This is Real Questions and Real Answers, the section of my website where I select certain emails that I feel are relevant and good pieces of information for the rest of my readers to read. I spend dozens of hours every week reading and answering questions, comments, or concerns that you guys have and personalize advice the best I can. (Don’t worry, other than the occasional first name, not much else is revealed).

So if you’ve emailed me within the last week (or sometimes longer =), check this article out! Your email is probably in here!

Danny Writes:

It also depends on what chocolate you eat no?

What I found out is that the higher the percentage of Cocoa the less sugar there is. Usually the ones that are above 85% cocoa have more fiber than sugar! =] I get the lindt 90% chocolate bar. Its yummy, and has antioxidants, and also has less sugar than fiber xP!

They sell it pretty much anywhere (walmart, walgreens… etc.).

Here is a link so you can take a look at it if ya want http://www.lindtusa.com/product-exec/product_id/216/category_id/5/nm/Excellence_90_Cocoa_Bar

Danny P.

*********MY RESPONSE**************

Hey Danny, great find on the cocoa in chocolate.  Right now, I’m going to say that you’re probably right in that a chocolate bar with less sugar can do less damage and cause less inflammation.

Hopefully, in the future, we don’t find that cocoa causes anything crazy like… anal leakage or something…

-Ray

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Hi Ray
First of all I would like to thank you for your affords to help all acne sufferers out there! Especially that you are investing so much spare time of yours in to making videos,writing articles,running this blog where you could just enjoy your hobbies or whatever people do so after their job to relax And not to forget you are sharing your knowledge for Free ,where some others make money on anything or anyone. Really noble of you Your Mom is surely very proud to have a son like you. OK OK I think I better stop here,not that I make you blush or something XD

I am a 30 years young and guess what? yup…I still have acne, that is mostly comedonic.It is not that bad as cystic acne but well…It does quit enough damage to my skin(large pores, scared pores ect.) and self esteem.That Acne nightmare started from age 13 till now.I have tried everything possible,accutane,BP,Retin-A,Acid peels,Lazers and Dermobrasion,my Dermatologist did this to me DURING Accutane treatment, my skin healing was weakened by the drug… aaannd Vua-la…Inflammation/Cystic acne/Bunch of scars/My Ruined skin and empty bank account as a bonus .

That was the time where I lost my trust in doctors and all that “ahhsogoodandprooven” medical treatments.I am doing my research on alternative ways of curing my Acne since 2 years now,I have learned a lot so far and am trying what I learn.My skin is bit better by now but there is still a lot to do. I am so happy I found your Blog!I will definitely try your regimen ! and I surely gonna let you know how it works.

I am originally from North Caucasus,and Kefir is very common food there(mostly made of goat milk) .Here in Belgium all you can get is a yoghurt thingy drink that is NO way near to real Kefir (even though, it is written “Kefir” on the etiquette:)) . I’ve just recently (1 month or so) got Real Caucasian Kefir grains from my Aunty ! And if it was meant for me to get them….then I belive it was also meant for me to find your Great Blog !

P.S sorry for my poor english spelling and the Essey

Hmm,My Acne scaring is quit similar to yours with only difference that my Acne isn’t 100% clear yet so I can’t treat the scars,but hopefully not for very long after I follow your advises and regimen

If you (or anyone on here ) want to try it ,here is a recipe of Aspirin/Honey/lemon Juice mask I use,it is great for lightening and mild exfoliation of the skin.

Crush 3-5 Asprine(uncoated) with the back of a spoon and mix with little bit of warm water to get a paste consistence, then add a little pure honey and add like 4/5 drops of lemon juice. I leave the mask on my face for 15-20 min and do this once to twice a day,but anyone can do the mask once a day or once a week,just as you wish. Wash it off with warm water and pat dry.The mask makes the skin very soft and has healing and lightening effects(Salicilic Acid in Aspirin exfoliate gently dead skin and clean clogged pores, Lemon Juice has softening and lightening effect, Honey has anti-inflammatory/healing/softening effects) . As a moisturiser I use pure jojoba oil as it is non-comedogenic.If you have an inflamed pimple or if you recently popped a pimple or whatever irritation on your skin(after shave ?),then I suppose it is better not to add Lemon Juice, it would be to irritating to the skin otherwise.

Ma Acne is comedonic(clogged pores and occasional pimple here and there) and this mask ,Steaming , Baking soda past as a mask helps me so far… but I hope I finally found a missing part of the puzzle on this Blog, to definetely get reed of my skin problems

P.S I also drink a mixture of one tea spoon Baking Soda in a glass of water once a day for alkaline effect.I read that Viruses and diseases such as colds, flu, cancer and even heart disease thrive in an acidic body, but cannot survive when your body is alkaline.
What do you think ? Is it ok to still drink a mixture when on your regimen?

-Amy
*********MY RESPONSE**************

Hi Amy,

Great story on the kefir.  It’s awesome that I have readers like you that are so knowledgeable.  It makes my life easier. =)

I’m not sure about drinking baking soda to increase alkalinity in the body but I would recommend increasing your eating of fresh vegetables.

-Ray

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Thanks! for writing this post. A lot of my friends doesn’t have acne so they don’t really understand what im going through. Its so hard to stop doing what i love to do (which in this case is eating junk) when there’s a lack of support around me. It’s nice to read something like this because at least we know that someone out there is supporting and thinking of us.
-Jenny
*********MY RESPONSE**************

Your welcome Jenny, It’s definitely not easy when someone comes up to you and says, “Oh man… I’m really breaking out.” And you look at their face and they only have 2 pimples.

Or when you express to your friend that you’re breaking out and they say, “Yeah… I’m breaking out too.  Look at this pimple I have here.”  And then you look at their… ONE pimple that they have on their face.

I’m not saying that people with less pimples don’t qualify as having acne.  I’m just saying that this situation is a bit like coming up to a person who just got a C on a test and complaining about how you only got an A-.

I think most of us know what I’m talking about and these “people” that I’m talking about =)

-Ray

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I get my acne from certain foods. However, when I eat right my face is cleared up. Is there a point where my insides are optimized enough (after cleansing the organs, getting rid of parasites and candida, metal toxicity..) that I can eat whatever I want without worrying about this? Also, will being fully healed heal indented/pitted scars on my face from the acne?

Thanks.

-Moshe
*********MY RESPONSE**************

It usually takes a couple years before your body is healed to a point where you’re close to optimal health again.  Just imagine this.  If you were 18 and you just started eating right for a month or so, you might see considerable differences in your health.

But remember that 18 of those years before this month of good eating your health was going downhill.  At the very least, you should allow your body to heal for 6 months to a 1 year.

As an analogy, if you had smoker lungs, how long would you wait before you believed that your body completed cleared your airways of all the plague and toxins that were deposited inside your body?

-Ray

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Hello Ray! I have sent you some emails before. I just have some info for you and questions. I started the “diet”. I ate: salmon, chicken, meat, eggs and salads for two weeks. My body wasn’t working, I had no energy I lost all my muscles and everytime I stand up from a sitting position my head was all blury. So I stopped! My face wasn’t so much clearer, but under those two weeks I didnt got one pimple. After reading and asking persons I think this just was a “phase”. The body was defeating toxins and was like “torstein, where the fuck is my sugar and carbs”. Are you agree?

The acne made me search for knowledge about food and the body. After reading tons of information, the acne is offcourse the most important but now I see how important it is for the whole body. Im pretty stressed now because my hair growth is getting higher on the forehead and I bet I have a lack in vitamins or something. What can you say for my hair? It is no fun at all!

Have you ever read about the caveman diet? Our genes comes from hunters, gatherers, aka cavemen. Our genes is constructed for eating: meat, fish, berries, nuts, seeds the stuff that you want us to eat for clear skin. So, it makes alot of sense. Our genes are not designed for the food we are eating today. Agree?

Im allways thinking when I look at my mates or lady friends, why do they have so nice skin, do they have the abillity to eat this type of food? Acne is visible and you will see it at once. But migraine, friends who need to sleep 5 hours after school is not that visible. Everyone genes are different but I dont think anybody have any good in eating the western diet. What do you think?

Sincerely Torstein

*********MY RESPONSE**************

I’ve actually never heard of the caveman diet but it seems like something that’s worth trying.

I know what you mean when you look at your friends and thing to yourself, “how come they don’t have acne?” Well have you ever thought about the fact that they might have other problems that we can’t see on the outside?

-Ray
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this is a good post…i’m getting on top of it now (slowly) but for like 4 years I’ve been in a cycle of bingeing and eating unhealthy foods and then reverting back to eatingly only healthy foods…so like 3 days on two days kinda thing and every time I binge i tell myself its the last time…and you re right, it never is.
omg this is SO me!! I have the biggest sweet tooth ever…but my mum never buys any desserts or sweet things. So whenever they are in the house i binge eat them, like I’ll make a whole tray of brownies (althought i can’t eat them all) and then feel disgusting…and I like the whole comparative thing….looking good is far more important to me than food – food doesn’t make you happy, but looking your best makes you confident
-Olivia

*********MY RESPONSE**************
Thanks Olivia,

I’m totally with you on the binge eating thing.  It took me almost a year of on and off with this damned sweet tooth of mine.

Which is kind of funny because when we think about a sweet tooth, I almost imagine an actual tooth in my mouth specifically designed as the “sweet tooth” that’s working mind control over my mouth and CAUSING me to eat all these sweets.

When in reality, it’s just me unable to control myself.  Deep… lol.

-Ray

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HI Ray,

first, thanks so much for what you’re doing!
My question is about step 3…now I know the link aren’t working yet, but I wondered if you could give me some information on how to clean my bowel. I’ve been doing your acne regimen for about 4 month now and haven’t got much improvement so I concluded that my bowel need to clean itself before I get beautiful skin. I would realy appreciate if you could give me a hint on how to do it!
And thanks again for everything you do! Your awesome!!
-Vince

*********MY RESPONSE**************

Hey Vince,

If you’re eating right, you should be somewhat cleaning your bowels at the same time.  Are you sure you’re following the principles right in the first and second step?

You may want to double check on your eating habits.  Otherwise, for the 3rd step, I’m still working on it.  But feel free to do research on other versions of bowel cleanses in the meantime.

Or if you want to sign up for a personal acne consultation session, email me at Howtoclearyouracne@gmail.com.

-Ray

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Hey Ray,
When I tried to click on the icon links for “alcohol and acne”, “carbohydrates and acne”, etc., it did not work. Did anyone else have this problem? I’m looking forward to reading those articles. Thanks
-Jessica

*********MY RESPONSE**************

Oh right.  Still working on those, sorry guys.

-Ray

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Hey, I try to click on the icons but it doesnt come up. What should I do?
-Diego

*********MY RESPONSE**************

LoL, I know.  Sorry.  Still working on the site.

-Ray

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So… HOW does one alkalize their blood? I don’t actually see the method to do this in the above step. :/
-Cory

*********MY RESPONSE**************

In general, alkalizing is about sticking to fresh vegetables.  Specifically… it’s probably going to take an entire part of the regimen to explain.

Which I will do when I get around to it.  I’m still working on all these things people! =)

-Ray

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Hi there HTCYA readers, a quick ending message…

Fact 1: In Los Angeles, California, a Registered Dietitian makes between $49,262 – $67,742 a year to give advice about diet and nutrition.

Fact 2: Even just keeping this website running and my internet costs me money out of my own pocket every day.

Fact 3: I spend many hours of my own day writing, recording, and designing this website in order to help acne sufferers and the acne community when I’m not in Nutrition Graduate School or at work.

Fact 4: HowToClearYourAcne.com is done completely without pay and without outside help (I do everything myself). This is information and experiences that I’ve compiled from more than the last 10 years of my life that I’m offering in order to give back to the community.

Fact 5: I could really use your help; there are over 6000 pageviews from you out there week, you are legion, you are mighty, $20 from each you and that would be huge (I’d actually quit my job now and devote all my time to helping acne sufferers if that happened =) Even just $1 from each of you and HowToClearYourAcne.com would be doing much better.

So please, if you’re a regular reader, please consider itif you enjoyed my article, had a hearty chuckle, learned something, or just want to encourage me to quit my job and dedicate ALL my time to helping people clear their acne and have clear skin, please subscribe and consider CONTRIBUTING! I could really use your help. =)

-Ray

Related posts:

1. RQRA #27 Q&A: DO NOT TAKE ACCUTANE! Danny’s Acne Story.
2. RQRA #24 Q&A: The Longest Acne Routine E-mail I’ve Ever Received… And I Answered it!
3. RQRA #26 Q&A: Thanks for Helping Me Clear My Acne Ray!
4. RQRA #29 Q&A: Where Can I Get My Acne Questions Answered?
5. RQRA #25 Q&A: Vitamins, Kefir, Acne, & Why Aren’t Your Links Working?
6. Real Questions Real Answers: Can Kefir Help Cure Your Acne?