Acne Sample Diet

The Acne Sample Diet is an elimination diet, to cure acne. Since most food contains substances which can cause acne, it is imperative to have a restrictive diet without those foods.

This diet should be kept on until the skin is totally clean. The rules (see below) have to be followed strictly, eating only the foods which are on the diet.

A two week period is usually required to see an improvement in skin complexion. During this period the acne may seem to get worse, as all the pus still trapped in the skin can now surface. This is part of the healing process. If food is consumed which is not on the diet, or if a rule is broken, this two week period starts over again, as well as the total process of cleaning the skin.

The Diet

1. fresh fruits
2. olive oil
3. an avocado/tomato/cucumber salad
4. raw fish/egg yolks

NB Sashimi in Japanese restaurants is not always completely raw, but salmon and tuna usually are.

These foods contain all required nutrients. Check any version of the 'Acne Sample Diet' by submitting it to the [nutrient calculator].
If that version is low in (a) certain nutrient(s), then it can be upgraded by consuming foods that are rich in that specific nutrient(s). Check [this list], which (for each nutrient) lists the foods that are the highest in those nutrients. The calcium contents will never meet the official requirements, because the official requirements are much higher than needed. [Supplements]

The rules

1) Do not eat anything which is not on the diet shown above. Even a pinch of salt, a drop of soy sauce, or a speck of wasabi can have serious consequences.

2) Combine sugars with fats, to prevent the blood sugar from fluctuating too much. For example: combine tomato/cucumber with avocado and/or use olive oil as a dressing. Other possibilities are to add olive oil to orange juice or a fruit salad. A rough guideline is 1 gram of fat per 2 grams of carbs.

3) Eat small meals frequently. Cooked foods, wheat and dairy products always contain appetite enhancers [Cooking]. Foods included in this diet do not contain such substances, so one has to be careful to ingest enough energy, by adopting a different eating habit. Instead of eating just a few meals a day, eating much more often, like 8 or 9 times, ensures a steady energy intake throughout the day. If it’s still problematic to ingest enough energy, drink more juices (squeezed juices, or juices from the juice extractor) instead of whole fruits (the fiber in whole fruits inhibits appetite). On this diet it’s not that easy to overeat, but undereating happens sooner, and in time always has adverse effects (exhaustion, loss of muscle mass, depression).

4) Animal protein restriction.
Alternate fish and egg yolks on different days, but limit the amounts to: For women: maximally 50 gram (1.8oz) raw fish OR 2 egg yolks a day.
For short men: maximally 60 gram (2.1oz) raw fish OR 3 egg yolks a day.
For tall men: maximally 100 gram (3.5oz) raw fish OR 5 egg yolks a day.
Redundant protein can easily increase the blood protein level, thus elevating the protein level in the true skin, making the skin temporarily retain more water and therefore pinching off sebum canals.

5) Always remain physically inactive for at least 1.5 hours after consuming fish or egg yolks.

6) If one has to eat the fruits, salad and fish/egg yolks close together, or even in one meal, first eat the fruits, then the salad and finally the fish/egg yolks, to prevent cramps/gasses/bloating.

7) Juices from pressed fruits (like orange juice) or from the juice extractor are perfectly fine to consume, but not shakes or smoothies made by the use of a blender/mixer (especially when mixing/blending banana). The high rotations speed of the knives in the blender/mixer originates substances which can cause acne.

8) Don’t use supplements, because supplements contain ingredients that can cause acne (like gelatin). This diet abundantly supplies all required nutrients.

9) While on the Acne Sample Diet one cannot use any topical or hormonal treatment (like Murrad, Differin, etc), because any of these can aggravate acne.
No antibiotics can be taken during the Acne Sample Diet, and/or at least two weeks prior to starting it. Antibiotics weaken the defense system, which can be dangerous when starting to eat raw egg yolks or raw fish.

10) Don’t use any moisturizer. Moisturizers contain chemicals that attract water. These chemicals are absorbed by the skin, which could lead to increased water pressure in the true skin, resulting in the pinching off of sebum canals. Combined with a high sebum production this will cause acne.
To protect the outer skin from dehydration, one should instead use a fingertip of oil and spread that all over the (still moist) face, directly after cleaning it with water (see rule #11) or a mild cleansing lotion. The oil to use has to be low in vitamin E. [more]
In some women however, the skin does not react well to oil, so starting carefully with a part of the face is advised. If this does not cause any 'sandy bumps' within a week, it can be safely applied to the whole face.

11) Do not clean the face with tap water, but with bottled low-mineral water (like Volvic, El Dorado or Montcalm). Chemicals in tap water can trigger allergic-like reactions that cause tallow canals to be pinched off. Excessive chloride and other minerals in tap water dehydrate the skin, thus causing dry flaky patches on the face. A plant sprayer filled with low-mineral bottled water can be used to spray the water on the face.
Use the same low-mineral water for drinking water, if needed.

Questions and problems can be addressed on the forum [WaiTalk.com]. To facilitate the analysis of a problem, it helps to keep an accurate journal. This journal should contain information about the kind and amount of the consumed foods, as well as the condition of the skin.

After the acne has gone
Once the skin is totally clean, what then? To return to the previous eating habits would only mean the return of acne. There are basically two options:

1. Continue on The Wai Diet [The Wai Diet]
2. Start experimenting with adding food items which are not on the Acne Sample Diet

Ad 2) The prepared foods which are the least likely to cause acne, are the ones which contain the least ‘dirty’ protein, and contain few spices. These are the ones to start the experimenting with.