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

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

Ok Lets Talk Skin! New Book to Recommend: The Clear Skin Diet!

Before

Ok so I've been having some issues with my skin that began a few months into my change to going strictly vegan! This perplexed me because I heard from so many others that the vegan thing has been wonderful for skin!  But since early November, my previously pretty perfect skin (and yes, this is my one vanity--first of all its genetic so I didn't do anything special and second of all it was the only thing I could really feel pretty about when I was obese so indulge me!!) broke out into spots that my new dermatologist calls "folliculitis" or irritation of the hair follicles.  It looks like teenage acne but it isn't.  

After (this past month)!

Of course it has caused me significant distress to look in the mirror every day (I think I was driving my husband crazy as I pointed out every new spot that cropped up!  His favorite phrase was: "welcome to my teenage years honey.")


Anyways, so when this all happened I started trying to figure out where I went wrong.  Nothing major in my life had changed--I had the usual stressors with work and family members being ill but this was normal for me.  So I started looking at what I ate.  The only new food that I can ascertain that I added in a major way in early November was that we went from eating soy maybe once every few months to soy everyday.  And before you point out the obvious--yes I know that I also eliminated animal products, but dairy and other meats are known to be a huge pro-inflammatory agent that cause skin issues so I really don't think the animal-free diet was the cause.  With this in mind, as a first step I eliminated soy. 


I have to be honest and share that this soy elimination has really, really upset me.  My dietary program is already quite restrictive in many ways--no sugar, no gluten, vegan....so to add soy to it too!  Argh!!  But I'm attempting to embrace a new cooking opportunity (trying to stay positive here!), so I'm searching out non-soy recipes.  So let me know if you all have any low-fat/no-fat non-soy, gluten-free, sugar-free recipes please?  Much appreciated :-)


Anyways, back to the skin problem.  With the elimination of soy I did notice that my skin started to improve.  But it was still not back to normal. So I bit the bullet and went to my first dermatology appointment.  And there, I really hit the jackpot.  I expected a very traditional doc as I knew he had a military background and was well over the age of 70 but much to my surprise, within the first two minutes of the visit he started talking nutrition!!  And then he actually complimented me on my dietary choices.  Whaaaat?  I know, you are all shocked here but he actually liked the vegan thing and the gluten-free thing and the sugar-free thing.  


Full disclosure, he wasn't 100% on board with my soy theory--mostly he thought it was likely not a true allergen but more like a "trigger" for beginning eczema (which is what he described my spots as!). And of course now my skin bumps were infected (helllo work in health care, land of disease!) and so I needed oral antibiotics on top of everything else!  He also gave me an excellent skin product regimen which I'm happy to share with all of you if you would like.  I say excellent because its been less than a week since the appointment and my skin is nearly completely clear (of course I also haven't had any soy for 2 1/2 weeks so I can't give the products all the credit but my skin certainly feels really nice!):-) 

Today
Soy Free, Omega-3 rich,
Dermatology Products & Antibiotics

Back to what he said about nutrition.  You all know I'm a fan of food-based treatment so isolating a soy allergy or "trigger" was not enough in my book.  I started wondering why I, with my anti-inflammatory diet, had developed a completely inflammatory disease (eczema)!  I have a strong family history of eczema so this diagnosis actually wasn't all this surprising but hearing that it was a potential diagnosis brought me back to reflect on whether I had made the right anti-inflammatory food choices.  Remember my list in my post  HERE? 


I found the answer in a book my dermatologist recommended:  The Clear Skin Diet by Dr. Alan Logan (ND) and Dr. Valori Treloar (MD).  I'm not finished reading it yet but I can tell you that from what I've read so far it is AMAZING!!!  It definitively demonstrates that diet DOES have a major impact on skin AND also reinforces my assertion that the reason most physicians don't prescribe nutritional treatments is that we are generally not educated in nutrition at all & therefore are very skeptical of data supportive of nutritive cures!  Don't get me started on the need to change medical education or else this post will be ridiculously long!  Suffice to say (and I'll write more about this in a second post because this one is getting too long), Drs Logan and Treloar give some fantastic advice.  


From what I can tell so far, my main issue appears to be a omega-3 deficiency.  This makes sense to me because the only other major change in my diet except for the soy was dropping my fish oil daily in favor of flaxseed meal!  Despite my own advice, I obviously wasn't loving the flaxseed meal (I ate it VERY inconsistently) so I have started to search out other plant-based omega-3 sources (in the meantime I'm back to fish oil daily).  


I do still strongly believe soy is at the root of this as well because it IS considered an inflammatory food for some, so I'm going to continue to eliminate it for another month & then start a few gentle food challenges to see if it really does have an impact. But for the omega-3 issue I'm going to start taking The Healthy Librarian's advice and try a seaweed-based omega-3 supplement with DHA (good for the brain).  In the meantime, I'm going to keep reading this book!  


I'll end with 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 , ethinic 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 


Sounds pretty darn good to me!  Tune in to my next post on skin to get 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!   

Coming Up:

• Treating Pain with Food--more thoughts
• Foods That Make You Feel Good (A New Series Featuring Individual Foods & Their Nutrient Power)

Coming Up on Medical System Tuesdays:

• A Toolbox for Health:  Communicating with Your Doctor (Part 2)!
  
  The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.

SuperImmunity for KIDS (Calling All PARENTS!) ~Part 1~

Healthy Kids!  Yup, that's me as a little girl (age 3):-)

Have you ever wondered why your child won't sit still, or why they always catch every cold going around school?!  

ADHD & other behavioral problems, recurrent ear & upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, eczema, headaches (including migraines, tension & sinus types), acne, fatigue, obesity, and frequent stomach aches are all common childhood ailments.  Maybe the solution is as simple as a nutritional deficiency! 

I'm not a pediatrician or an expert in this (and my medical disclaimer below applies especially in THIS post because it is about kids!), but I do know from what I have read that we as physicians are missing nutritional deficiencies or allergies as a diagnosis quite frequently.  And this is particularly true in kids.

I hate to reveal professional secrets, but the truth is most of us (including me!)  did not get any specific nutrition classes during our medical training!!  In a 2006 UNC survey of 126 medical schools, only 32 had seperate nutrition courses as part of their curriculum.   Everything I know about nutrition I have learned by reading independently during my medical training.  And much of what I practice & recommend nutritionally is only based on my own experiences.  I'm still learning with you all!

So when you go to your pediatrician keep this in mind.  If they attended one of the 94 schools without a free-standing nutrition curriculum, they MIGHT say something along the lines of:  "Oh no, that nutrition stuff might help some but it won't fix ADD or Chronic Fatigue or Eczema or Migraine Headaches or Chronic Sinusitis or Acne or frequent Sore Throats/Upper Respiratory Tract infections!" Your doctor may be right or they may be wrong.  But you can play an important role in your child's health by asking your pediatrician to either do a nutritional workup or refer you to a doctor who does specialize in allergies & nutrition as the first diagnostic step. 

As always, your child's safety comes first and you should follow your doctor's recommendations for treatment, particularly if it is an emergency.  I'm just sharing with you a few other options to consider AFTER your doctor is sure that any emergencies have past! NEVER hold off on treatment that could be life saving while waiting for a nutritional work-up to be completed!

Those caveats out of the way, I think that focussing on kid's nutrition is a fascinating idea.  The idea that if we feed our kids the right food than we can improve their health and their behavior--perhaps for the rest of their lives--is amazing!  As an added bonus, by tackling nutritional issues at an early age, we will be making a major impact on reducing future health care costs!! 

Even if your child is healthy & happy, nothing is lost by trying to give them more nutritionally dense food.  You will be giving them the greatest gift I believe a person can receive in adulthood--health.

I began to get interested in the ability of nutritional interventions to improve children's immune systems & heal common ailments of childhod by reading Dr. Leo Galland's brilliant book "SuperImmunity for Kids" about 15 years ago!  This is a book I think that EVERY parent should read.  Talk about healing with food--the cases he presents in his book are so powerful.  

The original edition was published in the '80's and my book has been read so often that its literally falling apart!  That should tell you something about how much I admire and apply the advice in this book!!!  A new edition has been published since then and you can get it here (another book for only $11!) The book takes you through a child's life--from pregnancy through teenage years and tells you what is best to feed your kids and how to treat comment ailments of childhood/teenage years with nutritional interventions.  


Have YOU noticed if specific foods effect YOUR health and behavior? What are these foods and what happens when you eat them?  If you have kids have you noticed whether specific foods effect THEIR health & behavior?  Please feel free to share your experiences in the comments below!  I can't wait to hear what you have to say!!

To give you a flavor of what we are going to talk about in the next two Thursdays, check out Dr. Leo Galland's articles on nutritional treatments for:

1) ADHD and ADD

2) Childhood Migraine

3) Chronic Sinusitis, Chronic Otitis Media, Allergic Rhinitis, Asthma

And check out this recent study published in The Lancet (a peer-reviewed medical journal):  The Lancet: ADHD Elimination Diet may Ease ADHD symptoms (2011).  Then, check out the comments on this study on one of my favorite blogs:  Prescribing Yoga.  The blogger, Christina is a medical student with an inspiring awareness of the power of holistic approaches to health. Her reflections on her first clinical experiences are so much fun to read--and really give me hope for the future of medicine!

Other great resources on nutrition and kids include:

1) The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine's Nutrition for Kids Website

2)  Rip Esselstyn's Engine 2 Blog Post on "Plant-Strong Kids!" ("The Daily Beet!")

Next Thursday I'll go through some key portions of Dr. Galland's book to highlight three often overlooked culprits in kids' chronic illnesses or behavioral issues:  yeast, dairy and essential fatty acid deficiency!   I'll also share what he says about antioxidant foods for kids! 

Coming Up THIS Week!

• RECIPES & Ideas: Snacks!  YUMMY & Portable Plant-Based Snack Food--all sugar-free, gluten-free & without adding oil or fat!!

Coming Up on Medical System Tuesday: 

• Tip #8 For The Best Hospital Care:  Be Nice ~ Insider Tips on How to Get the BEST Medical Care in the Hospital ~

Coming Up Next Week:

• BOOK REVIEW:  "29 Gifts!"
• SuperImmunity for Kids ~Part 2~!

The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.  Please consult your health care provider before making any healthcare decisions or for guidance about a specific medical condition. The Happy Rehab Doc expressly disclaims responsibility, and shall have no liability, for any damages, loss, injury, or liability whatsoever suffered as a result of your reliance on the information contained in this site.  By visiting this site you agree to the foregoing terms and conditions.