Edward
Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2013
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- 134
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- 41
jyb said:Edward said:Cliff brings up an important point about food not being properly digested. Endotoxin alone can cause acne. Typically you can tell the difference between endotoxin induced acne and acne caused by a deficiency of a nutrient by applying topical virgin coconut oil. Acne that responds to virgin coconut oil (or sulfur compounds) is largely of bacterial origin whereas acne that doesn't respond is a literal malfunction in skin metabolism. Sometimes it can be a combination of the two as well.
1) Would you expect endotoxin based acne to be more likely to cause the cystic acne, and nutrient deficiency or bad habits (washing face with soap) to cause smaller benign pimples?
2) What do you think of a topical niacinamide? There's a study suggesting topical niacinamide may be more helpful than internally. I dissolve it in water and rubbed the water of my face, but I'm never sure how much gets absorbed if at all. I get a few benign pimples the next day, I think just due to the rubbing the face. I would expect applying any oil incl. coconut oil to be even worse, but I never tried.
I would say that if you have ever been prescribed antibiotics for acne, which is something common in the case of cystic acne, that if there is an improvement then it is likely it is endotoxin related. Smaller pimples, white heads, black heads, typically seem to be predominately nutrition related and irritating skin care products and soaps can be problematic. Yesterday I was browsing the e-mail compilation thread of e-mail exchanges with Peat and saw in one exchange that skin care products and soaps can disrupt the endocrine system persistently this seems accurate as when I've advised people to stop using product it usually takes a few days for them to notice improvement.
I've never used topical niacin. So I can't comment on it. I have recommended to people with acne to use virgin coconut oil in the evenings before bed. I myself take a coconut oil bath where I fill the tub up and drop a cube or two in the water. As you move around it coats you and it usually stays on for a few days as long as you don't use soap. Island cultures considered topical coconut oil important for the protective effects from being in the sun and for overall skin health. I've never seen a mostly saturated fat oil cause breakouts. I have seen things like olive oil and other popular skin oils that are higher in the polyunsaturates cause breakouts though. The only brand I have experience with is Tropical Traditions. And for skin related things virgin seems to be best. I have talked with some people who started eating more coconut products like coconut milk and coconut cream and virgin coconut oil and have noted improvement in overall skin quality.
But topical things like coconut oil I view as secondary things, primarily it's important to balance vitamin A and zinc and the B vitamins, and remain patient before attempting more what I like to call "shotgun blast approaches" things like aspirin, niacinamide, etc. Again not because they can't be helpful but more so is the appropriate question being asked. Why am I taking this approach?
I would say that one should also not underestimate the power of raw calories. Skin is a secondary organ, the brain is a primary organ and if it is not supplied sufficiently then skin will never begin to heal. Organs that your body values will heal first. I've seen Cliff mention somewhere that people who have problems often just are not eating enough sugar. It wasn't on this forum but somewhere on the Internet. I couldn't agree more.
There was a period of time where my skin was dry and I was drinking plenty of milk, eating plenty of liver, and zinc seemed sufficient. One day I decided to drink lemonade over the day so I sipped on that for several hours and the next day there was a dramatic improvement in skin quality. So I repeated that several days while somewhat reducing my milk intake, and my skin continued to improve. Despite eating less daily nutrients.
If you are stressed the idea of sipping on lemonade or another fruit juice throughout the day works for a couple reasons, but primarily it's an effective way at suppressing free fatty acids. If you suppress free fatty acids stress goes down and your body can begin to heal. And once you become glycogen replete the sipping becomes optional.
Over a long period of time I have noticed that if you are eating enough nutrient rich carbohydrate whether it be potato or orange juice that overall nutrients are used more efficiently.
The idea that oily products would make things worst stems mostly from the cultural idea that oil and oily foods is what causes acne and that "clean" skin is resistant to acne.