Why Dermatologists Still Deny The Link Between Acne And Diet

NaturalNews.com printable article
Originally published July 10 2008

Why Dermatologists Still Deny the Link Between Acne and Diet
by Seppo Puusa


(NaturalNews) Almost every dermatologist will tell you that diet has
nothing to do with acne. With fervor, many of them argue this and you
know they really believe it. In a world of 'evidence based medicine'
you would think dermatologists would have strong scientific evidence
backing it up.

It turns out that the notion 'diet has nothing to do with acne' is
just about as scientific as the notion 'the world is flat'. In other
words, it's pure dogma with no credible scientific backing.

Let's take a look at how and why this started.

The two flawed studies that started it all

In the fifties and sixties, dermatologists advised their patients
about diet and its role in acne. Two studies conducted in the late
sixties and early seventies changed that.

Later those two studies came under heavy fire. They were so flawed
that they would earn a high school science student an F.

For example, one study conducted by the University of Pennsylvania
School of Medicine looked into the link between chocolate and acne.
First, the study was funded by the Chocolate Manufacturers
Association. Second, the study compared two candy bars; both equally
high in sugar, calories and trans fats, but the other had some
chocolate in it. This is comparing sugar to sugar. The sugar and trans
fats have much more of an effect on acne than the small quantity of
chocolate in the other bar. No wonder the study concluded chocolate
does not cause acne.

The other one was an equally flawed study about sugar and acne. The
sample size was small, and it didn't consider the glycemic effect of
processed carbohydrates. Again this study proved nothing.

Despite the flaws and scientific invalidity, the results of these two
studies stuck. Since then medical students have been taught there's no
scientific link between diet and acne.

In Western society, we hold doctors in high-esteem. We trust them to
know and give us advice that is based on scientific evidence. After
all, Western medicine goes all hoopla about science and how it's
evidence based.

Doctors and patients are equally ignorant about nutrition

But when it comes to diet and nutrition this is almost never the case.
Here's a quote from a study published in the American Journal of
Clinical Nutrition.

"Patients may rely on physicians to provide them with nutrition
information. And physicians should be more knowledgeable about
nutrition than their patients, but these results suggest that this is
not necessarily true."

K Lazarus, RL Weinsier, and JR Boker

Nutrition knowledge and practices of physicians in a family-practice
residency program: the effect of an education program provided by a
physician nutrition specialist

The study found you are not much better off getting nutritional
guidance from a doctor than you are from the average McDonald's
patron.

Until 2002 those two were the only published studies on diet and acne.

The acne diet dogma - just one among many

As you can see, the notion diet has nothing to do with acne is not
based on science. It's a dogma.
Unfortunately the medical community is almost as dogmatic as the
Catholic Church was in the middle ages.

"Dover tells the story of an early 1970s paper stating ultraviolet
light doesn't improve acne, a belief that held for decades." "It turns
out that the paper was wrong," he says. "This is an example of dogma
getting in the way of progress in science and medicine. It happens all
the time. Someone really important proves something and says this is
the way it is, and everybody else stops thinking. It takes about 30
years, usually a generation, until someone says, 'Wait, this can't be
true.'"

A Clear Connection? Most dermatologists tell their patients diet plays
no role in acne. New research suggests that's wrong.

New studies link diet and acne

Luckily for acne victims the tide is turning. In recent years, a few
well controlled studies have pointed towards a link between diet and
acne.

One study found a correlation between dairy and acne. Another one
looked into and found that foods high on the glycemic index increase
acne. Finally one population-based study found acne is mainly a
disease of the Western civilization. The study concluded the most
likely explanation is a Western diet high in sugar, fat and processed
foods.

Still, don't expect your dermatologist to start giving you dietary
advice anytime soon. The official party line remains -- there is no
link between diet and acne.

Dermatologists play it safe when they say food doesn't cause acne

"Dr. Jack Krushell, chief of dermatology at Harvard Vanguard Medical
Associates, says the food hypothesis is intriguing but "I still kind
of follow the party line, which is that food doesn't seem to be a
cause of acne.""

A Clear Connection? Most dermatologists tell their patients diet plays
no role in acne. New research suggests that's wrong.

For most dermatologists, who are swamped with patients and can't keep
up with the latest journals, following the party line is a safe and
easy solution. For better or worse the medical community is
conservative and slow to change. Going against the grain can kill your
career.

Health is a holistic system

To make things worse the medical community likes simple and linear
solutions. Such as, bacteria cause acne; kill the bacteria and you can
cure acne.

Unfortunately things work differently in nature.

Health, and by extension clear skin, is a holistic system. Meaning one
part (such as diet or sleep) affects and is affected by every other
part. In such a system, you cannot pull out one part and say "this is
it. This is the cause".

In a weird way dermatologists are right in some regards. Diet is a big
part of the equation that leads to acne (or clear skin), but it's not
the only part. And to say diet causes acne is wrong.

Your skin is a part of your body. Anything that affects the health of
your body also affects the health of your skin. Therefore to find the
cause (or cure) for acne, you have to take a holistic perspective and
look at your entire lifestyle.

So the next time a dermatologist tells you that you can eat whatever
you want, or that acne cannot be cured, don't take it to the bank.
Those two notions are not based on science. They are dogmas that the
dermatologists have been taught at medical school.

Get a second opinion. Preferably from someone outside the traditional
medical community.

Curing acne is simple

Acne can be cured with diet and lifestyle changes. Millions of people
have done it. You can do it too.

There's nothing strange or mysterious about curing acne. It is as
simple and straightforward as losing weight.

One of the first things you probably 'learned' about acne is that it
cannot be cured. You bought into that belief and it has kept you from
finding solutions that can really help.

Get rid of that belief and open your eyes. You'll see the road to
clear skin is both simple and painfully obvious.


About the author
Seppo Puusa is a health advocate, author and educator. He has shown
thousands of acne victims how to support their bodies own healing
mechanisms to cure acne and get permanently clear skin. His main
website is Natural Acne Solution.Com

Seppo's two most important works so far are free minicourse Acne 101:
What Einstein would have done to get clear and Clear for Life book.
Suffer from acne? Acne 101 flips on the light on for you. It explains
the physiological changes that lead to acne. Put in this way acne
suddenly makes perfect sense. You understand why nothing has worked
before and what you need to do to cure acne.

Clear for Life builds on the principles of Acne 101. It shows you how
to correct the weak areas in your health and activate the body's own
healing mechanisms. As your body returns to health it clears acne
without any creams, lotions, pills, supplements or external products.
And the results are permanent.

Clear for Life shows how curing acne can be simple, fun and delicious.







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