Skip to main content

Acne: Crustaceans versus Oxidation

Having read about the benefits of krill oil for arthritis pain and blood sugar control, I bought a bottle for my mother. So far the results for her blood sugar have been encouraging if inconclusive. Her blood sugar levels took a dive into the normal range a few weeks after she started taking krill, but that was followed by some high-carb holidays. And her record keeping leaves something to be desired. She's not sure yet if it's going to help her arthritis.

Since krill oil is supposed to be a great anti-oxidant (keep that word in mind), I decided to try it to see what it would do for me. What it did was commit the worst trespass any ingested substance can cause: acne. Straightaway, I got a cyst on my knee that was so painful I couldn't dance. Then I got one on my jaw; both of them went away within a few days, though--but I hadn't had one in years. My keratosis worsened and even showed up on my face. (Keratosis is having those hard little lumps in the hair follicles of your arms and legs--not to be confused with ketosis or ketoacidosis). Now I'm so broken out that I'm wearing a freaky looking application of Queen Helene Mint Julep Mask. (What, you think gorgeous just happens?)

Then I thought...oxidation...Oxiclean...benzoyl peroxide...maybe some of that crud in your skin is supposed to oxidize. Maybe anti-oxidants aren't always the best thing since sliced bacon. Here's an interesting discussion from The Beauty Brains Forum:


And here's a rodent study(1) where the oxidation action of benzoyl peroxide was used to induce tumors in mice. (Keep in mind that rodents aren't furry little humans, and that some rodents are bred to be prone to illness. Using benzoyl peroxide on your skin isn't signing your death warrant. Still, I wouldn't slather it on.)

According to ehow.com, benzoyl peroxide works by killing acne-causing bacteria by "introduc[ing] oxygen directly into the pore when applied topically onto the skin." The odd thing is, benzoyl peroxide never worked for me, and yet an opposite product--a strong anti-oxidant--has re-introduced acne to my skin.

(1) "Inhibitory effect of a flavonoid antioxidant silymarin on benzoyl peroxide-induced tumor promotion, oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in SENCAR mouse skin." Jifu Zhao, Moushumi Lahiri-Chatterjee, Yogesh Sharma and Rajesh Agarwal. Carcinogenesis, Volume 21, Issue4 Pp. 811-816.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dana Carpender's Podcast; Dr. Davis on YouTube; Labor Day Sales

Dana Carpender, who's written several recipe books and other works on low-carb, has a podcast and is still writing articles at carbsmart.com. She's a terrific writer and amateur researcher (otherwise known as reading , as Jimmy Dore jokes ). I use her book 500 Low-Carb Recipes all the time and I'm looking forward to hearing more from her. I've embedded her podcast on my blog (click on the three lines at the top right if you don't see it, or go to Spotify or other podcast source if you're getting this by email). Carbsmart.com doesn't seem to have a blog feed, so if you want to see the latest posts there, you can sign up for notifications at their site. Dr. Davis has been putting a lot more videos on YouTube, so I've added his channel to the lineup. Click on the three lines on my blog if you don't see it, or go to his channel here .  * * * * * Primal Kitchen is having a Labor Day sale-- 20% off everything. They sell high quality collagen powder, con...
1 comment
Read more

Lousy Mood? It Could be the Food

Here's a funny AMV(1) on what it's like to be depressed, apathetic and overly sensitive. Note: explicit (but funny) lyrics in the video. Hearing this song brought a startling realization: I used to be emo, but with normal clothes. Sulking, sobbing and writing poetry were my hobbies. When I was a kid, my mother said that she wouldn't know what to do to punish me if I had done something wrong. And yet things got worse. Over a two-week period in 1996, my best friend moved away, I lost my job and broke up with my boyfriend. I lost my appetite and lived on a daily bagel, cream cheese and a Coke for the next few months. I had tried counseling, and didn't find it helpful; in fact, I found reviving painful memories was pointless. Not thinking about them, on the other hand, worked wonders. Later on, so did studying philosophy and learning to think through emotions instead of just riding through them. But what's blown away all the techniques is diet. Since I s...
6 comments
Read more

Carrageenan: A Sickening Thickener. Is it a Migraine Menace?

Let me tell you about my ride in an ambulance last night. I woke up at six o'clock from a nap with a mild headache. I ate dinner and took my vitamins, along with a couple of extra magnesium pills. Since magnesium helps my TMJ flare-ups, I thought it might help my headache. Then I went to see my mother. A few hours later, I had a severe headache, sinus pain and nausea. During a brief respite from the pain, I left for home, but less than a mile later, I got out of my car and threw up. A cop, Officer Fisher, pulled up behind me and asked if I was okay. He believed me when he said I hadn't been drinking, but he said I seemed lethargic and he wanted the paramedics to see me. (Later he mentioned that a man he'd recently stopped was having a stroke.) Thinking I had a migraine headache, the paramedics wanted to take me to the hospital. But since I knew that doctors don't know what causes migraine headaches, and I didn't know what effect their medicine would have on m...
15 comments
Read more