34 replies to this topic

[Tygo]

Male
27 years old
180 cm [5'11"]
96 kg [211 lbs]

I had some bloodwork done about 2 months ago and everything was fine. My physical examination at the time was good as well:

-No diabetes
-Normal blood pressure
-Normal liver function
-Normal thyroid function
-Normal hormonal levels
-Normal cholesterol/tryglicerides
-Normal kidney function
-CRP level not elevated

Unfortunately, I have no raw data. At the time, I wasn't very interested in my exact health statistics. I didn't care that much, as long as the doctor said it was ok. Now that I'm becoming more health conscious, I'm sure to ask for these stats in the future, to objectively see if my health improves over time.

-Current situation:

Sedentary lifestyle (no exercise at all, behind the computer all day)
Unhealthy diet (lots of refined sugars, alcohol user, eat whatever I want)
Overweight (my final goal is 70-75 kg [154-165 lbs])

-Current problems:

Mild, but persistant, acne
Mild seborrheic dermatitis
Slight hairloss. Also greasy hair
Social anxiety/general anxiety
No motivation/discipline/willpower
Somewhat diminished libido
Difficulty falling asleep
General fatique, both mental & physical
Bad concentration/easily distracted
Forgetfulness, bad short term memory
Infrequent bowel movements
Bad eyesight; myopic & floaters

So that's my background. I've tried to live healthier in the past (check my previous post), but due to unforseen circumstances, it wasn't possible at the time. I'm glad it is possible now, and I made an 1800 calorie diet with a 20:40:40 ratio (protein-carb-fat). This is the regimen/diet I've came up with:

[MORNING - 505.5 kcal]

Gluten-Free Rolled Oats - 25 grams - [95 kcal]
Organic Low Fat Yogurt - 229 grams - [141 kcal]
Frozen Blue, Black or Strawberries - 50 grams - [17 kcal]
Organic Cinnamon - 1 gram - [2.5 kcal]
Organic White Tea - 1 cup - [2 kcal]
Green Smoothie* - ~0.5 liter - [208 kcal]
---
Jarrow EPA-DHA Premium Balance - 2 softgels/1.260 mg Omega-3 - [20 kcal]
Bonusan Vitamin D3 in MCT - 2 softgels/1200 IU - [10 kcal]
Now Foods Gr8-Dophilus - 1 capsule - [~5 kcal]
Jarrow Cran Clearance - 1 capsule - [~5 kcal]

[MIDDAY - 500.5 kcal]

Gluten-Free Rolled Oats - 25 grams - [95 kcal]
Organic Low Fat Yogurt - 229 grams - [141 kcal]
Frozen Blue, Black or Strawberries - 50 grams - [17 kcal]
Organic Cinnamon - 1 gram - [2.5 kcal]
Organic White Tea - 1 cup - [2 kcal]
Green Smoothie* - ~0.5 liter - [208 kcal]
---
Jarrow EPA-DHA Premium Balance - 2 softgels/1.260 mg Omega-3 - [20 kcal]
Bonusan Vitamin D3 in MCT - 2 softgels/1200 IU - [10 kcal]
Jarrow Blackcurrant Extract - 1 capsule - [~5 kcal]

[EVENING - 548 kcal]

Chicken Breast Tender - 100 grams - [293 kcal]
Organic White Tea - 1 cup - [2 kcal]
Green Smoothie* - ~0.5 liter - [208 kcal]
---
Jarrow EPA-DHA Premium Balance - 2 softgels/1.260 mg Omega-3 - [20 kcal]
Now Foods Borage Oil - 1 softgel/240 mg GLA - [10 kcal]
Jarrow Bilberry + Grapeskin Polyphenols - 1 capsule - [~5 kcal]
Solgar Chelated Magnesium - 2 tablets/200 mg magnesium - [~10 kcal]

My evening meal will vary each day, therefore it's currently only at approximately 548 calories. What won't change, however, is the chicken breast, white tea and green smoothie. I will try to eat/drink that everyday. For my evening meal, I will try to avoid refined sugars, fructose, gluten/grains and additional omega-6. Trying to top the evening meal out at ~800 calories.

[*GREEN SMOOTHIE INGREDIENTS]

Tap Water - 0.9 liter - [0 kcal]
Organic Kale - 95 grams - [47.5 kcal]
Two Hass Avocados - 278 grams - [444.8 kcal]
One Orange - 166 grams - [78 kcal]
Tomato Paste, Without Salt - 66.5 grams - [54.5 kcal]

I've evaluated my diet with CRON-o-Meter -even with the incomplete evening meal- and according to the meter everything is already over 100% except:

Vitamin B3 - 97%
Vitamin D - 7% (supplement provides an extra 2400 IU)
Vitamin E - 68% (fish oil provides extra mixed tocopherols)
Magnesium - 96% (supplement provides an extra 200 mg)
Potassium - 97%
Selenium - 84%
Sodium - 63%
Zinc - 89%
Saturated Fat - 75%
Omega-3 - 48% (supplement provides an extra 3780 mg)
Omega-6 - 55% (not sure if this is a problem, I'm getting 9.4 grams from food already and I'm using Now Foods Borage Oil)

Finally, I'll explain some of my choices:

Now Foods Gr8-Dophilus - Wide spectrum probiotic to relieve my constipation
Now Foods Borage Oil - Supposedly helps with skin disorders, especially eczema
Solgar Chelated Magnesium - Taking it in the evening as a mild sleep aid
Berry extracts - Taking these for their various health benefits

Edited by Tygo, 20 December 2009 - 11:48 PM.

[FNC]

I wouldn't recommend yogurt, in whatever form it is (low fat or organic). There was a time when I consumed a lot of it, and when I stopped; there was a notable difference.
More energy, less fatigue etc...

[tunt01]

how much vitamin b12 u get?

[Tygo]

I wouldn't recommend yogurt, in whatever form it is (low fat or organic). There was a time when I consumed a lot of it, and when I stopped; there was a notable difference.
More energy, less fatigue etc...

I haven't had any issues with yogurt so far myself, but that said, I do worry a bit about the casein content. But then again, it has lots of benefits too. I think it's a net positive overall as long as it's organic. It's also very convenient and oats are horrible without some dairy in my opinion.

how much vitamin b12 u get?

CRON-o-Meter shows vitamin B12 at 119% or 2.8 µg. Pretty much all of it comes from the yogurt (105%).

Edited by Tygo, 21 December 2009 - 02:29 AM.

[2tender]

Yes, I would make sure that I was getting enough B vitamins through a supplement at least for a while. I would throw in some Resveratrol of high purity of at least 250 mgs dly, it can have a positive effect on mood and concentration. I think if you presented to a Doctor, he would say you are mildly depressed and prescribe an SSRI. I would only use something like that for a brief time if even at all. Regular moderate exercise should be a part of your regimen also, JMO but it helps with blood flow to the brain and positively affects mood. Looks like a good choice of supplements overall. Borage oil takes forever to work though.

[Tygo]

Yes, I would make sure that I was getting enough B vitamins through a supplement at least for a while. I would throw in some Resveratrol of high purity of at least 250 mgs dly, it can have a positive effect on mood and concentration. I think if you presented to a Doctor, he would say you are mildly depressed and prescribe an SSRI. I would only use something like that for a brief time if even at all. Regular moderate exercise should be a part of your regimen also, JMO but it helps with blood flow to the brain and positively affects mood. Looks like a good choice of supplements overall. Borage oil takes forever to work though.

Yep, exercise will be part of my health plan too. Since I'm completely sedentary, I will slowly build up to 30 minutes of vigorous cardio a day and strength training 3-4 times a week. And for relaxation and stress relief I'm looking into meditation. I'm also working on my circadian rhythm, which is totally out of whack. It's pretty much an extreme health makeover

[nameless]

An occasional yogurt is probably fine, but you may want to try stopping dairy for a while and see if it improves your acne. There is a possible correlation there.

Nizoral shampoo may help with your seborrhea/hair loss.

If you regularly eat blueberries, I'm not sure you need the bilberry supplement. It won't hurt -- just not so sure it's necessary. And regimen looks a little fishy to me... may want to cut down on the fish oil a bit.

Did you get your vitamin D measured? I recommend dosing based on serum numbers.

Edited by nameless, 21 December 2009 - 05:07 AM.

[JackChristopher]

Tygo, regarding the acne. I have an anecdote. And hopefully antidote.

I'm certain that my own acne scales with the PUFAs amount I eat. Doesn't matter whether it's from omega-3s or omega-6s. I break out after eating above a certain amount. It's typically recommended your PUFA total be between a 1/2% to 4% of total calories. For instance, on a 2000 calorie deit 4% PUFA is 9 grams total. You don't need to replenish PUFA much because they have a 2 years half-life turnover. So, 2 grams a day is probably enough unless your so chronically low, you need a therapeutic dose.

EDIT: Nameless is right about yogurt. As far as dairy and acne is concerned, yogurt and milk kill me. Although I can handle a small amount of either. But any kind of cream or cheese is fine. So I'm certain that the problem is with milk sugars. But raw or fermented dairy is probably fine, because they contain co-enzymes that help you digest the sugars.

After I reduced or eliminate PUFAs and milk sugar, acne went away.

Edited by JackChristopher, 21 December 2009 - 05:15 AM.

[sentrysnipe]

You could try myo-inositol 10-12g for seborrhea, and for acne, there's been papers saying that it is rooted from a local deficiency of linoleic acid (n-6). Keyword is local. Findings say linoleic acid levels were normalized after treatment with isotretinoin. You might want to try applying GLA / borage oil topically (oral administration will not be effective), and take Phosphatidylcholine, see if it works. Otherwise, daily benzoyl peroxide + a separate exfoliant/keratolytic like Salicylic Acid should be good enough. I would assume either you miss a day doing it or you are not applying enough.

I would suggest investing in a separate bottle for b complex vitamins, like Jarrow B-right, because all your conditions seem to stem from overall fatigue/stress.

Vitamin C 10-15g/day, buffered and time-release at bedtime.

[babcock]

Tygo, Do you currently use any topical chemicals to treat your acne? If you do I would personally try to take a break from using them for a few weeks or even a month and see if your acne condition improves.

You could try myo-inositol 10-12g for seborrhea, and for acne, there's been papers saying that it is rooted from a local deficiency of linoleic acid (n-6). Keyword is local. Findings say linoleic acid levels were normalized after treatment with isotretinoin. You might want to try applying GLA / borage oil topically (oral administration will not be effective), and take Phosphatidylcholine, see if it works. Otherwise, daily benzoyl peroxide + a separate exfoliant/keratolytic like Salicylic Acid should be good enough. I would assume either you miss a day doing it or you are not applying enough.

I would suggest investing in a separate bottle for b complex vitamins, like Jarrow B-right, because all your conditions seem to stem from overall fatigue/stress.

Vitamin C 10-15g/day, buffered and time-release at bedtime.

Also, if you aren't currently doing any topical treatments for acne I would hold off on starting them immediately. Five years ago I had terrible acne and went to a dermatologist and spent a ton of money on prescription topical and oral drugs to treat it. It ultimately resulted in drying my skin so much that when I would walk outside in the winter my entire face would immediately start to itch because all my skin was cracking in the dry air. Anyway after a year or so of "treating" the acne to no avail a friends mother suggested I stop with all the treatments and just let my skin normalize and make sure I eat healthy and exercise frequently. I took her advice and started having vegetables and fruits with every meal and also started running cross country. The improvement was nothing short of miraculous. I have continued to live this way and have never had any further problems with acne. Also, after shaving I would fill the sink with cold water and dunk my face in it for 30+ secs to naturally close the pores rather than using an astringent.

Anyway, that's my two cents on acne, give it a few weeks of exercise and nutrition before you start the topical treatments. It'll save you a few bucks too if it works.

[Tygo]

An occasional yogurt is probably fine, but you may want to try stopping dairy for a while and see if it improves your acne. There is a possible correlation there.

I'm not eating yogurt at the moment, I was planning on taking it because it's such a convenient food source. I know it's perhaps not the healthiest choice, and it might make my acne worse, but I will try it for a few weeks and see how it goes. I do take the yogurt with oats though, so perhaps that will prevent huge sugar spikes? If it really makes things worse, I will have to find an alternative.

Tygo, regarding the acne. I have an anecdote. And hopefully antidote.

I'm certain that my own acne scales with the PUFAs amount I eat. Doesn't matter whether it's from omega-3s or omega-6s. I break out after eating above a certain amount. It's typically recommended your PUFA total be between a 1/2% to 4% of total calories. For instance, on a 2000 calorie deit 4% PUFA is 9 grams total. You don't need to replenish PUFA much because they have a 2 years half-life turnover. So, 2 grams a day is probably enough unless your so chronically low, you need a therapeutic dose.

The reason I wanted to take that much was because I've read on Acne.org that it might help with acne. But now I'm not so sure anymore? I guess instead of 6 softgels, I will take 3 softgels, since it's probably a bit high at the moment. Especially since I'm getting 0.8 gram from food sources already. So that's 2690 mg Omega-3 in total now.

I would suggest investing in a separate bottle for b complex vitamins, like Jarrow B-right, because all your conditions seem to stem from overall fatigue/stress.

Do you think the amount of vitamin B I'm currently getting from food is not enough? CRON-o-Meter shows that everything is over 100% of RDI/RDA except vitamin B3, which is at 97%. If so, since I'm getting quite some vitamin B from the diet, do you know a good low-dose vitamin B complex then? The Jarrow one is quite high in B vitamins and I'm not sure if a megadose is healthy.

Tygo, Do you currently use any topical chemicals to treat your acne? If you do I would personally try to take a break from using them for a few weeks or even a month and see if your acne condition improves.

Nope, I'm using just a normal facewash. But I do have a tube of 0.05% tretinoin cream. I ordered that from the internet to see if it helps with my acne, but I haven't started yet with it. From what I've read, topical tretinoin is quite safe and it seems to help will all kinds of skin problems, including acne.

[kismet]

Tygo, Do you currently use any topical chemicals to treat your acne? If you do I would personally try to take a break from using them for a few weeks or even a month and see if your acne condition improves.

Nope, I'm using just a normal facewash. But I do have a tube of 0.05% tretinoin cream. I ordered that from the internet to see if it helps with my acne, but I haven't started yet with it. From what I've read, topical tretinoin is quite safe and it seems to help will all kinds of skin problems, including acne.

I have never in my life seen any evidence to corroborate that (and, no, intuitively it does not make sense, either), please, do stick to the evidence-based topicals. Actually, I'd even add another topical in the near term if the issue won't resolve, e.g. azelaic acid, BPO (if you don't mind the potential cancer risk), short term topical antibiotic (if you don't mind the risks), etc

Stick to low dose N-3. There is no evidence whatsoever to support those claims. Even high dose zinc (30-50mg) is better backed than high dose fish oil.

Edited by kismet, 21 December 2009 - 07:01 PM.

[Tygo]

I have never in my life seen any evidence to corroborate that (and, no, intuitively it does not make sense, either), please, do stick to the evidence-based topicals. Actually, I'd even add another topical in the near term if the issue won't resolve, e.g. azelaic acid, BPO (if you don't mind the potential cancer risk), short term topical antibiotic (if you don't mind the risks), etc

If I understand you correctly, you mean you've never seen any evidence regarding the effectiveness of topical tretinoin for acne treatment? Can you follow up on that, because if really true, I find it hard to understand why it's then prescribed all over the world by dermatologists and other doctors to treat acne. At the very least, it should help with postinflammatory hyperpigmentation AKA red spots. Tretinoin increases skin cell turnover and therefore red spots should fade faster.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tretinoin
http://www.mayoclini...mation/DR601381

Stick to low dose N-3. There is no evidence whatsoever to support those claims. Even high dose zinc (30-50mg) is better backed than high dose fish oil.

In your opinion, what is a low dose? Around 2-3 grams a day is probably safe right?

One other thing I'd like to add is that I'm looking into CDP Choline/Citicoline. Considering that I'm suffering from some mild cognitive impairment (forgetfulness, bad concentration, etc) this seemed like a nice supplement to try. But I must admit, I'm not entirely sure if it will help in that aspect and if it's really safe.

[nameless]

Based on symptoms mentioned, poor sleep quality could be an underlying reason. Besides increasing exercise, perhaps consider something to improve your quality of sleep, such as glycine or low dose melatonin (can't say either helped me much though). Avoid melatonin if you happen to have asthma.

2-3 grams of fish oil probably won't hurt you, but there may be no benefit either, unless you are suffering from an inflammatory condition (joint problem, asthma, etc). 400-500 mg/day might be considered a good low dose for most people. If you eat clean salmon regularly, it may not be necessary to supplement.

Edited by nameless, 21 December 2009 - 08:15 PM.

[VespeneGas]

I think kismet was naysaying the suggestion to drop all skin treatment and just fix diet and exercise. He's pro tretinoin even for healthy people (to retard skin aging and stimulate repair) so I'm sure he's not suggesting it's a bad choice for acne (for which it is very well studied).

CDP choline is also very well studied and safe, a good choice. I think 3 of those fish oil softgels is a reasonable dose, 6 is pushing it a little bit.

Losing weight and getting into shape will probably go a long way to resolving a lot of your health issues. Exercise is really important for those not practicing CRON.

[Tygo]

Based on symptoms mentioned, poor sleep quality could be an underlying reason. Besides increasing exercise, perhaps consider something to improve your quality of sleep, such as glycine or low dose melatonin (can't say either helped me much though). Avoid melatonin if you happen to have asthma.

And the extra 200 mg of chelated magnesium that I'm going to take as a sleep aid, you think I'd have to up the dose for it to be effective?

2-3 grams of fish oil probably won't hurt you, but there may be no benefit either, unless you are suffering from an inflammatory condition (joint problem, asthma, etc). 400-500 mg/day might be considered a good low dose for most people. If you eat clean salmon regularly, it may not be necessary to supplement.

My acne is somewhat inflammatory and I tend to get red spots easily. I think that's the reasoning behind using fish oil for acne.

I think kismet was naysaying the suggestion to drop all skin treatment and just fix diet and exercise. He's pro tretinoin even for healthy people (to retard skin aging and stimulate repair) so I'm sure he's not suggesting it's a bad choice for acne (for which it is very well studied).

Ah, I see. Yeah, I didn't quite understand it, because it's prescribed by doctors for that reason. Must be a misunderstanding then.

CDP choline is also very well studied and safe, a good choice. I think 3 of those fish oil softgels is a reasonable dose, 6 is pushing it a little bit.

Is the CDP Choline also safe as a long term supplement, or is it meant as a short term treatment?

Edited by Tygo, 21 December 2009 - 08:35 PM.

[nameless]

And the extra 200 mg of chelated magnesium that I'm going to take as a sleep aid, you think I'd have to up the dose for it to be effective?

I'm not sure how well magnesium works as a sleep aid if you aren't deficient to begin with. You can try upping it to 400mg, to see if it helps. How much mag do you get from diet?

Edited by nameless, 21 December 2009 - 08:35 PM.

[Tygo]

And the extra 200 mg of chelated magnesium that I'm going to take as a sleep aid, you think I'd have to up the dose for it to be effective?

I'm not sure how well magnesium works as a sleep aid if you aren't deficient to begin with. You can try upping it to 400mg, to see if it helps. How much mag do you get from diet?

About 385 mg or 96% of the recommended intake.

Edited by Tygo, 21 December 2009 - 08:44 PM.

[nameless]

About 385 mg or 97% of the recommended intake.

Not so sure extra magnesium really would be of much help then. I mean, you can try some extra and see if it helps... but I wouldn't expect it to. And 800 mg daily (from food and supplements) could perhaps throw off your mag-calcium balance, depending on how much calcium you consume.

Edited by nameless, 21 December 2009 - 08:45 PM.

[Tygo]

About 385 mg or 97% of the recommended intake.

Not so sure extra magnesium really would be of much help then. I mean, you can try some extra and see if it helps... but I wouldn't expect it to. And 800 mg daily (from food and supplements) could perhaps throw off your mag-calcium balance, depending on how much calcium you consume.

I'm getting 1180 mg of calcium from my diet, so with the 200 mg supplemental magnesium it's about 2:1.

And nameless, may I ask how your typical diet looks like? Perhaps I can find some inspiration in it.

[nameless]

And nameless, may I ask how your typical diet looks like? Perhaps I can find some inspiration in it.

I'm not sure if there is anything special about my diet... I don't follow a strict diet (such as high fats, or low carb, or whatever) as it seems every several weeks a new study comes out saying one type of diet is better than another. And if you follow the nutrition forum here, you'll see a lot of varying opinions.

But I guess my diet is simply a low-junk food sort of diet. My snacks consist primarily of berries (mostly blueberries), occasional nuts, an apple every now and then, dark chocolate and perhaps a low-carb-ish treat once in a while.

I eat a lot of chicken, quorn (fungus... yum), mushrooms, rarely beef, although an occasional buffalo burger. Not big on breads. Vegetables consist mostly of greens, garden salad, baby spinach, broccoli, asparagus, etc. Grains would mostly be brown rice and oat bran.

Overall, it's a moderate carb, zone-ish (40:30:30) type of diet, more or less. But I didn't really aim for any specific intakes of carbs/fats/protein... it just turned out that's how I eat, after cutting out desserts and high carb foods.

Simple things, like cutting our sugary foods, soda, etc, will invariably lead you to lose weight over time.

Edited by nameless, 21 December 2009 - 09:09 PM.

[Tygo]

Ok, I've gone through my diet and supplements again and to fix some of the deficiences I've came up with this:

Vitamin D3: Bonusan Vitamin D3 - 3 softgels daily. This is a reliable Dutch brand and 3 softgels daily is 1800 IU of oil based vitamin D3.
Vitamin E: Solgar Liquid Vitamin E Complex - A few drops a day in my smoothie. Should ensure adequate vitamin E levels.
Omega-3: Jarrow EPA-DHA Premium Balance - 3 softgels daily. Provides me with an extra 1890 mg of EPA/DHA a day.
Omega-6: Now Foods Borage Oil - 1 softgel daily. An extra 240 mg GLA a day.
Selenium: Solgar Selenium 50 µg - 1 tablet every other day. So on average an extra 25 µg selenium daily.
Zinc: Solgar Chelated Zinc 22 mg - 1 tablet every week. So on average an extra 3 mg zinc daily.
Magnesium: Solgar Chelated Magnesium 100 mg - 2 tablets daily. That's an extra 200 mg magnesium daily.
Sodium: I'll be sure to use some tablesalt (fortified with iodine) in my evening meal to ensure adequate sodium levels.
Choline: Jarrow Citicoline CDP Choline - 1 capsule daily. Should be enough to ensure adequate choline levels.

So going through my diet and supplements I've got all essential vitamins, minerals and lipids pretty much at or over 100% now.

And some additional supplements for their general health benefits:

Probiotic: Now Foods Gr8-Dophilus - 1 capsule daily. To help with irregular bowel movements and constipation.
Whole Food Extracts: Jarrow Bilberry, Cranberry & Blackcurrant Extract. Source Naturals Pomegranate Extract.

I don't want to overdo it, I want to be on the safe side. Considering that, are there some supplements missing? I've looked into these, but not sure if I should add them:

-Pyridoxal 5-Phosphate (anti-glycation)
-L-Theanine (anti-stress, concentration booster)
-GliSODin (endogenous anti-oxidant booster)
-BioSil/JarroSil (stronger skin, nails & hair)
-Milk Thistle Extract (another extract, supposedly good for the liver)
-Cacao Extract (yet another food extract, supposedly good for the skin)

Edited by Tygo, 22 December 2009 - 06:43 PM.

[ajnast4r]

if you have inflammatory acne you shouldnt be eating dairy at all

[nameless]

I'm not a fan of the 40% ellagitannins pom extracts myself -- not a natural level. And Source Naturals is sort of an iffy brand. I would recommend a Pomella extract or PomX instead.

If that particular probiotic doesn't work for you, you may want to consider Culturelle. It has a well studied strain of bacteria. VSL is another option (lots of bacteria), but it may be too expensive in OTC form.

Edited by nameless, 22 December 2009 - 06:41 PM.

[Tygo]

if you have inflammatory acne you shouldnt be eating dairy at all

From what I've read, it's mostly milk that's bad for acne. Yogurt is fermented so it's much easier to digest and my brand is organic too. So far, whenever I eat yogurt, I haven't noticed my acne getting any worse. It seems I can tolerate it quite well. Must say I am from Northern European descent, so that helps. Lactose intolerance is rare among Northern Europeans.

I'm not a fan of the 40% ellagitannins pom extracts myself -- not a natural level. And Source Naturals is sort of an iffy brand. I would recommend a Pomella extract or PomX instead.

If that particular probiotic doesn't work for you, you may want to consider Culturelle. It has a well studied strain of bacteria. VSL is another option (lots of bacteria), but it may be too expensive in OTC form.

Yeah, I've seen the VSL one, and it looks very good, but it's super expensive. I am going to try the Now Foods one first to see if it really helps.

[kismet]

if you have inflammatory acne you shouldnt be eating dairy at all

From what I've read, it's mostly milk that's bad for acne. Yogurt is fermented so it's much easier to digest and my brand is organic too. So far, whenever I eat yogurt, I haven't noticed my acne getting any worse. It seems I can tolerate it quite well. Must say I am from Northern European descent, so that helps. Lactose intolerance is rare among Northern Europeans.

But it's not the lactose that is to blame.There is no qualitative difference between milk and most dairy, much less when it comes to the postulated mechanism involving hormones. It's all or nothing and it seems to be all dairy that is correlated with acne. IAC there's no reason not the exclude dairy even if there was an absence of evidence (precautionary principle and all that)

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005 Feb;52(2):207-14.
High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne.
Adebamowo et al.
"Instant breakfast drink, sherbet, cottage cheese, and cream cheese were also positively associated with acne."

Table salt is a pretty toxic source of sodium if you ask me. I'd try to meet sodium and chloride RDAs while keeping table salt low, but that's just a minor issue.
Low dose doxy is a very appealing but not completely risk free therapy for inflammatory acne, by the way.

Edited by kismet, 22 December 2009 - 10:28 PM.

[ajnast4r]

if you have inflammatory acne you shouldnt be eating dairy at all

From what I've read, it's mostly milk that's bad for acne. Yogurt is fermented so it's much easier to digest and my brand is organic too. So far, whenever I eat yogurt, I haven't noticed my acne getting any worse. It seems I can tolerate it quite well. Must say I am from Northern European descent, so that helps. Lactose intolerance is rare among Northern Europeans.

But it's not the lactose that is to blame.There is no qualitative difference between milk and most dairy, much less when it comes to the postulated mechanism involving hormones. It's all or nothing and it seems to be all dairy that is correlated with acne. IAC there's no reason not the exclude dairy even if there was an absence of evidence (precautionary principle and all that)

J Am Acad Dermatol. 2005 Feb;52(2):207-14.
High school dietary dairy intake and teenage acne.
Adebamowo et al.
"Instant breakfast drink, sherbet, cottage cheese, and cream cheese were also positively associated with acne."

Table salt is a pretty toxic source of sodium if you ask me. I'd try to meet sodium and chloride RDAs while keeping table salt low, but that's just a minor issue.
Low dose doxy is a very appealing but not completely risk free therapy for inflammatory acne, by the way.

agreed. all dairy should be excluded

[Tygo]

Ok, another update. I've settled on this regimen for now:

[8:30 - ~300 Kcal]

Gluten-Free Rolled Oats - 25 grams
Organic Probiotic Low Fat Yogurt - 229 gram
Frozen Blue, Black or Strawberries - 50 grams
Organic Non-Alkalized Cacao Powder - 5 gram
Organic Cinnamon (occasionally) - 1 gram
Organic White Tea - 1 cup
---
Roter Vitamin C - 2 tablets
Bonusan Vitamine D3 - 2 softgels
Now Foods Borage Oil - 1 softgel
Now Foods Gr8-Dophilus - 1 capsule
Solgar Vitamins Chelated Magnesium - 1 tablet
Solgar Vitamins Selenium - 0.5 tablet
Jarrow Formulas EPA-DHA Balance - 1 softgel
Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Zymes Plus Vegetarian - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas Bile Acid Factors - 1 capsule

[10:30 - ~220 Kcal]

Green Smoothie - ~0.5 liter
[Water, Avocado, Tomato Paste, Organic Kale, Orange]
---
Jarrow Formulas Cran Clearance - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas JarroSil - 3 drops
Jarrow Formulas Bile Acid Factors - 1 capsule

[12:30 - ~300 Kcal]

Gluten-Free Rolled Oats - 25 grams
Organic Probiotic Low Fat Yogurt - 229 gram
Frozen Blue, Black or Strawberries - 50 grams
Organic Non-Alkalized Cacao Powder - 5 gram
Organic Cinnamon (occasionally) - 1 gram
Organic White Tea - 1 cup
---
Roter Vitamin C - 2 tablets
Bonusan Vitamine D3 - 2 softgels
Now Foods Borage Oil - 1 softgel
Now Foods Gr8-Dophilus - 1 capsule
Solgar Vitamins Chelated Magnesium - 1 tablet
Solgar Vitamins Selenium - 0.5 tablet
Jarrow Formulas EPA-DHA Balance - 1 softgel
Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Zymes Plus Vegetarian - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas Bile Acid Factors - 1 capsule

[14:30 - ~220 Kcal]

Green Smoothie - ~0.5 liter
[Water, Avocado, Tomato Paste, Organic Kale, Orange]
---
Jarrow Formulas Blackcurrant Extract - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas JarroSil - 3 drops
Jarrow Formulas Bile Acid Factors - 1 capsule

[16:30 - ~800 Kcal]

Chicken or Turkey - 100 gram
Other Food (varies) - ~500-600 Kcal
Organic White Tea - 1 cup
---
Solgar Vitamins Chelated Zinc - 1 tablet
Jarrow Formulas EPA-DHA Balance - 1 softgel
Jarrow Formulas B-Right - 0.5 tablet
Jarrow Formulas Biotin - 0.5 tablet
Jarrow Formulas Jarro-Zymes Plus - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas Bile Acid Factors - 1 capsule

[18:30 - ~220 Kcal]

Green Smoothie - ~0.5 liter
[Water, Avocado, Tomato Paste, Organic Kale, Orange]
---
Jarrow Formulas Bilberry + Grapeskin Polyphenols - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas Milk Thistle - 1 capsule
Jarrow Formulas JarroSil - 4 drops
Jarrow Formulas Bile Acid Factors - 1 capsule

I'll try this for one month, after that I'll drop the Milk Thistle, Bile Acid & (Vegetarian) Enzymes and I will replace the Jarrow B-Right+Biotin with Jarrow Methyl B-12. I will lower my supplemental selenium & zinc intake to 25µg and 11mg respectively as well. And if the vitamin C strongly interferes with my training, I'll drop that too.

And unless the yogurt really aggravates my acne, I will take it anyway. This diet is so much better than what I am currently taking, I doubt my acne won't improve, even with the yogurt.

[kismet]

You've fallen for the liver scams? Please don't (and I really hope you got a christmas card from Jarrow, the company must love you). Same applies to white tea: not enough evidence. And all the issues we've (probably) mentioned still apply (food > food extracts, no need for C, no need to spread out D throughout the day).

If you need that many supplements to fix deficiencies, even after reviewing diet, stop right there and improve diet. Does this regimen represent your whole diet? Why are you still so severely deficient in nutrients? How much fat do you get? How much protein? I am not sure you can survive on two avocados per day and some cocoa... eyeballing your intakes are too low, I'd replace the masses of pro-comedogenic yogurt with MUFAs and protein.
Where are legumes? Where are nuts? Somehow you need to get quality fat, protein and IP6 after all.

(if the science shows one thing: eating crappy and supplementing nutrients a. either does nothing much or is detrimental ('evidence of absence') b. or remains completely speculative ('absence of evidence') -- not a safe combination; surprisingly your diet *looks* basically healthy)

Your almost completely vegetarian and missing the classic vegetarian supplements..

Shoveling more money into the arms of supplement-pushers won't help your health.

EDIT:
If this is your diet, I fear you are killing yourself with this pritkin-esque low fat/low protein madness... and I mean this to sound dramatic. The mediterranean, zone-ish diet steamrolls, obliterates and destroys basically all other forms of diets...

Edited by kismet, 29 December 2009 - 10:04 PM.

[Tygo]

It sure looks like I'm fixing a lot of deficiencies, but that's not the case, really. I refuse to take a multivitamin or multimineral, I'm just tackling stuff one by one, so that means popping more pills and therefore it seems excessive. A multivitamin or multimineral means overdosing, I'm avoiding that.

This is my diet without supplements and without a complete evening meal. CRON-o-Meter report:

General (91%)
===========================================
Energy | 1714,5 kcal 95%
Protein | 67,0 g 74%
Carbs | 196,3 g 90%
Fiber | 42,2 g 111%
Starch | 16,8 g
Sugars | 68,0 g
Fat | 82,0 g 103%
Alcohol | 0,0 g
Caffeine | 0,0 mg
Water | 3149,1 g 85%
Ash | 21,2 g

Vitamins (81%)
===========================================
Vitamin A | 16838,1 IU 561%
Retinol | 65,8 µg
Alpha-carotene | 104,3 µg
Beta-carotene | 9781,4 µg
Beta-cryptoxanthin | 272,6 µg
Lycopene | 23606,1 µg
Lutein+Zeaxanthin | 38635,5 µg
Folate | 436,4 µg 109%
B1 (Thiamine) | 1,5 mg 127%
B2 (Riboflavin) | 1,9 mg 146%
B3 (Niacin) | 18,8 mg 117%
B5 (Pantothenic Acid)| 9,5 mg 190%
B6 (Pyridoxine) | 1,9 mg 149%
B12 (Cyanocobalamin) | 3,0 µg 126%
Vitamin C | 271,8 mg 302%
Vitamin D | 19,5 IU 10%
Vitamin E | 11,9 mg 79%
Beta Tocopherol | 0,1 mg
Delta Tocopherol | 0,1 mg
Gamma Tocopherol | 1,5 mg
Vitamin K | 866,6 µg 722%
Biotin | 0,0 µg 0%
Choline | 217,0 mg 39%

Minerals (86%)
===========================================
Calcium | 1232,0 mg 123%
Chromium | 0,0 µg 0%
Copper | 2,2 mg 249%
Fluoride | 1497,2 µg 37%
Iron | 11,2 mg 140%
Magnesium | 428,0 mg 107%
Manganese | 5,6 mg 245%
Phosphorus | 1516,2 mg 217%
Potassium | 4716,3 mg 100%
Selenium | 58,5 µg 106%
Sodium | 1850,5 mg 123%
Zinc | 10,8 mg 98%

Lipids (58%)
===========================================
Saturated | 18,5 g 92%
Monounsaturated | 43,3 g
Polyunsaturated | 11,6 g
Omega-3 | 0,8 g 53%
Omega-6 | 10,7 g 63%
Trans-Fats | 0,0 g
Cholesterol | 76,5 mg 25%
Phytosterol | 13,7 mg

And to fix the few deficiencies I have to take just two supplements:

Vitamin D3: Bonusan Vitamin D3 - 4 softgels daily - 2400IU.
Vitamin E: Fish oil has mixed natural tocopherols (4mg per softgel).
Omega-3: Jarrow EPA-DHA Balance - 3 softgels daily - 1890mg EPA/DHA.
Water: I'll just drink a few glasses each day to ensure 3.7 liter from food and drinks.

So with my evening meal complete, it's a diet of approximately 1800 calories with a 20:40:40 ratio (protein:carb:fat). Everything is over 100% of the daily recommended intake; minerals, vitamins, lipids & amino-acids (WHO report). Furthermore, my diet is a rich source of a wide variety of phytochemicals:

Oats -> beta-glucans, avenanthramides
Kale -> various carotenoids, sulforaphane, indole-3-carbinol
Tomato -> various carotenoids (especially lycopene)
Orange -> citrus flavonoids
White Tea -> flavonoids
Berries -> proanthocyanidins
Cacao -> flavonoids
Yogurt -> Vitamin K2 (doesn't show in CRON-o-Meter)

So why all the other stuff?

Omega-6: Now Foods Borage Oil - 2 softgels daily - 480mg GLA. Improved skin in one study and there is grade B evidence that it improves eczema. Anecdotal reports that it improves acne.
Selenium: Solgar Vitamins Selenium - 1 tablet daily - 50µg. Current diet has enough selenium, but going through my old dietary staples, I saw that my selenium intake was low in the past, so I'm taking these temporarily to replenish bodily stores. And to be on the safe side, taking only 50µg. Will drop this in 2-3 months.
Zinc: Solgar Vitamins Chelated Zinc - 1 tablet - 22 mg. Same story, replenishing bodily stores. Old diet was severely deficient in zinc. Taking 22mg temporarily, after that I'm switching to 11mg a day. Still contemplating if I'm going to take these long-term, since high zinc intake is a prostate cancer risk factor.
Magnesium: Solgar Vitamins Chelated Magnesium - 2 tablets - 200mg. Strictly speaking not necessary, but the ideal calcium:magnesium ratio is supposedly 2:1 and higher blood levels of magnesium have been associated with lower mortality. Also, since I'm supplementing with vitamin D, adequate magnesium levels are important.
Vitamin C: Roter Vitamin C - 4 tablets daily - 200mg. Necessary for collagen synthesis, and indeed, higher vitamin C intake is associated with better skin. Good safety profile and very cheap supplement.
B Vitamins Jarrow B-Right+Biotin: Going through my health/mental problems again, and through my previous diet, it's quite possible that I have a vitamin B deficiency. Supplementing short-term with a B-complex to see if it helps with some of the issues that I have.
Digestive Supplements: Bile Acid, Enzymes, Probiotic. Taking these to see if they help with constipation and digestion in general. Since I'm going to change my diet so rapidly, it's quite possible that I'll upset my stomach. Taking these will alleviate that, and I'll drop the bile acid & enzymes after a month.
Berry Extracts: Whole food is obviously better in most cases, but it's not always possible to find everything. And quite a few studies show that berry extracts have health benefits too, not just the whole food.

As you can see, most of it is temporary. Dropping the Bile Acid, Enzymes, B-Vitamins & Milk Thistle after one month. And I'm dropping the selenium and possibly the zinc after 2-3 months.

Now I'll somewhat agree on your Milk Thistle and Jarrow comments. I'm buying Jarrow mostly because it's a solid brand, and unfortunately, since I'm waiting for my creditcard, ordering overseas (iHerb) was not possible, so I had little choice (Solgar, Now, Source Naturals, Jarrow). And since I've abused my liver in the past, the Milk Thistle is worth a try. It supposedly has other benefits too:

Milk thistle extract could help diabetes control
Milk thistle compound could protect against lung cancer
Study hints at milk thistle's heart health benefits

But I'll admit that the evidence as far as a hepatoprotective compound is inconclusive. Anyway, I'm taking the Milk Thistle just for one month, not long-term. And the safety profile is quite good, as far as I know.

Edited by Tygo, 30 December 2009 - 12:53 AM.