I want to talk a little about disordered eating, food fears, and trusting people on the internet too much.
Last post I mentioned that I have relaxed a lot with my food in the last 6 or 7 months. Prior to that, I tried doing the GAPS diet. And then RRARF diet.
And then I just gave up on caring. I quit reading nutrition blogs and turned a blind eye. And I feel a lot better for it.
I realized something – the health industry, and health bloggers, are in many cases just making people worse off by making everyone crazy in the head when it comes to diet and nutrition – both by disagreeing with one another, and just getting WAAAAY too into the little nitty gritty minutaie of nutrition that, frankly, I feel serves no purpose except to make people insane (and gives bloggers something to write about).
Everyone wants to improve their health, but instead everyone’s just getting stressed and paranoid about their food. And news flash – stress is bad and leads to mega health problems! Isn’t that what we’re trying to avoid?!
No one on the internet can agree about anything. Every food is villianized by someone out there. If you want to hear me go on a funny rant about this, read this article.
So the more research you do on how to eat and live, the more fearful you get. You can’t even enjoy food anymore because you don’t know who to believe.
That guy says this food is good, but that guy says this food is bad.
I THINK it’s good, but what if it’s bad?
What if guy #2 was right and now I’m going to get cancer, diabetes, and contract herpes all on the same day just because I ate this food?
Everyone is Just Winging It
I’ll let you in on a little secret:
That doesn’t just apply to nutrition and blogging (it applies to all facets of life), but we’ll stay on this line of thought.
Lots of people think they know what they’re doing and can swear up, down and sideways that their way to eat or live is THE BEST and because they “know” the truth.
That way of eating and living probably worked for them, and so they’ve collected information into their brain that supports their beliefs and filtered out any and all information that doesn’t support it.
And then they become convinced that what was good for them will work for EVERYONE ELSE IN EXISTENCE!!!
And they become a diet warrior, on a rampage for everyone to think and live exactly like them. Well, that might not exactly be their goal, but they spread their information like it’s the God given truth.
They might have good intentions, but they don’t really know the truth. They’re just winging it. Because there is no truth, especially when it comes to nutrition!! It’s all a biiiiggg fat illusion.
I mean I don’t want to talk myself out of a job here, but I’m just winging it. Everyone else is just winging it.
Don’t look at people on the internet like they’re gods, even if they appear to know what they’re talking about. Everyone thinks they know what they’re talking about.
I think I know what I’m talking about – but it doesn’t really mean I really truly do. It doesn’t mean I know how to cure every single person of their acne.
I try to give suggestions based on my best knowledge and what I think is right or that might work (and I hope you know that I’m always being as honest as possible), but take everything I say with a grain of salt, because the thing is that if you are trying to write a blog and give recommendations, you have to make sweeping generalizations that are NEVER going to be true for everyone.
I don’t personally know you, I haven’t run any tests on you (wouldn’t know how), In reality, I actually know very little about what is going on in your body even if you write me a long comment or email trying to tell me about it!
I will sincerely try to help you with my best guesses, but it actually makes me really nervous trying to tell people what to do when it comes to their health (probably as a combination of my empathetic nature and my perfectionism).
I never want to do anyone wrong or make things worse for you, but I am human, I am flawed – I am going to miss things, I don’t know everything, and I’m not psychic.
I get uncomfortable if you think I am so much smarter than you are and know all the answers. I totally don’t. I’m EXACTLY LIKE YOU! So is every other blogger on the internet!
We are just people, trying to find answers and solutions just like you are, who get our information from somewhere, 90% of it second hand, and even personal experience is not totally reliable! And I’ll tell you why…
EVERYONE IS DIFFERENT! Everyone’s body and lifestyle and stress levels and imbalances and food sensitivities are different. What works for me might not work for you!
That’s why nutritional correctness is an illusion. I’ve stopped believing that any whole food is inherently bad. Or that any macronutrient is inherently bad. E
very whole food does seem to have some apparent drawback, but we gotta eat something (and humans have been eating all sorts of things since the dawn of time!), so why focus only on the bad?
We Need More Love, and Less Hate!
Why do people have to have to bicker about this? WHY?? Nutrition blogging has turned into this cesspool of hate and threats.
Instead of focusing on the one thing that all health focused bloggers agree on (eat real, whole foods, and avoid processed, refined foods), it’s just turned into mud slinging and name calling.
I am NOT singling out vegans here (because I know the members of low carb and other food camps can also sling some serious mud – and also that there’s plenty of polite vegans out there!) – this is just an example, but I’ve noticed that everyone who comments on my blog posts is generally very kind, thoughtful, and polite.
Except the ONE video I made about veganism and acne where I say that in the case of people who go vegan and develop acne afterwards, they could be breaking out because of an increase in gluten and soy (and I also happen to mention that I believe naturally raised animal products can be healthy and nutrient dense)… wow.
I’ve been called stupid, retarded, misinformed, and numerous other names for even implying their beloved diet might not work for the whole of humanity. WTF?
People treat their diets like their religion. It’s ridiculous. And then the innocent person looking to improve their health begins to really fear that if they don’t follow that person’s diet religion, that they will spend their lifetime in health problem hell.
That’s a real fear, and fear’s favourite “food” is anxiety and insecurity. It laps it up. Acne makes us feel bad – really bad – and we only want one thing – get rid of it as fast as possible.
So what do you do when, for example, this person says you must eat raw vegan, and that person says you must eat low carb paleo?
Two so very different diets, two groups of people who are convinced to the death that their diet is better than the other. You either get paralyzed with confusion and do nothing, or go on a rampage cutting out everything.
Don’t you see? Don’t you see how there is no truth and we are all just worrying about things we shouldn’t be worried about?
It’s likely if you have read far and wide on the internet about nutrition that you’ll probably lean towards some kind of “diet philosophy”.
You might decide that you think meat is good, carbs are bad, dairy is bad, gluten is bad, green smoothies good, beans good, seaweed good.
And then every time you eat the foods on your “bad list”, you worry about it. It causes you stress. When you eat only from your “good list”, you feel happy and proud of yourself.
But how does it make sense if that other “health” guy is totally convinced that all the foods on your good list are actually on the bad list, and all the foods on your bad list, are actually on the good list? And when he eats the things on your good list, he stresses about it?
How come neither one of them are that much healthier than the other?
Kind of contradictory no?
IT’S ALL AN ILLUSION! Your diet philosophy and food fears are all made up in your head.
Well, most of the time anyway. And here’s where I get to my point…
The Point of the Article
I am believing more and more that diet restrictions beyond just eating a well rounded whole foods diet most of the time are a lot more harmful than helpful in most cases.
They often lead to social withdrawal, paranoia, and can also tank your metabolism if you aren’t eating enough food or heavily restricting macronutrients (either fat, carbs, or protein). A poor metabolism can lead to feeling all sorts of bad.
I even believe now that sweeping generalizations I’ve made in the past about the “badness” of things like dairy and gluten aren’t necessarily true…
I say that instead of focusing on cutting things out, focus on ADDING THINGS IN (the more food you eat, the more nutrients you get to heal your skin), and making your food more real.
If you want to eat dairy, drink it raw. If you want to eat meat, get it grass fed. If you want to eat fish, eat it wild. If you want to eat gluten, buy or make sourdough or sprouted whole grain bread. Focus on eating real food, not cutting out real food for no other reason than because the internet scared you into it.
TRY to do this, but don’t hate yourself if you aren’t perfect. Don’t sweat it if you aren’t able to do it 100%.
And don’t worry about eating processed foods with friends and family and as treats. It’s good for you to spend time laughing and smiling and sharing food with people you love – as long as you actually ENJOY it when you eat this food, and aren’t secretly afraid of it.
REMEMBER! Food is only ONE piece of the acne solving puzzle. And arguably not even the most important.
However, I’m not saying that there are not whole unprocessed foods that can cause you to get acne.
But which whole foods (if any) aren’t good for your body is simply going to be different for everyone – one man’s meat is another man’s poison, as they say.
So instead of making yourself crazy and fearful over food and cutting things out because that guy on the internet said so, if you can I would HIGHLY, HIGHLY, HIIIIGHLY suggest going to see a naturopath or natural therapist and getting tested for food sensitivities. Seriously.
Or if you can’t do that, just cut out likely culprits (starting with dairy, then gluten, then soy, as these are the three most common allergenic foods) one at a time so you can see for yourself if that food affects your skin. No rampages!
You can also try intuitive eating which is all about listening to your body and giving it exactly what it asks for. Because your body knows better than the internet what it needs.
Please remember that the next time you get a zit and your immediate response is that you want to cut out a food, or control your diet even further, that you are just using diet as a scapegoat for your anxiety.
You want to get rid of the unpleasant feelings acne produces, and the one thing you feel you can do to feel powerful again is to control your food. But it just. doesn’t. work.
You can’t fix your anxiety with food as much as you can try! And reading blog after blog about health and nutrition isn’t going to make you have any less anxiety. It’s only going to cause more. Don’t let acne become your hobby – be very aware when you are compulsively devouring health information. It’s all anxiety based.
Believe me – I know, because I’ve been there. Or don’t believe me. Whatever. You’re just as smart as I am, so I know you will figure it all out in the end! 🙂
Watch Me Talk About All This in Video
demetra says
January 2, 2013 at 11:24 amI love this.. You read my mind!! I’ve been there too. It’s such an individual process. Lots of love to you 🙂
Heather says
January 2, 2013 at 11:39 amI’ve been reading your blog (when time permits) for quite some time now. I’ve been on the ‘diet’ journey right along with you. I just wanted to say that I couldn’t agree with you more on this last post. Thank you for your courage and words. You are special. 🙂
Ann Marie says
January 2, 2013 at 11:46 amHi! Great article. I’ve been seeing a holistic doctor for my acne since October (mega, mega improvements) and right about that time I found your blog. The health info is fascinating, but it’s your posts regarding the emotional side of acne are the ones that have helped me the most. Fixing my food allergies was only half the battle, and you have put into words the emotional demons that were still left to battle. Thanks very much for all you’re putting into this community 🙂
Peace & Love
christy says
January 2, 2013 at 11:50 amI L-O-V-E THIS POST!!! SHARED ON ALL MY FB PAGES! THANKS!!!!!!!!! : )
Tracy says
January 2, 2013 at 4:52 pmThanks for sharing it Christy! I appreciate that a lot.
christy says
January 2, 2013 at 4:55 pmThank YOU for writing it! I’ve wanted to express that very same sentiment SO many times, but never got around to writing it! Perhaps in the future, but for now it’s great to have your post to forward 🙂
Mark says
January 2, 2013 at 12:47 pmI turned a blind a about two months ago for all the reasons you listed. I had to slowly do it though because i still had anxiety over certain types of food.
Michael says
January 2, 2013 at 2:01 pmThis is just what I needed, Tracy. I’ve been reading your blog for about a year, and you’ve always served realness. 🙂 I’ve always believed in this type of philosophy about diet, but obviously not always followed it. I stress about food sometimes. I’m going to start training my mind more to get clear and just eat as healthily as I can. Thanks for your amazing blog and wish you the best in the New Year. Infinite blessings, sister! 🙂
Hillary says
January 2, 2013 at 2:16 pmI’ve been on many detoxes, and found that I end up binging at the end from feeling totally deprived. I am about to do your Candida cleanse. Do you have any tips on avoiding the crash and burn. My skin has gotten worse and I am desperate to do something that will be a life long solution (such as changing my diet/lifestyle,) but I also don’t want to keep going between extreme diets.
Tracy says
January 2, 2013 at 4:54 pmHi Hillary,
I think with the candida cleanse, you just have to make sure that you are eating enough calories (that’s a mistake many people make), and listen to your body… if you’re a couple weeks in and you are screaming for carbs, eat some. Also, remember it’s a short term diet… I wouldn’t do it for more than 3 weeks to a month
Foss says
January 2, 2013 at 2:42 pmVery good point. Thanks!
Sampson says
January 2, 2013 at 2:48 pmEven water has a downside: diluting stomach acid.
We need to gather 100% of our knowledge about what foods are healthy and what foods work for us personally and make a CUSTOM diet out of that.
Dairy is a big issue for a lot of people, but not for me, so I see no reason to exclude it. I’ve been ordering raw milk recently and I feel like it’s the healthiest food I’m putting in my body.
amy says
January 2, 2013 at 2:49 pmi really love the way this blog has evolved…its truly unique. I feel that my path is running parallel to yours in regards to acne, diet, life etc. Everything always resonates so perfectly and your posts are so reassuring
magda says
January 2, 2013 at 3:38 pmi sooooo agree with you!! i am so confused about the diet thing that i always end up doing nothing about it and continue eating unhealthy…
tracy do you know if estroblock raises androgen levels or progesterone? i really wanna try it but i am afraid. i have tried vitex twice in the past and it gave me terrible acne. also do you know if estroblock is safe for the thyroid? i have acne only on the chin and jawline.it definitely gets worse during ovulation and the week before my period, but my period is always on time and i dont have pcos
Tracy says
January 2, 2013 at 4:59 pmHi Magda – well, going along with the theme of this article… I BELIEVE that it does not raise androgens or progesterone, and just because vitex didn’t work so well doesn’t mean estroblock won’t. As for the thyroid thing – well, again, I don’t know… I think it is fine and have read that it can actually help your thyroid and a person in the other thread said they have thyroid problems and have been taking DIM with no issue. The thing is that DIM is derived from cruciferous vegetables with in high amounts are supposed to be goitrogens. But it’s not to say that the DIM compound is a goitrogen… but… something for you to research, I suppose
Anna says
January 2, 2013 at 3:39 pmJust found your blog recently and I’ve really enjoyed it because I have a similar line of thinking as you. You don’t preach and condemn. You don’t pretend to know everything, so I can relate to your posts. I think this article was great because I had been doing a lot of research on acne and weight loss and was getting super anxiety about which way to go with it. Everyone has valid points but being extreme with them is not an enjoyable way for ME to live. I agree that real whole foods are the way to go and variety is key. Thank you for this, its helped me relax about this issue. Keep the great articles coming:)
shu says
January 2, 2013 at 3:57 pmhey tracy! I haven’t been commenting lately because I just wanted to get away from all these. because you are right, fear is what feeds all the acne. ever since just “giving up” and not caring too much about my diet (I eat way lots more sugar now, refined unsoaked grains whatever) and all the other nitty gritty like exercise and everything, I feel so much better and my skin feels so much better. I think that’s what I was trying to get across to you when you were raving (yep. not calling you out on it though! you’ve definitely moved on!) about paleo diets and gap months ago, and yup, hope everybody can move on and just.. focus on enjoying life x
Tracy says
January 2, 2013 at 5:02 pmHi Shuhan,
Yes, your comment in my GAPS article really struck a chord with me! But if you had said that before I had actually tried GAPS, I would have brushed it off because I was so set on it. It’s funny. I’m guessing that many people who were looking for the message of “it’s okay to relax” will love this article.. but people who aren’t ready to accept that diet isn’t everything will reject it. And that’s okay. Everyone is on their own journey! 🙂
Andrea says
January 6, 2013 at 9:36 amSo funny! Yup an article about confirmation bias will not be accepted by people with confirmation bias, LOL. So true whether it’s diet, religion, global warming, or anything people are passionate about.
Desi says
January 2, 2013 at 6:23 pmTracy,
I just keep adding to my list of “favorite love vitamin posts!” Thank you so much for this. I struggle with this a LOT. I avoid the three food allergies that tests have shown (gluten, baker/brewer’s yeast, eggs), and yet, I still have SO much fear about eating food that could be contributing to the state of my skin. I’ve only just started eating fruit and natural sugars again after 1.5 years of avoiding them and even now, I can’t bring myself to have them more than a few times per month. I always seem to be struggling about whether I go with a meat heavy diet or a carb heavy vegetarian diet whenever I go into acne control mode. It’s scary… but I’m finally wondering if I should just throw all caution to the wind and see what happens. The problem with letting go, however, is that there are no steps to follow, no rules, no one to tell me HOW… otherwise, it wouldn’t be letting go. 🙂 I seem to find myself marveling more and more over this journey to good health I’ve been on… At only 25 years old, I hope it’s happening now only so that I won’t have to learn the same lessons later. Anyway. Thank you again.
xx
Tracy says
January 3, 2013 at 10:45 amIt’s like how I felt when I wrote this post: https://thelovevitamin.com/3758/junk-food-acne-fears/
And I’ve kind of been throwing caution to the wind to test and see what would happen, but instead of doing it all at once, I’ve been doing it slowly, bit by bit I guess since I started my journey to clear skin, really. And I feel like I’ve finally found a balance between eating healthy and relaxing… where I’m eating healthy not because I’m afraid but because it feels better to do so
Patty says
January 2, 2013 at 7:08 pmYou are the best Tracy. This was refreshing to hear and powerful. The more I learn about nutrition the more I ask myself – Well what am I supposed to eat?!
Hugs
Lydia says
January 2, 2013 at 7:12 pmThis really hit close to home. I have been obsessed with trying to cure my acne and pcos that I am making things worse for myself. I’ve always had a binge eating problem, but now after pouring over paleo blogs I am terrified that anything not paleo perfect will make both my skin and my overhall health (especially the PCOS) worse. But the heavy restrictions just lead me to binge, which I know is worse than anything. I try being strict, it doesn’t work. I try eating everything in moderation, I still screw up. Once I start eating a small amount of chocolate, I genuinely can’t stop. Part is mental, thinking I;ve failed even if I haven’t, and the other part is physical – these actual, I think often hormonal, surges that compell me to keep eating. What do I do?? Anyone, please help.
Tracy says
January 3, 2013 at 10:50 amYeah, it is a big mental thing – once you have some chocolate you feel like you failed – you feel bad, so you just keep making yourself feel bad by keeping on eating.
I think it all has a lot to do with the fact that we have deemed that these foods bad and off limits. If you cant have them, it makes you want them more… if you just allowed yourself to eat them, you might not feel so desperate to overeat on them, because you know that you can have them any ol time you want. I remember going on little binges sometimes on “bad” foods… since I’ve relaxed, I don’t really binge because I know that I can have sweets or otherwise as much as I want…. which in the end leads to me not eating as much of them!
Konica says
January 2, 2013 at 7:30 pmNailed it !!
Kim says
January 2, 2013 at 7:43 pmThank you Tracy!!:)
These are things i definitly struggle with! You put a lot of my thoughts into words.. I have recently being doing the gluten and grain free thing for about 2 weeks! I can say it has really helped clear my face a lot!
Its jus a little frustrating, because all though i do feel great and have a lot of energy! Preparing meals and looking up recipes can be so time consuming!
I have never spent as much time as i do now reading so many blogs about going grain free and all the hype! Simetimes i just feel so confused (like yOur article says) after reading whats so bad for you, and it makes me feel guilty about whether or not im eating something thats bad for acne or not?!!
Another amazing thing is my friend drinks red bull, eats potatoe chips, pizza, cokes and etc.. She really doesnt care much about whats she eating nutrition wise, but she has the clearest skin ever! Its like porcelin clear..
Im really sorry if it serms like im ranting, but this felt so good to be able to open up to someone i trust on the internet like you!:)
Thanks again
Tracy says
January 3, 2013 at 10:54 amHi Kim – well, if you have found that going grain free helps your skin, that’s actually really cool! At least you know and can see the difference. Many people will cut out grains though and see no difference but keep on not eating them just because they’re scared or get wrapped up in the hype, you know?
And don’t worry – I mean, at the start of a change like that, it’s normal that you would need to spend more time looking at recipes and all that and reading about it… but I find that for me and some people, you will find that you get a point where, really, you now know everything you really need to know to do it, but you just keep on compulsively searching for more and more information that doesn’t serve any purpose
Marlee @ SweetHealthNut.com says
January 2, 2013 at 8:38 pmI’m so happy you came to this conclusion Tracy! We’ve been down a very similar path and my life has completely changed since I started focusing on enjoying life and resisting the urge to research every tiny detail of my life. I eat healthy 70% of the time but I always allow myself to enjoy the moments I want to, like going out to dinner with friends or having a second helping of dessert. I also stopped worrying about every tiny thing I put on my face. I’ve accumulated so much knowledge from my obsessive research that I trust my instincts about what to put on my face and what to avoid. This has significantly reduced the stress in my life, and my skin has been improving, slowly but surely. My skin isn’t perfect, but I’m ok with that now because I’m focusing on accepting myself and living for the moment. I’m so glad to hear that this strategy seems to be working for you too 🙂 happiness is the most important thing.
Take care!
Marlee
Tracy says
January 3, 2013 at 10:56 amHi Marlee, nice to see you again! Stoked to hear you’ve relaxed and have started to enjoy life more. Feels good, don’t it?
Marlee @ SweetHealthNut.com says
January 3, 2013 at 4:44 pmIt really does 🙂
Marlee @ SweetHealthNut.com says
January 2, 2013 at 8:40 pmOh, and I LOVE everything you said in your article!
Jody says
January 2, 2013 at 9:44 pmWOW!!! I have been thinking about this exact topic for awhile now. My Candida has been controlling my life causing me to lose 15 lbs in a very short time, now my food fears are starting to take over taking all the pleasure out of eating. I am definitely going to seek out a new doctor. Thanks for the push in the right direction.
Desi says
January 3, 2013 at 6:59 amJody, your comment resonates with me so much! I think you are definitely smart to seek out a new doctor. The same exact thing happened to me. My doctor had me on the strictest form of the anti-candida diet for over a YEAR. I lost 15 pounds in the first month (and I was already naturally thin to begin with), and I proceeded to develop an extremely disordered relationship with food. While at first, I felt great and energized by eating low-carb, after a few months, everything seemed to take a turn for the worse. It is not sustainable, and I’m not sure it did any good for candida issues, to be quite honest. Now I’m eating gluten free grains again, potatoes, etc. and my hormones are back to normal, my thyroid is back to normal, and I mentally feel much more at peace. You are wise to seek out another option. Just wanted to give you another extra push in the right direction. 🙂 Good luck!
Jody says
January 3, 2013 at 12:40 pmDesi, Thanks for response. I wish you well & good health(mental, emotional, physical & spiritual). Dr. Maya Angelou says, when you know better, YOU do better. I tell myself this often. Continue listening to your body.
Samantha Anderson says
January 3, 2013 at 6:22 amHey Tracy! I love your blog…I’m sorry anyone disrespected you like that. Hate gives boring people something to do all day. I was vegan and you are absolutely right (about my case that is) the gluten and soy levels rose in my diet and so did my acne. Long story short after trying everything from extreme clean eating to Paleo to grain free I discovered it was just the gluten causing my acne so I was able to go back to a gluten free vegan diet (which is my happy place) LOL but I think everyone has to navigate their own way. I still say your blog helped change my life so thank you!
Tracy says
January 3, 2013 at 10:58 ameh, it’s okay, lol. It’s just what you have to put up with sometimes if you’re going to be “out there on the internet” haha.. I don’t take it personally, but it does amaze me that people can be so rude . Ah well! I’m glad my advice from that helped you and that you found your happy place! Way to go!
Radu says
January 3, 2013 at 12:46 pmBruce Lee had a saying:
“Take what works for you and reject what doesn’t”
In physics there is a subdiscipline called statistical physics.Here you don’t have enough information to exactly analyze a system so what you do is you analyze it on average.
In nutrition too you don’t have enough information about the human body,enough information about the food,enough information of how these two interact with each other etc.
So clearly what you do is see on average what foods benefits most to the people and then promote them.Of course there will always be exceptions(i think it could look like a normal distribution)There will always be because there are so many factors both external and internal,both physically and emotional that you need to take account of but that is impossible.
So what you say is true.I like this article because you see these things from a more general perspective than others.
Radu says
January 3, 2013 at 12:50 pmI mean that by embracing the idea that you don’t hold the absolute truth it makes you wiser than others.
Like Socrates said:”I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.”
Chick Pea says
January 4, 2013 at 12:08 amAwesome post Tracy! I hear this loud and clear – from a former vegan who was obsessed and afraid of food, it was not a good way of life. Whether ‘orthorexia’ really exists or not – I did in my mind…
I recently relaxed my thoughts about diet – stopped reading diet and recipe blogs. Stopped stressing about eating ‘perfectly’ or rather what I had conjured in my mind to be perfect – based on other people’s opinions.
I started listening to my body and enjoying food again ( With a lot of love from Jamie Oliver? 😉
Not long after I let go of this stress and control my skin healed – after 15 years 🙂 miracles do happen!
Thank you so much for sharing this!
“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”
― Siddhārtha Gautama
Tracy says
January 4, 2013 at 7:56 amYay!! Happy endings! 😀
Desi says
January 4, 2013 at 11:43 amChick pea! Thank you SO much for posting this. It gave me such hope. “Not long after I let go of this stress and control my skin healed – after 15 years miracles do happen!” I just have this intuitive feeling that this is all my skin needs to heal, too. And yet, when I tell most people this, they look at me like I’m crazy. I think our bodies have a lot more wisdom than we believe they do… and too much “thinking” just creates exactly what we’re fearful of. Anyway… before I get on my soapbox… THANK YOU. So much.
Kim says
January 4, 2013 at 2:34 pmhow can you got herpes from food?
Tracy says
January 4, 2013 at 3:03 pmWell.. presumably someone gets busy with an apple pie… and then someone else has it for dessert….
I’m just kidding. It was a joke.
Adel-Alexander says
January 5, 2013 at 4:48 am….Haha, American pie reference! ;p I love those movies!
Mark says
January 4, 2013 at 7:20 pmI just recently discovered probiotics don’t agree we’ll with me but it took some personal intuition because every website and health guru would tell you they are gods gift to humans. Like you said everyone is different and listen to your body. I think I might have leaky gut or something of that nature because I just finished treatment for h pylori. But I feel like we are always on the same page with our health and nutrition views. I have a lot of respect for you and your open mindedness.
Tracy says
January 4, 2013 at 9:41 pmHi Mark! 😀
I’m glad you listened to your intuition. I think with probiotics its not that probiotics are not good, it’s just that it’s hard to find one that will really suit you… because everyone has very different bacteria in their guts, so finding the probiotic that fills your exact need and actually makes a difference for you might be hard. But yeah, don’t stick with one if you can tell it’s not doing anything for you.
Kit says
January 4, 2013 at 7:45 pmYeah…this is me. Sigh. I’m trying to be reasonable about it, but recently found out from a ND that I’m intolerant to SO MUCH STUFF. Keeping it all out of my diet is a big, big job, and I still have months to go. It’s hard to relax about it when my ND says 1) I have one of the healthiest diets she’s ever seen, and 2) one of the most messed up guts she’s ever seen. WHY. It’s also hard because I had an initial breakout a few weeks into it, followed by a few weeks of beautiful skin, and now I’m breaking out for no apparent reason again. I just don’t understand. I haven’t touched a damn thing I’m allergic to in about ten weeks.
Rant over. I totally agree that the internet is a great place to drive yourself mad – so much conflicting information on grains, meat, even something as simple as veggies – cooked or raw? Steamed? Boiled? How starchy is the veggie? AGH. There were a few months last year where I was seriously afraid to eat anything. I really hope I can come to the point you have, of being able to keep a generally healthy diet but not sweat it so much and to make little exceptions. I’m jealous – very happy for you, but jealous. Hah 🙂
Can I ask how long it took you to leave behind your food sensitivities? Did your ND have you taking any healing supplements?
Tracy says
January 4, 2013 at 9:47 pmHi Kit,
I know, super frustrating situation you’re in, and it might take a while to get things back into balance if your gut is really that bad. Although maybe you don’t have to avoid all your allergens SO strictly and just avoid them mostly? As to cut down on stress, which would maybe help your gut heal?
Also with you breaking out and clearing up, and breaking out again… that’s pretty normal because healing often goes in waves like that… so I wouldn’t worry if you break out … it will probably clear again, and so forth until it kind of fades away.
As for how long it took me…. well, when I initially got tested… I strictly avoided everything it said for three months (which in certain cases caused me a lot of stress, like when I went on a camping road trip for a month in California, which caused me to break out the entire time)… then I got a retest, and it said most of the sensitivities were gone, except to like 3 or 4 things. So I continued to avoid those for like…. I don’t know… almost a year because I was so deathly afraid of them, but not necessarily because they were still there… it was all just fear about acne…. and then I just slowly started eating them again, and now I eat everything on my original sensitivity list freely
Kit says
January 5, 2013 at 6:59 amHey, Tracy…thanks for answering! I’m torn about relaxing a bit about food avoidance…less stress would be beautiful, but if my gut is as bad as my doctor says…agh. I just don’t know. Maybe after another month or so I’ll try worrying a bit less.
It’s really reassuring to hear that healing can go in waves, because this random breakout has me a little panicked. I’m happy that you can eat freely now. I eagerly look forward to the day I can do the same – goal for 2013 🙂
Tracy says
January 5, 2013 at 7:55 amI know it’s all so confusing, and I don’t have the answer… but I did hear someone else say on another thread that things went a lot better when they stopped avoiding all their allergens strictly because it was causing a lot of stress, and instead just really limited those foods
Kit says
January 5, 2013 at 8:51 amIt’s ok, I know you can’t possibly know everything 😉 It must be a lot on your mind, to have so many people come to you looking for definitiveanswers. I can’t imagine how I’d feel in that position. I don’t come here because I think you know everything (no offense of course!)…I come here because your worldview and approach to health make good common sense, and you obviously have a heart for helping people and a lot of background knowledge and personal experience 🙂
Kit says
January 5, 2013 at 8:51 amAnd as stress is a leaky gut contributor (and probably part of what got me here), maybe I’ll take that suggestion after all.
Annemarie says
January 5, 2013 at 11:43 amhey kit, I really understand where your at right now (based off your comments, of course lol) and I think lowering your stress would be a really good idea. I think instead of avoiding so many foods for so long, you should try the GAPS diet to permanently seal and heal your gut. Now I know this didn’t workt for Tracy, but I’m sure Tracy would agree that everything works differently for different people. Its just every time I hear of these
people who try to have a really good diet, but have really damaged guts from the past, That it shouldnt be this way. Our bodies should be able to handle a few things that may not be that great for us. and I think that if we could heal our insides with being strict for a few months, its worth it. It may be stressful during the months your on the strict diet, but I would think its better than constantly avoiding your allergenic foods for.. who knows how long. Just a thought 🙂 I believe this is what I should have done, but decided to take the poisonous, easy way of accutane instead of just putting in the effort to heal myself truly. I was just so desperate like you and I wish you the best!!
Candice says
January 5, 2013 at 2:42 pmTracy, thank you so much for writing about this topic! I feel that it’s really important to talk about this side of things.
After my mother passed away about 4 years ago, I developed multiple health issues very quickly. I started my journey into natural healing much in the same way you did with your acne (we may be the same age too, 26?). I went to a naturopath, went on an allergy/sensitivity based diet, felt great etc. After about 8 months of eating within these parametres, it just became too much for me mentally at the time.
I found that the act of saying ‘No’ multiple times a day was just not in line with healing for me. After my mother died, I need to be in the world of ‘Yes!’ for a while. Simple as that. I just had a feeling that my health problems would some how work themselves out because nothing stays the same forever. Three years later things have been great and most of my healing and stress relief has come from being more fluid in life and not be too strict. I now understand when to listen to my body’s stress signals (anxious thinking about the future, increased heart rate, acne, being around people that stress me out etc). I listen to those signals more than I ever did before. Over the last few years, changing my perspective on stress and listening to those signals has been the most important thing I have learned in my natural health journey. Also practicing patience!
Over the years I’ve learned not to think about my food sensitivities during the holidays because it takes away from the joy of cooking, eating and sharing with my family. My aunt and I cooked a huge holiday feast for my amazing grandparents and they were so happy. I had the most beautiful holiday I’ve had with my family in years and we ate everything under the sun and it was awesome and stress free! Having such genuinely beautiful and carefree times with family and people I love is more important for me right now than dietary restrictions during the holidays. Sometimes one just has to put things into perspective.
Sorry for the long post, I never usually leave comments but I just had to get it out 😉
Take care Tracy!!
Tracy says
January 6, 2013 at 1:56 amThanks for coming out of the woodworks and sharing that with us Candace 🙂
cati says
January 6, 2013 at 4:05 amLove this post, Tracy! Eating well is key, but stress, panic and anxiety about anything –food choices or otherwise– not only cause other health issues but strain our personal relationships!
As an aside, a bit of praise for your blog. After my once-pristine skin began to break out around my 21st birthday, I went been on every acne treatment available. Antibiotics, topical retinols, salycilic acid, BP, things whose names I don’t even remember, Two rounds of Accutane, a gluten free diet, a dairy free diet, a sugar free diet…Nothing fixed my acne because I couldn’t stop picking at my skin. Maybe the medications would have helped, but between their irritating side effects and my compulsive picking my skin never stood a chance. In reality the original breakout was small, but I overreacted in my inexperience with skin care and I wanted the acne GONE. In retrospect, I imagine that the whole debaucle could have been avoided with a more mild approach.
In December, as I watched my skin grow worse and worse (and saw myself recede from my social life, avoid leaving the house, feeling depressed and hopeless and hating my need to wear makeup) I decided to try things “your” way. After all, my way had been failing for the past 5 years, and deep down I knew that the main source of the problem were my own compulsions and unhealthy skin care habits. I read two of your e-books in one day and tons of your blog entries, especially on the caveman regimen. I threw away all my products except for a mild cleanser, which I use, now, once a day at most. At first I kept a tally of hours I could go without picking or popping. And then I counted days instead of hours. The thought of squeezing the skin on my face, or putting a needle (my go-to pimple popping method) or rough abrasive exfoliant–used to use daily–on my skin is repulsive to me now.
Your words gave me the strength to free myself from my dependence on harsh products, chemicals and soaps I thought I needed to help make my skin clear, and the patience to look at any small red spots that appeared (spots that I previously would have turned into huge bloody scabs in my determination to remove whatever impurity hid below) and know that my skin would take care of it on its own. And it does!
I have had ZERO (*knocks on wood*) actual pimples. Tiny red spots that surface and disappear within 24 hours, small clogged pores that are invisible along my hairline. A small spot that grew inflamed because I caved and squeezed it. But no pimples that formed on their own. No cysts. No whiteheads. My skin is as beautiful as it was in high school and I am so, so happy. As a testament to what you just posted about diet, my skin stood the diet test of holiday cookies, white bread during a visit with friends, plenty of sugar, milk and gluten and not enough water, salad and fruit. No negative effects whatsoever. Instead of feeling my stomach sink as I look in the mirror I am happy and proud of what I’ve overcome.
Thank you for doing what you do! I know you just wrote this post about not having all the answers, but for anyone who struggles with obsessing over every pore, compulsively popping pimples and skin picking, you have a lot of good thoughts. Count me as a success story 🙂
Tracy says
January 7, 2013 at 6:23 amHi Cati – WOW I’m SOOO happy for you!!! This is awesome, thank you so much sharing. I know I don’t have all the answers, but …. I do hope that my best “guesses” are bang on, and I’m glad to hear that for you they were! 🙂 Yay. Can I use part of this on my testimonials page?
cati says
January 7, 2013 at 7:59 amYeah for sure! I wish everyone who had skin picking obsessions could have the same success that I have with this site! xo!
Ann says
January 7, 2013 at 2:30 amSo nice to see that I’m not the only person on earth that thinks like this 🙂 I have a question though. I know this isn’t about acne but hey, you can just ignore it if you don’t know. Anyway, I’ve been noticing for a few weeks now that when I get stressed out I start talking to myself. I talk to me, call me names, fuss at me, tell me how pretty I am, then tell me how ugly I am, and it goes on and on. Any advise to keep me from going totally crazy?
Tracy says
January 7, 2013 at 6:25 amHi Ann – hm.. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with talking to yourself. I talk to myself all the time! My advice is just to really watch what you are saying to yourself… try to make what you say more positive.. even just doing that will help you deal with the stress
J says
January 7, 2013 at 6:33 amYou couldn’t be more right. I WISH that their was only internet blogger or the occasional obnoxious friend to deal with about this. You know who is the queen of everything you’re talking about? My mother. I know she’s wrong and/or “winging it” about all the things she claims to know for a fact, and she is overweight and unhealthy, but she uses her “information” to make other people feel like shit over their food. For instance, I KNOW, for ME, dairy makes me break out. My mother tells me I’m wrong, and that I’m just cutting calories and basically if I’m not putting some high-sugar, high-dairy food in my mouth then I’m “eating too many vegetables.” Right now I’m experiencing a serious break out because I’ve seen her twice in the last month and not only does she stress me out, but she insults my eating, and furthermore tells me I’m not feeding my kids right. It’s awful. There is no talking to her.
Tracy says
January 8, 2013 at 1:03 pmHi J – Yeah it’s a lot easier to close your browser than it is to turn off your mother! Sorry to hear she gives you such a hard time and won’t listen to you. I’m sending you lots of love and strength!!
J says
January 9, 2013 at 8:13 amThanks, Tracy! I had a physical yesterday, and my doctor said “tell your mother you’re extremely healthy, you have two beautiful healthy girls, from two healthy pregnancies and you get regular periods. Of course it won’t help, haha, but you can tell her that 😉 ” my bloodwork came back and I am very low in Vitamin D, which makes lots of sense, since I never see daylight anymore, haha. My skin was so much better this summer, but I thought it was from sunlight destroying the bacteria on my skin, but it also must be the D! Thyroid levels checked out though thankfully 🙂
I also have a cold, conjunctivitis, and a UTI, haha, I can’t wait to get healthy again! But I’m on track! 🙂 thanks for your support, it means a lot!
Chelsea says
January 7, 2013 at 6:00 pmTracy, your honesty and wisdom is so refreshing. You are just so great girl 🙂 Love reading your posts
Leah says
January 7, 2013 at 9:13 pmWell said, Tracy!!! I have been on that merry-go-round myself. I have been eating a whole foods diet for a year and a half and have some lingering skin and hormonal issues. I have spent hours poring over blogs and feeling guilty for enjoying raw milk (should I be vegan?) and sourdough toast (should I be paleo? isn’t gluten poisonous???) and dark chocolate (Sally Fallon would be ashamed…) and lots of fruit (carbs – gasp!)…and the occasional pizza and dinner out (how very S.A.D. of me!)! Then I look back to where my health was before I started eating whole foods and realize that my body has healed A LOT, even though my eating is still FAR from perfect. So when my skin flares up or my basal body temperature is too low AGAIN and that stress starts to come out, I have made a conscious effort to channel this stress into eating MORE of the right things rather than obsessing over the potentially wrong things. I decided it’s time to start making kombucha again. It’s time to take another try at homemade sauerkraut. I need to take my cod liver oil more often. Oh, and how about reducing stress? How about sitting down and reading a good book? Who cares about the dishes…who cares about the zillions of things I could be doing in the kitchen at any one time? Maybe I just need to go to sleep earlier and rest a little. Maybe I need a walk…or some yard work. Just some fresh air that gets me away from all the obsessive health research. This approach is SO much easier than pursuing the perfect diet that doesn’t exist. There just comes a point where improving my diet any further brings on so much more stress that, even if what I am doing is nutritionally better for me, the impact of the stress negates any benefits anyway. Over time, I do believe my diet continues to improve as I get more skilled in the kitchen and slowly transition to being able to make a few more things from scratch in a little less time than before. And again, this is fine if you just focus on incorporating more good things and don’t sweat the bad things so much. Thanks for posting this – I feel exactly the way you do. Thanks for being real and giving us all permission to be real, too.
Tracy says
January 8, 2013 at 1:05 pmHi Leah – thanks for this comment – sounds like you totally have the right idea on a healthier way to deal with those times when worry of your health starts taking over.. love x
Desi says
January 10, 2013 at 9:13 amThanks for this, Leah. Everything you said resonates with me so much. 🙂
Temme says
January 10, 2013 at 3:37 pmThank you for writing this article, it really called me out and made me realize that the way I try to deal with my acne is by obsessively searching the Internet, searching for the one “miracle cure” that I have to find or else I’ll be wronging myself. Embarrassing, but that’s what I was doing right now, then I found this. Searching the Internet is so bad for me, it stresses me out, makes me lose so much sleep, and takes time from me studying. I also wanted to say that I had a similar experience where some “caveman” people were saying that its terrible for your skin to wash it, this will give you more acne, and some people were saying that you HAVE to wash your face, it’s a sin not to. Natural remedies, no, benzoyl peroxide, cut out dairy, no, cut out sugar, stop eating everything except meat and vegetables, take antibiotics, no that’s bad for you, it drives me so insane and I am just so grateful that you helped me to realize that everyone’s winging it. I’m going to try to except the fact that there is no miracle cure that works for everyone and that it’s your body, and health is no religion, so it’s no sin to make your own choices.
Tracy says
January 10, 2013 at 7:39 pmAmen, lady 🙂
Miles says
January 12, 2013 at 3:33 pmThink that a person can eat only one way for an extended length of time?? I’m trying this.
Get up at 8:am. 2 teaspoons of Cacao, spoon of oats and 11 drops of Stevia blended with a cup of hot water right after get up. Also ice water between 8 and 12 and nothing more. – M-S and Sunday I sleep later so, Sundays differ some.
Some time after 12 and it varies. See, every couple of days I cook a pound of red kidney beans in a little more water than needed. Before cooking in the pressure cooker (4 qt Fagor) I add onion powder, crush red peppers and a little nacho sliced Jalapeños. After beans are cooked I add 2 cans (6oz each) of Tomato paste. That pound of beans fills up 3 containers – 2 cup Tupperware containers. Some time after 12 I have half of one of those 2 cup containers. That is a pound of beans lasts 6 days.
Then a smoothie but not until after 3 PM and it’s a broccoli, banana and blueberry smoothie (frozen BB’s and Banana). Just a couple of coffee cups full. I use my new Vitamix 7500 for both the Cacao drink and the smoothie. Maybe a second Cacao drink in the afternoon too or one or the other.
After 5:30 I take 1/2 cup of brown rice, onion powder, crushed red pepper and nacho jalapeños along with frozen Tilapia fillets (3 or 4). After being under pressure and up to temp in the 2.5 liter Kuhn Rikon pressure fry pan for 20 minutes I rush the pressure out and add 1/2 of a large onion sliced up and let that get warm after stirring – maybe even close the lid and let it hold pressure for a couple minutes – short time. Eat on that between 6:15 and 8 PM.
Before bed another Cacao drink.
I look forward to every one of these meals and drinks as each one makes me feel good. Once in a while I’ll have Romen noodles but dry, like 4 packs that replace at least one meal but mostly 2 but only once every week or 2.
Also, being 50 and all I have been taking 3, 610mg Fenugreek and 2, 200 mg Milk Thistle three time a day sometimes blended in with my Cacao drink some times but not always. Always microwave a cup of hot water to blend in with the Cacao drink.
That is like the main way that I have been eating. I’m always trying to find a better way to eat and it has changed, evolved and adapted into this latest base line diet. Of coarse variations once in a while happen. OH, once a month I’ll have a rice plate with a chicken thigh and chunk of beef that I keep frozen in the freezer individually wrapped out of family packs. Well I’m trying to go longer to once a month with-out meat. Best I’ve done is 3 weeks last month.
Might be boring but it feels good.
Chelsea A. says
January 16, 2013 at 9:56 amTracy, I have commented on your blog once or twice before (I visit it probably once a month to see what’s new!) and I feel so compelled to comment on this–probably because I was just thinking about these VERY ideas in the shower this morning.
Let me first say, it is literally revolting (but also, HILARIOUS) how nasty the comments get on nutrition blogs. If someone wants to have a coronary arguing over whether the body can absorb more micronutrients from uncooked broccoli than cooked broccoli, they have that right–and when they die of stress I’ll eat their broccoli.
Anyway, I used to obsess over nutrition too, and I will say I’ve learned a lot from it, and I’m grateful for that knowledge, but it’s gotten beyond ridiculous and enough is enough.
So here is my new non-philosophy nutrition-philosophy, and it is a little embarrassing but I think you’ll appreciate it:
If I’m pooping regularly and well (eg, it’s healthy, good-lookin poop), then I’m doing great! And that’s all!
Does this mean I eat pretty healthy? I guess it does. Does it mean I get takeout when I want and eat dessert when I want and don’t give a !@#$? Suuuure does!
(Oh no… I think I just created a fad!)
Thanks for seeking truth and helping others do the same. Glad you came to this realization! (Glad I did too…)
Tracy says
January 16, 2013 at 5:08 pmHi Chelsea haha glad to hear you’re on board with the diet non-philosophy! I like the poop idea… haha although now people will start obsessing over getting their poo perfect! hahah
J says
January 16, 2013 at 5:39 pmI laughed so hard about that broccoli part. Even read it to my husband and he died laughing. Makes me also think about how my mother in law eats horrendously, and fed my husband garbage growing up and they both have clear skin and my husband never gets sick (and we’ve been together 7 years). Gah.
B says
January 17, 2013 at 4:45 pmHi Tracy,
This is an awesome post. Thanks! It’s so frustrating navigating the nutrition world. It’s impossible to take everyone’s advice because we’d be left with literally nothing to eat – someone always finds a problem with some food, but like you said it’s usually specific to their body and not everyone; there’s no umbrella diet that will cover everyone.
I became really stressed and guilty about food trying to fight acne. I’m moving away from that though as I feel a lack of food is worse than the “wrong” food. It’s very true what you said about “tanking your metabolism”. If it’s possible, I’d really like to hear more about that and the effect is has on the body, and specifically on skin and acne.
Nanners says
February 12, 2013 at 5:42 am“Don’t let acne become your hobby”
Oh god I needed this. THANKS. I’m about to go on a week long vacation, and I can be kind of (read: very) obsessive about diet and, um, everything when I leave my perfectly controlled little world, for fear of the dreaded breakouts – and then, in turn, i’m pretty sure make it all worse due to my stress! Soooo I refuse. I’m gonna go have fun, not allow myself to think of acne AT ALL, and see how much good this upcoming week does me.
🙂 THANK YOU.
Tracy says
February 12, 2013 at 11:32 amTotally!! Go for it. I just did the same thing… spent a week away where someone else was cooking for most of the time. Good food but SOOOo much gluten. I was so proud of myself for not worrying about it pretty much at all, which is a first. My skin was pretty much fine too. Have fun!! 🙂
Claire says
February 25, 2013 at 2:03 pmBeautiful article, Tracy!
This crazy fear of everything being dangerous to some degree to put into our bodies is the same for things we put ON our bodies I think. As you’ve stated many times, the best way to heal yourself of acne is from the inside out, and I have recently been in such a frenzy to find the perfect serum/oil/treatment for the outside of my skin, that I’m paranoid about whatever finally does touch my face! It’s not healthy, and this article helped me realize that I need to “wing it” a bit more myself, and see what actually works for me, not what people tell me will work.
Thank you!
Tracy says
March 7, 2013 at 8:12 amYeah Claire! I think stress is worse than we give it credit for… I know it’s difficult to stop stressing… but imagine what it would be like to just completely go with the flow…… no matter what happens even if it’s not what you would normally do, or it’s not something you like… it’s okay…. you just let it in and move through it. Kind of hard to picture completely going with the flow 100%…. but I’m sure it’s possible. Good luck figuring things out and what works for you 😀
Jane says
March 6, 2013 at 10:35 pmYes!! I love this article, you’ve articulated what I haven’t wanted to admit to myself- restricting out diets beyond decent whole food could well cause us more harm than good. I’ve certainly experienced it in my own life- a raw food diet gave me a rash and cheek acne- but hey you know that’s just me, it’s probably the best thing ever for loads of people. And that’s my point and yours – we have to follow our own heart, our own body and our own intuition and not believe food to be a religion of a cure all and only ‘worthy’ if someone else had shown us what to do.
Tracy says
March 7, 2013 at 8:15 amHI Jane,
That’s right! We are all the gurus!! Sometimes that’s really difficult because it can definitely be a lot easier just following what someone else says…. but it also brings the power back to yourself, which is pretty cool… it can relieve stress knowing that if you don’t follow that guy’s every word, you won’t necessarily end up with failing health
Sarah says
March 18, 2013 at 1:30 amI really agree! I have studied with IIN and am now a health coach and only focus on the person individually, always adding things in and workin slowly so not to overwhelm! It’s crazy the amount of information out there, and whilst I’m truly grateful for all that I have learnt and the knowledge, 2 things are inportant digestive health! And stress is numer one for changing the balance of the gut. After sending myself crazy over the years with all the diet theories I have come to realise that vegetables are great and just keep adding them in and let the rest follow all in good easy stress free time:) my coaching is http://www.hookedonhealth and I am very passionate about bringing a stress free way to health in ALL areas ! Thanks Tracey for a great article x
Michelle says
March 26, 2013 at 12:39 pmI had to laugh a bit when I read this post, because I have been surfing the internet for the past week freaking out over the “right” diet after not getting the results I wanted from being on the paleo diet for a year. I have been driving myself crazy, my skin is getting worse by the minute, and I am turning into a complete orthorexic with each new site I visit. I finally said enough is enough and bought some sourdough bread this morning, slathered it with goat cheese, and low and behold, I didn’t die! I feel better mentally already. Thank you for this post. It is reassuring to know I am not alone!
Karl Drinkwater says
May 26, 2013 at 6:38 amHi Tracy and other lovely people,
What I have found from reading your words (books and blog) is various useful things. The stuff about not over-washing with nasty chemicals. The stuff about being at peace with yourself, dealing with anxiety, meditating and gaining confidence. The stuff about getting in the sunshine for a bit. And being as happy as our life situations allow us: then a little bit more! This is all great advice and you present it really well. I’ve learnt a lot.
One thing you say here is worth mentioning, and it ties in to a recurring thread on many of your blog posts: “REMEMBER! Food is only ONE piece of the acne solving puzzle. And arguably not even the most important.”
I’m vegan, you’re not. And no, this isn’t a defensive or aggressive comment – I don’t care! We all decide what is best for us. As long as we’re all making informed decisions then I’m not in any position to judge. I always prefer to see the similarities, the points where agree with someone. Maybe it’s because I’m also a writer and love to empathise and see things from other people’s views. Maybe because I’m just a peaceful and friendly person. Who knows? But in this case I think everyone agrees: we should all eat more fresh stuff, cut back on processed food, eat more local stuff without air miles. We only vary on what makes up the other 20% of our diet (e.g. meat, dairy, soya). As you’ve said elsewhere regarding diets, it’s the 80-90% that is important and not the remainder – we can treat ourselves. In the same way I bet it is the 80% healthy and fresh stuff that makes the biggest difference to acne – beyond that the rest is just personal preference depending on your views. Vegan or not, eat healthy, and make sure the other factors aren’t ignored (e.g. the things covered in your 7 top tips book). Tackling the mental issues and our habits re: washing and so on can be far bigger factors and harder targets.
Since I came across the blog and your thoughts and e-books I’ve been having a good old think about tons of subjects, making positive changes to my life and so on. You usually ask people for their own views, and I thought I’d pop in some of my thoughts about veganism as it applies to me. I’m hoping the stuff I said above is enough of a caveat that I’m not arguing, I just thought I’d get my views down. I’ve spent all morning thinking about this, since I have come across quite a few references to vegans on your blog. As I said, I don’t care about other people’s diets, it is only my own that I have control over and therefore consider, but various comments I read did lead me on to various thoughts that I’ve been pondering since last night. So as a vegan of over 22 years (ha ha, that’s a shock working it out and writing it down, time really does fly!) I just wanted to give my perspective on a few comments. It’s just my view, what do I know? etc etc. 🙂
Difficulty – some people find going vegan difficult. It is definitely much easier now than when I first switched to a vegan diet – the options in shops and restaurants weren’t great, thought the good side of that is I learnt to cook! I think difficulty with anything just depends on where you’re coming from. If you really believe in something then you are more likely to just spot the positives; if you have mixed feelings you’re more likely to look out for negatives. It’s just the way our brains work. To me I can’t understand how some women have the time to put loads of makeup on (and take it off, and choose it, buy it etc) and shave legs and armpits all the time, but for millions of women it is just what they do. Perception of difficulty just depends on your values. The great thing for me is that I actually saw amazing opportunities. When I ate meat my diet was quite restricted and traditional, a Manchester ‘meat and two veg’ approach with chips being seen as a veg! Once I went vegan and bought my first cookbook I started to discover a wealth of new ingredients and flavours, because vegan cuisine tends to be very international, adopting the best from each culture (whilst still leaving the option of what you know – I have to admit to still loving a good Sunday roast sometimes, or sausage and mash! Vegan versions, obviously). I find that as a vegan I meet lots of other vegans, who usually have many of the same interests (compassion, peace, environment, fitness, human rights etc). My friends are a mix of vegans, veggies and non-veggies. As to eating out, we focus on places that do good vegan food, but my favourite option is when we get together and cook in each others houses combines with drinks, noisy chat and games!
Oestrogens – I’ve got to admit to being a bit bemused by comments on the phyto-oestrogens from soya. Vegans probably do eat more soya products than non-vegans, though increasingly milks and other products are also made with rice, oats, nuts etc. This isn’t true in every case – my (vegan) girlfriend can’t stand soya milk, yet I know quite a few non-vegans who prefer it to dairy milk, so it’s never as simple as we’d like. Still, I’ll work on this assumption. If you drink dairy milk then instead of phyto-oestrogens you are drinking a product with animal oestrogens (often along with other stuff like artificial growth hormones, antibiotics, and allowable ppm’s of pus and blood). So my question is: which type of oestrogen is likely to have a bigger effect on human biology, oestrogen from other animals, or oestrogen from plants, which have quite alien biology compared to us? As far as I can see a guy drinking a pint of milk will be getting a lot more bio-available oestrogen than someone drinking a pint of soya milk. Maybe I’m wrong, my science background is based on astronomy and geology rather than life sciences, but it is a thought that often pops into my head when I read about plant hormones. [As an aside, since vegans tend to be concerned about lots of issues, they also tend to prefer organic, or at least non-GMO, soya, but I got the impression somewhere that GMOs are much more common in the US where Monsanto et al are much ‘friendlier’ to the Government.]
Vitamin B12 – this often gets mentioned too. Maybe there’s truth in it, I only know of my own situation. I often volunteer to take part in human studies, supporting that rather than animal testing. About 5 years ago there was a study to see the effects on B12 absorption of different food combinations (I think). I volunteered and had a B12 test. And was rejected from taking part because my B12 levels were ‘optimal’, i.e. the study couldn’t show any improvement since the levels were ideal. That was after 17 years of being a vegan! Most people don’t have optimal levels, even meat eaters. My levels were probably because most products now have some level of B12 supplement (margarines, cereals etc) and I do love a bit of savoury yeast extract in cooking! I occasionally take supplements, not even every year, just when I feel like it, so it is nothing obsessive. Probably one small tub of supplements, shared with my partner. Although I am wary of the supplement industry as a whole, marketing things on people’s fears and often trying to pump in more than you can absorb. Nowadays our soil is being denatured; mass agriculture is not the best way to grow anything nutritious; hygiene removes all the specks of dirt we once ate; it’s no surprise that everyone nowadays gets a lower amount of nutrients from many of the products they eat. Whatever your diet, it’s no surprise that we need to occasionally make sure we boost some of the nutrients we need.
Health – I noted from a few comments about differences in the US/Canada and Europe, that in the latter people go veggie/vegan more for ethical reasons, and in the former more for health reasons. It may be true in a general way, I don’t have enough knowledge to be sure. [Personal view alert] I went vegan because I didn’t see why other species should be enslaved and killed for me. At that point I didn’t care whether it would be healthy or not, I just couldn’t justify putting my own desires above the needs of other beings. I’d have done it even if it was bad for me. Luckily I’m healthier than I ever was before according to the obvious measures (I have the lowest sick leave rate out of anyone I’ve compared too, c. a tenth of the national average; fitness levels really good; no health issues), so it has been a bonus. I’m really interested in fitness. Currently this involves cycling and running, bits of yoga and kayaking, other exercises along the way, and for many years I used to practise and teach martial arts. I seem to do pretty well in challenges, so being vegan is either hugely beneficial to me, or at least not a detriment to my general fitness.
Eating animals – as I said, this was why I went vegan. My views are complicated and some of them probably seem silly to many people. I care about all life and don’t want to see it enslaved and killed just because I like the taste of its flesh. Going vegan was a challenge in one way, in that none of my family had even been vegetarian – the concept was quite alien, and I grew up eating all sorts of meat (hearts, liver, kidneys etc). But once I decided that my desires didn’t justify imposing them on other beings I never looked back. And now – well, this is the bit I have trouble explaining without looking daft. But I believe that when an animal is killed, and all that fear and sadness and hopelessness runs through its body – if I ate that, I‘d be absorbing it. Whether through chemicals, or miasma, or karma, or guilt, somehow it would get under my consciousness. And I’d need to repress it in order to deal with it and continue. And repressed stuff of that type is really bad for the psyche. So by not eating them I can face this issue, and apologise/make amends for what I did in the past, in the same way that I try to tread lightly on the Earth and apologise to it for the impact of my life, make amends and act like a caring and protective guardian rather than an owner with a right to exploit. I was vegetarian for a very short period before I went vegan, but once I realised that you can’t have dairy products unless you kill the calves and keep the cows permanently pregnant (and therefore lactating) I went straight to vegan.
Environment – I think I read comments about unsustainable mono-crop agriculture. I agree totally, we should be aiming at low-intensity organic production, locally produced. I avoid supermarkets and buy my fruit and veg from independent greengrocers (one of them is completely organic) who source locally where they can; the rest comes from either an organic box scheme (again, much of it is local) or grown in our garden/swapped with friends who also grow their own. Going back to the issue of soya = of the Earth’s soya crop, around 85% is actually grown for animal feed. This article has some facts and figures: http://gentleworld.org/as-we-soy-so-shall-we-reap/ This one is also useful – http://www.sustainabletable.org/260/animal-feed since it shows that by eating animals, we require around six times the protein value in soya and other crops, since they act like a reverse protein system. I.e. if we ate the grains ourselves, we’d need six times less land. I know you’ve talked about local meat, grass-fed, so much of that won’t apply, apart from the bit about 6x land needed to make one pound of beef over a pound of plant protein.
We’re all on a road to improvement and I’m hoping this hasn’t been taken as an attack. It’s just my views on why I went vegan and some of the things I’ve experienced. At the end of the day there are other factors that contribute to acne beyond diet, as you point out so well; and other factors that are of ethical concern. There’s an article on The Guardian site about some of the areas I was interested way in back in 2003 http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2003/aug/12/ethicalmoney.ethicalliving4 – they’re now so entrenched in my life I don’t even think about them, and focus on new areas of improvement instead. Your writing has directed me to some of these, so many thanks! There’s so much good advice here. I have recently began doing a daily meditation, and find it really useful. And before we go to sleep at night my partner and I tell each other one positive thing about our day, so that we end on that note rather than going to sleep worrying or stressing about something.
Another area I want to work on is freshness of food. I try to listen to my body and for years it was telling me it wanted more raw fruit and veg. In the last couple of years I’ve gradually altered some of my habits and now feel a meal isn’t as satisfying without a lovely salad to accompany it. It’s not an obsessive thing, I genuinely love my smoothies and my tubs of fruit at work. I think your 90/10 rule is great, since I don’t have to miss out on my pizza or burgers; but the stuff I eat at other times isn’t a chore, it is gorgeous, and every meal that’s healthy and tasty makes me really happy and I acknowledge how lucky I am. Oops, now I am sounding very hippie! I’m going to go and eat some of the cake we baked last night as part of my daily 10-20%. 🙂
Whether you’re vegan or not we all have the same underlying emphasis and concerns, such as being healthier, eating more fresh ingredients, avoiding too much processed food, thinking about food miles and ethical issues. Peace and love, whatever your views. As long as we’re all aiming to improve ourselves and the world, we’ll make it a better place.
Tracy says
May 26, 2013 at 8:20 amHi Karl,
Thanks for your thoughts! I wish more people thought like you when you say that we’re actually not all that different… all the different health diet philosophies have a lot in common, which is improving yourself, and eating real food. I hate seeing it become religious, fighting amongst each other, instead of fighting against the things we all agree are wrong: factory farming, mono cropping, processed foods, GMOs etc etc
Karl Drinkwater says
May 26, 2013 at 10:07 amYou’re right, there’s enough badness in the world, and the only way around it is to try and understand each other and come together. Otherwise we don’t stand a chance against massive corporations and their agendas (the Monsantos, Coca Colas, big finance companies and McDonalds of the world). Sorry for reusing my comments on a few of your posts, they seemed relevant. It shows how much of your blog I have read! 🙂
Jenna says
July 22, 2013 at 4:53 pmHey Tracy, well said! I started to experience these ‘diet religion’ comments and often they are made by so-called professional nutritionists. They scream out for contradictory evidence or studies to refute their claims. It doesn’t get anyone anywhere. Nowhere is this more apparent, to me, than in advertising and the unidentifiable term ‘superfood’. I subscribe to Coursera classes online. One of them entitled ‘The Science of Gastronomy’ wherein the discussion forums get quite heated and personal attacks are rampant. I find it difficult to understand someone taking offence to a point of view that contradicts their own enough to launch a very personal attack. What is to be gained from this? I may not find out. Again, well done Tracy! So humble and wise.
Tracy says
July 23, 2013 at 6:52 amThanks Jenna 🙂 I think it’s just a human nature that when people have beliefs that are so strong, the beliefs practically become the person. And when someone challenges or criticizes their beliefs (even politely), it’s like they are insulting their entire being and out comes the backlash. It happens with diet, religion, and many other things… but hey. I don’t want to make diet a religion anymore. I just want to eat.
Maria says
July 22, 2013 at 10:13 pmOhmahgawsh! I really needed to read that!! I’m in the stage right now where I go in and out of worrying about what I eat to the point of “rampage” haha. It’s bad, and it only causes me more stress and anxiety and it suuuucks, booo! I was literally just talking to my mom about this earlier tonight, and she told me I need to stop worrying so much about what I eat, and just eat (healthy, but just eat)…and I was like, “but moooom, it’s not that simple”…and then I read this here blog post of yours…and it is that simple, haha! Seriously, I needed to read this. I am so thankful for your contribution to the blogging community, gah! Your posts make me smile, giggle, laugh, and cry (all totally in a good way, I promise!) And I’ve probably said this before in another comment, but you are freaking awesome! Thank you for being you~!! 🙂
Tracy says
July 23, 2013 at 6:55 amHey Maria,
Glad to hear this reached you at the right time … I wouldn’t have thought so before, but now I definitely think eating healthy can be simple. I’m so much happier ever since I realized that. Also, thanks for the lovely compliments!! 😀
Bailey says
July 23, 2013 at 11:10 amI’ve been reading your blog for quite some time now Tracey.
I had a very similar situation with a past acne flare up due to stress. It was a really difficult thing to deal with until I removed all of the negativity from my life.
I’ve been learning a lot from you. I’ve been vegan, then stuck with a vegetarian diet for 8 years now. I do believe that eating whole foods is the most healing thing for you.
And though, you and many others chose to eat meat, I would never judge a person for that.
I find there to be much bias on the internet as well.
I’m glad that you wrote this article and spoke the truth to all your readers. Keeping an open mind is important for us all to learn.
Looking forward to reading more blogs from you !
Tracy says
July 24, 2013 at 9:49 amThanks Bailey! I’m glad you enjoyed this article 🙂
RB says
July 23, 2013 at 3:12 pmThanks Tracy!! I feel like I’ve reached the same conclusions as you regarding not reading too much nutrition and diet info…I’m just happier (and my skin is even clearer) when my mind isn’t playing ping pong about all the food info it’s read. And I do think it’s the best just to listen to my body and stay emotionally healthy – meditation and having a personal time as often as possible I feel like has done way more than any of the dieting did…not to say it didn’t play a part and I’m still mostly plant based and feel the best that way…but I make A TON of exceptions and don’t worry about it too much. It’s mostly just a drag if I eat too much sugar or something bc of the way I feel, you know? But the last time I was reading a lot I got so discouraged because of the attitudes you’re talking about – people bashing each other and I was like “I need a break!” And it’s been going great. LOVE YOU TRACY!! all the best : )
Tracy says
July 24, 2013 at 10:27 amThanks for your comment RB! I also feel so much happier ever since I gave all the nutrition research a big fat break
Sarah says
November 6, 2013 at 6:13 pmHi Tracy,
I know this is an old article but I hope you see this.
I’m in charge of preparing my own breakfast, lunch, and snacks, but since I live with my parents, my dad makes dinner for the family. The foods I eat for breakfast and lunch and snacks during the day are very healthy and almost all of them are fully raw. However, the food that my dad makes for dinner isn’t always the healthiest. Yes, my plate is always half covered in veggies, but the entrees he prepares make me nervous. He cooks with olive oil, for one, and often incorporates white potatoes or white rice into his dishes. Over the years I’ve bought him numerous cook books on clean eating, etc., hoping he’d slightly change what he cooks to be healthier (even though, again, what he prepares isn’t TERRIBLE, like McDonalds or something), but he doesn’t. Even when I bring it up to him, he takes offense. I’ve suggested that I just start making my own meals so I’ll feel better, but he doesn’t like that idea at all.
I guess what I want to know is if I should even be terribly nervous in the first place? Am I doing myself more harm than good by stressing out about dinner every night? I’ve been eating healthy throughout the rest of the day for about 3-4 months, and implementing all other aspects of your book. However, my skin still isn’t clear.
Tracy says
November 7, 2013 at 10:27 amHi Sarah,
You know, what he makes doesn’t sound that bad. I eat potatoes and white rice now too – i think it’s fine as long as you try to keep those portions to a minimum and make vegetables a larger part of the meal. And eat it with some fat, like butter or coconut oil… this way it will help to keep your blood sugar more stable and prevent blood sugar swings which can lead to acne. But yeah your diet actually sounds quite good, I wouldn’t sweat it too much.
Sarah says
November 7, 2013 at 12:58 pmThank you SO much for the reassurance, Tracy!
Karla Beatriz says
March 22, 2014 at 6:15 pmHi Tracy!!
I really – really – love the way you exposes your opinion… you exposes it, not stuffs down our throat… and yeah, I think that it contributes to let us think about things… this is the point and the reason of the sucess of your acne treatment (or maybe “no treatment”, just let it go and be happy! !), your website and everything you do… you are a person that is able to tell us “yeah, I was wrong about it or that…” It really make me feel better because I feel that anyone is perfect and I don’t have to be!! Beeing Me is enough!! It’s like you said… freedom to be, eat, and do whatever… Thank you for that! (and… just one question – maybe a really dumb one but I’m so sorry I don’t understand some slangs… what does xoxo means?? hahaha is this like kisses or something??) Kisses from Brazil!!
Svea says
March 23, 2014 at 12:02 amHi Karla,
I’m not Tracy, but xoxox means “kisses and hugs” 😉
xoxoxox!!!
Karla Beatriz says
March 23, 2014 at 12:52 pmThank you Svea!! …. XOXO!! :))
Tracy says
March 28, 2014 at 9:26 pmHey Karla, just read your comment! sending you more xoxox’s! 🙂
Karla Beatriz says
March 29, 2014 at 10:59 pmThank you Tracy for sending me more XOXOX’s!!!
“more is more” in this case… hahaha
I love you girls from thelovevitamin
Becky says
August 11, 2014 at 8:23 pmTracy, I just like you. Thank you for this article. I found The Love Vitamin a few days ago in the midst of a health blog binge. I voraciously consume article after article for three reasons, the first two of which I was aware of before today, the third of which you just helped me realize. 1. I have mild/moderate acne and want to cure it holistically, 2. Over the past couple years I completely altered my lifestyle and lost 30 pounds, and 3. I read health blogs due to my own anxiety that I will “go back” to the way I was if I don’t constantly saturate my brain with thoughts about health and wellness. Thank you Tracy for shining a light on number 3 with this article. The way you write is certainly smart and savvy, but to me the best thing about your blog is that it’s socially and morally conscious. You care that us strangers out here are happy, whole people. So thank you.
Tracy Raftl says
August 12, 2014 at 7:28 amHey Becky, thanks for the comment! I’m really happy this article helped shed some light on your situation for you. The health blog merry go round can be tough to get off, but … yeah it’s been a while since I wrote this post and “quit” health blogs, and I really am so much happier!! I’m definitely not as ‘perfect’ about food, but my skin’s still quite clear and … yes, most importantly I don’t feel so trapped in my own head and feel much more freedom 🙂 … if you’ve already got the health stuff down pat then I really don’t think there’s much need to keep devouring health info! Good luck x
Alex says
May 16, 2015 at 12:34 amHi Tracy! Just found your blog and wanted to say thank you! And you are so right! It’s crazy. Internet is a wild space… I consider my last couple of years as kind of damaged because of information overload about food on the internet. I had a history of eating disorders, so the conflicting information and everything just fueled my health problems. When you think about it, it is crazy that we are relying usually on people’s anecdotes, etc. This is so true, that we are all different. We all need different things. And most importantly we need self-acceptance and love. And this is what I will be working on.
Best Wishes and Good luck with everything.
Alex
Tracy Raftl says
May 16, 2015 at 8:15 amHey Alex, it’s crazy when you realize how damaging the overload is :/ I am SOOOOO much happier since I stopped researching nutrition as a hobby! Good luck to you! x
Aurelija says
September 29, 2015 at 11:06 pmMy friend told me about paleo diet. She has teenage daughter, who suffers from stubborn acne. When she eats paleo, acne disappears. When start to eat normal food – she get it again.
Jenny says
January 27, 2016 at 11:38 amGood for you Tracy! You said what needed to be said. It’s the truth. Your advice and efforts are greatly appreciated:)