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Have you ever been to the doctor or dermatologist and they’ve told you diet has nothing to do with acne?
Why is that? And is it true? Should I listen to everything my doctor says?
Check out my video below where I rant about doctors and pharmaceutical companies, as well as the food industry.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H62I82pCl_g
What do you think about doctors? Trust ’em? Hate ’em? Let me know.
Blog author Tracy Raftl used to have severe acne — now she teaches thousands of women how to take back control of their skin through natural, holistic, and mind-body methods.
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24 Responses
Why don’t you tell us how you really feel Tracy….haha anyway…
I received a degree in Food Process Engineering and worked one summer for Sara Lee, a mega food corporation. I was depressed and disheartened by the way the food industry works which is why I don’t work in that field anymore.
Almost every single project I worked on and heard about during my internship was about cutting cost on existing product lines. Most of this was done by using cheaper ingredients, or increased the amount of low cost ingredients in a product (e.g. Add more soy and turkey to a meat product while reducing the amount of pork or beef). It was just kind of sad that there was no room for creativity or innovation unless it involved a profit margin increase.
Like you said, people have good intentions, but they are just working with the system in place. The people at Sara Lee were good people. They just had to make a profit, satisfy stock holders, obey regulations, etc etc etc. This system sucks because it saps the nutritional value from our food and increases the amount of chemicals and toxins present. The system is in place because we as a society wanted our food faster, cheaper, and more convenient so we could massively expand the economy.
So yea, I just wanted to say I share your frustrations.
yea my doctor just wanted to put me on antibiotics, and advertised me some creams and gels (they probably get a % for selling it).
Also i know how much pesticides people use these days, sometimes apple burns my lips from all the poisons in it, so i always look small and not so pretty fruit, if there is a worm in it it means it’s organic 😛
i remember one of my dermatologists, who was the sweetest lady, told me that antibiotics you put on your face have no effect on your body. This was after I already knew treating acne holistically. I was just like uh alright..but i honestly think that she believes it. Also my internist has tried to just throw me on so many medications. whenever i question her asking if there are other solutions(knowing ahead of time there are), she always says no. Its always medication. I like both of these doctors but sometimes i feel like i know more about actual health than they do. It upsets me I can’t find a doctor that doesn’t only treat with western medicine. Of course there are naturopaths but they are so expensive. I completely agree with everything you said in this video though.
Thanks for the input, guys. I’m glad to know you’re all being discerning citizens!
I remember going to the doctor about my acne once, only because I wanted to get blood tests done, but I was convinced that I would not let them prescribe me anything. I asked if there was some kind of test to see how your liver is doing, and she kind of laughed and said ‘I doubt your acne has anything to do with your liver. Get on antibiotics’. Grrr. I’m glad I didn’t give in. The other times, they’ve just tried to put me on birth control automatically, or one even offered Accutane (and this was when my acne was mildish!)
Another time, I had a urinary tract infection, but i did NOT want to take antibiotics for it… but I didn’t know what the other options were. So I went to the doctor, beggging to know if there was something else, and it was just ‘Nope. Nothing. Take the antibiotics or you’ll mess up your kidneys. You have no choice’. So I did, and it’s messed up my digestion a lot… I later saw there was some natural stuff on the shelf at Whole Foods for UTIs…. wish I had seen that first! Agh. Doctors :s
I despise it that you can go for free to medical doctors here in Canada, but naturopathic doctors aren’t subsidized at all.
i totally agree with you. my western doctor always tells me that diet has NOTHING to do with acne, & i know for SURE that diet has a lot to do with acne. my doctor always gives me erythromycin &/or tetraycline (antibiotic) every time i go in complaining about my acne. i always ask if milk causes acne and she always goes “absolutely not” -___-. when i go to my naturopath he always tells me not to eat spicy food, fried food, or food that contains a lot of heat. my naturopath always tells me that we must always sleep between 11pm-2am because that is the time when your liver is working/taking care of itself?? i also heard that pulling all nighters also causes acne. i really really hate that so many doctors are telling people that what you eat does not effect your acne. how can it not cause acne?! grr >=( you are what you eat right?. if you eat junkk = bad health & skin problems such as acne.
[..YouTube..] I love your videos but i don1t have the courage to stop using my topical products! I just tend to use gentle produtc with as little ingredients as possible, maybe after a while i can switch to honey and aloe :)Keep making your videos, i love watching you!
You can do it! 🙂
[..YouTube..] thank you, finally someone has the same mindset as me! doctors= salepeople for pharmaceutical companies,period. They also get barely any nutrition and exercise education. Were basicaly the guinea pigs being tested on with all these genetically modified foods and processed foods. rofl i love how u were getting so frustrated, just like me LOL.
haha it’s a frustrating subject! 🙂
Hey again! Great post! I would love to hear what you have to say about using moisturisers. You are full of great info!
Thanks also for the feedback on my blog!
Hi! Watch this video here to hopefully answer your question
I know milk is bad for you and in a previous video you said that we should only drink water but what about hemp milk?
Yeah, I guess hemp milk is okay, but often these rice, or almond or whatever milks have a lot of sugar in them, so check that out. In the end, it’s still processed food, so don’t drink glasses and glasses of it per day.
[..YouTube..] subscribed 🙂 i need alot of help getting rid of my acne..
Hey,
I just got wind of your website from Highonhealth.org and I’m very glad I did! I’m on the “path” to getting clear and your’s and Fran’s articles really keep level headed.
I completely agree with you on your opinion of doctors. When I was about 17-ish, my mother noticed (finally) that I was getting very depressed about my acne, so she took me to the doctor. I came in for my appointment the doctor wrote a prescription for antibiotics and some gels; hardly said two words to me; didn’t tell me the side effects or anything. ‘Course I thought, “he’s a doctor he knows what he’s doing.” I took them and totally regret it. The minute I got off antibiotics my acne flared up worse than ever and I got it in places I never had and scarred really easily which never happened. Now, I have an overgrowth of Candida which I am trying to handle through diet and probiotics. I completely regret ever going to the doctor. My acne wasn’t that bad to begin with. It’s a lot better now.
I know, it just drives me nutty with the way they hand out prescriptions like candy >:( I’m glad to hear your skin is doing better now though!
HA! Totally know what you are talking about. It makes me angry as well. My family is all doctors and nurses so I see first hand what are the practices of the pharmaceutical dealers (offering everything from little gifts – pens, notepads, toys etc. – to a weekend vacation). And I imagine it must be even worse in the US and Canada where doctors make more money (I´m from a small country in Europe).
It is in the system. My brother just finished his last year of medical school. He is an incredibly smart, compassionate, rational and kind guy, he would not hurt a fly and he really wants to help people. And when I told him that acne is closely linked to diet and lifestyle he was like “Ahhh….NO. IT’S NOT” *Sigh*
Btw I dig your site! 🙂
Thank you Tereza! Yes it’s unfortunate, and like I said… I can’t personally blame them! I’m sure no one goes into the medical profession to hurt anyone…. and I can imagine it must be hard for anyone who spends years in medical school and learns years and years of technical stuff to suddenly be told that this isn’t really helping people and that simple diet and lifestyle is :/ I can see why they get defensive. (To give some love to doctors, they are amazing in emergencies! Props to them for saving lives that way!)
Everytime I go to a doctor they’re trying to find something wrong with me its ridiculous. I refuse to go anymore unless its an emergency- I’m trying to be my own doctor on advice from my parents and it’s much cheaper 🙂 I truly believe in what Thomas Edison said: “The doctor of the future will give no medicine, but will interest her or his patients in the care of the human frame, in a proper diet, and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
I’ve long-ago deduced that my dermatologists either (1) have no clue about acne, or (2) are completely sold souls. It’s heartbreaking to think of the millions of acne sufferers told daily that their horrible diet has nothing to do with their acne; this leads most people down a path of chemicals and despair. 🙁 Boo. Unfortunately, I was one of those people, and it still hurts my feelings when I think about the blatant lies I got out of visiting doctors for this very emotionally painful issue…
It really is a disgusting system we have going on, and the population of acne sufferers in the world is yet another byproduct. Anyway, this is a long-winded way of saying THANK YOU for spreading the information that doctors aren’t paid to promote. An apple a day, they say… Right… Just one apple. On top of whatever the hell else, as long as you’ve got that apple, your nutrition can’t be the issue. That would just make too much sense.
Hi Tracy
I totally agree with everything you said in your video. I have had problem skin for 17 years and a couple of years ago it got a lot worse with painful cystic spots so I went back to see my doctor. He immediately put me on antibiotics which did not help at all. Months later I finally realised that the problem was milk after I randomly stopped drinking my daily latte and the cysts stopped appearing. Once I cut dairy out completely the cystic spots went away for good! Sadly my skin has never cleared completely (small blemishes and surface spots) and it has been my life mission to find out what the problem is! I recently went back to my doctor and asked if he could refer me to a nutritionist so I could find out if I have any deficiencies or other food intolerances. I was shocked at his reaction which actually made me feel like crying! He interrupted me with a very pissed off attitude saying I could see a nutritionist if I want but it wont do any good and food has nothing to do with acne. I tried to explain about the dairy thing but he interrupted me again with “well don’t eat dairy then, why have you bothered to come see me then?!” I told him that I don’t eat dairy any more and I no longer have cystic acne as a result but I want to have completely normal skin. His answer was “acne is caused by hormones alone!” I told him there are hormones in food and also food affects your hormones! At that point he appeared to see the logic (surely a doctor could have figured that out for himself?) but he still tried to get me to go on accutane which he admit might mess up my kidney or something, or some other medication that he said would get rid of all my hormones!!! I wont be going to my doctor for help with my skin problem again!
Hey Maddy, sounds like a terrible experience! Some doctors really can be so harsh… I think they just want all their patients to be easy, take the prescription, and don’t ask too many questions .. in a way I can see where they’re coming from since they are trained to give drugs and nothing else and probably feel trapped in that confine, but it can be a really terrible experience for us!
Hello! I’ve just recently found your blog so I realize I’m commenting on things a few years old at this point but still wanted to chime in! I saw a dermatologist last fall after years of refusing to go to them because it seemed like all they did was put me on creams after taking one look at my skin and not bothering to hear anything I had to say. I was at the end of my rope after several bad breakouts, worse than I’d ever had and this in my late 20’s. I was determined that the derm would hear everything I had to say so as soon as he introduced himself I pretty much went on a rant about how I knew that caffeine caused my acne but I could never get a doctor to believe me. I started to get emotional and he stopped me and assured me that he believed me. He said that certain foods may affect people’s skin differently but that as doctors they can’t really give any definitive advice on the subject because there are no scientific studies on how caffeine or dairy may affect acne. He also said that given all of the factors involved in acne it would be nearly impossible to conduct such a study. So I suppose given that they are trained as scientists, I can see his point. I wonder if a doctor of osteopathic medicine may be willing to include a more hollistic approach to their practice.
That said, I am still decidedly not a fan of dermatology in general. This derm insisted on changing my birth control after I told him I never saw a difference after years on bc, and put me on antibiotics. Despite the fact that I don’t believe either of these are viable or healthy long-term solutions they did circuitously lead me to hollistic healing and your website. The antibiotics predictably messed up my digestion so I started taking a twice daily probiotic. It was then that my acne started to calm down…the birth control he put me on made my acne waaaay worse so I went off birth control all together and again saw improvement. Once I started investigating how to ease hormonal acne without birth control, I found your site and here I am starting to heal and putting all the pieces of my health together.
And, after all that I will also say that I work in an emergency room and see how very much doctors are prescribers these days. There is so much pressure from higher ups to worry about things like patient satisfaction scores, which often results in providers prescribing antibiotics and other drugs unnecessarily as well as even ordering tests that may not be needed. They are just as frustrated about it as we are! I don’t believe any doctor (at least none that I’ve worked with) dolls out prescriptions or orders tests just because they want more money, I truly think it’s just a very broken system. It has become a matter of customer service over patient care.
Hi Gabi, I’m glad to hear you found a doctor that actually listened. I wish doctors would be more open minded, but I totally understand that it’s the way they’ve been trained and are operating in a messed up system. They’re not bad people and just trying to do their jobs. But it can make for a frustrating experience for us. Glad you found my site 🙂 welcome!