Dietary Cure for Acne Book

by Loren Cordain, Ph.D.

This program is the natural acne cure uncovered through the research of Loren Cordain, Ph.D. It is backed by ground-breaking research published in major nutrition and scientific journals, and has worked for thousands of now acne-free individuals.

Visit our web store to purchase your copy of The Dietary Cure for Acne available in paperback or as an ebook, as well as The Complete Acne Elimination Program, the Acne Vulgaris DVD, The Dietary Cure for Acne Eating Guide, and much more.

With 174 scientific references, The Dietary Cure for Acne thoroughly documents and clearly explains the ultimate causes of acne. Put together by internationally recognized researcher Professor Loren Cordain, this is the only scientifically documented program that directly addresses all four known causes of acne … and the only program shown to clear acne blemishes in a human clinical trial.

The Dietary Cure for Acne will help you understand the scientific basis of why diet matters in keeping your skin acne free. It provides a simple plan that produces results quickly. This very specific diet is the only natural acne cure that has been shown to work in published scientific studies.

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ABOUT THE BOOK:

I wrote The Dietary Cure for Acne in 2006. The information contained in the book is based on the following four scientific articles I authored between 2002 and 2006 showing that diet represents the major environmental trigger of acne.

Cordain L, Lindeberg S, Hurtado M, Hill K, Eaton SB, Brand-Miller J. Acne vulgaris: A disease of western civilization. Arch Dermatol 2002; 138:1584-90.
Cordain L, Eades MR, Eades MD. Hyperinsulinemic diseases of civilization: more than just Syndrome X. Comp Biochem Physiol A Mol Integr Physiol. 2003 Sep;136(1):95-112.
Cordain L. Implications for the role of diet in acne. Semin Cutan Med Surg. 2005 Jun;24(2):84-91. (link to this paper)
Cordain L. Dietary implications for the development of acne: a shifting paradigm In: U.S. Dermatology Review II 2006, (Ed.,Bedlow, J). Touch Briefings Publications, London , 2006.

Until the publication of my paper, Acne vulgaris: a disease of western civilization, in 2002, (link to this paper) the medical and dermatological communities generally discounted diet as a causative agent in the development of acne. Unfortunately this dogma had persisted for at least the past 30 years, despite little or no good scientific evidence supporting its conclusion. As I pointed out in my article, Implications for the role of diet in acne, , the notion that diet didn’t cause acne was based solely upon two poorly controlled studies conducted more than 30 years ago.

The clue to unraveling the link between diet and acne first came from our study showing that acne was completely absent in non-westernized populations such as the Ache hunter gatherers of Paraguay and the Kitavan Islanders. In the U.S., between 79 % to 95% of all teenagers between 16 and 18 years of age have acne. Acne is present in children as young as 4 and about half of young men and women over age 25 experience some form of acne. In contrast, we found no acne in the entire Kitavan population including about 300 adolescents. Similar results were demonstrated for the Ache hunter gatherers.

These results led my research team and I to the conclusion that environmental factors absent in the Ache hunter gatherers and the Kitavan islanders, but present in the western world likely represented the underlying causes of acne. Diet seemed to be the most obvious element, as neither the Ache nor the Kitavans had access to western foods such as refined sugars, dairy products, cereal grains, vegetable oils or processed foods. Given this scenario, we examined the four proximate causes of acne:

The pores become blocked by skin cells that adhere to one another
Sebaceous glands in the skin produce excessive oil
Bacteria colonize and infect the oil filled, blocked pore
The oil filled, blocked pore and surrounding tissue become inflamed

and were then able to deduce how the typical western diet caused hormonal and physiological changes that elicited these four known causes of acne.

For me, one of the most gratifying aspects of the diet/acne story is to know that my pioneering work has been verified by other scientists from around the world. Dr. Mann’s group at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia has published a series of recent papers showing how high protein, low glycemic load diets (which in essence define both the Ache and Kitavan diets) cause remission of acne symptoms. Similarly, scientists at the Harvard School of Public Health have linked acne to dairy consumption in large epidemiological studies. The tide has now turned, and many dermatologists now agree with the notion that diet represents the major factor underlying acne.

The Dietary Cure for Acne will help you understand the scientific basis of why diet matters in keeping your skin acne free. With 174 scientific references, I thoroughly document and clearly explain the ultimate causes of acne. The dietary program I suggest in this book works by preventing the four immediate causes of acne, and will quickly result in great improvements or complete remission of your acne symptoms.

After reading The Dietary Cure for Acne you’ll understand how the right foods can prevent the pore blockage, excess oil production, inflammation, and bacterial infection that characterize acne. But most importantly, you’ll learn specifically which foods to eat, and which foods to avoid, so you can take action and get results.

The Myth – That no Acne Diet Causes … And Can’t Cure Acne For years the medical community’s position has been that diet had nothing to do with acne. Many people, including most physicians, believe that acne is primarily a genetic disease, and that nothing can be done to prevent it. So your only remaining strategy has been to treat acne’s symptoms by washing your face often, applying creams, or by taking antibiotics or other prescription drugs. One could eat whatever they liked, because it had always been assumed that diet had nothing to do with acne. On pages 9 and 10, you’ll learn how this myth is based upon two dated studies that examined the connection between acne and diet. One was published in 1969, and the other in 1971. As you’ll learn in the book, both studies were seriously flawed and came to incorrect conclusions. We now know that diet does in fact cause acne. A recent clinical trial has shown how certain foods negatively influence the hormones that directly underline acne. Yes, an anti acne diet will make you acne free.

The Kitavan Islanders and the Ache Hunter Gatherers Ancient Wisdom Among Acne Cures… In the U.S., between 79-95% of all teenagers between 16 and 18 years of age have acne. Acne is present in children as young as 4 and about half of young men and women over age 25 experience some form of acne. Despite the nearly universal presence of acne in westernized countries like the U.S., there is intriguing evidence from frontier physicians, explorers and anthropologists that the prevalence of acne is incredibly lower in native people when living and eating in their traditional ways. These observations had not been formalized in the medical literature until 2002 when Dr. Cordain and his colleagues published a landmark study in The Archives of Dermatology. In this study, they examined a group of people living on the remote Kitavan Islands off the coast of Papua New Guinea. Out of the 300 young people examined on the Kitavan Islands, there was not a single pimple to be found. In the second part of the study, they examined a group of South American Indians called the Ache, living in a remote jungle in eastern Paraguay. Over a two year period with these people, not a single case of acne was observed by Dr. Cordain’s research team. Dr. Cordain’s research team found that there are certain characteristics of their diet that are vastly different from that of the average American, European, or Australian citizen, and that are now known to prevent acne.

Human Clinical Trial shows Acne Free Results Does the absence of acne in remote societies prove that diet causes acne? Does it mean that you must eat strange exotic foods only available in remote jungles or faraway islands to cure your acne? No, neither of these suggestions is true. But by examining the special characteristics of non-westernized diets, and by using common supermarket foods, researchers from Australia were able to mimic certain dietary conditions that enable the Kitavan and Ache people to go through life without ever experiencing acne. In 2003 a two year study of 43 acne patients was started at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia. The diet used to treat the patients was based upon the dietary characteristics that Dr. Cordain had suggested were responsible for the clear skin in the Kitavan and Ache people. The results of the study were reported in 2005 at a meeting of the Nutrition Society of Australia. This experiment was the first human clinical trial to show that diet did indeed cause acne, and that diet could also be used to improve acne symptoms.

How the Dietary Cure for Acne Works The Dietary Cure for Acne is a complete and detailed program which will provide everything you need to immediately begin ridding yourself of acne. The program starts by providing an overview of acne and diet. In chapter four of the book you’ll receive, you will learn how The Dietary Cure for Acne heals your skin from the inside by preventing all four known causes of acne. You’ll learn how the foods you eat affect hormones called IGFBP-3 and IGF-1, and how that affects pore blockage. You’ll learn how the type of fat you eat can affect bacteria proliferation in your skin. And you’ll understand how an enzyme called ZAG, that normally works to help keep pores open, is inactivated when you eat certain common foods. Chapter six reveals the 11 types of food to avoid, along with a clear explanation of how that particular food promotes acne. The rest of the chapter provides a specific action plan. The diet is divided into two distinct phases. In Phase 1, which lasts 30 days, you’ll be attacking the causes of acne with nutritional tools that can improve acne symptoms. By closely following the diet, your acne will rapidly improve. Phase 2 covers the next 3 months and beyond. Chapter seven is titled The Good Foods, has a sample menu, and complete information on all the food that you will be eating on this program. After reading The Dietary Cure for Acne you’ll understand how the right foods can prevent the pore blockage, excess oil production, inflammation, and bacterial infection that characterize acne. But most importantly, you’ll learn specifically which foods to eat, and which foods to avoid, so you can take action and get results. It takes about 30 days for your skin cells to completely turnover, by following this diet you can expect to experience impressive results in only a month. In fact, by closely adhering to the diet you will begin to see positive changes within a week. After 30 days you will experience great improvement or complete remission of your acne. At this point you may begin adding back certain foods to see how they affect your acne symptoms. Imagine 30 days from today, looking in the mirror at blemish-free clear skin, knowing that you’ve got your acne problem licked – for good!

The Science Behind the Book

For nearly 50 years scientists have understood the following four immediate causes of acne:

The pores become blocked by skin cells that stick together.
Glands in the skin produce excessive oil.
Bacteria colonize and infect the oil filled, blocked pore.
The oil filled, blocked pore and surrounding tissue become inflamed.

However, until now the reason behind these immediate causes of acne was not well understood. Most people grow up thinking that “acne just happens”, and that other than expensive and often ineffective treatments, nothing can be done to prevent it. But in fact, we now know that diet directly affects all four of the immediate causes of acne.

For instance, there is an enzyme called ZAG that normally dissolves the proteins holding together skin cells lining the pore, so that they can flake away and not block the pore. However, new evidence shows that components of certain foods enter the bloodstream and inhibit ZAG, thus causing the skin cells lining the pore to stick together and thereby block the pore.

In The Dietary Cure for Acne, Dr. Cordain explains the causes of acne, and its connection to diet. You’ll learn how pore blockage also results from excess blood concentrations of a hormone called IGF-1, and insufficiencies of another hormone called IGFBP-3, and how the food you eat influences both of these hormones. You’ll learn how excess oil production is caused by certain foods, and you’ll learn how the inflammation of acne can be rapidly calmed by eating the right anti-acne diet.

Scientific research by Dr. Cordain and his colleagues has established a new understanding of how diet influences the hormonal, cellular and molecular underpinnings of acne. The Dietary Cure for Acne works by preventing the four immediate causes of acne, and will quickly result in great improvements or complete remission of your acne. This is a completely natural diet, and the only one among all acne cures.

Book Table of Contents:

	Page
About the Author and the Book	iv
Chapter 1: Overview of Acne and Diet	1
Chapter 2: Success Stories	13
Chapter 3: Acne Defined	25
Chapter 4: The Immediate Causes of Acne	31
Chapter 5: The Ultimate Causes of Acne	39
Chapter 6: The Dietary Cure for Acne – Foods to Avoid	59
Chapter 7: The Dietary Cure for Acne – The Good Foods	75
Reader Feedback	97
Scientific References	98
List of Tables	115
List of Figures	116
Index	117

View Testimonials

III. TESTIMONIALS:

“Dear Dr. Cordain, I am writing to you regarding your article on acne vulgaris which was published in the Archives of Dermatology in December, 2002. As a sufferer of acne myself at the age of 29, I was wondering about the cause of acne… I have gone on the diet and I have seen massive improvement! In fact, I only got a spot in the last three months! D.L., Ph.D. Department of Molecular Pathogenesis Institute of Neurology”

“Dr. Cordain

I just wanted to take a couple minutes to thank you for information that has cured my 16 year struggle with acne. Since I was 11, I have had a moderate case of acne. It never was severe, but it has been very stubborn. I tried everything short of Accutaine—several years of Retin-A, antibiotics, benzoyl peroxide, birth control, and every cream wash and mask available at the drugstore. I had the highest hopes for everything. I used Retin-A for about 4 years, thinking that one day it would magically kick in. Nothing ever worked. I was never without at least one major zit on my face, and I usually had several pretty obvious zits and lots of blackheads. Not fun, and definitely not psychologically helpful.

…I’ve always been a big carb fanatic—cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner was not uncommon.

I decided to give the diet a try. I noticed that by the very next day, something felt different. I had no new eruptions. The ones I had started to shrink. After about a week, almost all my old zits were gone and no new ones took their place. I went on and off the diet several times until my experiments proved overwhelming. I now have been on the diet for awhile and have absolutely no breakouts on my face. And unlike the terrible side effects from my acne drugs (stomach problems, dry, itchy face); I have only the positive side effects of more energy, a clearer head, and a smile that I just can’t shake. Plus the uncontrollable urge to go up to people at the grocery store and lecture them (but I’m too shy for that). The other thing I have noticed is that the growth of my little coarse chin hairs has slowed considerable. Maybe I’ll get to stop tweezing them soon.

An interesting thing happened last week at a conference. All of our food was already prepared and paid for, so I did cheat a bit. …The next morning my chin, where I have a tendency for breakouts, was swollen terribly with a boil, and I had 2 other zits on my face. My lymph nodes were also swollen. But after I got back on track, the boil is now completely gone with almost no mark.

So again, I want to thank you. My whole attitude has changed, and I almost feel like a different person. Acne was very psychologically damaging to me, and the turnaround has helped so much more than just my skin. I just somehow wish all the money I threw down the garbage on the various acne treatments could have somehow gone to you instead!

Thank you,

Michelle”

“Dear Dr. Cordain

“I wrote you an email about a year ago (I don’t expect you to remember) about your … diet-acne connection. You encouraged me to try your diet to control my acne. I’ve been eating the way you’ve outlined … and my face is amazingly clear. My only breakouts occur after a dietary slip-up. I’ve turned several other acne sufferers onto this way of eating and they’ve all seen drastic improvements. We really appreciate your work and the fact that research goes “against the grain” of what dermatologists and others would ever say.

Thanks so much!

Pete”

“Dr. Cordain

I saw that you were developing your studies in the acne link and thought I would share my story with you: I guess it began when I was about 12, my family had a history of bad skin, my brother did a course of Accutane, my sister did antibiotics (which my younger brother is now on). I did not want to take this part so I searched for alternatives, mainly through diet. I did the vegetarian thing, then went vegan, then went 95% Raw for a year (in which my skin was actually at its worst!) I thought these diets where the way to heal my skin. After 12 years of this I … then adopted your diet. My skin was better from day one, it was clearer and I could see it starting to heal! I have had almost no breakouts during the past month.

Kindest regards,

Kristi”

“Dear Professor Cordain,

I was very interested to read your article. I am now 52 years old – I had acne in my teens and have had ‘spots’ on and off ever since! I was eagerly awaiting the time when I would be too old for spots and too young for grey hair! – I have only succeeded in having a few grey hairs! Since July, I have simply cut out (certain foods). Apart from losing five inches round my hips, my skin has improved enormously– what a bonus!

Regards,

Penny

London, UK”

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Visit our web store to purchase your copy of The Dietary Cure for Acne available in paperback or as an ebook, as well as The Complete Acne Elimination Program, the Acne Vulgaris DVD, The Dietary Cure for Acne Eating Guide, and much more.

Buy Now

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about us

Dr. Loren Cordain is a member of the faculty of the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University. During the past two decades he has researched the effects of diet on human health and specifically examined links between modern diets and disease. He is the author of numerous scientific articles examining the link between diet and health, and has published three popular books, The Paleo Diet, The Paleo Diet for Athletes, and The Dietary Cure for Acne. Additional information and specifics may be found in the articles, books, and materials listed on this web site, and through The Paleo Diet Newsletter.