Healing Acne

Acne is a disease of civilization. It does not occur in H-G and primitive horticulturalist groups. This means it is a result of a discordance between modern diets and lifestyles and human needs.

Mechanisms of Acne

Several coincident factors promote the formation of the "zits."

An increased production of testosterone stimulates an increase in the production of keratin, the protein predominant in skin. Excess keratin production can result in blocked pores.

However, people in hunter-gatherer cultures go through puberty without getting "zits," demonstrating that testosterone is not the culprit.

Acne patients show elevated levels of the 5-alpha-reductase enzyme elevated in their skin. This enzyme converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). Excess DHT appears in the skin of people with this problem.

The plugged pores and high hormone levels favor the growth of the bacterium Propionibacterium acnes, the infective agent involved in this disorder. The immune reaction to this infection leads to the production of pus, resulting in whiteheaded lesions.

Diet and Acne

Some researchers have called this disorder “skin diabetes” because the skin cells exhibit glucose intolerance.

One study showed that a high protein, low carbohydrate diet, similar to a paleo diet, reduces DHT production. In contrast, a diet high in carbohydrate increases DHT production, favoring acne. The hunter-gatherer cultures known to live free of "zits" eat high-protein diets that contain no sugars or grain products.

A diet high in sugar and starch increasse the production of insulin, which in turn raises levels of IGF-1, which causes hyperproliferation of keratin.

Milk and milk products also increase insulin levels. Milk also naturally contains relatively large amounts of estrogen which may also increase the skin susceptibility to infection.

Intake of common vegetable oils results in an excessive intake of omega-6 fats, while the typical diet lacks omega-3 fats. This promotes skin inflammation present in this disorder.

Nutrients required for skin health include vitamin A (not carotenes), vitamin E , pyridoxine (B-6), pantothenic acid (B-5), selenium, and zinc.

Healing Diet

If you have problem skin of any type, I highly recommend that you adopt a paleo diet, as outlined in my book, The Garden of Eating. To learn why a paleo diet provides the best dietary treatment for this disorder, get yourself a copy of The Dietary Cure for Acne by Dr. Loren Cordain.

However, I have seen cases where even a paleo diet did not cure the "zits" by itself. Most cases have deep-rooted infection and inflammation and herbal medicine will accelerate the healing.

Herbal Medicine

Herbal medicine provides the best approach to this problem. According to Chinese medicine, acne indicates some combination of heat, phlegm-dampness, and blood stagnation in the lung and stomach channels.

The heat is indicated by the red, inflamed nature of the lesions. Very red lesions indicate heat toxins.

Dampness manifests as the pus in the lesions.

Blood stagnation may occur, resulting in a purplish tinge to the lesions.

I usually design a custom herbal formula for each patient, tailored to clear the heat and toxins, and invigorate the blood.

I commonly use herbs like raw rehmannia root, salvia root, honeysuckle flower, forsythia fruit, and others appropriate for the individual diagnosis.

These photos show an example of the improvement obtained over a four month period in my practice with one patient for whom I created a custom herbal formula to treat her chronic acne which always worsened before her menses.

Premenstrual acne before starting herbal treatment.

Premenstrual skin after 4 months of herbal treatment.