HIIT&Dairy and...ACNE?

Many know, I've talked about it (reluctantly) before. I have had bad acne since college. Like, can't smile because it hurts, feel like a monster, needles in the face type.  I had a great doc in college and about 12 years ago they suggested it was my iodine sensitivity and refined sugars...wasn't going to work longterm for me.  I needed more answers and when I found out I had celiac it got better, not 100%, but better. I also found out that dairy can cause it...but what was worse, and true for me, dairy and celiac plus lifestyle together made for the perfect storm.  But guess how I've been able to eat some dairy here and there and be ok for a few months now. And I contribute my change to the HIIT workouts of my StressLess FatLoss workouts plus... some nutrition limits:

I'm always searching for things to help me keep my protein in my shaker cup and cheese on my plate!

I began my own workouts to the StressLess FatLoss program back in March, and over this last year I've been telling everyone who asks that I haven't had a breakout let alone an injection in my face since...March. It JUST dawned on me. My health turned around all at the same time....and I haven't looked back. Until now.

I love proof, mostly scientific proof, not just anecdotal proof form bloggers...so I did some research. And it all ended up with insulin and mTOR.  (Muscle building and acne linked by this protein activated gene?)

Dairy and acne:
Many of us have heard and read that dairy causes acne, and that's not wrong, but as I said, I want to keep the dairy in my day and if I can at least find a limit for my gut to be ok, then I can also find a way to not get acne either.
"Acne should be regarded as an mTor-driven disease of civilization, like obesity, type 2 diabetes and cancer induced by the western diet." - Pubmed.gov, Department of Dermatology, University of Osnabruuk, Germany

Casein is a protein in dairy (the other is whey) and many believe casein is the root of most people's problems with dairy. But I'm like a 2 year old so I asked why? Well, casein has been found to potentially cause inflammation in some people.  But it also stimulates insulin and mTOR is activated by insulin.  mTOR also activagtes sebum, keratin and inflammation.  This becomes a problem with its OVERACTIVATED. --Guess what else is caused by over-activated mTOR, PCOS and diabetes (Dr. Lara Briden (www.larabriden.com/insight-into-acne-dairy-sugar/) .
SO, it turns out insulin response to dairy, combined with inflammation response to dairy may be what causes the acne...therefore, you may actually be able to find your own limit of dairy intake if you really want to test it.
"Giving up all dairy can work but not for all. And it is really the type of casein (casein A)" - Dr. Lara Briden
Which is probably why I've seen success when cutting and limiting (it varies) dairy, not all animal milk is created equal, I eat goat cheese like it's going out of style, it has a different type of casein protein than typical American cow's milk (namely, holstein cows).   I think two shakes a week and I've been ok both in the gut and on the skin. 2 shakes have not over-activated my insulin or inflammation response too much yet to cause problems. But I'm always testing it.

...So now how can we workout without over-activating mTOR?

Workouts and acne:
Sweat does not help acne...sufferers know this! But we still need to workout right? Solution: we can choose the RIGHT workout for acne sufferers.

You've read about the HIIT workouts of StressLess FatLoss and how they help balance your hormones; female, hunger and stress. But there's more to HIIT than that, it's about the specific hormones that are activated while doing HIIT, and afterwards.  Fitness pros like HIIT because it activates mTOR (can activate muscle cell growth), it's quick and it builds muscle and burns fat nearly simultaneously.  Long duration workouts increase cortisol, we don't want that if we're trying to lose fat (or cut acne). But elevated cortisol also inhibits mTOR...hense why HIIT is loved so much, because it'll activate the mTOR after the workout is over.

But when it comes to acne don't we want mTOR inhibited? Yes, but we still need it.  HIIT makes mTOR activate later when the workout is over and for a shorter amount of time, unlike long bouts of cardio.  So we do a HIIT workout which keeps cortisol lower and helps grow muscles...and doesn't cause long term exposure to mTOR so acne can be kept at bay.

My conclusion:
Everything you do affects your body and your acne... and what I found in my weeks of research are good evidence..but dairy is the factor that is DIFFERENT for EVERYONE (and one thing we love to eat..but don't NEED to *stay tuned for the why blog on that one).
Hiit is so much more effective for fitness and health but it can also be effective in controlling your acne based on the hormone response.  Dairy can be an inflammatory agent  and affect hormones (insulin) as well, so you'll need to decided what your own limit on protein powder is and go from there. Both HIIT and Dairy consumption will affect your body and it's really a personal decision as to how much of each  you can tolerate!