Hidradenitis Suppurativa is a skin disease or “chronic illness”.
It’s also classed as an autoimmune disease because of its relationship to other auto-immune diseases and how it functions.
If you’re like me, you were convinced at some point that you had:
- Acne.
- Folliculitis.
- Regular spots.
Or something along those lines. And if true, you went years trying out:
- Shampoos.
- Moisturizers.
- Face creams.
- Neck creams.
- Acne creams.
- Folliculitis solutions.
- Antibiotics (cream or supplement).
And every other acne solution known to man to try and “fix” your hidradenitis suppurativa. Only to find out NONE of it worked. Because you weren’t even aware it was H.S. in the first place.
Depending on how severe it was, you would have had it in your:
- Scalp.
- Face.
- Neck.
- Back.
- And other body parts.
You know the saying:
You can’t fit a square peg in an asshole.
I’m joking about the asshole part, but you get the point. You can’t fix a problem you don’t even have with solutions opposite to what you need!
You’ll forever bash your head off the wall and end in failure.
That’s what I did, even though I always knew the math wasn’t adding up the way it should.
The depressing journey
In 2012/2013 I started getting some proper nasty spots in my head, looking like a field of sweetcorns. But it wasn’t sweet or attractive to look at.
I went to the doctor. They gave me Antibiotics, the usual. They never worked. Me being me, I decided to stop using the antibiotics and voila, the spots vanished.
It wasn’t until around 2015/2017 that I started getting the odd spot on my face (bump, more like), and it started showing up on my scalp as well.
At this point, I had seen:
- Doctors.
- Dermatologists.
- Health professionals.
And everyone who specializes in skin and things of this nature.
I tried all the shampoos, creams, and more, despite some being harsh. I even tried Tea Tree oil, but that didn’t work.
A temporary miracle
Antimicrobial skin cleanser containing the active ingredient chlorhexidine gluconate.
Have you seen this product before? It’s called Hibi Scrub. It’s like a pink liquid they use in hospitals to treat wounds, or even animals with severe skin issues, etc.
One guy talked about it on YouTube (video above). I forget how I ended up on the video. I bought it on Amazon, and it worked like magic.
Within two days, my skin issues VANISHED. But one black bump was stubborn enough to remain, which weakened over time.
This was before the pandemic. Since then, my face has been clear, not so clear, and everything in between at random, like a game of spin the wheel.
Pandemic until 2022/2023
Before the pandemic, I focused mostly on my health for separate reasons, not just skin health.
I wanted to know how:
- Foods.
- Drinks.
- Minerals.
And all the rest of it worked. I wanted to know how it affected my body from the inside out since, by that point, nothing on the outside worked (creams, etc).
I had success. But my accidental discovery of H.S. happened in 2022 after seeing a surgeon who broke it down and explained it to me in a way a doctor had never before.
Her level of knowledge was shocking. I was there for laser surgery so I could shave less. I also thought that would somehow help the situation.
Ironically it did because I left with the answer no doctor, dermatologist, or skin specialist could ever tell me since forever.
Now it all started to make sense, especially after reading into it to such a degree I could have a PhD in the subject (no exaggeration).
I’m still in the middle of eliminating it completely and have made MASSIVE amounts of progress through nutrition alone.
How to manage Hidradenitis the RIGHT way:
1. What the science says
Like many conditions and illnesses, Hidradenitis goes unnoticed for a large part. And hasn’t been studied to the degree that other more “popular” conditions have.
That said, there are still studies and some science behind the limited research out there.
“Certain dietary changes significantly improve symptoms in some people with hidradenitis suppurativa. But it’s important to know that there’s currently no one diet recommended for the treatment of hidradenitis suppurativa. Research in this area is still ongoing.”
But here’s what the limited science says regardless.
Dairy and Hidradenitis Suppurativa
According to limited data:
- cow’s milk
- cheese
- cottage cheese
- cream cheese
- buttermilk
- butter
- yoghurt
- ice cream
And similar food items may trigger the condition, but this is NOT a hard rule and might be different for everyone.
Sugar and Hidradenitis Suppurativa
This is a big factor and is 100% guaranteed to cause problems.
According to Healthline, avoid things like:
- table sugar
- corn syrup
- high-fructose corn syrup
- soda and other sugary drinks like fruit juice
- bread, rice, or pasta made from white flour
- white flour
- noodles
- boxed cereals
- biscuits and cookies
- cake, doughnuts, and pastries
- crackers made from refined flour
- potato chips
- candy
- chocolate bars
- sugary protein bars
Brewers Yeast and Hidradenitis Suppurativa
According to Healthline:
“A small 2013 study found that brewer’s yeast may be a trigger for hidradenitis suppurativa symptoms. This may happen because the yeast causes a reaction in your immune system.
Another 2020 study of 185 participants found that people who excluded brewer’s yeast (along with other foods) from their diets had a 70% improvement in symptoms. When participants added brewer’s yeast back to their diet after a period of time, 87% of them experienced symptom recurrence.”
And according to The National Library Of Medicine: (who Healthline mentioned)
The researchers found that a controlled brewer’s yeast-free diet combined with surgical excision or localized treatments led to disease resolution and regression of skin lesions in the patients.
Followed by:
- Patients underwent surgical excision or localized treatments followed by a controlled brewer’s yeast-free diet for 12 months.
- The diet resulted in immediate stabilization of clinical symptoms and regression of skin lesions over the treatment period.
This was then followed up after 6 years (2020).
The results of the follow-up study by The National Library Of Medicine:
- A yeast-exclusion diet resulted in symptom improvement in 70% of patients, with 81% experiencing improvement within 6 months.
- 87% of patients showed immediate recurrence of skin lesions after consuming foods containing yeast.
- Immunologic testing revealed intolerance to yeast, wheat, and cow’s milk in 20%, 29%, and 23% of patients, respectively.
As far as the yeast-free diet goes, these foods include:
- beer.
- wine.
- fermented spreads.
- soy of all kinds.
- flour.
- salad dressings.
And more.
Nightshade vegetables and Hidradenitis Suppurativa
Other than the obvious, like gluten, smoking, and things of that nature, a certain group of vegetables can be responsible for causing H.S. as well.
Those vegetables are:
- tomatoes and tomato products
- eggplant
- potatoes
- peppers
- paprika
- tomatillos
- chilli powder
- pepper-containing spice blends
But similar to the food group involving dairy, this isn’t 100% guaranteed. It depends heavily on the individual since some people have reported removing these foods helps their condition.
Others have not reported or said it contributes to worsening their condition.
Unlike the dairy study (which is also not a 100% solution), removing nightshades from the diet is more anecdotal than scientific.
2. Foods to consider (and ideas)
Let’s first start with a list of food groups that should be fine:
- Meat.
- Fish.
- Seafood.
- Vegetables (not including nightshades potentially).
- Fruits (low sugar is better like berries).
- Dairy (test this for yourself).
Foods that you should be careful with or avoid all together:
- Grains (rice, etc).
- Noodles, spaghetti.
- Certain types of legumes, beans or nuts (not all).
- Carbohydrates in excess (carbs are another form of sugar).
- High Glycemic foods (Glycemic load or index).
You should also avoid:
- Face oils (caster, jojoba, argan, etc).
This is more anecdotal, but when I used any of these oils, especially argan oil, my whole face blew up, and the “extra” H.S. didn’t vanish until 30 days later after stopping.
That was during the pandemic.
Individual foods to consider:
- Chicken.
- Turkey.
- Organ meat.
- Mackerel.
- Oysters.
- Clams.
- Sardines.
- Broccoli.
- Cauliflower.
- Brussel sprouts.
- Peas.
- Celery, Turnip, etc.
- Onions.
- Salads (lettuce, cucumber, etc).
- Chocolate (SMALL amounts or dark chocolate or Cacao Powder (powder).
- Courgettes.
- Protein bars (research carefully).
- Mushrooms.
- Seaweed.
- Butternut squash.
- Prawns.
- Mussels.
- Carrots.
- Oysters.
- Crab/Lobster.
- Dairy (butter, cheese, milk).
- Miso soup (limited amounts because of soy).
- Sweetcorn.
- Kiwi (limited amounts).
- Mango (rarely).
- Avocado.
- Kale.
- Berries (strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, blueberry).
- Salmon.
- Eggs.
- Mayonaise.
- Kimchi.
- Spinach.
- Tuna.
- Sauerkraut.
- Sea Bass.
- Whitefish.
- Coconut milk.
- Herring.
That’s a baseline list to pay attention to. There’s probably more I missed, but these foods I mentioned are a HARD rule to follow.
That doesn’t mean you follow every single one of them, but you use it to measure what you can eat or test to see how your body reacts to it.
Vitamins that help with H.S:
- Vitamin B12 (found in fish, dairy, meat, seafood, and liver).
- Vitamin D (Mackerel, sardines, eggs, cheese, butter, supplements).
- Zinc (seafood, eggs, fish, beef, nuts, seeds, meats, cheese).
- Vitamin A (Cheese, butter, liver, organ meats, eggs, fish, seaweed, and prawns are most bioavailable).
Add-ons like:
- Seasonings.
- Peppers.
And things like that are fine, but it depends on the product, its contents, and how your body deals with it. And if it has a lot of carbs per serving.
You should absolutely avoid foods loaded with sugar or carbs.
Sugar speaks for itself, but CARBS turns into sugar which is why it’s dangerous to misread a food label with low sugar (but high carbs).
It’s the same thing at the end of the day because your body converts carbs into sugar. And that will drive inflammation (through insulin) which triggers Hidradenitis.
3. My personal experience
If you look closely, there’s a big ass BUMP (boil) to the left (your right) of my face.
After all the hardcore testing and guinea pigging I’ve been doing, It’s only natural that I know what’s what and how food affects my body (in more ways than just Hidradenitis).
For me, I can eat dairy like:
- Cheddar cheese or European cheese.
- Butter.
- Milk products.
And also eggs and not have any major problems. Eggs aren’t even a problem in larger amounts from what I see (5 or 6), so no issues or flare-ups.
I used to think Cheese and butter were an issue, but I was wrong. It depends heavily on the person, especially if you have a dairy intolerance.
Only heavily aged Parmesan cheese made me flare up.
Don’t overindulge because that’s how intolerances develop over time.
Foods I avoid are:
- Gluten foods.
- Cheesecakes.
- Ordinary chocolates.
- Certain nightshades.
Or even multiple packs of crisps, etc, since the carbs add up, and I wake up with H.S. all over. As well as whiteheads.
Another example of H.S before diet change.
During the pandemic, I STOPPED gluten altogether. This was around April 2020. I can’t believe how around 80% of the problem washed away as if it was never there, to begin with.
It was a drastic change, and the results were too obvious to be accidental.
I even tried it again later in the year, around September/October 2020, and it was the same. A lot of the scars and bumps were reversed from day 1.
Potatoes, in particular, make me feel awful, to the point of feeling the sickly effects for days after eating. In fact the other week, I tried just 4 potatoes after MONTHS of not eating them, and I’ll never be doing that again.
I’m in the middle of testing other nightshades like peppers and tomatoes since I’m not 100% certain yet.
4. Diets worth testing/committing to
For my own reasons outside of H.S., which I’ll explain in a separate article, I stick to the ketogenic way of living.
It’s also known as:
- Keto diet.
- Low-carb, high-fat diet.
- Ketogenic diet.
That doesn’t mean unhealthy fats; it means HEALTHY fats.
When you give up carbs, usually below 30-50g of carbs per day, your body burns fat and uses fat for energy instead of carbs or sugar.
When that happens you:
- Lose and maintain weight much easier.
- Your blood sugars don’t spike.
- Your insulin sensitivity improves.
- You no longer feel tired after meals.
And other benefits I won’t explain in depth here.
The point of this way of living when it comes to dealing with H.S. is:
- It stops you from flaring up.
- Eliminates all your H.S. problems (pretty much).
- Gets rid of inflammatory foods.
And you won’t have to worry about sugar getting in the way of your skin problems. Then you can focus on healing H.S. from the inside out and through surgery if necessary in your situation.
Carnivore diet
This is something I’m in the middle of testing as of March 9th 2023. I’ve reduced my Hidradenitis symptoms drastically. Before that, I removed a ton of veg and fruit from my diet and added more meats.
Which is when the process started.
There’s also some limited evidence that shows the carnivore diet can heal hidradenitis suppurativa. One 47-month case study shows a 29 year old woman got rid of this skin disease in 43 days.
The 3 stages of Hidradenitis Suppurativa:
Stage 1 H.S.
Stage 2 H.S.
Stage 3 H..S
Other lifestyles to consider
- Whole30 diet.
- A.I.P (autoimmune protocol diet).
- Mediterranean diet (anti-inflammatory).
If Hidradenitis Suppurativa is all you have to worry about, the whole30 diet might be an option for you.
Keep in mind that this diet is only for 30 days, so it’s used to test the waters, reintroduce foods later, and more to see how your body reacts to them.
The A.I.P diet, according to Healthline:
“The Autoimmune Protocol (AIP) is a diet that aims to reduce inflammation, pain, and other symptoms caused by autoimmune diseases, such as lupus, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease, and rheumatoid arthritis.”
H.S. counts as a chronic disease or autoimmune disease, which is why it’s worth considering.
There’s no hardcore research in relation to H.S., so as usual, you’re in the dark.
The Mediterranean diet is about:
- Olive oil.
- Healthy fats (fish included).
- And eating LESS junk food, if at all.
This diet is famous in Spain, Italy, and so on.
It’s a well-researched, studied, and factually proven diet with the most evidence and weight behind it. As well as science.
That said, there’s NO correlation or studies done in relation to H.S., but you already knew that.
Still, it’s worth pursuing or mixing some of these foods into your lifestyle regardless of your decision. The PALEO diet might also be a consideration.
In the end, find out what works for you and become your own guinea pig.
–
Recommended:
Hidradenitis Suppurativa Facts And Associations