Hidradenitis Suppurativa, according to 2023 data, looks like this.
QUOTE:
The estimated global prevalence of Hidradenitis suppurativa is found to be 0.00033– 4.1%, with a relatively higher prevalence of 0.7– 1.2% in European and US populations.
Unsurprisingly, the West is where a lot of the problems are (black people, white people, etc).
The prevalence of Hidradenitis Suppurativa comes down to:
- Your diet.
- What you eat.
- How you shave.
- Creams you use.
And other factors that may or may not be in your control.
Let’s focus on diet and the things you MUST give up to start the healing process.
1. Sugar in excess
Whether you’re a science nut or not, the one thing that can’t be denied is diet’s role in all sorts of diseases, inflammation, skin problems, and more.
In fact, the role is much bigger than big pharma wants you to believe since they’re in the business of selling you damaging shortcuts that “manage” problems.
Sugar is known for:
- Inflaming the skin.
- Ruining the skin.
- Causing it to age.
And of course, raising insulin which in turn causes Hidradenitis Suppurativa and keeps it on the treadmill with no hope of ever calming down.
You simply can’t devour sugar and expect to have perfect skin no matter what some bullshit Influencer told you.
40g per day is too much, never mind 80g or 100+.
40g is 10 teaspoons. Drop it from 9,8,7,6,5, and keep going until it’s at 1 teaspoon.
Or zero teaspoons.
Get rid of the foods with hidden sugar like:
- Cheap meats.
- Pastries.
- Fruit drinks that “appear” healthy.
And anything with an insane level of marketing on the front cover made to entice you to buy it because it’s “healthy”.
Eliminating sugar all together is the ideal scenario since you can guarantee it’s not the reason for your skin getting worse, making it easier to track down other root causes in your daily routine.
I stopped having sugar and saw a difference almost immediately with my Hidradenitis Suppurativa, which improved even more after the next step…
2. Carbs in excess (especially Pasta, bread, etc)
Refined carbs are what I’m mostly talking about, but the fact is carbs in excess, regardless of which carbs we’re talking about, is always gonna be a problem.
This is shown with many skin problems, not just Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
Try it for yourself for all the proof you need.
Eat let’s say, 4 slices of bread, some pasta for dinner, and some pastries for dessert, and then take a look at your skin the next day or even the same night.
Then STOP eating these foods (any sort of carbs in excess) and do it for 1 week and you’ll notice a dramatic difference, especially after 2-4 weeks.
All those insulin spikes are a problem, and no amount of fibre (which is minor relative to carbs in pastries, pasta, etc) will be able to change that reality.
One woman shared her detailed experience of cutting carbs and seeing her skin clear up like magic.
Of course, there are 10s of thousands of examples, and there is evidence as well.
3. Gluten products
Gluten might be the worst on this list when it comes to your hidradenitis suppurativa and skin issues across the board.
I’ll never forget giving up gluten for good in 2020 and seeing my skin heal even a little bit by the next day I woke up. This continued for the week, the month, the year, and here we are today in 2024.
There are plenty of examples that show gluten is a major culprit for skin issues, and when ditching gluten products, people’s skin starts to miraculously heal even after so many years of damage.
How can that be? Besides the high level of carbohydrates in gluten products and the LOW amount of fibre, gluten has elements that are hard to digest.
It’s this “hard to digest” that is behind a lot of gut issues, digestive issues, and of course, skin problems because of inflammation and other factors.
Gluten products are processed to death in the West, and even outside the West, you’re still not getting the kind of gluten or “ancient rain” you would have 1000s of years ago that “might” have been OK to eat.
Related: 19+ Gluten Free Foods To AVOID When Gluten Is A Problem For You
4. Certain nuts and seeds may trigger you (test this)
Nuts and seeds are second to gluten, and sometimes they’re the same thing. It depends on the food.
Either way:
- Peanuts.
- Pastacio.
- Pumpkin Seeds.
- Walnuts.
- Cashews.
And similar foods MAY trigger your Hidradenitis Supurativa. If it does, it’s because of the carbohydrate content, as well as the fact it might be incompatible with your body.
Fibre can lead to gut issues in excess despite the tiresome claims of it being this “magical” thing that makes you healthier and reduces all issues known to man (it doesn’t).
As always, test it to find out the truth. But if you find that your H.S. refuses to heal, seeds and nuts could be the culprit that you’ll need to abandon.
Pumpkin seeds and other seeds do me no good, personally.
5. Cakes
This should go without saying but we always fool ourselves into thinking it’s ok to keep eating something despite the issues it causes.
“It’s only one cake, it can’t hurt surely” – the type of mental gymnastics many people go through.
It’s not just your Hidradenitis that will suffer because of eating too much cake or eating it at all, but your overall health in direct or indirect ways.
The average cake has well over 20g of sugar in it but is closer to something like 30g-50g depending on its size and how much you eat.
6. Cookies
Cookies taste good, no doubt. Red velvet, chocolate chip, milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and everything in between is made to please the taste buds.
But at what cost?
You never eat just ONE cookie, you eat 2, 3, 5 cookies in a sitting, or in a day. It’s an addictive food that once you have a bite, you want more like a starving animal that hasn’t eaten a good meal in days.
7. Pastries
Scones are an example of Pastries, but there is much more than that. They’re not the worst types of pastries, but they count because of the:
- Refined carbohydrates.
- The sugar content.
And ultimately, the bullshit ingredients that are shoved into this scone (and other pastries) that make it delicious at the expense of your skin health and overall health.
You MUST give it up for your skin health to prosper.
8. Flour products
Flour products, a cousin to gluten products, need an axe to the face if you wanna heal your Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
You MUST give up foods like:
- Breads.
- Pancakes.
- Cakes.
- Waffles.
- Typical desserts.
- American bagels.
And anything that can trigger your Hidradenitis.
If you’re gonna make any food with flour, or make a typical flour product, make it yourself so you know how much flour you’re using and so you can make a healthier version of the food that does you no good.
I did this when I made myself a chocolate milkshake, or even a Turmeric milkshake, which amounted to far less than 10g of sugar for a single drink (not flour made, but the point stands).
9. Desserts besides regular fruit (avoid sugary fruits like cherries, grapes, or raisins)
Desserts have got to go. Throw it in the air and shoot it. Don’t look back.
The typical desserts are loaded with:
- Too much sugar.
- Too much carbs.
- Refined carbs.
- Junk ingredients.
Ans garbage across the board.
Again, if you want dessert, learn to make it yourself so you can make a healthier version of the typical thing.
Like how I made the chocolate milkshake.
With fruits, you can eat:
- Kiwi.
- Orange.
- Strawberry.
- Blueberry.
- Raspberry.
- Avocado.
- Mango (if you don’t go crazy).
- Watermelons.
But you must give up fruits like:
- Cherries.
- Grapes.
- Raisins.
- Pomegranates.
- Bananas.
- Dates.
And any other fruit you’d consider high in sugar compared to normal.
Doing so will give you the BEST fighting chance to heal your Hidradenitis, and it will allow you to heal it without anything potentially getting in the way, which could derail your progress and confuse you.
What else should you give up to heal Hidradenitis?
The obvious would be:
- Smoking.
- Using certain types of shavers.
- Alcohol.
- Surrounding yourself with negative people.
- Keeping stress low.
- Using creams that do you no good.
- Using oils for your face.
But diet is where you’ll find the best results, assuming none of these “other” issues are on your list like smoking or oils in particular.