Does Dairy Cause Cystic Acne?

Cystic acne caused by dairy?

… having suffered with cystic acne all my life, I recently discovered that milk is the cause. It makes sense since I was allergic to milk as a child but didn’t think about the effects it would have in my adulthood. I’ve [quit] drinking or eating anything with dairy and haven’t had a new cyst for 4 months. Prior to the non-dairy diet, I would get a cyst every 2 weeks. Anyway, if you’ve been a long time sufferer, maybe avoiding milk will help you too.

One more:

… a few years ago I decided I’m gonna stop drinking milk, and I WAS drinking only lactose free milk for a while but I read something about milk contributing to hair loss and cysts, so just stopped drinking milk and switched to almond milk (kroger family stores has the best one, closest in consistency and flavor to real milk than any other alternative)… guess what? NO MORE THIGH CYSTS! …

Anecdote: Lactose Messes Up Libido

Just a short anecdote: I recently ran an natural experiment. I wanted to see if removing all fructose from my diet (and therefore all sucrose as well) would have an (hopeful positive) impact on my health. As I need some sweetness in coffee, and as coffee with pure dextrose ("glucose") tastes like dish water, I used some artificial sweetener as well (in tablet form, that my mother had bought for herself).

After maybe a week or two of using this sweetener, with maybe some 6 to 8 tablets a day, I noticed an pathological increase of my libido, something I have not had since I reduced dairy in 2010. What was wrong? What was different? What the hell had I eaten? Of course the sweetener! Duh. Checking the little ingredient list on the bottle, written in that tiny tiny font, what did my eyes see? Lactose.

O.o

I have then exchanged the tablet sweetener (with lactose) for a similar one in liquid form (sans lactose, with a tab bit of fructose). And all is well again (at least considering THAT problem).

Anecdote: Dairy And Beef Causes Somnolence

One more personal anecdote: I was having problems with somnolence (excessive sleepiness during the day) – even caffeine tablets did not help. These problems got better once I reduced the consumption of milk and dairy (during my Atkins diet in November 2010).

But as I was thinking that ghee (clarified butter) was "pure" fat, that this would be a "safe" milk product, I increased the consumption of ghee. At the same time I ate a lot of beef, which I did think back then to be "good". During that time I got more somnolence again (Again and again and again: Always watch your symptoms and don't change too many things at a time!).

During my "10 days milk&dairy reintroduction" in March I again got more massive problems with somnolence again, which subsided again afterwards.

Now that I had removed beef (in December), reduced caffeine to 3-5 cups of coffee a day (and no tablets!) and finally in April replaced ghee with coconut fat * – both of which should have a roughly similar composition of fatty acids – did my somnolence retreat for good.

A lesson for me: After I found out that milk and some forms of dairy are clearly problematic for me, I should have become suspicious of all forms of dairy and suspicious of beef (and veal!), even if I did not see any obvious correlation to my remaining health problems.

In extension: If one thing from a nutrition group does cause clear problems (e.g. some cereal grains), better remove everything from that group (e.g. all cereal grains, even gluten-free) from the diet, to see if it helps. And then reintroduce them again to do a challenge.

So after I learned that clearly veal is a problem for me, that beef might be a problem for, I will try to remove all meat from my diet for at least a week and replace it with fish. I already reduced meat somewhat (and am currently on a rather high-carb and high-fat diet! and continue to loose weight, if only slowly) and then tried going vegetarian, but I got a "strange" hunger that made me feel somewhat "jittery", a hunger that subsided only after I ate some meat. I need animal protein, my body makes that much clear. We'll see what fish instead of meat does.

* I initially replace ghee with palm fat, which has an higher content of PUFAs (poly-unsaturated fatty acids). This increased my hunger for carbs, and sometimes gave me a slightly low blood sugar. Only after I switched to coconut oil – with a low content of PUFAs that is comparable to butter/ghee – did my hunger (or rather problem) decrease to a level I would consider "normal" or "adequate".

Atopic Dermatitis ("Neurodermitis") Caused By Dairy and Eggs?

Another chronic skin condition which is possibly caused by (pasteurized) milk and dairy: Atopic Dermatitis ("Neurodermitis").

The German weekly "Der Spiegel" had this to report in August 2011 (translation mine):

… After Nina Meier's odyssey through doctors offices and many treatments, the turn came with a few words: "Abstain from cow's milk and eggs," advised a general practitioner. "I said to myself, shit, I'll simply try it," says Meier. "It can't get any worse." For one week the symptoms got worse - but then came the turning point. "I could rub off my skin like scabs, underneath new skin came to light. After the old skin had gradually peeled off, it was fine."

Since then she has never been in treatment for their eczema again. With regards to dermatologists she is now skeptical. Nina Meier says she had trusted doctors too much and "ignored nutrition during the search for the cause, because the doctors said nutrition did not play a role". Meanwhile, she can tolerate even a little bit of cow's milk or egg. "And even if my body reacts, I won't get no stressed anymore. Because I now know the cause." …

http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/jahrelange-fehltherapie-gefangen-in-der-eigenen-haut-a-780722.html

The entire article in "Der Spiegel" is a truly horror story of her various treatments by "evidence based" medical industry – at least it has an happy end for her. What about the countless others who are stuck in this ordeal?

So after Acne, Aphthous Ulcers, Behçet's and Psoriasis, I can add this to my growing list. Why is it the skin, that is the "target"? What is the common mechanism here? I'm sure it will be fascinating to read the mechanism, once medical science will find it out in a couple of decades… I sure hope I live that long.

Et tu, Mutton?

So in addition to cow products (especially dairy and veal), it seems that lamb does at well cause Acne/Behçet's like symptoms for me.

Tough look.

Interesting was that veal caused much more problems than beef, and that lamb is on the same order as veal. Something is different in the meat from those young animals.

If other bovid animals are the same for me? Seems like the entire family of Bovidae might be bad for me – must be some shared protein or something…

Anecdote: Remove Dairy, Remove Brain Fog

Another one for the list:

I feel great. I actually feel as if there’s nothing wrong with me at this point in time. Nothing hurts, my brain is functioning adequately, my mood is euthymic, I’m never hungry, I have acceptable energy levels. Occasional mild anxiety/irritability but kava kava takes care of that (thank you Woo).

Was a stressful week at work. I was like “so what, let’s deal with this shit in a stepwise fashion” and handled it just fine.

This is a very unusual occurrence in the life of Sid, that nothing is hurting or broken. Is it possible I’ve been poisoning myself with dairy all these years? I haven’t felt this good since I first went VLC two years ago. In hindsight, I wasn’t eating that much dairy at the start because I wanted to lose weight as rapidly as possible and we all know cheese is stalling.

My brain works again. I don’t have horrible brain fog and the feeling that brain is functioning at 20% capacity.

(emphasis mine)

It's been only a week, so one will have to wait, I'll guess. But it looks promising.

Dairy and Somnolence

OK: I eat some dairy at 10am, drink some milk at 11am, and get drowsy some two to three hours later, at 1pm.

Nestle Nutrition Workshop: Dairy might be bad for you – Oops

Nestle Nutr Workshop Ser Pediatr Program. 2011;67:131-45. doi: 10.1159/000325580. Epub 2011 Feb 16.

Evidence for acne-promoting effects of milk and other insulinotropic dairy products.

Melnik BC.

Department of Dermatology, Environmental Medicine and Health Theory, University of Osnabrück, Osnabrück, Germany.

Abstract:
Acne vulgaris, the most common skin disease of western civilization, has evolved to an epidemic affecting more than 85% of adolescents.

Acne can be regarded as an indicator disease of exaggerated insulinotropic western nutrition.

Especially milk and whey protein-based products contribute to elevations of postprandial insulin and basal insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) plasma levels.

It is the evolutional principle of mammalian milk to promote growth and support anabolic conditions for the neonate during the nursing period.

Whey proteins are most potent inducers of glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide secreted by enteroendocrine K cells which in concert with hydrolyzed whey protein-derived essential amino acids stimulate insulin secretion of pancreatic β-cells.

Increased insulin/IGF-I signaling activates the phosphoinositide-3 kinase/Akt pathway, thereby reducing the nuclear content of the transcription factor FoxO1, the key nutrigenomic regulator of acne target genes.

Nuclear FoxO1 deficiency has been linked to all major factors of acne pathogenesis, i.e. androgen receptor transactivation, comedogenesis, increased sebaceous lipogenesis, and follicular inflammation.

The elimination of the whey protein-based insulinotropic mechanisms of milk will be the most important future challenge for nutrition research.

Both, restriction of milk consumption or generation of less insulinotropic milk will have an enormous impact on the prevention of epidemic western diseases like obesity, diabetes mellitus, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and acne.

o.O

Rituximab for Behçet's

While I think that (pasterized) milk, dairy and eggs are causing Behçet's, it is interesting to see that Rituximab seems to be helping Behçet's patients.

Rituximab in intractable ocular lesions of Behcet's disease; randomized single-blind control study (pilot study).

Davatchi F, Shams H, Rezaipoor M, Sadeghi-Abdollahi B, Shahram F, Nadji A, Chams-Davatchi C, Akhlaghi M, Faezi T, Naderi N.
Source

Behcet's Unit, Rheumatology Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

BACKGROUND:
Ocular lesions, the main morbidity of Behcet's disease (BD), are the most difficult to treat. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of rituximab.

METHODS:
Inclusion criteria were retinal vasculitis and edema, resistant to cytotoxic drugs. Twenty patients were randomized to a rituximab group (RG) or cytotoxic combination therapy group (CCTG). Rituximab was given in two 1000-mg courses (15-day interval). Subjects received methotrexate (15 mg/weekly) with prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg per day). The CCTG received pulse cyclophosphamide (1000 mg/monthly), azathioprine (2-3 mg/kg per day) and prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg per day). The primary endpoint was the overall state of patients' eyes and the Total Adjusted Disease Activity Index (TADAI). Secondary endpoints were: visual acuity (VA), posterior uveitis (PU), and retinal vasculitis (RV). The baseline data were compared at 6 months by paired sample t-test and analysis of variance.

RESULTS:
TADAI improved significantly in the RG (t = 3.340, P = 0.009), but not in the CCTG (t = 2.241, P = 0.052). For secondary endpoints (RG/CCTG), the mean VA improved in two patients versus three (2/3), remained unchanged in 1/1, and worsened in 7/6 patients. The mean PU improved significantly in the RG (t = 3.943, P = 0.001), not in the CCTG (t = 2.371, P = 0.028). RV improved, but not statistically (t = 2.027, P = 0.057 vs. t = 1.045, P = 0.31). Edema of retina, disc and macula improved significantly in both, but much better for the RG (t = 2.781, P = 0.012 vs. t = 2.707, P = 0.014).

CONCLUSION:
Rituximab was efficient in severe ocular manifestations of BD, TADAI improved significantly after 6 months with rituximab, but not with CCT.

And one more study:

Treatment of retinal vasculitis in Behçet's disease with rituximab.

Sadreddini S, Noshad H, Molaeefard M, Noshad R.

Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Golgasht St., Tabriz, Iran.

Abstract

Behçet's disease (BD) is more common in eastern than western countries. Physicians have frequently encountered problems in its treatment, especially eye involvement. Recurrent oral and genital aphthous ulcerations are the hallmarks of Behçet's disease but other organs can be involved and ocular disease is one of the most disabling manifestations. Up to now, there are some problems in treatment of the retinal vasculitis due to Behçet's disease. We reported one patient, with visual loss due to retinal vasculitis that was resistant to prednisolone and azathioprine. Our patient was treated successfully with rituximab and his remission was sustained for 24 months of follow-up. Rituximab is a chimeric monoclonal antibody that acts against the specific B cell antigen, CD20. The recent success of rituximab in autoimmune diseases, which is considered to be T cell-mediated, indicates that B cells must have a much broader role in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases than generally appreciated.

Behçet's is a rare disease, so very few studies are being done.

However, if you have disease that might be helped by Rituximab, my (slightly educated) guess is to try consume no milk, no dairy and no eggs for at least 4 weeks to see if it helps – it's worth a shot.

Type 1 Diabetes – Dairy and Gluten to blame?

Environmental agents and type 1 diabetes
…
The most investigated dietary component associated with type 1 diabetes is cow-milk protein. Exposure to cow milk in early life (e.g. because of lack of breast feeding) has been linked with type 1 diabetes in humans and diabetes-prone BB rats. However, there is inconsistency in the studies, perhaps due to the variable composition of milk, with genetic variation in cow proteins. The findings are also consistent with the existence of a subset of milk-sensitive diabetes-prone individuals. Immune tolerance to insulin might also be compromised by early exposure to cow milk, which contains much less insulin than does human milk.

Wheat gluten is a potent diabetogen in BioBreeding (BB) rats and NOD mice, animal models of type 1 diabetes. Between 5% and 10% of type 1 diabetic patients have gluten-sensitive enteropathy (coeliac disease) and many more have antibodies to transglutaminase, a circulating marker of coeliac disease. Wheat may therefore be involved in the pathogenesis of type 1 diabetes, possibly inducing subclinical gut inflammation.
…

Or how about this:

An abrupt change in the incidence of type 1 diabetes after the migration of Polynesians to New Zealand was suggested most likely to result from the early introduction of dairy products into the infant diet, accompanied by an earlier weaning in New Zealand (Elliott 1992). A positive correlation has been reported between per capita consumption of unfermented milk proteins in populations worldwide (Scott 1990) or fluid cow milk consumption in children aged 0 to 14 years and incidence of type 1 diabetes (Dahl-Jørgensen et al 1991, Fava et al 1994). In addition, countries with the lowest prevalence of breast feeding at 3 months of age had the highest incidence of the disease (Scott 1990).

A putative role for cow's milk in the pathogenesis of Behçet's

Humoral and cell mediated immune response to cow's milk proteins in Behçet's disease.
Ann Rheum Dis. 2002 May;61(5):459-62.

Triolo G, Accardo-Palumbo A, Dieli F, Ciccia F, Ferrante A, Giardina E, Licata G.
Source

Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica (Section of Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology), Policlinico Universitario, Palermo, Italy

Abstract
OBJECTIVE:
To investigate the humoral and cellular immune response against cow's milk proteins in Behçet's disease and to distinguish any behaviour during active or inactive disease.

METHODS:
Peripheral blood mononuclear cells from 16 patients and from eight normal controls were cultured in the presence of phytohaemagglutinin (PHA), beta-casein, beta-lactoglobulin, or chicken egg albumin. Interferon gamma (IFNgamma) and interleukin 4 (IL4) were measured in the culture supernatants by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Serum samples from 46 patients with Behçet's disease and from 37 healthy subjects were also studied for antibody detection. Antibodies to beta-casein, beta-lactoglobulin, and chicken egg albumin were determined by ELISA.

RESULTS:
High IFNgamma but not IL4 levels were found in the supernatants of lymphocytes from patients with active disease cultured in the presence of cow's milk proteins. Levels were comparable with those obtained in cultures stimulated with PHA. A significantly higher level of anti-beta-casein and anti-beta-lactoglobulin IgG and IgA antibodies was found in patients with active Behçet's disease. No relation was found between their occurrence and the age of the patients, the duration of disease, or the presence of gastrointestinal abnormalities. Antibodies to chicken albumin were detected at low levels and with a prevalence similar to that of healthy subjects.

CONCLUSION:
The results indicate that an active immune response occurs in Behçet's disease. This response involves an increased frequency of antibodies to cow's milk protein and a strong Th1 polarisation after exposure to these antigens. The occurrence of these abnormalities supports a putative role for cow's milk proteins immune response in the pathogenesis of Behçet's disease.

This research is motherfucking 10 years old.

You gotta be kidding me.

Let me repeat:
This research is motherfucking 10 years old.

MOTHERFUCKING.

TEN. 

YEARS.

Words fail me.

PS: And may I suggest that you stop eating eggs, in case you have Crohn's disease? Figure 1 in the PDF strongly hints at that…

On Nutrition: Food To Avoid

(Just a very quickly written heretic list.)

This deserves a longer post, with reasons for every point – alas, it is not meant to be at the moment. The list is heavily influenced by the Paleo Diet (avoid evolutionary novel foods) and my personal experience (avoid foods that lead to acne flares, gastrointestinal problems, excessive hunger and other ill health).

So here we go.

Food that most likely will not kill you immediately, but quite likely in the long run

1. Trans-Fatty Acids
   (AKA "partially hydrogenated seed oil", AKA margarine, AKA shortening)
   Stay away from it. Seriously, this shit is dangerous in the long run.
2. Seed Oil
   (AKA vegetable oil, especially sunflower oil)
   Small amounts every now and then will not kill you. But the high Omega-6 content will kill you in the long run, if you consume much seed oils. Some seed oils are at the "less dangerous" end of the scale – especially olive oil. Nevertheless, eat in small amounts, if at all.
3. Dairy
   (AKA cow milk, AKA milk products, especially from pasteurized milk)
   My advise: Stay away from milk and milk products (e.g. desert, milk-chocolate) – it will be better for your health.
4. Cereal Grains and other seeds
   (AKA wheat, soy, corn)
   It will be better to avoid grains and other seeds, trust me. Bread causes me to get very very hungry after a couple of hours, for some hours.
5. Eggs
   Eat in moderation, if at all. If you have health problems that don't quite go away on a paleo diet, stop the consumption of eggs and see if it helps.
6. Industrially Produced Meat Products
   Especially sausages. Seriously, they put all kind of crap in there. If you have a local butcher (that you think you can trust) then buy sausages there.
7. Honey
   It is not natural to consume honey every day. Cavemen did had little access to honey.
8. Legumes
   (AKA Beans, AKA Pulse, AKA Peas, AKA Lentil)
   Might be OK if traditionally prepared. I avoid it, as it causes gastrointestinal problems for me.
9. Supplements
   Avoid, unless you have a medical condition where you know that you need them.
10. FODMAPs
    Causes gastrointestinal/IBS problems for some people – haven't check it myself.
11. (Coconut Milk)
    Causes gastrointestinal problems for me, so I don't eat it.

And of course, many of these foodstuffs hide in "Crap In A Box" foods – better not to eat crap, I reckon.

And don't consume additional vitamins (unless you have known vitamin deficiency, or have other health problems you know where vitamins are beneficial).

Foods in health limbo (if I knew!)

1. Rice
   Honestly, if I knew. I try to eat it in moderation – once a week, at most.
2. Potatoes
   (AKA "White Potatoes")
   From the family of nightshades.
   If you have health problems that don't go away with a nutritional intervention, stop the consumption of nightshades (including tomatoes) and see if it helps.
3. Other Nightshades
   If I knew. 
4. Nut, Seeds
   I avoid them at the moment.
5. Shellfish
   I avoid shellfish at the moment.
6. Raw Milk and Dairy made out of it
   I avoid it at the moment. But it is better than milk products from pasteurized milk. I avoid all dairy at the moment, regardless of raw or not.
7. Cured Meat
   If I knew. I try to eat it in moderation
8. Beef
   I avoid beef at the moment, as dairy causes definitely for me inflammatory and/or auto-immune problems – so I am suspicious of all cow products (except clarified butter) and cautiously removed beef from my diet. My fears regarding beef might be unwarranted though, and I will try to reintroduce beef in the future.
9. Tea
   Seriously, if you drink lots of tea, this might be problem. Cavemen did not drink lots of tea. I avoid it.
10. Coffee
    I need my coffee. Might be better to limit the consumption or even avoid coffee.
11. Sugar
    Eat in moderation, at most. It might be better to avoid sugar – but I think the bad reputation that sugar receives lately is only partially based in reality.

Foods that should be OK

(Unless you know that they cause health problems for you, e.g. if you have an known allergy)

1. Fish
2. Meat
   Freshly prepared, regardless of origin (beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, and so on)
3. Animal Fat, Saturated Fat
   (I'm a heretic after all)
4. Tubers, Roots, Carrots and such
5. Most Vegetables
   (AKA Greens)
6. Most Fruits
7. Salt

And ignore macro nutrient ratios, and ignore all talk about low-carb (LC) or very-low-carb (VLC) for now.

Turned out to be quite a long heretic list, after all. Has to be enough for now.

Aphthous Ulcers linked to Presence of Antibodies against Cow Milk

Humoral immunity to cow’s milk proteins and gliadin within the etiology of recurrent aphthous ulcers?

Objectives: The goal of this study was to determine the incidence of serum antibodies to gliadin and to cow’s milk proteins (CMP) using ELISA test, within patients who have recurrent aphthous ulcers (RAU).

Subjects and Methods: Fifty patients with recurrent aphthous ulcers and fifty healthy people were included in this research.

Levels of serum IgA and IgG antibodies to gliadin and IgA, IgG and IgE to CMP were determined using ELISA.

Results: The levels of serum antigliadin IgA and IgG antibodies were not significantly higher in patients with RAU in comparison with the controls (P = 0.937 and P = 0.1854 respectively).

The levels of serum anti-CMP IgA, IgG and IgE antibodies were significantly higher in patients with RAU in comparison with the controls (P < 0.005, P < 0.002 and P < 0.001 respectively).

In general, the increased humoral (IgA or IgG) immunoreactivity to CMP was found in 32 of 50 patients, while 17 of them showed the increased levels of both IgA and IgG immunoreactivity to CMP.

At the same time, 16 out of 50 patients had IgA, IgG and IgE immunoreactivity to CMP.

Conclusion: These results indicate the strong association between high levels of serum anti-CMP IgA, IgG and IgE antibodies and clinical manifestations of recurrent aphthous ulcers.

(PDF)

When will acne be linked to (pasteurized) cow milk?

Could it be Behçet’s?

Interesting question: Do I have Behçet’s?

With my old diet I had all these following symptoms, (almost) enough to meet the diagnostic criteria for Behçet’s:

• Minor aphthous ulceration [every couple of months in the mouth]
• Pseudofolliculitis [maybe a very very slight, but my follicles were always red]
• Papulopustular lesions [sometimes some]
• Acneiform nodules [not sure, I thought it was acne]
• Extreme exhaustion [Wouldn't call it "extreme", but yes I am quite fatigued]
• Nervous system symptoms [do muscle twitches and migraines count?]

(I am not sure if I might have had a very slight iritis, an inflammation of the iris. My eyecolor changed from green-brown – with brown "patches" – to a more uniform green with slight brown. And the blood veins in the white of my eye got less visible.)

These are the symptoms I had on my old diet, some of which I still have. And some of the symptoms return when I leave the path of the Paleo Diet and venture into my old diet (mainly when I eat pasteurized milk products or when I eat eggs).

And every symptom counts. I really paid not much attention to the aphthous ulcers in my mouth. They came and went again, I could live with them and they were the least of my problems – and why concern myself or even a doctor with such a small thing?

I fear I need go again on my old diet to provoke these symptoms. But not at the moment.

At the moment I am too tired to write more – but is interesting the things one finds.

Eggs – The Other Cause Of Acne?

While I am pretty certain that my acne was caused by dairy (from pasteurized milk), I had some small acne flares from time to time despite not eating any dairy – now I think I narrowed the other cause of acne down to eggs.

And it would make sense, as both milk and eggs contain immunoglobulins. And both pasteurized milk and eggs are heat treated.

One small observation (which I need to confirm yet) is that the acne from eggs is slightly different:

• Eggs seem to cause mainly pustules ("pimples") with round white purulent material, and mainly at what seems to be follicles (e.g. at the arms)
• Dairy from pasteurized milk on the other hand seems to cause mainly inflamed papules/nodules at what seems to be (sweat? sebaceous?) glands (e.g. around the nose)

But same as with acne from milk, it is a "winner takes it all" situtation, with two to three spots and the rest of the skin looking fine.

Situation Normal, All Fucked Up – I guess.

Skin, Nails, Tongue – Health Surrogate Markers

So I noticed today that the appearance of my tongue has improved. My tongue used to be covered with some (very slight) white patches, and it looked a bit like it would rot away and fall apart in some time – gross, I know, so I did look to often at my tongue… :-) But now my tongue looks pale red and uniformly so, with a little bit more white in the back.

Hmm, it is only a optical improvement, yet I take that as a positive health thing.

Again, I blame it on my paleo diet.

While we are at the topic of "skin" in the mouth, what has gone for good are aphthous ulcers / canker sores in the mouth (which I had from time to time).

And this in addition that my skin no longer suffers acne. From the various skin improvements, acne is the only one I have clearly linked to (pasteurized) milk and dairy as a cause.

And two years ago I noticed for the first time something my skin doctor called "hemangiomas" (might as well be "vascular lesions"), very small, about 1 to 2 mm, give or take (about 1/20 to 1/10 of an inch), red dots on the skin, from blood vessels. She said they would get slowly worse over the years, but they improved a tad bit over the last two years – but it is too early to call.

And the skin around the "front corners" of fingernails used to peel off easily, so the top layers of skin around my finger nails had a tendency to be missing in action – and that has improved much as well with a paleo diet.

And while we are at nails, the appearance of my nails has improved a little bit over the last two years – almost no more "mountain ridges" across from side to side (beau's lines?) – but the grooves on the length of the nail plates (in growth direction) are still here, but maybe a tad bit weaker. And the problems with hangnails have improved much as well. Cuticles and white spots are no longer noticable, but were not a huge problem in the first place.

Then, I had about once or twice a year an armpit rush, which seems to have gone by eliminating dairy and eggs from my nutrition.

So related to only skin there are more than half a dozen surrogate health markers for me, some moving slowly (e.g. hemangiomas), some moving fast (mainly acne), some were seldom (e.g. canker sores), some a constant bane (again mainly acne).

While I traced down only one skin problem clearly to an identified cause (with acne and dairy), I suspect that the other skin problems might have been caused by dairy too (maybe with cereal grains being a problem in one or the other instead of dairy, or maybe in addition to dairy).

So if you have health problems and want to start a paleo diet, you should make an inventory of your little health problems, and then you can see if they improve – things like improvement in areas such as mood are important to notice too, but acne and canker sores are so much more objective. Then you can do a challenge with dairy, or with cereal grains, or whatever you removed from your diet, to see if the things get worse again.

Is Acne caused by the Hormones in Milk and Dairy?

So, do the hormones in milk cause acne? I isolated pasteurized cow milk (and dairy) as the cause my acne.

• If I eat cheese made from raw milk, I get no acne
• If I eat cheese made from pasteurized milk, I get acne

I think the hormone levels in both raw and pasteurized products should be comparable. Of course it is possible that some producers of raw milk use different production methods, and the raw milk might contain less hormones – but then again I tried three different brands of raw milk cheese, and ate each time a large amount of raw milk cheese in one go, without getting acne. So, I don't think it's the hormones.

Another thing that makes me think it is not the hormones in milk, is that if I eat some dairy, I get about three distinct points of acne (pimples/papules/nodules) for about 100 to 150 grams of dairy from pasteurized milk. If it were hormones, I would expect slightly increased inflammation everywhere. But instead I see "the winner takes it all" with a mainly "all or nothing" inflammation.

Now this is pure speculation, but I suspect that "something" from milk (bovine IgA immunoglobulins?), that was changed during pasteurization, traverses intact from the gut to the blood. Then human immunoglobulins attach to this "something" and start forming immune complexes. Some of these immune complexes either dock to the relevant skin tissue, or they form there in the first place – and these would be the distinct points were then inflammation arises, because now leukocytes rush in and start a giant gang-bang at the expense of my no longer acne-free skin.

Still much to learn…

Seth Roberts articles on Dairy, Grains and Acne

Seth Roberts is collecting some articles about dairy, grains and acne.

No dairy? "But you NEEEEED the calcium!"

An interesting encounter today at the medical specialist, when I mentioned that I avoid dairy as dairy gives me acne and I was getting worse until I stopped eating dairy and grains:

If you don't eat dairy, then you must take calcium supplements. Otherwise you don't get enough calcium from nutrition.

Yeah, right.

Somehow the information that I tried to convey to her, that "Milk makes me ill", somehow that did not register for her. I know, it's only an anecdote to her, but still.

"If I eat this it makes me ill, if I stop eating it I get better" should be an easy to understand concept.

But I guess I am some sort of freak of nature and the only person in the world that has adverse health effects by dairy? And after all, don't all adult animals need calcium, well, because.

Yeah, right.

Maybe in 10 or 20 years we know much more about the adverse health effects of (pasteurized) dairy, and then she'll look back on what she told me about milk – or maybe not.

I wasn't in the mood to argue, so I just said "I am trying raw-milk dairy and it does not give me acne so far."

I guess she hears all kind of BS, so she'll file it under "Another Nutter", oh well. Whatever happened to being your own experiment, of being your own n-1?

Dairy and that Sore Mouth Feeling

So, having not eating dairy for quite some time now, I recently started trying out cheese again. And trying only cheeses made from raw-milk. My focus was if I get ill health effects, especially acne. And what can I say, raw-milk cheese does not cause acne for me – unlike cheese from pasteurized milk, which does cause acne for me. (And just for the record: I had no repeat of an hypoglycemia episode.)

But now I noticed another effect of dairy: An slightly sore mouth immediately while I eat cheese, and especially in the palate. And I remember I had this feeling many time before, while I was eating certain cheeses. But I never really took much notice of it.

(And furthermore, now some eight hours later, I feel even one "canker sore" or "aphthous ulcer" appear, something I had in my pre-Paleo days)

I wouldn't go so far and describe my mouth sensation as a "burning" (so I guess it is not "burning mouth syndrome" or Glossodynia), but it sure does feel a slight bit "scalded".

Wikipedia (as an reflection of what is "known" in medical sciences) is funny:

Possible causes include nutritional deficiencies, chronic anxiety or depression, type 2 diabetes, menopause, oral disorders such as thrush or dry mouth, or damaged nerves (specifically, cranial nerves associated with taste).

So there seems to be a correlation between glossodynia and chronic anxiety, and between glossodynia  and depression. I would say: Is it possible that all three are caused by an as of now undetermined third factor? I would throw in milk as an educated guess. But wikipedia instead suggests that there is a causative relationship. What bollocks, IMHO, to think that depression could cause glossodynia. Oh well.

By now, if I read such a hodgepodge of associations and no clear etiology, I would always suggest trying out an Paleo style elimination diet (no cereal grains, no dairy, no vegetable oil, no "crap in a box" and no soy), to see if the condition improves. Then, if one can't live without the crap, one can reintroduce it slowly, one by one, to see who is the culprit. Or one could simply stay on a Paleo diet.