QandA about the fruit diet and acne

Acne is caused by the combination of a high sebum production and pinched off sebum canals. If one of these aspects is absent, you will not have acne. And hormones can do both:

Hormones like estrogen can cause water retention, causing the sebum canals to be pinched off. Hormones like progesterone and testosterone can increase your sebum production.

But the 'sample diet' eliminates acne in over 90% of acne patients.

117) I have a question about stress. I understand from experience that it can exacerbate acne. Because of the diet I have not felt the negative, emotional effects of stress....but I have been too busy. I have two new pimples that I am not going to get out of sorts about

When we are in stress, the body secrets extra ACTH and cortisol; 'stress hormones'. Cortisol is a hormone that converts stored energy, in whatever form, into direct available energy, so that we can either 'fight or flight', because that is what a stress situation requires in nature: you run for your life or you defend yourself. Our body does not know that this cortisol is not necessary when the floor manager is putting too much pressure on you; it is a stress situation and therefore more cortisol is secreted.
One of the processes cortisol stimulates is the breakdown of muscle-protein into available energy, and the results can be quite a mess: cell protein broken down in all kind of little pieces of protein.
The problem is that we are not beating the floor manager up or running home. We just sit there and 'accept it', which means that those little pieces of protein are not decomposed into their basic molecules (nitrogen, hydrogen, carbon and oxygen) to utilize the energy that binds them.
And these little pieces of protein that are not broken down attract much more water than the original intact muscle protein. And this extra water increases the water pressure in the true skin, pinching off sebum canals...

116) Is sebum producion genetic?

Yes, it is partially genetically determined how much sebum is produced. Though it is also determined by whether the outer skin is dehydrated by aggressive chemicals, too much sun-exposure etc., which stimulates sebum production to counteract the dehydration of the true skin.

Can we do anything naturally to diminish it?

Sebum is essential to keep the skin flexible; the more sebum is produced, the more aging of the skin is slowed down. So if you produce much sebum, at an older age your skin will look better than that of people who do not produce much sebum.

So, when the sebum canals are not pinched off, this sebum does nothing but good things. Only if your sebum canals are pinched off, can this high sebum production cause the accumulation of sebum, and acne.
In this diet the sebum canals are no longer pinched off and producing much sebum is therefore no problem anymore and solely beneficial. So why would you diminish it?

And if you do, this is never natural because then you need to force down the amount of sebum naturally produced, no matter what agent you use, natural or unnatural, to force the sebum production down.

115) My doctor told me that eating too many fruits can cause diabetes. Can you explain this? Does he mean in the long term?

Wai, today is my first day on your diet. I find it very hard to maintain because I'm hungry all the time and it takes me forever to eat all those fruits and that salad. But I'm going to stick with it.

In diabetes the insulin system is impaired.
This system can be impaired by too strong blood-glucose level fluctuations.
That is why some people think fruit can cause diabetes.
That seems logical, since fruits contain much sugars, and sugars trigger insulin secretion.
However...
Fruit-sugars do not trigger insulin secretion as much as carbs from rice, pasta etc. do, see these posts from goracergo, a diabetes-1 patient since he was one year old. The reason: Fruits contain a mixture of different sugars: fructose, glucose and sucrose. And since sucrose (like plain sugar) consist of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose, fruits contain a mixture of fructose and glucose. It is the glucose that has the most direct impact on your bloodsugar (glucose) levels. Fructose will affect it also, just not as fast. Starch, like that found in bread, potatoes, rice, etc. is a number of glucose molecules connected together. Your digestive system easily breaks these bonds so the starch becomes a lot of single glucose molecules. That is why things like pastries, potatoes, bread, rice and other grains will raise your bloodsugar more than plain sugar or fruits.
(bananas contain far more fructose and sucrose than starch and glucose)

Furthermore, fats stabilize the blood-sugar level:
If you eat only sugars, the blood glucose level will rise much more and also decrease much faster than when you consume first sugary food and then fatty food in the same meal (as in the 'sample diet'. )

The reason:
The body has (besides alcohol) only 2 sources of energy at its disposal; fat-like molecules and sugar-like molecules (redundant protein is converted in both).
The fats are slow but long lasting energy while the sugars are fast but short lasting energy. together they are perfectly complementary; the fats make the energy from sugars last.

Since you are hungry to soon after having consumed food, you obviously consumed FAR too little fat. In the sample diet you need to cover your salad with LOADS of olive oil, and take a few bites of it after every time you have consumed some fruits/juices.
This will definitely make your energy last.

114) What cleansing lotion should I use?

The best cleansing lotion in the world is 100% pure rosewater (no alcohol, not chemicals whatsoever)
Second best is pure cucumber-juice (not blended; the JUICE)
All cheap brands and semi-expensive brands contain aggressive chemicals. Avoid ALL the chemicals listed here, and all chemicals that 'look alike' (e.g. partially)
The most expensive brands contain the most natural ingredients, meant for old rich women that have had all kind of chemical peelings and therefore cannot cope with aggressive chemicals anymore.

Never take any products that promise to "revitalise", "rejuvenate", "rehydrate" or "super-moisturize", for the contain faaaar too much crap.

113) Does putting your hands on your face promote acne, because of bacteria?

Bacteria from the outside do not influence your acne / sebum production. The propioni bacteria are very specific bacteria IN the skin that specifically convert old sebum gland cells into sebum, but they are part of the body, and very different from the bacteria on the outside of the body.

112) Is heat and hot weather bad for the skin?

Not if you drink enough water / eat enough fruits all the time. The sweating can actually help you deport 'dirty' protein and excessive salt / spices (but if the skin is not clean / wearing sweaty clothes, the sweat and dirt combined can easily clog the skin from the outside). If you don't drink enough water / eat enough fruits, you outer skin will dehydrate, which triggers an increase in sebum / oil production, to counterattack the dehydration.

111) Should I splash water on my face in the morning?

No problem, but use low-mineral bottled water for that, since the chloride from tap-water dehydrates the skin. You can use a plant-sprayer.

110) What moisturizer can I use to re-hydrate my skin?

The main reason why the skin in so many acne patients is so dry, is because of the topical products that inhibit sebum production. By nature, the skin produces oil and sebum to prevent dehydration. A dry skin is not caused by a lack of water in the body or skin (which would affect all your organs) but due to accelerated dehydration of the outer skin cells, due to a lack of sebum / oil (due to those products) or due too much sunlight or aggressive chemicals (like chloride in tap-water).

The problem of most moisturizers is that they make the skin absorb chemicals that attract water: to "moisturize" the skin. Thus it functions exactly like 'dirty' protein and salt, increasing water-pressure in the true skin, which may pinch off sebum canals and thus cause acne.
And don't use ANY topical treatment, no matter how locally adapted. Please try to trust me on this one.
The ONLY thing you can use is a mild cleansing lotion.
You do not need a moisturizer, let me explain:
The skincells always contain lots of water, but the more they move up the the surface of the skin, due to the shedding, the more they dehydrate, until they eventually have dehydrated so much that they die, and shed off.
This process is accelerated by sunlight and aggressive chemicals , but also by water-attracting chemicals in the true skin, which distract water from the outer skin. So by "moisturizing" you skin with a moisturizer, the moisturizing chemicals first make your outer skin retain more water, but then are absorbed in the true skin, where they distract water from the outer skin. That is why your skin first feels soft after using the mositurizer, but after a while that effect is gone, and you might think you need MORE. While in fact the mositurizers accelerates the dehydration of the skin.

So, are there no good moisturizers?
Yes there are.
The only good moisturizer is a cream that does not contain water-attracting chemicals that are absorbed in the skin but that puts a thin layer of fat on your outer skin that is too thin and moist to clog the pores, but thick enough to protect the outer skin cells against dehydration.
So what we are looking for is a mositurizer that mimicks the effect of sebum; sebum also protects the outer skin against dehydration. But since your sebum canals are pinched off, you may produce much sebum, but too little reaches the surface, that is why in some people the skin also starts to produce more oil to counteract the dehydration of the skin.
But if your skin is dry, you need to put on a protective layer of fat that is thin and fluid enough to not clog the pores.

So what moisturizer should you take?
Look for one that does not promise to "moisturize" or "hydrate" your skin, but that just "protects your skin against dehydration".
Most effectively is to put one finger-tip of oil on your face after you have made you face a tiny little bit moist by spraying some low mineral bottle water (like Volvic) on your face with a plant spray (not so much that drops are formed; just that you feel it but don't clearly see it).

Only use an oil that is low in vitamin E, since vitamin E accelerates shedding of the skin.
Oils that contain the least vitamin E (per 100 gram) are:

   6 mg.   linseed oil
   3 mg.   sesame seed oil
   3 mg.   walnut oil
   2 mg.   coconut oil / Monoi oil

Cocoa butter contains even less vitamin E (1 mg.) but that can clog your pores. One of these oils will do just fine.

If your skin is very fragile / sensitive / dry due to Retin A or accutane etc., please try the walnut oil first, since this one is most gentle and soothing.

109) DaveJ77 wrote:
Does climate where you live affect oil production? I live in New york where it is very humid, and when I was in germany for 3 weeks my skin became much drier, and I got fewer breakouts.

If you live in humid conditions, you sweat more. And if that lost moisture from the skin is not sufficiently replenished, the outer skin will dehydrate sooner, which accelerates aging of the skin. To counteract this, the skin will increase sebum/oil production, since sebum/oil prevents dehydration of the outer skin.
And if your sebum canals are pinched off, this extra sebum will cause more sebum to accumulate, causing more acne.

108) Can you please explain why would salt (sodium) cause acne?

Blood-salt levels are about as strictly regulated (30%) as blood-glucose levels, but unlike excessive sugars, which can be easily stored as glycogen in the liver or muscles or eventually as glycerol in adipose tissue, there is no such storage place for salt. That is why the body tries to eliminate that excessive salt / spices by excreting it into urine and through sweating. But to sweat this salt out, it is first IN the skin, where it temporarily attracts extra water (before it is actually sweat out), temporarily pinching off sebum canals. And if this causes an accumulation of sebum (if much sebum is produced), this may already block the sebum canals, which causes further accumulation of sebum, and acne.

Crzyakta wrote:
105) Ok I need to know this its bugging the hell outta me, you said that its the dirty protein and water retention that make us break out, so does this have anything to do with heredity? why do some have acne and some dont?

What I said was this:
Acne is caused by the COMBINATION of a high sebum production and pinched off sebum canals. If one of these two is absent, you will not have acne.
How high your sebum production is partly genetic and influenced by exogenous hormones, vitamins (B5), physical activity, dryness of the skin, etc. etc.
How much your sebum canals are pinched off depends on how much water the true skin retains.
So yes, acne is partly hereditary, but it can all be eliminated by preventing the pinching off of sebum canals.

100) Since I was young I had the feeling that any kind of oil caused acne

I thought so too when I was young. Later I found out that it does not. Mostly when you consume oil, you have been frying something in it, and that food always causes acne. But the oil itself does not.
Even if fat would increase sebum production, there is still nothing wrong with unless the sebum canals are pinched off, causing sebum to accumulate. The latter is what should be prevented to fight acne because sebum slows down the aging of the skin.
The sebum canals are pinched off due to 'dirty' protein and salt in the true skin attracting water from the outer skin, the blood and other cells, increasing water pressure in the true skin, pinching off sebum canals.

89) What is so bad about blending? Dont our teeth do the same thing??

The rotation in the blending goes REALLY fast (I want to see you chew that fast!!!), which causes heat on a molecular level.
It is the friction that causes it. Chewing does not causes such 'molecular heat'.
Just think of how you can make fire by rubbing sticks to eachother really fast. It first causes heat on a molecular level, which inflames and actually causes fir if you keep on doing it long enough (and properly; I can't do it!)
If you do it slow (like chewing), it never works.

86) Can sugar make me break out?

If you eat something with lots of sugar, your blood-sugar level goes up and down very much.
And sugar also attracts water, like 'dirty' protein and salt.
In most people blood-sugar levels are very strictly regulated (39% fluctuation), but in some the blood-sugar-insulin response is less strict, allowing greater fluctuations. (like in diabetes)
And temporary too high blood-sugar levels also make your true skin retain more water temporarily. And even one moment of retaining too much water can already pinch off sebum canals, causing an accumulation of sebum, and thus a new pimple.

So even if you eat only non-acne-causing foods (fruits, sashimi etc.), you need to consume sufficient fat after every high-sugar meal, to stabilize blood-sugar level.

67) I don't know how the diet caused such changes, all i know is that it does.

It is quite simple actually; the acne is caused by the combination of both a high sebum production and pinched off sebum canals. If one of these is eliminated, you will not have acne. That is why sebum production lowering drugs can temporary work too. (temporarily because decreasing sebum production lastingly is very unhealthy and accelerates aging of the skin)
The diet eliminates the pinching off of sebum canals, by not absorbing the substances that make your true skin retain too much water. (the higher water-pressure causes the sebum canals to be pinched off)
Producing much sebum is actually a good thing for your skin if your sebum canals are not pinched off, since the sebum is required to keep your skin flexible, preventing dehydration, slowing down the aging process.

Can the results last forever, Wai?

As long as you are not consuming any other food, you will not get a single zit again. EVER.
However, nobody wants to eat like that forever. That is why I wrote the book. The book includes lots of guiding, advice and loads of 'munch-foods'-recipes that can be included in the diet, to be able to enjoy all the good tastes of 'bad' foods.
It is about including as much of the least 'skin-polluting' foods in your diet to the extend that is acceptable for you regarding how clean you want your skin to be. So that YOU are in control instead of the acne controlling your life.
You decide how clean your skin must be, and you adapt your diet to that.

Chris, previously wrote, by email; 06/24/01
The diet has been AMAZING so far (6 days already). My
skin is so much softer and still NO new zits. My ulcers are going away and
the existing zits that used to stay on my face for months are almost gone.
I've now lost my cravings for junk food too. It worked 100% for me. That's
incredible considering i have moderate to severe acne. And yes, you may
publish my questions if you want to under 'Chris'. Thanks a million!!

57) Just Me wrote: What exactly is in your book - how many recipes are there or is it mainly a reference book with lots of studies etc and scientific references etc?

There are 4 parts.
Part 1 consists of 23 chapters, explaining how exactly acne and cellulite are caused (of course cellulite has nothing to do with sebum production while acne has) and what is required to totally eliminate acne / cellulite. You can view excerpts (the theoretical parts) of Part 1 about acne and cellulite.
Part 2 consists of 18 chapters, justifying every aspect of the diet regarding nutrient requirements and regarding possible harmful substances, like bacteria etc.
Part 3 consists of 17 chapters explaining what you should eat, about the rules, how to prepare the food, how to maintain the diet, about the obstacles, traps, how to pick ‘munch-foods’, guidance, advice, and 93 recipes of delicious ‘munch-foods’ that are the least ‘acne-causing’ and can be included in the diet to be able to enjoy all the good tastes of food, and to be able to maintain the diet lastingly.
Part 4 consist of 8 chapters explaining how physical addictive chemicals (opioid peptides and beta-carbolines) increase your cravings and make you eat more, which can cause overweight, and how you can most effectively lose weight lastingly without having to fight your own body. An excerpt of the theoretical part can be viewed here
Appendix A explains the cause of constipation and how to eliminate it.
Appendix B lists nutrient contents of the foods that are included in the diet.

So the focus of the book is explaining and guiding. I have tried to keep everything as simple as possible, and I think I succeeded in doing so. The scientific references are only there to support my claims.

52) Just Me wrote: How many recipes are in your book for what to eat and / or does it just contain lots of reading material about what causes what etc etc - personally I'm not really interested in the history or references as to what causes acne or cellulite in detail as I don't have much time to read stuff like that as I have much to do - and would like to get to the nitty gritty - is your book 3/4 reference ie what you have studied personally and the rest various recipes?

No stories about history of acne or anything, but I do explain how acne is caused. I have to.
Most of the book is practical guidance (incl. 93 recipes). The references are only used to support my claims. The book is not theoretical at all (the excerpts mentioned above are the theoretical parts), it is very down to earth and practical, and I’ve tried to anticipate all the difficulties one may experience regarding maintaining the diet.

What is the book like - is it paperback or hardback?

Paperback. If you prefer hardback, then you need to wait till it’s re-published.

48) Just Me wrote: Has your book been approved by any medical board etc or is it just your personal research from studying?

No. According to medical science there is no relationship between diet and acne.
The medical board would never approve a diet that is not according to their recommendations.
Furthermore, the medical board contains also people that are there to protect the interests of the pharmaceutical companies, and they will not be happy with a diet that can make their clients buy less anti acne drugs.

38) Where are you getting your information? Or, more specifically, what are your qualifications?

If have no qualifications whatsoever. Just some knowledge.
I have only been doing a self-study biochemistry for 6 years and have been researching thousands of scientific studies.

37) What do you say to the pretty much unanimous declaration of dermatologists in the sphere of western medicine that food intake is not a factor in acne production?

Food intake is not a factor until somebody shows it is.

I challenge any dermatologist to give me 10 acne patients who are very determined to lose their acne. Because that generally is all it takes; determination.

33) Could you be so kind as to email me a synopsis of your diet?

No. You can read the book online at: www.FreeAcneBook.com You can also directly start with the 'sample diet'

27) Any scientific evidence or studies relating to diet (food allergies) and acne that you can provide?

Nope!
Your success will be your proof.

Acne is not a food-allergy; in allergies there is a immune response. In acne the sebum canals are pinched off which results in acne when also much sebum is produced.
No costs in trying, so what do you have to lose?
If you prefer theory over practice and want to read my whole theory (supported by references) before trying, than you need to read the entire book first; www.FreeAcneBook.com

25) What is the connection between allergies and acne?

Allergies (immune response) and acne (pinched off sebum canals) are fundamentally different but it seems to me that there sometimes is a connection; In people that have food-allergies acne may come as a 'side effect' since in many allergies the skin tightens in response to that upon what the body allergically reacts on. And the tightening of the skin may also tighten / pinch off sebum canals, causing an accumulation of sebum. But I'm pretty sure that most people with an allergy KNOW that they have one, and that most people with acne do not have an allergy.

Rianne wrote:
10) I'm very interested in WAI's eating regime --- I'm going to print off the details because I would just love something "natural" that would help my skin. Would it help stop the oil production too WAI?

No, not directly, but it may indirectly.
The diet eliminates all your acne, that is for sure (we had a 100% success-rate in 15 people so far).

How the diet may decrease your oil production indirectly:

Acne is cause by the combination of BOTH a high sebum production AND pinched off sebum canals.
the pinched off sebum canals are caused by excess substances with water-attracting properties in the true skin. This will make your true skin retain more water, distracted from the blood, the lymphe AND from the outer skin-cells.
This will cause the outer skin cells to dehydrate and die sooner than they should. The skin will try to counteract this by increasing oil-production, since the oil protects the outer skin-cells aginst dehydration. So the oil production will be increased to counteract accelerated aging of the skin (due to dehydration of the outer skin)

So to decrease the increased oil-production, you need to take away the reason why the oil-production was increased; excess water-attracting substances in the true skin.
Thus you will have to decrease the intake of salt and 'dirty' protein, which will eliminate your acne for sure, and maybe the excess oil production too.

Veronica2 wrote:
9) Also, if you can bear to do it, (regarding excessive oil production) it really helps to stop using any kind of aggressive, drying treatment on your face, like glycolic, other AHAs, BP, alcohol or retinols. When you dehydrate the surface, the oil glands produce more oil to compensate.

EXACTLY.
And...
the outer skin is also dehydrated when the true skin retains too much water. This may seem contradictive, but it is not:
Acne is due to the combination of both a high sebum production and pnched off sebum canals. The sebum canals are pinched off due to excessive moisture in the true skin, which is caused by excessive salt and/or 'dirty' protein in the true skin, which distract water from the blood, lymph, but also from the outer skin.
To counteract this dehydration of the outer skin (which accelerates aging of the skin), the skin starts to produce more oil, which prevents dehydration.
So in healthy skins acne (caused by 'dirty' protein / salt / spices) triggers excessive oil production, to counteract dydration of the outer skin.
By taking away the cause of acne, you eliminate both acne and the excessive oil production.

4) Could you explain to me the specific function of the bacteria that live in the sebum canal? I'm unclear on their primary function.

Sebum is there to protect the skin against dehydration. Sebum is produced by the sebum glands, in which the propioni bacteria play an essential role: they convert old, dead skin cells into sebum, so the bacteria are indirectly essential to keep the skin flexible, to protect it against dehydration; to slow down the aging of your skin.

3) What causes a high sebum production?

A high sebum production can be caused by lots of things, like:

* By naturally high hormone levels; we all have different hormone levels, which for example partly determines whether someone is a dominant type or not. This becomes clearer once you enter puberty. A naturally high sebum production is protective aginst aging of the skin.
* By taking muscle volume-increasing agents; muscle stimulants in general are also sebum production stimulants.
* Relative low B5 levels. Supplementary B5 however may impair the feedback system that regulates the production and secretion of B5 by the body. (like administration of corticosteroids may imapir the cortisol feedback system)
* "Skin-stress"; working with aggressive chemicals or spending too much time in the sun accelerates the dehydration and death rate of outer skin cells, which stimulates the production of sebum, since the sebum is protective against dehydration.

2) Pinched off sebum canals can be caused by:

* Allergic reactions, causing tightening of the skin, pinching off sebum canals too.
* Excessive moisture in the true skin (due to food-chemicals, edema or hormonal contraceptives), increasing water-pressure, pinching off sebum canals in the upper true skin.

001 ; "Does smoking affect the skin or acne in any way?"

It does affect the condition of your skin, in the sense that the pro-oxidative substances that smoke contains, does affect skin cells, but it does not influence / cause / aggravate acne.