Diet tweaks for problem skin

[LRou]

Hi All,

I am struggling with sticking to the very low fat version of the Starch Diet, hence the reason for keeping a journal of what I ate, fat percentage for the day, and how my skin is doing.

Background: 44 and still have acne, basically white heads, blackheads, clogged pores, that kind of thing. Stopped taking Accutane about a month ago, have been on Accutane on and off since my twenties, it only works when I take it, and I have had enough. Currently using Retin-A for the last month, not going very well.

I have been vegan for about three years, not always 100 % compliant, chocolate and perhaps the odd muffin or piece of cake are my weaknesses. I have also stopped any added oil about a year ago (obviously not a guarantee when eating out).

But, I was still eating peanut butter, dark chocolate and avocado until last weekend. So, I am going to try and cut them out and see how it goes. I have also decided not to eat oats because of the higher fat %. I started on the low fat version on Tuesday, 30 June 2020.

Yesterday I had:
B: Sorghum meal with banana milk (blended banana and water).
S: Smoothie with 2 bananas, broccoli, kale, blueberries.
L: Soup (blended vegetables, water, split peas and salt) with brown rice.
S: Sweet potato.
D: Kidney beans, pearled barley, carrot, sweet potato, onion, tomato paste.

Fat %: 6

Skin: Has calmed down a bit since Monday, but not that much!

I really miss fresh bread with peanut butter .

[LRou]

I was completely compliant this past week-end, tomorrow will mark 1 week.

I think my skin has improved somewhat, but not by that much, complexion is still on the oily and dull side.

Yesterday I had:
B: Sorghum meal with banana and kale milk.
L: Sourdough wheat bun with brown rice and kidney beans left-overs.
S: Banana.
D: Brown rice, lentils, carrots, mushrooms, onion, potato, vegetable stock and nutritional yeast (one pot cooking in Instant Pot).

I don't really miss high fat plant foods anymore. Left-over food on bread is more than adequate for me.

[moonlight]

Congratulations for staying with the program for 1 week! The longer you work toward making the guidelines, the easier it will get. When followed correctly, this eating plan is amazingly heathy. I bet your skin will clear up. Just give it some time. I eat 4-5 servings of green vegetables a day, in addition to the starch. I get so much energy from eating this way.
Good luck!

[LRou]

One week in.

Thanks for the encouragement moonlight! I need to also try and have greens with every meal, starting today .

I had pretty severe cravings yesterday afternoon for dry roasted cashews, or even just chocolate coated raisins, but did not give in to the cravings.

My mood has not been so great the last couple of days, not sure if it has something to do with following a low fat wfpb diet or perhaps just from feeling deprived.

My energy seems fine, I have lost 1 kg, down to 53 kg (169 cm height), but we went mountain biking over the week-end, which may explain the weight loss.

Yesterday I had:
B: Sorghum meal with banana, kale and broccoli blend.
L: Left-over brown rice, lentil, carrot, mushroom and onion mix.
S: Banana and another bowl of the above left-overs (fighting cravings, this helped).
D: Homemade vegetable and split-pea soup (no oil, just vegetables, water and split peas) with a bowl of pearled barley.
S: Passion fruit sorbet (very sweet, but at least no fat).

Skin is doing better than yesterday, that is progress!

[*Valerie*]

Well done on your progress so far. You're doing great - all those little improvements will surely add up to a big improvement at some stage.

I wanted to make sure you have seen this success story (you probably have but it's maybe worth a second look)! The difference in these young women's skin is quite remarkable, more so because they were already vegan but not low fat.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... ina-randa/

Good luck and keep posting.

[LRou]

Thank you Valerie, yep, I have their book. I have tried this before, several times actually, but could not really stick with it, it gets difficult, especially if you do not see much improvement and it feels like you are the only one eating this way. This is, however, the first time without oats, I read on some of the forums that some people also break-out from oats, so I decided to give it another go.

Good luck to you too

[LRou]

Yesterday I had the following:

B: Sorghum meal with banana and kale blend.
S: Sourdough wheat roll with left-over vegetable and split pea soup.
L: Left-over vegetable and split pea soup with barley and steamed broccoli.
S: Sourdough wheat roll with berry preserve.
D: Stew in IP (mushroom, onion, cabbage, carrot, potato, vegetable stock, nutritional yeast, yum!) with brown rice.

Skin: Still have actives, but less than when I started on Tuesday, last week.

Did not really have any major cravings yesterday.

[LRou]

I had exactly the same food as the the previous day, but with an extra bowl of stew as a snack in the afternoon (cravings).

Still getting actives, I am not sure if the very low fat version is going to make any significant difference. I use to eat about 10 to 15 % fat (already pretty low), and now I am down to 6 to 8 % fat. Maybe I am just expecting results to fast. But if fat was the problem and I have reduced my fat consumption, why am I still getting actives?

Bread (gluten) can also be an issue, but I am just not willing to go there, it will not be sustainable in the long-term. I do, however, go for sourdough WW or 100 % rye options, which I believe to be healthy. Same with giving up black coffee (no sugar), not sustainable.

Apologies for the rant, taking it one day at a time!

Good luck all!

[Daydream]

As I understand it, acne is a bacteria problem. To fight bacteria, it helps me to wash my face morning and night with PanOxyl 4% Benzoyl Peroxide. This is not a leave on medication, it is a wash. PanOxyl also has a 10% version but that can cause more irritation and for me the 4% works best. I wet my face with water then apply Panoxyl 4% and massage the area with the pads of my fingers moving in small circles for 1-2 minutes. Then rinse off completely with clean water and pat dry. Immediately after I apply CeraVe cream to lock in moisture so my face doesn't get too dry. I also eat a strict low fat McDougall MWL diet.

https://www.cvs.com/shop/panoxyl-creamy ... id-1150104

[LRou]

True, it is bacterial, but the bacteria is feasting on the excess oil produced by my skin. When I take Roaccutane, it reduces my oil and I have almost no break-outs. So, I am really trying to reduce the oil that my skin produces through diet, so that the bacteria can not thrive, as per Dr McDougall and Nina & Randa's recommendation.

I am also using Retin-A at the moment and can therefore not use another active. But I have tried benzoyl peroxide in the past. It is very drying and the cream bleaches everything that it comes in contact with. I have yet to only use a BP wash, perhaps when I discontinue Retin-A, I am giving the topical 3 months (so far my skin has not improved, about 6 weeks in).

Thank you for the suggestion, will definitely give the wash a try.

Daydream, have you found that a low fat diet helps your skin or do you think its mainly the BP doing its work?

[JeffN]

Still getting actives, I am not sure if the very low fat version is going to make any significant difference. I use to eat about 10 to 15 % fat (already pretty low), and now I am down to 6 to 8 % fat. Maybe I am just expecting results to fast. But if fat was the problem and I have reduced my fat consumption, why am I still getting actives?

Fat is only part of the problem.

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2003nl/nov/acne.htm

https://www.drmcdougall.com/health/educ ... lems/acne/

In Health
Jeff

[Daydream]

I've been on the McDougall diet (no oil) for 8 years and I didn't have an acne problem when I started the McDougall diet. Early on, when I first started the McDougall diet I would occasionally try a recipe that had nuts/seeds but that was rare and I don't eat tofu or higher fat foods like avocado. Years later when the acne problem began, I was already eating McDougall's MWL diet so what I was eating at the time didn't make a difference on my acne. However, I do believe that if I had eaten a higher fat diet, my acne would have been far worse. So yes, I think diet can make a difference in skin condition.

I wish I could use Retin-A (I'm a grandma), but it was always too irritating for me, even using the lowest strength (over the counter Adapaline was also too irritating for me). Topical benzoyl peroxide was irritating for me also. I was surprised that the 4% benzoyl peroxide wash helped and it doesn't cause irritation because it is a wash that gets rinsed off. Stay with the low fat McDougall diet and I hope it helps you!

[LRou]

Thanks Jeff, I read the posts, it is exactly what I am currently doing. I do realize that the cause of acne might be different from person to person and, for this reason, do not necessarily respond to the same treatments.

Thanks for your response Daydream, basically I should not pin all my hope expecting that the WOE is going to cure my problem. But, it will definitely make it more tolerable. That works for me.

Yesterday I had the following:
B: Sorghum meal with banana, broccoli and kale blend.
S: Two sourdough rolls with preserve / left-over veg stew.
L: Veg and split peas soup with brown rice.
D: Veg stew with brown rice.
S: Sorbet, 2 small baked sweet potatoes.

That's a lot of food!

Skin: Still getting new actives.

I have almost been on this low fat version (MWL) for 10 days, cravings are getting better. Still miss cashews and peanut butter, do not really care for avocado or any other high fat foods, obviously I love tofu and tempeh as well, but I do not miss it because I never really ate it on a daily basis, especially not in the last couple of months as it is difficult to get it in my area where I stay.

[PamelaD]

I have had an acne problem my whole life. My cystic acne has never really gone away completely. I had it well under control with benzoyl peroxide though. Then I started this way of eating in February of this year. I was doing fine but then about 2 months on the diet and I started including a B12 supplement. My cystic acne erupted almost immediately. I stopped it and gave it a rest for awhile until the acne calmed down and went away. Then I tried again with a different B12 supplement. Same result. Almost immediate cystic acne. Again, I stopped the supplement and gave it a rest until it was healed. This time I bought a multi vitamin that had a small amount of B12 in it. I've been taking that for about a week or so and so far, I've had no problems. B12 supplement does seem to cause acne in a small amount of people. Of course, that would be me! I'm mentioning this in case you are taking a B12 supplement which could be the cause of your problems. By the way, I'm 66 years old! If my 16 year old self would have told me that I would still be having acne at 66, I would have been devastated!

[JeffN]

Here is the discussion on B12 and reactions

viewtopic.php?f=22&t=60240

In Health
Jeff