

Best,

[ilovetodance]

Thank you Timaca!

[frozenveg]

I agree that it is probably very individual--you'll need to proceed with caution, and observe how your body is reacting!

I wanted to add that chickpeas (garbanzos) themselves are quite low in fat--13% or so by calories--but restaurant and store-bought hummus is floating in oil! If you are avoiding oil, you need to avoid restaurants likee the plague. The feel the need to use oil in the preparation of everything! Even fruit!

It's pretty easy to make your own hummus from just chickpeas, lemon juice, water & garlic, in a food processor or blender. There is another fat-laden ingredient in hummus--tahini--that is sesame butter. It's not an extracted oil, though, so if you aren't trying to lose weight--and since peanut butter isn't giving you trouble--you could add to the hummus if you felt your homemade needs it. I've never done that and I love my homemade hummus.

And this is only my opinion, but if you felt the need to cut out one other food, it'd be the olives. They are very high in sodium, besides being so fatty. But if they don't cause you trouble, then don't worry about them!

[Timaca]

I had my hair cut yesterday and the stylist brought up the connection between diet and acne, specifically dairy. I mentioned I was aware of that relationship. I also mentioned that some people found it helpful to totally eliminate all animal products as well as oils to bring their acne under control. The look on his face was along the lines of:

We'll see if the topic comes up again the next time I have my hair cut.

[PatricijaV]

Is it alright to eat cold cereal if it has oil but the fat is still 4g per 100g of cereal(ingredients:whole wheat 94%,sugar,sunflower oil, salt)? Sugar is 4g per 100g of cereals and salt 0.3g

[frozenveg]

Is it alright to eat cold cereal if it has oil but the fat is still 4g per 100g of cereal(ingredients:whole wheat 94%,sugar,sunflower oil, salt)? Sugar is 4g per 100g of cereals and salt 0.3g

The principles of this way of eating include: no added oil. Oil has no food value at all, and harms the linings of your arteries. No added oil!

[ann.ut]

Hello,
I have had acne all my life (even after following a whole plant based diet). I am starting to eliminate oils from my diet. But I have a question about this. I thought that fat was an essential nutrient (like carbohidrate or protein). Is it healthy to have a 100% fat-free diet? I do not use oil when cooking, but I was eating a lot of nuts, and avocado. I wonder if some fats are necessary for good health.
Thanks!

[SonjaK]

Fat is important but you don't need to eat oil or high fat plants to get fat in your diet. It's basically in everything, in different healthy amounts.

I don't eat any higher fat foods (tofu, avocados, coconut, nuts, for example) and am healthy. I avoid them for weight reasons though. I do not know what impact they would have, if any on my skin.

I stopped eating oil and it definitely cleared up any remaining issues with my skin. I also notice if I eat out and there is oil in the food (a few months ago I had chipotle beans/rice bowl) and broke out the next day and the day after BADLY. Took about a week to get completely back to a clear complexion.