Paleo, ketosis, PCOS, acne and new friends!

It is possible for some people to be in ketosis up to 100 g a day, but unlikely. For the vast majority of people 50 g or fewer of carbohydrates a day are needed to be in ketosis, specifically nutritional ketosis, where you eventually become keto-adapted (i.e., you preferentially burn fats for fuel). You may be making some ketones, and thus the stinky breath, etc., but not enough to become keto-adapted, I would venture. Especially if you are insulin-resistant (PCOS), you probably need fewer carbs to get the benefits of a ketogenic diet. Nothing wrong with primal/paleo and the level of carbs you are at if that is working for you, however.

I found with PCOS it took about 6 months of good eating before i saw any real improvement with my hormonal symptoms

thats weird about acne, eating paleo has made my skin insanely good. are you eating coconut oil daily? its anti-inflamatory and also has anti-bacterial properties to help heal you from the inside. perhaps you have a nightshade sensitivity? eat more cruciferous veggies maybe? they help balance hormones. when i was a teen i had pretty bad acne (hormonal im sure) but i have found that now if i eat "paleo cheats" like sweet potato or normal fries, or anything cooked in any veggie oil of sorts i get pretty bad acne, which is pretty much inflammation on top of hormonal issues.

good luck!

I have sensitive dry skin and when I tried OCM with coconut oil (very high quality) it broke me out way worse than any other oil I ever used. Also very painful, and I never usually get bad breakouts. I have have much better results with soap free cream cleanser followed by rosehip oil. Congrats on your new baby :-)

Hi all

I have PCOS as well- working hard to manage it naturally right now. I am 25 and have probably been suffering from it since I was 10 (when I first started my period, but wasn't diagnosed until 18). I never had a regular period until I started taking vitex a year ago (increases progesterone) and have suffered from acne most of my life. The only time my skin was clear was on spironlactone which I took on and off between age 18 and 25. It was great for acne, oily skin and male pattern hair but had some sucky side effects when I was on it recently.

I was already dealing with depression from the lose of my father and my acne was worse so I went back on spironlactone. Bad idea. Spironlactone is a potassium sparing diuretic. So it holds potassium in your body which can mess with your heart. To spare you the details I ended up taking a trip to urgent care and going off spironlactone.

I was at my wits end and needed a solution. I did hours of research and decided that the root problem was insulin resistance which was throwing all my other hormones off balance and actually causing PCOS. I was willing to do anything to fix it but my usual solution (spironlactone) had just been stripped from me.

(BTW Spiro doesn't actually deal with the root it just blocks the excess testosterone from affecting your skin. You still have excess insulin in your body that forces your ovaries to produce the male hormone.)

All of this happened about a month ago. I decided to take drastic matters to manage my PCOS and I have to say.... It's working!!! My skin is 80% clear from what it was a month ago. It's amazing.

I took the approach from two sides:

- healing my gut (to stop inflammation)
- Eating low GI foods (to deal with the insulin resistance and lower free testosterone)

Here is everything I'm doing:

Supplements:

1. Inositol (insulin sensitizer) 2 grams
2. NAC 1200 mg
3. Fish oil (reduce inflammation)
4. Vitamin D3 5,000 IU
5. Vitex (increase progesterone)
6. Probiotic

Diet:

1. Dairy free
2. Sugar free
3. Gluten free
4. Low glycemic index foods (basically paleo)
5. Drink homemade bone broth daily (gut and brain health)
6. Only oil I use is coconut (to cook) and olive oil (to drizzle) all others cause inflammation.

That may seem extreme but I feel amazing. I plan to change it some once I get my skin to where I want it. But it's been a month and I've seen a significant improvement in my PCOS symptoms.

Hope that helps. Feel free to add me!

Hi! I am a dermatology nurse, and usually when acne is worse around the chin and jawline it is hormonal. My guess would be that having. Baby has your hormones acting differently right now. A dermatologist can inject a small amount of steroid into the painful cysts and clear them up in a matter of days. Someone mentioned the medication spironolactone....that is often prescribed for hormonal acne, but can definitely have side effects. We monitor our patients potassium levels. Sometimes washing your face with 4% benzoyl peroxide wash can help. Just remember when starting a new acne med or wash, it can cause the breakouts to worsen as it cleanses the skin and pushes the acne to the surface. Sometimes it takes weeks or months to see improvement with a new regimen. Feel free to message me if you have any acne related questions. Best of luck!