I love eating great, clean, whole foods. I was raised to eat that way. But I also love chocolate. What’s a girl to do? I have a serious sweet tooth and, for whatever reason, I just couldn’t stop. I was eating gobs of my favorite treats almost daily for several months straight. I wasn’t gaining a ton of weight, so my usual motivation to stop the treats just wasn’t working. Well, lo and behold, my body wasn’t going to let me get away with that behavior for long. One day, my skin broke out with acne, pretty much all over. You would have thought I was a 14-year-old kid again! I knew that food could affect my skin from past experiences, like when I would juice for a period of time or eat a raw diet, and my skin would end up glowing. So I did a three-day cleanse and only ate and drank juiced fruits and veggies. As you can imagine, after eating junk food for months on end—and gobs of it—I could hardly make it through the three days, my skin was no better, and I was feeling defeated. Chocolate seemed like a good enough solution to help ease my suffering….
Ok, ok, I’m shallow enough that I just couldn’t let the broken-out skin continue, so I decided to get serious. I looked up lots of info on all my favorite blogs, health forums, and such, about what else I can do besides eating clean to help clear up my skin. But naturally, it did begin and end with eating clean. Lots of what I found said two key things to cut out of a diet during bouts of acne are sugar and wheat. And processed food should go without saying. When comparing vegan, vegetarian or paleo diets, I’m not of the mindset that any one way is better than another. I know lots of people would argue against that, but for me, I believe in finding what works best with your body, and as long as you stick to whole foods, and the chain between the sun and your food is as short as possible, you are on the right track.
Another key component to healing my skin was vitamin D. Getting out in the sun is a good way to get vitamin D, but when you have bad skin, you don’t want to be out too much because it could increase scaring. I tried to balance supplements and sun.
I also began taking somewhat large doses of probiotics—I was taking it in pill form, buying raw fermented foods, and drinking Kombucha. All of these are available at health food stores.
As far as the products that I put on my skin, I stuck with my guns and used whole foods: In a glass jar, I mixed up a concoction of 1 cup of organic cold pressed olive oil and 1-2 tablespoons of castor oil. Every evening, I would massage the oil into my face and then use a hot washcloth to rub it off, and that was it—that was all I would use on my face until the next evening. You can learn more about this process at theoilcleansingmethod.com.
I had the opportunity to work closely with Dr. Olson during this time, who was able to test me for various food sensitivities, which we are still in the process of clearing me for. I can’t say my skin is perfectly clear but I will say it is very close, and the best it has been in months. I love how Mother Nature has this way of restoring balance when we take care of our bodies naturally. I was able to get my skin to take a total 180 by using zero chemicals or toxins. I feel so grateful for the knowledge that I have from working with Dr. Olson so long, that if my skin is breaking out, it is probably a warning from my body letting me know there is an imbalance, and to try and restore the balance instead of masking the symptom.
**I want to be clear to all those who try to stick with a whole foods diet, especially if you are a chocolate lover like me: I’m not a cold turkey kind of a gal. I found alternative options to satisfy my cravings. I have a stevia chocolate bar that I love. The great thing about eating it is that there is no sugar, thus my addiction doesn’t get out of control. Two or three small pieces are enough to leave me feeling satisfied. If you are in the market for other tasty, whole-food, sweet treats, look for “RAW desert” recipes—it is always a good way to find stuff you can eat. They are usually made with a base of dates and nuts. Searching for “Paleo deserts” is another option because they are usually made with almond or coconut flour.
