Can a Carnivore Diet Improve or Cure Acne Problems?

Acne on the Carnivore Diet

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The acne subject hits home for me as it destroyed my self-confidence and self-esteem in high school. I wanted to find out if there was a way to combat this problem instead of expensive and dangerous pharmaceutical drugs.

What I have found is that the carnivore diet just may be a great solution!

Most people assume acne is caused by a dirty face and hormones but what if a poor diet is a culprit?

There have been numerous anecdotal reports that the carnivore diet helps clear up acne, along with some great theoretical science and actual scientific studies based on food and vitamin intake, which helps back this idea up!

Eyes from Carnivore Diet

The Acne Struggle

You’ve probably been told that dirty skin and nasty bacteria on your face are what cause acne. There used to be commercials on TV explaining that your skin needs to be cleaned, and if you buy their face cleanser, you will see improvements.

As a teenager, I was sold on that idea, and the result was an expensive collection of soaps, benzoyl peroxide, and cleansers that didn’t do what they said they would do.

The expensive cleansers did dry out my face, irritate my acne, make it look more inflamed, and probably make it worse.

When things began to worsen, I went to the dermatologist who prescribed me Retinol-A and advised me to keep my face clean. I was stoked and thought I found the solution. I may have seen some improvements from the Retinol-A, but in reality, it was minor, if any, at all.

In retrospect, I did dodge the Accutane bullet as that is a prescription-strength acne medication taken orally. Still, it comes with many side effects, which include but are not limited to dry mouth, mental health issues, sun sensitivity, congenital disabilities, thinning hair, mood swings, and pressure on the brain. Ummmm, not cool.

Fast forward 20 years, and I find this crazy carnivore diet, and I hear about people curing and improving their acne through diet. As a practitioner of this diet, I had to find out why this type of diet could be beneficial to acne sufferers and spread the message that diet may play a crucial role in solving this problem.

Perhaps we can save the self esteem of millions of people!

Cause and Effect

First, we need to ask, what causes acne? Is it facial bacteria? Is it sweat from working out? Is it oily and clogged facial pores? What about hormones? Or is it mainly eating foods that are unhealthy for your body?

First, what is acne? According to the Mayo Clinic is the clogging of pores by oil. Dr. Ken Berry further explains that it is a chronic inflammation of the hair ducts.

What I have found is that acne can be caused by what you eat! Many doctors are now saying that if you eat inflammatory food or those that spike insulin, then chances are you can become susceptible to cystic acne.

So basically, acne is caused under the skin and can be potentially treated that way. Hence the unsatisfactory results of facial cleansers. Why would you be advised to add expensive creams and cleansers to your facial skin? Maybe because it’s a billion-dollar industry!

Here is a list of things that can potentially trigger acne outbreaks.

  • Eating too many bad carbs from junk food or even non-junk food carbs. These carbs can potentially spike insulin levels, releasing acne-causing hormones (like growth factor 1) and increasing inflammation.
  • Eating dairy can potentially cause inflammation and clogged pores.
  • Chronic stress can release cortisol which puts a hamper on your body’s ability to heal.
  • Eating bad fats like vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, etc., can be major acne triggers.
  • Food intolerance or food allergies (dairy, eggs, gluten, etc.)
  • Leaky gut and autoimmune disorders can leak undigested material into the bloodstream, and the result is inflammation which can potentially cause inflammatory acne.

Carnivore Diet to Treat Acne?

So what’s up with the carnivore diet? How can this diet potentially treat acne problems?

Well, what I have found is that the carnivore diet is the mega elimination diet. If your acne is caused by what you eat and the above-mentioned triggers, then an elimination diet essentially eliminates the cause.

If you go carnivore, you stop eating the crap food and plant matter that may be causing the acne problems.

In turn it is said that this type of diet can help balance your microbiome in your gut which may help with acne issues.

The other cool thing about the carnivore diet is that you will now be adding copious amounts of nutrition to your diet and most notably vitamin A, iodine, and Zinc which is said to help prevent and treat acne.

Plus, carnivore is almost a zero-carb diet which can, in turn, eliminate the acne caused by insulin spikes.

Another factor that I have noticed, and this is purely anecdotal, is that people seem to have less anxiety and improve their mental health when on a carnivore diet which then can potentially reduce cortisol and stress.

shelf of vitamins

Carnivore Diet Nutrition and Absorption

When you eat a carnivore diet you eliminate plants. Plants have what are called antinutrients and these antinutrients like Phytic Acid and lectins can prevent your body’s ability to absorb nutrients properly. I wrote an article on the negative effects of plant foods called, “10 Chemicals in Plant foods Slowly Killing You.”

Casein, a protein found in dairy is also another substance that can potentially alter your body’s ability to absorb nutrients.

Vitamins and nutrients are crucial for healthy skin most notably Zinc and Vitamin A.

Could it be that when we eat too much plant matter or dairy we inhibit our body’s ability to absorb nutrients properly and the result is acne?

Zinc

Zinc can be an anti-inflammatory solution to help treat moderate acne and there are even studies documenting this. Here are two studies:

  1. Over The Counter Acne Treatments: A Review
  2. An Observational Study of Methionine‐bound Zinc with Antioxidants for Mild to Moderate Acne Vulgaris

What carnivore foods are high in Zinc?

  • Oysters
  • Red Meat

Should you supplement with Zinc? Dr. Ken Berry says it may help and says if you do to try to take 25-50 Milligrams per day. Here is a brand I have used in the past called, “Garden of Life Zinc.” I don’t use it anymore but I believe it to be a higher-quality brand.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A in low doses is said to help with acne as it is hypothesized that it helps reduce the amount of oil production in your body and decrease inflammation. (Retinol-A that prescription I took in high school is the topical form.)

I have read that too much vitamin A can be unhealthy and dangerous so talk to your doctor if you want more information on it.

These are two studies I found that show the relation of Vitamin A and Acne.

  1. Vitamin A in Acne Vulgaris
  2. Low Dose Vitamin A Tablets-Treatment of Acne Vulgaris

Which carnivore foods are rich in Vitamin A?

  • Beef Liver
  • Seafood

Cut Out Dairy to Help Acne?

Many people and even doctors believe dairy could be contributing to acne issues.

Some people say dairy can block pores and that also contains carbs that can spike insulin which if you are insulin sensitive can trigger acne-causing hormones.

Dairy can also trigger a histamine response which has been associated with acne and other medical conditions.

Since we are talking about histamine, I will add that people who are struggling with histamine intolerance may find relief from supplementing with beef kidney extract. Dr. Chris Masterjohn recommends using a desiccated kidney extract from Ancestral Supplements.

Dr. Masterjohn says kidney tissue has the most amount of diamine oxidase, an enzyme that your gut may be missing to neutralize the increased histamine levels.

I’ve also heard that the casein in dairy, which is kind of similar to gluten, can wreak havoc on your digestive tract and in turn, cause autoimmune issues that don’t help acne situations.

The other kicker on dairy is that the high levels of calcium may block the body’s ability to absorb nutrients properly, kind of similar to Phytic Acid.

Oh, I should also add that skim milk sucks for acne. There was a whole study on teenagers and the consumption of milk and how it affected acne. Here is the research.

Maybe it would be a good idea to cut out dairy and see if you achieve better results?

Dr. Ken Berry

Dr. Ken Berry explains and breaks down acne and how it relates to diet. He also mentions how acne is a billion-dollar industry but it really shouldn’t be.

Both big agriculture and big pharma are not helping the acne problems as they advocate eating a diet high in carbs, heavy in plant matter, and promote washing your face with harsh chemicals and ointments.

Now Dr. Ken Berry isn’t a carnivore diet guy but he is a keto low carb diet guy and brings up many points which can be accompanied with a carnivore diet. In this video he explains acne, diet and provides some of his suggestions on how to treat it.

Anecdotal Evidence of Carnivore Diet and Treatment of Acne

Reddit has an amazing zero-carb/carnivore sub-reddit section that has numerous people chiming in on their carnivore diet experience and how it has helped with their acne.

For instance one user says, “Keto made my acne a lot better but zero-carb almost entirely eliminated them. I had a lot of cystic acne and am very happy that I finally found a solution.”

And another says, “Yes 100%. Keto/ZC completely eliminates my acne (2-3 zits at all times)…As soon as I eat sugar- the zits come back a few days later.”

Medical Research on Diet and Acne

As of now there isn’t a medical paper on the carnivore diet and how it can help treat acne but there are numerous research papers on diet and the relation to acne. Here are a few I have found that may help you out.

  1. Ultraviolet radiation, both UVA and UVB, influences the composition of the skin microbiome.
  2. Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys
  3. The role of nutrition in inflammatory pilosebaceous disorders: Implication of the skin-gut axis
  4. A Low Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Diet Decreases Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 among Adults with Moderate and Severe Acne: A Short-Duration, 2-Week Randomized Controlled Trial.
  5. Nutrition and acne: therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets.
  6. Diet and acne.
  7. Linking diet to acne metabolomics, inflammation, and comedogenesis: an update

Conclusion

Hopefully this article was able to shed some light on the acne situation and how diet appears to play a major part. Now the carnivore diet may be a solution for some people but not everybody.

Maybe you want to try it or maybe you need some more information. I wrote an article called, “How to Get Started on the Carnivore Diet: A 28 Day Plan” which can help you get going and also point you to other carnivore diet resources.

Disclaimer: I’m not a doctor or dietician or nutritionist. Consult with and ask your doctor about any diet or medical-related questions. No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition.

References
Mayo Clinic
Over The Counter Acne Treatments: A Review
An Observational Study of Methionine‐bound Zinc with Antioxidants for Mild to Moderate Acne Vulgaris
Vitamin A in Acne Vulgaris
Low Dose Vitamin A Tablets-Treatment of Acne Vulgaris
Milk consumption and acne in teenaged boys
ultraviolet radiation, both UVA and UVB, influences the composition of the skin microbiome.
The role of nutrition in inflammatory pilosebaceous disorders: Implication of the skin-gut axis
Low Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Diet Decreases Insulin-like Growth Factor-1 among Adults with Moderate and Severe Acne:
Nutrition and acne: therapeutic potential of ketogenic diets.
Diet and acne.
Linking diet to acne metabolomics, inflammation, and comedogenesis: an update

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