Healing Your Skin with Food!! Part 2 on "The Clear Skin Diet"

Yay!  Spots Gone!:-)

Today I want to follow up on my previous post "Ok Lets Talk Skin!  New Book to Recommend:  The Clear Skin Diet!"  Since that post two weeks ago I have continued to follow Drs Logan and Treloar's nutritional program to feed my skin the right nutrients it needs to heal!!  I'm delighted to report that after applying my dermatologist recommended products, completely eliminating soy from my diet since mid-December and strictly adhering to my omega-3 fatty acid supplement regimen, the "spots" are gone!! I actually was complimented twice this week on my skin sans makeup!  Whoohooo!  

For my omega-3's, I'm taking a multi-pronged approach.  It turns out that there is soy in a lot of those algae-based vegan omega-3 supplements!  So they were out for me.  I started doing more research and now I'm targeting components of omega-3's:  both DHA and EPA.   After reading several studies on brain function associated with DHA and the difficulty vegans sometimes have in converting EPA into DHA, I decided to splurge and get Dr. Fuhrman's liquid pure DHA.  Its expensive!  I put a few drops into my food or drink each day and consume that.  I also have been eating a lot of chia seed (which, like flax I think I'm now having a reaction too--argh!) so I'm heading back to my good old fish oil supplements for necessary EPA.  If what I just wrote sounds like a foreign language (and it would have been to me a few weeks ago!) then check out the following:

1) an excellent post from The Vegan R.D. about vegans and omega-3 fatty acids.

2) a fantastic series on fats by the Vegan Epicurean:

• http://veganepicurean.blogspot.com/2011/10/fats-101-first-in-series.html
• http://veganepicurean.blogspot.com/2011/10/fats-101-part-two-and-patrick-stewart.html

The additional omega-3's have been amazing for all of my skin in general--the winter dryness has decreased significantly.  Of course I'm still using my dermatologists regimen of various cleaners and lotions (I think this regimen is brilliant so check out the comments on the previous skin post for details on that regimen).  One caveat, I have noticed though that my skin is very very sensitive to what I put in my body.  A little grease--boom, new spots.  Too much of one thing (excessive chia seed--and yes, I know this is an EFA and it doesn't make sense but its the truth!)--boom, new spots.  And so I've continued to read The Clear Skin Diet by Dr. Alan Logan (ND) and Dr. Valori Treloar (MD) closely and have learned SO much about nutrition in general and what is best nutrient-wise for skin care!  

Last post I shared Drs Logan and Treloar's assessment of what the native Japanese & other ethnic groups with gorgeous clear skin eat (and we should too!).  

From p.163 of The Clear Skin Diet by Dr. Alan Logan (ND) and Dr. Valori Treloar (MD), ethnic groups with beautiful skin eat:

1. Less processed foods (my side note: this can be a vegan problem too--a lot of the "fake meats" are very processed)

2.  More colorful antioxidants

3.  Greater intake of omega-3 fatty acids

4. Fewer foods capable of spiking blood sugar

5. More fiber 

I am now hitting all five of the recs instead of just four and wanted to also share with you Drs Logan and Treloar's list of the highest antioxidant-rich foods that feed your skin and the doctors' advice on the specific types of food to embrace to have clear, healthy skin!   

Now, as you long-term readers know, I've posted on anti-inflammatory and antioxidant-rich foods in the past regarding my approach to pain management, but I wanted to share Drs Logan and Treloar's list in particular as it does a nice job of detailing out in a more extensive list all the specific fruits and vegetables that are the most antioxidant-rice foods!!  

Here it is from p.70 in The Clear Skin Diet by Dr. Alan Logan (ND) and Dr. Valori Treloar (MD):

Acai Alfalfa Apple sauce Apple vinegar Artichoke Asparagus Avocado Basil Beans (red, pinto, black & navy) Beets Bell peppers Black-eyed peas Black pepper Blackberry Blueberry Broccoli Brussels sprouts Cherries Chili powder	Cilantro Cinnamon Cloves Cocoa Cranberry Dates Eggplant Elderberry Figs Fuji apples Ginger Green tea High-quality olive oil *** Kale Nuts (walnuts in particular) Oatmeal and whole grain breakfast cereals oranges	Oregano Parsley Peaches Pears Plums Pomegranate Prunes Purple califlower Purple sweet potato Raspberry Red cabbage Red grapes Red leaf lettuce Red potatoes Spinach Strawberry Tangerines Tumeric
***(NOTE:  Dr. Esselstyn FIRMLY recommends against olive oil & oils of all kinds)

Next time I'll finish up this series by sharing what Drs Logan and Treloar which of these foods will get you the most "bang for your buck" so to speak for your skin!! 

Finally, if you want some extra data on how to get the most antioxidants out of our foods, check out The Healthy Librarian's post on the subject:  http://www.happyhealthylonglife.com/happy_healthy_long_life/2010/03/antioxidants.html

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