detox experiences?

[VeganDeVil]

Since I've become a vegan..... my skin has broken out (acne) like never before. I have to assume it's my body's way of detoxing.....

 

I am EXTREMELY healthy, and have been since I became a Vegan (or at least started the transition about a month or so ago). No refined sugar, no pasta. Whole foods, whole grains, lentils, wild rice, oatmeal, fresh fruit, nuts, flax seeds, raw nut butters, salads, and hemp protein shakes are pretty much all I have. Add to that a probiotic every morning and a multi-vitamin pill almost every day. Even the few days where I 'comfort ate', I stayed within the foods listed above.

 

Before that I was a vegetarian for 2 years, but I had alot of frozen dinners, and alot of cheese. And lots of fried 'chicken' and such at the local vegan joint.

 

So it makes sense that this is happening to me, right? I can't seem to find a ton of info about this on-line.

 

Anyone else have a similar experience? How long did it last? It makes me feel so icky.

[DV]

I will assume that you are at an age when people get pimples, so a breakout is nothing extremely strange (for instance, I haven't had a breakout since my early 20s and would consider one highly unusual). If this is the case, then I am sure that what you are experiencing is coincidence, plain and simple. Hormones play a significant role in acne, which is why people start experiencing it at puberty and why it decreases with age and changes with the use of hormones - birth control pills can decrease it and anabolic steroids/HGH/etc can increase it. There are many reasons for acne flare-ups but "detoxing" isn't one of them. The only thing you'll find online about this will be personal experiences from people who believe that "detoxing" is something special, when in fact our bodies do it every day regardless of what we eat. Considering that the majority of retained toxins are stored in our fat, you would expect someone experiencing extreme fat loss to undergo "detox" as fat is burned and releases stored toxins - yet there are few case reports of this.

 

If you were not vegan, I'm sure you would still be experiencing the worst acne flare-up of your life and looking for a reason. That's understandable human nature because I'm sure you want to find the source so that it doesn't happen again. Unfortunately, there is seldom a controllable source when it comes to acne and there are millions of people experiencing it with you, regardless of their diets.

 

I hope this is the last bad flare-up you experience. In the meantime, rest assured that it will pass but probably not as quickly as you would prefer.

[pelicanAndrew]

I still breakout like crazy if I don't keep my skin clean. Especially when I'm lifting and my hormones or going bonkers.

[VeganDeVil]

I'm 27 (though I know I don't act it!). Oh well. Thanks for the info! Didn't know most 'toxins' are actually stored in fat. I look forward to reading more about that.

[Lena01]

VeganDeVil I'm 8 years younger and I have breakouts as well. But they're not acne, they are allergic dermatitis due to something silly I could have done like eating 1 pound of cashews in 2 days or something like that. If I keep myself away from excess my histamine stays controlled. As of acne, I still have it, not better or worse than before going vegan.

[DV]

I could still got some pretty wicked acne flare-ups at that age!

 

While some toxins can reside in blood (short-term), muscle and bone, the fat tissues hold more fat-soluble toxic substances if they are not detoxified by the liver, etc. when ingested (in my understanding). When you lose weight (fat), those released toxins should be detoxified by the liver. In my opinion, this is why fasting is so potentially dangerous if you have toxins stored in your fat/muscle. Fasting will therefore release toxins, including free radicals, at a time when you are not feeding your body anti-oxidants and other substances to help counteract the damage that can be done. (sorry, I got on my soapbox about that one)

[beforewisdom]

I've know several adults who got temporary ( weeks and months ) skin problems when moving from a junkatarian diet to a clean ( whole grains, legumes, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit ) vegan diet. Their skin eventually recovers.

 

Veganprincess had such an issue, you can use the search engine on this site to read about it.

[DV]

Again, I bet those several people may have also been experiencing a coincidence. More often, I've heard of people having their skin clear up.

[beforewisdom]

Yep, it could depend on where they are starting off.

 

When I went vegan I gained 3 inches and I lost 15% off of my mortgage payments.

[Marcina]

My skin cleared up after going vegan. Right before, and during my period, however, my skin gets super oily and I get acne. Big ones. It's nasty. It's the only time I get zits.