Diet makes a huge difference!

[claudia]

I know this has been talked to death but I'm finding that diet really makes a big difference in how my skin looks. I have a bad case of p&p rosacea that is almost totally under control with the medications listed below but I guess I'm a perfectionist cause I keep trying for totally clear calm skin. If I ignore diet then I get tiny whiteheads with a bit of redness...that's even with doing the meds. If I diligently follow the diet and meds then my skin looks great. Here's what works for me...it's hard to follow but worth it. Overall, it's like an Asian diet without the spice!

Avoid dairy (hormone interaction causes p&p's), alcohol, caffeine, wheat, sugary foods, and spicy foods. I can eat a little pasta with no problem but anything else with wheat flour is a no-no for me.

Eat lots of fresh whole foods, fruits, vegetables (try for lots of different colors), raw nuts and seeds, organic chicken and wild fish. Take a multi-vitamin without iodine (can get in the fish...iodine can inflame p&p's) and fish oil.

Drink lots of water and decaf organic green tea. Use soy milk.

I found that initially it took about a month of following the diet to see a real difference --- but now if I slip up (i.e. visiting relatives...) then it takes about a week to get things back on track to where my skin stops being reactive.

Now if I eat the worst "offenders" (for me thats dairy & sugary foods) then my skin immediately starts tingling and gets itchy before it starts getting more oily and breaking out. This can all happen within a day!

I sincerely hope that someday the experts can figure out why some of us are so sensitive to foods, etc. It makes no sense to me why so many people can eat anything and look great while I have to be so diligent with diet and meds...and I'm almost 60 shock:

c

[Jason1984]

I too can confirm that diet can help rosacea HEAPS, diet has made my skin very clear and p&p clear.

I recommend it for those truly fed up with rosacea

[redreb]

I tried the rosacea diet- ie, no dairy, gluten/wheat, sugar, citrus fruits, tomatoes, spices. So I have to ask, what DO you eat? Because I found the diet so restricting that I lost about 20 pounds. I guess it doesn't help if you are vegetarian too...

[chenoarae]

I feel the same... I've had my blood tested for allergens and all it came up with was moderate for eggs and garlic. Having cut those out, I see no difference in my skin.

So here's my question: if you can't have dairy or wheat, what do you eat for breakfast?

[Jason1984]

I know its a very hard diet, but to me giving up these foods is nothing compared to the improvements ive seen in my skin.

It was only the first month that was hard and now i can honestly say you can put any food in front of me and i will not be tempted to it if it doesnt meet my diet plan.

I guess i have a strong will power to do what ever i can to beat the rosacea beast.

I eat egg whites and chicken for breakfast.
I also eat salmon, cashew nuts, almonds,sunflower seeds, lettuce,cabbage, cucumber, brocolli, cauliflower,

this satisfies my hunger needs and wants.

If you do the diet you have to do it properly no cheating at all. not even a tiny bit of sugar its hard but possible.

[redreb]

I guess the diet is not for me then. Because I did do the diet, absolutely no cheating, for 3 months. My issue was not the will power, as Jason alludes to, but the fact that in those 3 months I lost 20 pounds. I just don't see how you can sustain yourself on the rosacea diet. I hate having a red face, I hate the papules and pustules, but when it comes down to losing 20 pounds and thus weighing under 100 pounds, I will take the red face instead of the weight loss. There just aren't enough calories in fresh fruits and vegetables. I would love to try the diet again, if anyone has suggestions. (also, as a note, I don't eat meat)

[Jason1984]

Sorry if you took my comment the wrong way,

I was not alluding to the fact you do not have the will power, i cant make such a comment because i do nt know anything about you. What i meant was that the "typical" person would find it very hard to follow such a close diet. I failed on my first attempt but gave it another try and i havent looked back.

Your case is a lot harder as you cannot eat meat. Do you eat fish? or is that classed as the same thing?

Also, have you tried tofu?? And is there any nuts or seeds that you dont react badly too??

Also, like all rosacea treatments you should always weigh up the pros and the cons.

[redreb]

Jason-- I do eat fish, but I also try not to eat it too frequently since I fall under the category of "women in their childbearing years" or whatever. I haven't been able to find any nuts that I don't react to yet-- I react pretty strongly to peanuts, peanut butter, cashews, walnuts. Oddly enough, I'm not allergic to them (according to skin tests at the derm), I just get a really itchy papule filled face! What are the high-calorie sort of foods that you typically eat? I'm up for trying new things

[bambi]

Just thought I'd weigh in here. I did the candida diet which is basically the same as the one discussed here. I also lost alot of weight, but saw no improvements whatsoever in my rosacea.

[Jason1984]

Red reb, is it all kinds of fish your meant to avoid? i eat salmon mainly.

You could try
.....almond
sunflower seeds
pumpkin seeds
pine nuts and im sure there is lots more types of seeds and nuts,

I always get unsalted and unroasted nuts and seeds by the way

Also have you tried protein powder???

bambi, that sucks, like all treatments it doesnt work for everyone. it definately eliminatd my P&P problem and thus sum permanent redness

[claudia]

There's lots to eat on the diet but it is a different way of eating! That said, I've found that with a few tweaks here and there I feel very full on it and have not lost weight. The key is to make a few tweaks...in other words sticking to a severe low glycemic meat-vegetable-fruit diet with no carbs is not going to work if you plan to follow this for a long time...the body rebels! Also it takes ongoing experimenting...i.e. I can eat tomatoes & pasta with no problem...which adds a whole realm of Italian food options. I can also eat one wheat burrito each week...(but if I eat wheat bread I break out and get red...go figure...).

Here's a typical day for me...
Breakfast --- oatmeal cooked with prunes, walnuts, pumpkin & sunflower seeds (microwave for less mess) and topped with soymilk and blueberries.
Lunch --- Big bowl or two of leftover soup (I make my own - very thick with lots of vegies, more like a stew) with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top (yummy). Slice of toasted spelt bread with organic margarine. Apple.
Dinner --- Burrito with brown rice, sauteed vegies, shredded soy cheese, diced tomatoes and avocado. Or pasta with tomato sauce and sauteed vegies and shrimp. Or could have sauteed tofu. Or brown rice with sauteed vegies on top and a big salad full of fresh vegies. Finish the meal with more fruit.

Check out Vegan cookbooks...they have tons of very tasty ideas that are filling. If you eat fish or meat you can add it to the recipies very easily.
I agree with what was said earlier about not feeling tempted to eat foods that are triggers...seeing the good results makes me want to stick with it. And a side effect has been that I rarely get sick blink:

[chenoarae]

I LOVE nutritional yeast! Try it on your popcorn....

[valby]

Jason--do you eat any grains at all?
What guidelines are you following?

[Jason1984]

Nope i havent eaten grains for about 3 months.

I havent tried re introducing it into my diet so i cant say whether it has a negative effect on my rosacea or not. I just dont have any desire to eat grains.

I think the best thing is to try a really limited diet for say 2-4 weeks and once you have improvements slowly introduce foods back into your diet.

Remember i only speak of MY experiences and everyong is different and reacts different.

My diet is VERY VERY strict at the moment

[allibear]

Just thought I'd weigh in here. I did the candida diet which is basically the same as the one discussed here. I also lost alot of weight, but saw no improvements whatsoever in my rosacea.

I'll do a second weigh in with bambi. I also did the candida diet and whilst I saw a vast improvement in my Rosacea I managed to unwittingly start detoxing out a gallbladder full of stones that I didn't realise I had all these years and managed to blow up my pancreas and congest my left hepatic duct so badly that I ended up walking round like I was in a constant state of having a heart attack. So my advice is to know your underlying health issues first and know what your body may or may not be able to handle.

Any wonder I had so many yeast problems over the years and had so much bother trying to get rid of it, too many rocks floating around my system for them to hide underyes:

Of course this diet was wrong for me because I too lost weight very quickly and it is heavily overloaded with protein both of which are a no no to prevent further stone formation.

I am eating a lot of wholegrains now, rice, pasta, and breads, lots of fruit and veg. and have cut portein way down and mainly just chicken and fish in smalll amounts. Wholegrains are agreeing with my skin as starting to eat more of them again has drastically improved my bowel movements and don't ask me why I have such a close connection between my a** and my face but when one is getting a proper emptying on a daily basis my skin is always the better for it.thumbs:

[snivi]

Any thoughts on cabbage juice?

[maroon5]

I wouldn't drink cabbage juice if you paid me - however I do eat cabbage regularly.

If you crumble a ham stock cube with a little bit of water into a pan (I'm talking a tiny little bit), then put some chopped cabbage in and but on a high heat for a few mins - the cabbage softens and absorbs all the water and flavouring - makes it rather tasty. My GF is on weight watchers and someone suggested that there.

I am a bit confused by the various diets suggested on here, some of them seem very unhealthy i.e. no carbs AND no dairy. However, as an experiment I am eliminating sugars and refined carbohydrates for a period and I'll see if that has any effect.

Also, my doctor knowing nothing about Dysbiosis wasn't very reassuring, so didn't want to avoid all carbs, dairy and sugar after reading a post on this forum.

[fut]

Diet made all the difference in the world for all my skin problems!!

[Seamonster]

So, I guess the general idea is to avoid sugar, eat veggies, berries, wholegrains and avoid dairy. Is that right? This is pretty much my diet, too, but I have seen no change whatsoever in my condition. The problem seems to be that different people are sensitive to different things, so it's hard to tell what diet one requires, and it takes time to try a bunch of different ones. I wish I could run a simulation.

[maroon5]

Could be foods high on the gycemic index - that release Glucose into your blood quickly could have an effect...this would include bananas, potatoes, White pasta n bread, etc.

Just a thought and something I'm keeping an eye on.

What is the Glycemic Index?

Not all carbohydrate foods are created equal, in fact they behave quite differently in our bodies. The glycemic index or GI describes this difference by ranking carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Choosing low GI carbs - the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels - is the secret to long-term health reducing your risk of heart disease and diabetes and is the key to sustainable weight loss.

What are the Benefits of the Glycemic Index?
Eating a lot of high GI foods can be detrimental to your health because it pushes your body to extremes. This is especially true if you are overweight and sedentary. Switching to eating mainly low GI carbs that slowly trickle glucose into your blood stream keeps your energy levels balanced and means you will feel fuller for longer between meals.

http://www.glycemicindex.com/