WHEAT and PIMPLE FACE (Acne)

FROM THE BOOK "WHEAT BELLY by Dr. Davis

　

I WILL GIVE YOU THE ENTIRE WRITING OF DR. DAVIS ON WHEAT AND PIMPLE FACE, THEN I WILL SHOW YOU WHY IT IS MOSTLY ALL HOG-WASH - Keith Hunt

BAGEL FACE: WHEAT'S DESTRUCTIVE EFFECT ON THE SKIN

IF WHEAT AND its effects can grasp hold of organs such as the brain, intestines, arteries, and bones, can it also affect the largest organ of the body, the skin?

Indeed it can. And it can display its peculiar effects in more ways than Krispy Kreme has donuts.

Despite its outwardly quiet facade, skin is an active organ, a hotbed of physiologic activity, a waterproof barrier fending off the attacks of billions of foreign organisms, regulating body temperature through sweat, enduring bumps and scrapes every day, regenerating itself to repel the constant barrage. Skin is the physical barrier separating you from the rest of the world. Each person's skin provides a home to ten trillion bacteria, most of which assume residence in quiet symbiosis with their mammalian host.

Any dermatologist can tell you that skin is the outward reflection of internal body processes. A simple blush demonstrates this fact: the acute and intense facial vasodilatation (capillary dilation) that results when you realize the guy you flipped off in traffic was your boss. But the skin reflects more than our emotional states. It can also display evidence of internal physical processes.

Wheat can exert age-advancing skin effects, such as wrinkles and lost elasticity, through the formation of advanced glycation end products. But wheat has plenty more to say about your skin's health than just making you age faster.

(We covered the subject of wheat and aging, and I showed you the hog-wash of that idea - Keith Hunt)

Wheat expresses itself - actually, the body's reaction to wheat expresses itself - through the ski just as digestive by-products of wheat lead to joint inflammation, increased blood sugar, and brain effects, so too can they result in reactions in the skin, effects that range from petty annoyances to life-threatening ulcers and gangrene. Skin changes do not generally occur in isolation: If an abnormality due to wheat is expressed on the skin surface, then it usually means that the skin is not the only organ experiencing an unwanted response. Other organs may be involved, from intestines to brain - though you may not be aware of it.

YO, PIMPLE FACE

Acne:

The common affliction of adolescents and young adults, responsible for more distress than prom night. Nineteenth-century doctors called it "stone-pock," while ancient physicians often made issue of the rash-like appearance minus the itching. The condition has been attributed to everything from emotional struggles, especially those involving shame or guilt, to deviant sexual behavior. Treatments were often dreadful, including powerful laxatives and enemas, foul-smelling sulfur baths, and prolonged exposure to X-ray.

Aren't the teenage years already tough enough?

As if teenagers need any more reason to feel awkward, acne visits the twelve-to eighteen-year-old set with uncommon frequency.

It is, along with the onslaught of bewildering hormonal effects, a nearly universal phenomenon in Western cultures, affecting more than 80 percent of teenagers, up to 95 percent of sixteen-to eighteen-year-olds, sometimes to disfiguring degrees. Adults are not spared, with 50 percent of those over age twenty-five having intermittent bouts.

While acne may be nearly universal in American teenagers, it is not a universal phenomenon in all cultures. Some cultures display no acne whatsoever. Cultures as wide ranging as the Kitavan Islanders of Papua New Guinea, the Ache hunter-gatherers of Paraguay, natives of the Purus Valley in Brazil, African Bantus and Zulus, Japan's Okinawans, and Canadian Inuit are curiously spared the nuisance and embarrassment of acne.

Are these cultures spared the heartbreak of acne because of unique genetic immunity?

Evidence suggests that it is not a genetic issue, but one of diet. Cultures that rely only on foods provided by their unique location and climate allow us to observe the effects of foods added or sub tracted to the diet. Acne-free populations such as the Kitavans of New Guinea exist on a hunter-gatherer diet of vegetables, fruits, tubers, coconuts, and fish. The Paraguayan Ache hunter-gatherers follow a similar diet, along with adding land animals and cultivated manioc, peanuts, rice, and maize, and are also spared completely from acne. Japanese Okinawans, probably the most long-lived group on planet earth, until the 1980s consumed a diet rich in an incredible array of vegetables, sweet potatoes, soy, pork, and fish; acne was virtually unknown among them. The traditional Inuit diet, consisting of seal, fish, caribou, and whatever seaweed, berries, and roots that are found, likewise leaves Inuits acne-free. The diets of African Bantus and Zulus differ according to season and terrain, but are rich in indigenous wild plants such as guava, mangoes, and tomatoes, in addition to the fish and wild game they catch; once again, no acne

In other words, cultures without acne consume little to no wheat, sugar, or dairy products. As Western influence introduced

processed starches such as wheat and sugars into groups such as the Okinawans, Inuits, and Zulus, acne promptly followed. In other words, acne-free cultures had no special genetic protection from acne, but simply followed a diet that lacked the foods that provoke the condition. Introduce wheat, sugar, and dairy products, and Clearasil sales skyrocket.

(I'll show you later this is only part truth, and even in the Western world not that long ago acne was not common at all - Keith Hunt)

Ironically, it was "common knowledge" in the early twentieth century that acne was caused or worsened by eating starchy foods such as pancakes and biscuits. This notion fell out of favor in the eighties after a single wrongheaded study that compared the effects of a chocolate bar versus a "placebo" candy bar. The study concluded that there was no difference in acne observed among the sixty-five participants regardless of which bar they consumed except that the placebo bar was virtually the same as the chocolate bar in calories, sugar, and fat content, just minus the cocoa. (Cocoa lovers have cause to rejoice: Cocoa does not cause acne. Enjoy your 85 percent cocoa dark chocolate.) This didn't stop the dermatologic community, however, from pooh-poohing the relationship of acne and diet for many years, largely based on this single study that was cited repeatedly.

In fact, modern dermatology largely claims ignorance on just why so many modern teenagers and adults experience this chronic, sometimes disfiguring, condition. Though discussions center around infection with Propionibacterium acnes, inflammation, and excessive sebum production, treatments are aimed at suppressing acne eruption, not in identifying causes. So dermatologists are quick to prescribe topical antibacterial creams and ointments, oral antibiotics, and anti-inflammatory drugs.

More recently, studies have once again pointed at carbohydrates as the trigger of acne formation, working their acne-promoting effects via increased levels of insulin.

The means by which insulin triggers acne formation is beginning to yield to the light of day. Insulin stimulates the release of a hormone called insulin-like growth factor-I, or IGF-I, within the skin. IGF-1, in turn, stimulates tissue growth in hair follicles

and in the dermis, the layer of skin just beneath the surface. Insulin and IGF-1 also stimulate the production of sebum, the oily protective film produced by the sebaceous glands. Overproduction of sebum, along with skin tissue growth, leads to the characteristic upward-growing reddened pimple.

Indirect evidence for insulin's role in causing acne also comes from other experiences. Women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), who demonstrate exaggerated insulin responses and higher blood sugars, are strikingly prone to acne. Medications that reduce insulin and glucose in women with PCOS, such as the drug metformin, reduce acne. While oral diabetes medications are usually not administered to children, it has been observed that young people who take oral diabetes medications that reduce blood sugar and insulin do experience less acne.

Insulin levels are highest after carbohydrates are consumed; the higher the glycemic index of the consumed carbohydrate, the more insulin is released by the pancreas. Of course, wheat, with its uncommonly high glycemic index, triggers higher blood sugar than nearly all other foods, thereby triggering insulin more than, nearly all other foods. It should come as no surprise that wheat, especially in the form of sugary donuts and cookies-i.e., highglycemic index wheat with high-glycemic index sucrose-causes acne. But it's also true of your multigrain bread cleverly disguised as healthy.

Also in line with insulin's ability to provoke acne formation is the role of dairy. While most health authorities obsess over the fat content of dairy and recommend low-fat or skim products, acne is not caused by the fat. The unique proteins in bovine products are the culprit that trigger insulin out of proportion to the sugar content, a unique insulinotropic property that explains the 20 percent increase in severe acne in teenagers consuming milk.

Overweight and obese teenagers generally get that way not through overconsumption of spinach or green peppers, nor of salmon or tilapia, but of carbohydrate foods such as breakfast cereals.

Overweight and obese teenagers accordingly should have more acne than slender teenagers, and that is indeed the case: The heavier the child, the more likely he or she is to have acne. (It does not mean that slender kids can't have acne, but that statistical likelihood of acne increases with body weight.)

As we would expect from this line of reasoning, nutritional efforts that reduce insulin and blood sugar should reduce acne. A recent study compared a high-glycemic index diet to a low-glycemic index diet consumed by college students over twelve weeks. The low-GI diet yielded 23.5 percent less acne lesions, compared to a 12 percent reduction in the control group. Participants who cut their carbohydrate intake the most enjoyed nearly a 50 percent reduction in the number of acne lesions.

In short, foods that increase blood sugar and insulin trigger the formation of acne. Wheat increases blood sugar, and thereby insulin, more than nearly all other foods. The whole grain bread you feed your teenager in the name of health actually worsens the problem. Though not life-threatening in and of itself, acne can nonetheless lead the sufferer to resort to all manner of treatments, some potentially toxic such as isotretinoin, which impairs night vision, can modify thoughts and behavior, and causes grotesque congenital malformations in developing fetuses.

Alternatively, elimination of wheat reduces acne. By also eliminating dairy and other processed carbohydrates such as chips, tacos, and tortillas, you'll largely disable the insulin machinery that triggers acne formation. If there's such a thing in this world, you might even have a grateful teenager on your hands.

....................

NOW, TO WHY MUCH OF THE ABOVE BY DR. DAVIS IS HOG-WASH.

FIRST, OF COURSE IF A TEEN IS PRONE TO ACNE, DIET MUCH BE USED TO COMBAT IT, AND CERTAINLY THE LESS OF ANYTHING OF SUGAR OR ANYTHING TURNING INTO ANYTHING CLOSE TO SUGAR IN THE BODY, SHOULD BE ELIMINATED.

ACNE IN TEENS IS RELATIVELY NEW IF WE ARE TALKING ABOUT THE 20TH CENTURY AND ABOUT A HIGH PERCENT OF TEENS COMING DOWN WITH ACNE.

PROOF: I WAS A TEEN DURING THE 1950s. I GRADUATED FROM HIGH-SCHOOL IN 1959. I WENT TO A SMALL HIGH SCHOOL IN STUDENT POPULATION - 250 STUDENTS FOR 4 GRADES - 9 THROUGH 12 INCLUSIVE COUNTING. BUT FOR WOODWORK/METALWORK WE HAD TO GO TO ANOTHER SCHOOL, THE SCHOOL I ATTENDED DID NOT HAVE THE FACILITIES. SO I DID SEE MANY OTHER TEEN STUDENTS. I WAS CAPTAIN OF THE FOOTBALL TEAM (SOCCER); WAS ON THE CRICKET TEAM, WAS ON THE TRACK AND FIELD TEAM; HENCE SAW MANY MANY TEENS OVER THE HIGH SCHOOL YEARS.

DURING MY 4 YEARS IN HIGH SCHOOL I DO NOT REMEMBER ANY TEEN HAVING A BAD CASE OF ACNE, NOT EVEN CLOSE. I DO NOT REMEMBER ANY TEEN I ENCOUNTERED IN THE SPORTS AND TRACK AND FIELD COMPETITIONS, HAVING ACNE - EITHER BOY OR GIRL. JUST DID NOT SEE IT AT ALL IN MY YEARS OF BEING A TEEN IN ENGLAND. AND I SURE WOULD HAVE NOTICED, FOR ACNE, A BAD CASE OF IT (AS SOME GET TODAY) IS SOMETHING A TEEN NOTICES VERY QUICKLY IN OTHER TEENS.

NOW MYSELF AND MY PEERS DURING THE 1950s .... WELL WE ATE OUR SHARE OF WHEAT PRODUCTS. I HAD SHREDDED WHEAT WITH HONEY FOR BREAKFAST; I ATE WHOLE GRAIN BREAD, AND ENJOYED SOME DIGESTIVE BISCUITS ON A REGULAR BASIS. I ALSO LOVED NUTS AND RAISINS, FIGS, DATES, AND BARLEY MALT BY THE TEASPOON FULL NEARLY EVER DAY.

I WAS FOLLOWING THE HEALTH AND STRENGTH MAN CHARLES ATLAS AND HIS COURSE OF EXERCISING AND EATING. NOW BACK IN THE 1950s MOST THINGS WERE WAY MORE ORGANIC THAN THEY ARE TODAY; CERTAINLY THERE WAS NO GMOing. THE MILK (DELIVERED TO SCHOOL - FREE - A PINT OR MORE, IF YOU WANTED IT) WAS ORGANIC AND NOT HOMOGENIZED, AS THE CREAM WOULD BE AT THE TOP OF THE GLASS BOTTLE IT CAME IN - YOU'D SHAKE IT UP BEFORE DRINKING IT.

CHARLES ATLAS SAID DRINK LOTS OF IT, AND YOU'D HAVE THE COMPLEXION OF A BABY. I DID DRINK LOTS OF IT, AND YES I DID HAVE A COMPLEXION MOST OF THE GIRLS ENVIED.

NOW I ATE SUCH RICH FOODS THAT I BROKE OUT NOW AND AGAIN WITH ***CARBUNCLES*** (TYPE OF BOIL, BUT NOT THE PAINFUL BOILS SOME FRIENDS I KNEW WOULD GET) BUT I HAD A COMPLEXION LIKE A BABY. NOW YOU GO FIGURE. BUT THE POINT IS I NEVER HAD ACNE!! AND JUST ABOUT EVERY TEEN I KNEW AND SAW DID NOT HAVE ACNE EITHER. AND WE SURE ATE OUR WHEAT PRODUCTS, BUT NOT LIKE THEY DO TODAY AND MORE ORGANIC AND NOT GMOd.

SO SOMETHING HAPPENED TO OUR FOODS AFTER I WAS A TEEN. AND SO INDEED ACNE BECAME MUCH MORE PREVALENT IN TEENS FROM THE 1970s AND AFTER. WE KNOW FROM THE 1970s ON WHEAT WAS GMOd AND TEENS AND PEOPLE IN GENERAL CONSUME MORE WHEAT TYPE PRODUCTS (AND PUT INTO THINGS YOU'D NEVER THINK WOULD HAVE WHEAT IN IT). THEN THERE IS JUST SIMPLY THE DEGRADING OF FOODS IN GENERAL SINCE THE 1950s.

SO DR. DAVIS IS WRONG IN PART - THE PART WHERE HE THINKS WHEAT AND MANKIND SHOULD NOT MIX, WHERE HE THINKS WHEAT IS KINDA JUST PLAIN EVIL.

WE HAVE TODAY ALL KINDS OF HEALTH ISSUES THAT DID NOT EXIST IN THE 1950s IN CHILDREN AND TEENS ESPECIALLY. IT IS NOT WHEAT PER SE THAT IS THE ENEMY, IT IS WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO IT, AND WHAT WE HAVE DONE TO FOODS IN GENERAL, AND THEN HOW UN-BALANCED WE HAVE BECOME IN OUR EATING HABITS, AS WELL AS ALL THE "JUNK" FOODS KIDS AND ADULTS EAT, LIKE THERE IS NO TOMORROW.....JUST A DIFFERENT DEGRADED HABIT EATING WESTERN WORLD WE HAVE BECOME SINCE THE 1950s.

GETTING BACK TO ORGANIC GROWING OF FOODS, MAKING SURE TO EAT PLENTY OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES, AND WHOLE GRAINS IN MODERATION TOGETHER WITH ORGANIC WHOLE MILK, AND WE WOULD BE TAKING ONE HUGE STEP TO BEING MUCH HEALTHIER.

NOW OF COURSE WITH DEGENERATION OF HUMANITY OVER THOUSANDS OF YEARS, SOME OF US TODAY ARE GOING TO BE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DIFFERENT KINDS OF ODD THING, WHERE OUR BODY IS ALLERGIC TO THIS OR THAT, OR HAS REACTION IN MANY DIFFERENT WAYS TO DIFFERENT FOODS.

BUT FOR THE "NORMAL" IN QUOTES, OF US, ORGANIC WHOLE WHEAT IS NOT OUR ENEMY, UNLESS WE CONSUME TOO MUCH OF IT. AND SO IT GOES WITH MANY THINGS: RED WINE IS NOT OUR ENEMY UNLESS WE CONSUME TOO MUCH OF IT. VITAMIN "A" IS NOT OUR ENEMY UNLESS WE CONSUME TOO MUCH OF IT, AS MY DAD DID, AND FOUND IT HIS ENEMY UNTIL HE REALIZED HE WAS GETTING TOO MUCH OF IT, AND CUTTING BACK CLEARED UP HIS PROBLEM.

WHEAT DOES NOT CAUSE ACNE..... PER SE..... NOT WITH "NORMAL" TEENS. THE CAUSE OF ACNE TODAY IS A MANY SIDED ISSUE.

ORGANIC WHEAT WAS CREATED BY GOD FOR OUR GOOD - IT IS NOT OUR ENEMY IN MODERATION.

Keith Hunt