The title of this post should actually be “I’ve been doing an elimination diet for two weeks” but you get the idea. I’ve been hesitant to share this the past two weeks because I’m nervous to talk about why I’m doing an elimination diet, but here goes nothin’. I decided to do an elimination diet a few weeks back when I was frustrated about how bad my skin was.
I have always had pretty bad skin, which, of course, was exacerbated during puberty. Since then, I have seen two dermatologists and a medical esthetician, and paid god knows how much for tons and tons of face creams and pills. I’ve suffered through Accutane and its horrible side effects, with little to no reward. I’ve gone on and off the pill. And I still have acne. There have definitely been periods where it’s better and periods where it’s worse and since going off the pill a year ago it has definitely gotten worse.
I finally put my foot down a few months ago and decided to tackle things through diet. I heard that dairy is often a contributor to acne because of the hormones given to cows, so I decided I was going to eliminate dairy from my diet for a month or two and see if that would help. The verdict: dairy is not the culprit. I was super strict and didn’t eat any dairy for six weeks and my skin definitely did NOT get better. In fact, a few weeks ago when I was in Burlington, Vermont I decided to break my no-dairy diet and have some lots of ice cream and cheese. Well, I didn’t see my skin get any worse after eating those foods. In fact, it just stayed the same, so I knew that dairy was not the main cause.
While in Vermont I decided it was time to try a more intense elimination diet. I bought a few books and started doing research to find out what other foods cause acne. Let me tell you- I learned a lot! And these were things that I had never been told by a doctor. The doctors were always trying to fix my symptoms but we rarely talked about the causes. After all my research, I’m convinced that I have some kind of food sensitivity and determined to do this elimination diet.
Next, I had to decide which foods I would eliminate. I reasoned that I would rather have 4 weeks of eliminating lots of foods to find out which are causing my breakouts than eliminating one food at a time. I used The Anti-Inflammation Diet and Recipe Book to create my long list of foods to exclude for 4 weeks. At the end of four weeks I will add one food in at a time and wait three days to see if that causes breakouts. If not, I can continue eating it and move on to the next food.
What am I eliminating?
So here is a list of the foods I am eliminating, with a helpful list of alternatives that I can eat on the left:
I know, I know. It looks like I can’t eat anything. The main items I am focusing on eliminating are dairy, gluten, vegetable oils, and sugar. I have also read that peanuts/peanut butter, soy, caffeine, and nightshade vegetables (eggplant and tomato as examples) can cause inflammation and acne.
What the heck am I eating?
Breakfast: green smoothie with Vega One protein powder OR over medium eggs with bacon and avocado
Morning snack: nuts and dried fruit OR hard boiled egg
Lunch: Butternut Squash Soup OR mixed greens with chopped deli turkey, roasted vegetables, avocado, and homemade dijon, apple cider vinegar, olive oil salad dressing OR spaghetti squash with sautéed kale and sausage
Afternoon snack: apple or pear OR Salted Caramel Cashew Bars made with raisins instead of dates to keep the sugar low OR dried apple rings dipped in homemade pecan or cashew butter
Dinner: fish or chicken with roasted veggies OR butternut squash risotto
Dessert: I made myself a gluten free buckwheat apple crisp one night as a treat but haven’t had much dessert
I’ve been pretty good about keeping up with the diet and have only strayed two or three times by eating tempeh and a gluten free apple cider beer. I’ve probably been eating too many nuts as they are high in Omega 6 fats which can cause inflammation and acne, so I will try to be better about those during the next two weeks, but it’s hard to find other snacks that fit into my list. I have also been eating dried fruit that is unsulphured and without preservatives or added sugar/oil because that’s a good snack too. In addition to a little bit of stevia I have had maple syrup once or twice in small amounts.
*There are some changes to the chart: black pepper is not in the nightshade family so it is on the Foods to Include list.
How are things going?
As I said above, I have been really good about following the diet. The light at the end of the tunnel is the hope that my skin will really clear up and I will finally know what is causing my breakouts. Even though it has been hard to stick to the diet at times I’ve been able to completely cut out things I was probably a little addicted to like sugar and my morning coffee. My energy has been great and I didn’t have any caffeine or sugar withdrawals.
The first week on the diet my skin immediately cleared up and I was feeling really positive that something I eliminated was the cause of my acne. Then during the second week things started to get worse again but I thought maybe it was just my skin going through its cycle from a few weeks before. On the third week my skin is still not very good and I’m starting to think of ways I can improve it during the final week and a half of the elimination diet.
I am going to stop using all of the harsh topical products I’ve been using to see if that will help my skin find it’s natural balance. Instead, I’m going to look for some natural face oils and wash with just warm water once a day. I am going to cut way back on the nuts since I’ve heard that they can have a negative impact on skin and I’ve been eating a lot of them lately. Hopefully those two things will help since I’m started to get frustrated again.
Phew- I know that was a lot of writing but if you’re still reading, thank you! I hope that sharing my journey will be helpful to someone out there. I’ll keep you all posted during the next two weeks and beyond.
Let’s chat: Have any of you been on elimination diet before? Any tips? Have you dealt with any diet or hormone related skin issues?
Annette says
I was so excited to read all this!!! My daughter has sensitive skin and near-constant (bad) acne. I have long suspected a dietary link, but have spent the last several years hoping for an “easy” answer of skincare products, which I become more and more convinced are somehow damaging her skin further.
I am looking forward to updates!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
I am planning on doing update posts along the way. You should look into the paleo diet and it’s link with healthy skin. I was skeptical of paleo at first but I’m going to try some of the aspects for a bit and see how that goes!
enjoyeverybite says
Stories like this always interest me! I think diet does SO much more than most health professionals realize, and even more than research proves. I’m curious to see how your progress is and if you’re able to pin point what the culprit is. Thanks for sharing!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
I’ve always been intrigued by this stuff too so I’ll definitely keep you posted!
genevieve y says
This is something I’ve been meaning to try for ages! I know that it’s really worked for some people. I’ve always had pretty good skin, but since this summer my forehead has been inflamed by who knows what. I have a plantbased diet, and the rest of my body feels really good! Have you tried using raw honey on your skin? It’s got anti-inflammatory effects and is anti-bacterial. I use it on zits and it works wonders! I also use apple cider vinegar as a toner, since it brings your skin to back to its perfect/ideal pH level. I hope your skin gets better! Go you for coming this far on the elimination diet!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
I haven’t tried honey but I have done the apple cider vinegar and I think it worked for a little bit but I think my issue is requiring working from the inside out with diet and digestion (from what I’ve researched so far). Thanks Genevieve!
Jennifer says
Elimination diets really take dedication. Good luck and keep us posted.
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Thanks Jennifer! They definitely do but the light at the end of the tunnel is the thought that I’ll get this all sorted out if I stick with it.
suzi says
i am literally sitting here, passing time as i see your post… passing time, waiting for bentonite clay to dry on my face after i finally washed off the day…. i have the same problem, and with intense curiosity, and hope… i am following you on this one.
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
How is the bentonite clay working for you? I will definitely keep you updated!
Lisa says
I’m not sure if this helps at all, but I do tend to break out a little more when I eat too much chocolate. I don’t have any other wise words about this, but you have my support!!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Thanks, Lisa. I’ve read a little about chocolate and I think it’s more about the sugar or other fillers in some chocolate than the chocolate itself. I actually think cocoa is one of those great superfoods…so more chocolate for us!
runnerunderpressure says
I’m so proud of the careful research you put into this and your diligence in sticking to the full diet so that you can really pinpoint what’s causing your issues. So interested to see what you come up with so I can share it with my patients!
Emily says
Hi Katie! I just came across your blog today and am so excited; I’ve already got plans to make several of your recipes! When I came across this post I really wanted to reach out to you, because it’s something I’ve struggled with too, and as a 28 year old it makes me extremely self conscious. Did the elimination diet help you figure out what’s affecting your skin? Since its been a year since you posted this, I am curious to hear an update. Thanks!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Seeing this comment made my day! I guess I never really did a recap on how things turned out, because they truly didn’t get much better on the elimination diet. I was so frustrated that I finally saw a doctor who put me on antibiotics which cleared everything up in a few months and now I’m trying to ween off those and onto another medicine called Spironolactone. Although I didn’t really want to rely on medicine so much, I’m glad I did because I have been so happy and stress-free about it. I figured that once it is under control I can then try out some more natural and integrative methods. I would be happy to talk more if you’d like so feel free to email me!
Crystal says
Hi! So you found you had no success with the diet? That is too bad! Did the spironolactone help? I was on it but it did nothing for me. How is your skin now? I am on day 7 of my own elimination diet. Things are looking up, but I just noticed today my pores are all blocked and full again! Damn!
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Hi Crystal- I tried lots of different diet things and then the strict elimination diet and unfortunately none of them worked for me. I then went to a dermatologist who put me on antibiotics and spirinolactone which I’ve been taking since. I’d like to try to eliminate dairy and gluten again though to see if that will help now that I have things under control. I definitely think I needed the medicine to get my skin back to normal but I’d like to ween off it eventually of course so I’m going to try again soon! I hope this helps and just stick with things!
Kelly says
Hi Katie! Im happy that i came across this post. I’m at the tail end of the elmination diet and it really did nothing for my skin. I find comfort in knowing I’m not the only one who couldn’t “cure” their acne with food elmination. Do you know the name of the antibiotic your derm put you on? I recently did a 7 day along with the cream form which only caused a rash. :/
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Kelly- Thank you so much for stopping by and for your honest comment. It is such a self-esteem crushing struggle to go through. As dissatisfying as it sounds, when I finally went to a dermatologist about it he said that my skin was so bad that no amount of changes in my diet was going to help. I am still on the meds- Amoxycillin and Spironolactone- and I would like to ween off them eventually but if I miss my medicine one day my skin gets worse so I know it is still something wrong internally with my hormones etc. I have been wanting to try Alissa Viti’s Flo Living program- you should listen to this podcast: http://jesslively.com/alisavitti/ I hope this is helpful and keep me posted! Feel free to email me with any other questions or just to vent 🙂
Kristy says
Maybe look into your internal flora ecosystem, gut microbiome. it” ll definitely take a hit after all those antibiotics. Two great books are Body Ecoloy Diet by Donna Gates and Gut balance Revolution
Katie @ 24 Carrot Life says
Thanks, Kristy! I know the antibiotics must have reeked havoc on my body. I try to eat lots of yogurt, kombucha, and other fermented foods but could probably make more of an effort to focus on this. You have re-inspired me! 🙂