The Primal Parent

The worst thing about so called dietary cures for acne is that many of them are written by people who don’t actually have acne. There is no “in theory” when it comes to acne or at least we don’t know what it is yet. I have followed every single acne plan prescribed by every genius PhD, MD, or Joe Schmo. They haven’t worked, so clearly the theory surrounding the cure for acne is still largely unknown. Aside from that, on an emotional level, those that suffer from acne definitely don’t need clear skinned, small pored beauties telling them how they do it. They don’t do anything. They simply don’t have the problem.

Some or many aspects of the modern diet have changed the way acne sufferer’s pores secrete oil, the way the pores clamp down and stop healthy circulation, the way hormones are secreted in the skin, and the way the immune system goes overboard to mount an attack on a small cyst.

Yes, acne is a disease caused by a bad diet but no, it is not a disease which is cured by a good one. It can be managed. The acne can be stopped, but as soon as the person starts eating modern foods again, it will return. When an acne sufferer so much as cheats, she will probably get pimples again. This is why the term orthorexia is so offensive to me because these modern diseases are only manageable. Strict eating is requisite. Once a system has gone wrong in the body it isn’t repaired over night.

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Just the bread? Nah. Just the butter? Nah. But the two combined? Irresistible!

While scientific research and theories of evolutionary nutrition are great, I tend to take observation and experimentation above all that. One thing I have carefully observed over the years is my own tendency toward food cravings. What do I crave, when, and why?

I like to visit Gnolls.org from time to time for some interesting perspectives on just this issue. While he offers plenty of facts and references, occasionally I don’t agree with his conclusions. I hate to tear into somebody’s well researched and carefully considered article but where I come from, that’s just what you do. The fact that you don’t agree with everything a person says doesn’t mean you don’t like them, and adore J.S. Stanton I do.

The article in mind is entitled, “Why We Crave Fat”. The hypothesis is that

“animal fat is the primary constituent of the evolutionary human diet.”

The conclusion is that we crave it because we evolved to need it. Additionally, he contends, it is the lack of animal fat in our diets (the lipid hypothesis disaster) that drives us to eat junk food.

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The low carb diet appears to be pretty useful for a lot of people recovering from chronic illness. It certainly was for me. Nevertheless, there is a lot of controversy in the Primal community these days about limiting carbohydrates. I’ve been pretty interested in these discussions because, as my regular readers know, I’ve been a long time low-carber. I’ve been reading a lot and asking myself whether it was really the elimination of carbs that eased my symptoms and whether another approach might be equally (or more) effective.

Low carb advocates believe that limiting carbohydrates controls insulin resistance, which is at the base of countless chronic illnesses. They say that insulin resistance is caused by carbohydrate gluttony and that it is cured by eliminating carbs. I agree with them to a point but my own experience (and that of many others) suggests that the equation is not quite so simple.

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