Last week I was a guest blogger at Kelly the Kitchen Kop. Click the link at the bottom to read the entire article.
Conventional medicine does not address the common-sense knowledge that diet can affect acne, in spite of current published research showing just that.
The usual and customary comment from a medical doctor about acne, is that “…there is no scientific evidence that diet plays a role…”. That answer, coming from a health care professional with “expertise,” leads to the inevitable prescription for topical medicines, or the stronger Accutane or antibiotics.
All of these treatments are dangerous. Accutane has many side effects including depression, suicidal thoughts, inflammatory bowel disease, birth defects if given to a pregnant woman, to mention just a few. In fact, it is so dangerous to pregnancy and the fetus, there has recently been a new protocol introduced in order to make sure pregnant women do not use the drug. Is it a good idea to give a teenager, whose self esteem may be a bit fragile to begin with (especially if he or she has acne) a drug that may cause depression or suicidal thoughts?
The other medical alternative, antibiotics, are just as dangerous. As a clinician, I have met quite a few people who have told me they thought their inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s/colitis) was caused by the antibiotics they were given for years as a teenager to treat acne. Taking antibiotics kills not only the bad bacteria, but also the good bacteria in the bowel. In taking these medications chronically, the flora in the bowel becomes unbalanced and this opens the door to overgrowth of pathogens including bacteria, fungi, viruses and yeast (candida), that come with their own host of problems. In my opinion, neither treatment is a good option.
CLICK HERE to read the entire article originally posted at Kelly the Kitchen Kop.