How to Get Rid of Your Acne For Good

Although many people view acne as merely a part of life, it is definitely a health problem. In simplistic terms, it’s caused by too much toxicity in the body.

It’s estimated that nearly 85% of Americans have dealt with acne at one time or another. The good news is that with proper diet and time you should be able to completely eliminate acne.

The pores in our skin produce sebum, a waxy substance that coats the skin. Sebum that gets clogged inside the pores forms whiteheads or blackheads. When the pores become infected, they form pimples. Infection in the body is caused by poor diet and poor nutrition, an abundance of candida, and toxicity in the body.

The Acne Diet Connection

Many studies have shown a connection between acne and diet. Certain foods have been shown to help with acne whereas other foods, and food groups, have been shown to trigger outbreaks or make acne worse.

Gluten, dairy, refined sugars, and other refined foods have all been shown to play a significant role in worsening or prompting breakouts.

Studies have found that low-glycemic diets (diets rich in fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes) can help prevent acne. One study found that after patients followed a low-glycemic diet, almost all of them improved.

USA: 2,258 patients were placed on a low-glycemic diet so that they could lose weight. This diet also reduced their acne, with 87% of patients saying they had less acne and 91% saying they needed less acne medication.1

Australia: 43 males with acne (aged 15 to 25 years of age) ate either their normal diet or switched to a low-glycemic diet for 12 weeks. At the end of 12 weeks, those who followed the low-glycemic diet had significantly less acne than those who ate their normal diet.2

Korea: 32 patients with acne (aged 20 to 27 years old) ate either their normal diet or a low-glycemic diet for 10 weeks. Those following the low-glycemic diet had significantly less acne at the end of 10 weeks than the patients who ate their normal diet.3

Turkey: 86 patients (50 with acne) kept food logs for 7 days. Those with the most severe acne consumed a high-glycemic diet.4

CAN THE RIGHT DIET GET RID OF ACNE?

Studies have also found a correlation between gut health and acne, and improvements in the skin were seen after fixing the gut. People with gastrointestinal illnesses often have skin problems, showing just how connected our gut and skin can be. Inflammation can also be a key contributor to acne, in addition to creating problems in the gut.

Through complex immune mechanisms, the influence of the gut microbiome extends to involve distant organ systems including the skin. With intentional modulation of the microbiome, probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics have proven beneficial in the prevention and/or treatment of inflammatory skin diseases including acne vulgaris, AD, and psoriasis.

The Gut Microbiome as a Major Regulator of the Gut-Skin Axis

You are what you eat. If you live off greasy fast food and refined sugar, it shows in your skin, hair, eyes, and teeth. The same can be said for when you eat fresh whole foods. If you want to truly fix the root of your skin problems, you need to fix your gut first, as opposed to treating the problem topically. This article goes into how to fix the gut. It’s not complicated. Cut out refined sugar and other refined foods, start eating salads every day, and always cook at home from scratch.

Every morning I start off the day with a salad and drink lots of cranberry lemonade (click here for recipes for both). For lunch, I’ll have a scramble with eggs lots of vegetables, or maybe a smoothie. For dinner, I’ll have grains and legumes with lots of vegetables.

The Problem with Your Face Wash

Topical acne treatments are not going to fix the root of your problem, and in many cases it can be difficult or impossible to treat the problem entirely without fixing the root cause.

Chemically laden conventional skin care can seriously age the skin. And the skin can become dependent on its use. For instance, oily skin seems to be controlled by the chemical cocktail that causes the sebaceous glands to produce more oil. Or dry skin feels better for an hour or two, but the sebaceous glands don’t produce more oil.

NATURAL REMEDIES FOR ACNE

Chances are, your face wash has all the same problems your regular soap does. You can read more about the problems with your soap and over showering in this article. Many face washes can strip your skin of its natural oil and cause irritation. Often times your facial cleansers are full of harsh chemicals and toxins that are counterproductive to what your skin actually needs.

Parabens, fragrances, Propylene Glycol, petroleum, and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate are all among the harsh chemicals you find in your face wash that you do not want to use on your skin.

If you’ve ever turned over the packaging of your favorite facial cleanser, you noticed a long list of ingredients you didn’t recognize. From sulfates to parabens, the cosmetic industry uses all kinds of chemicals in its products.

5 Ingredients to Avoid in Your Face Wash

While you’re detoxing the body from the inside, you can treat topically to speed the process along with natural products. When my skin does start to break out, I use coconut oil and apple cider vinegar on my whole face. This is good to do on a regular basis while you’re fixing your skin.

Coconut oil acts as a mild antimicrobial and helps coat the skin as a lube to help the sebum escape without clogging the pores. Apple cider vinegar is antibacterial and it helps balance the pH of the skin, allowing the skin to maintain a healthy microbiome. It has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, and it is also known to help with sunburn and wrinkles.

I don’t use soap on my face, and I rarely shower. You can read more about that in this article. I also don’t wear makeup, ever. I view it as a credit card. The more you use it now, the more you’ll pay for it later. Makeup is not good for you or your skin and makes it much harder to give it up later on. The reason I’m able to do these things is due to my diet. Eating a salad every day and cutting out refined sugars and other refined food has given me a balanced microbiome that keeps my skin clean all on its own.

If you’re searching for skincare products, stick to products that are organic, and have minimal ingredients. I don’t have many personal recommendations. The only soap I’ve used on my skin in the last year and a half is Moon Valley Organics bar soap.

Conclusion

When you begin detoxing through a healthy diet you may notice your skin break out even more than before. Although this isn’t fun, it’s normal and part of the detoxification process. I often find that if I’m traveling and not taking great care of myself, my skin doesn’t break out until I get home and start eating properly again. As frustrating as this can be, don’t give up!

My skin isn’t perfect. Up close, you can still see blackheads and other problem spots. My diet isn’t perfect either. I’ve also lost lots of weight throughout the process of fixing my skin. If you are trying to lose weight, fixing your skin will likely take longer as the fat cells in your body continue to release toxins. Additionally, if you’re young (18-24) you are more prone to breakouts than those who are older.

My advice is to stay diligent. Keep with the diet and know that fixing problems like this takes time when you’re doing it right. Remember, as slow as the process may be to fix all the problems on the outside, you’ll feel radically better in just a short amount of time.

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Eliminate Acne For Good (No, It’s Not Another Skin Product)

Acne vulgaris is now the most common skin disease of western civilization. Over 85% of adolescents and around 50% of people who are over the age of 25 struggle with acne — and its prevalence keeps rising. Clearly, the “doctor recommended” antibiotics and skin creams aren’t helping much.

Fortunately, recent research suggests that we can eliminate whiteheads, blackheads, and red bumps with what we eat. But, is this really possible? Can we treat acne from the inside out with diet?

Why yes, yes we can. To understand how this is possible, we need to look beyond the surface of the skin.

The Acne Epidemic — A Side Effect of Western Culture

Genetics strongly influence your risk of developing acne, but acne-causing genes cannot explain the rapid increases in the incidence of acne. Population-based studies, on the other hand, suggest that diet may have the most profound impact on the severity and prevalence of acne — more so than skin hygiene, smoking, and stress (which all have been found to have little to no association with acne).

Related: Candida, Gut Flora, Allergies, and Disease

More specifically, the western diet seems to be the main instigator of the current acne epidemic. Conversely, when we look at the data from other non-westernized cultures — such as the Inuit, Okinawan Islanders, Ache hunter-gatherers, and Kitavan Islanders — acne is a rarity.

But before we jump to any conclusions, we must keep in mind that this is epidemiological data. From this evidence, we cannot assume that the western diet causes acne. This data doesn’t even provide us with strong enough evidence to claim that any diet can increase or decrease the risk of acne (there are too many confounding variables). Only when we look at the physiological mechanisms behind the creation of pimples, blackheads, and red bumps will we be able to figure out if diet can play a role in the development of acne.

The Formation of Acne — An Inside Look at Our Poor Pores

 

Whiteheads, blackheads, and red bumps are formed when there is:

  1. Increased reproduction of skin cells within the ducts that carry oily lubrication to the skin and hair.
  2. Abnormal shedding of the skin cells around the hair follicle.
  3. Increased production of sebum — the oily, waxy substance that waterproofs and lubricates the skin and hair.
  4. Colonization of the uppermost layer of the skin (stratum corneum) by a bacterium called Propionibacterium acnes, resulting in inflammation (red bumps).

As a result of these four factors, dead skin cells will stick together with the help of the excess oily sebum. This will block the pore of the hair follicle, forming a microcomedone (a clogged skin pore).

Related: Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones

If the microcomedone is closer to the skin, then the skin pigment called melanin will be oxidized by the air, creating what we know as a “blackhead”. On the other hand, a whitehead is formed when the microcomedone occurs deep within the hair follicle. Both whiteheads and blackheads (in their early and late stages) provide an ideal environment for Propionibacterium acnes to proliferate. As the bacteria continue to colonize the area, they trigger an inflammatory response that leads to redness, tenderness, and swelling.

What creates this chaos in the skin? The current research indicates that the main culprits are insulin and other hormones that are influenced by insulin, such as testosterone, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), growth hormone (GH) and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1). For example, DHT and DHEA seem to increase oily sebum production, while GH and IGF-1 appear to trigger the overproduction of the specific skin cells. When these hormones are chronically high, they will disrupt the homeostasis of the skin and stimulate acne production.

The Bigger Picture of Hormones, Acne, And Health

A helpful example of how hormones affect skin health can be found when we look at specific medical conditions that result from hormonal imbalances. Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), for example, is typically caused by unhealthy increases in androgens (like DHT) in women. As a result, many women with PCOS also have acne.

Conversely, people who lack androgens or are insensitive to the effects of androgens rarely have acne. This is the main reason why people with androgen insensitivity syndrome never develop acne.

A more prevalent example of how closely linked acne and hormones are can be found in teenagers. When teenagers (and some preteens) hit puberty, they experience rapid increases in many of the hormones we mentioned above. This results in rapid growth and sexual maturation with the unfortunate side effect of acne (for most adolescents).

But don’t mistake genetics and puberty as the only contributing factors to acne formation. If we look back at the data from population-based studies comparing the incidence of acne in westernized and non-westernized societies and combine that with our knowledge of the physiological mechanisms of acne, an interesting pattern emerges.

Related: No Makeup & Blemish Free? Healthy Gut, Healthy Skin – Here’s How 

Since insulin and other hormones that are influenced by insulin instigate the chaos in the skin that leads to acne and high-carb, sugary foods stimulate insulin, doesn’t this mean that people who eat a diet filled with these processed foods will most likely develop acne?

When we look at the population-based studies, this seems to be true — especially since westernized societies eat more processed sugary foods than any other culture. Yet, this is purely a contention held by many researchers. To find out if this is what really occurs in humans, we need some high-quality scientific evidence from clinical trials.

High Glycemic Load Diet vs. Low Glycemic Load Diet — Can Diet Treat Acne?

To our knowledge, there is one study that explored the therapeutic effects of diet on acne. In this study, a total of 43 male patients with acne who were between the ages of 15 and 25 completed either a 12-week high glycemic load diet or a 12-week low glycemic load diet.

At 12 weeks, the average number of lesions in the low glycemic load diet group fell by 51% — nearly twice the reduction that was found in the high glycemic load diet.

Below are some photos of the results from the subjects in the low glycemic load diet group:

These are pretty astounding results, especially when you consider what the researchers define as a low glycemic load diet:

The LGL [low glycemic load] group was instructed to substitute high-GI foods with foods higher in protein (e.g., lean meat, poultry, or fish) or with foods with a lower GI (e.g., whole-grain bread, pasta, and fruit). Some staple foods were supplied, and the participants were urged to consume these or similar foods daily. The recommended LGL diet consisted of 25% of energy from protein, 45% from low-GI carbohydrates, and 30% energy from fats.”

This diet has a lower glycemic load than the standard American diet, but I wouldn’t consider this a “low glycemic load diet”. Some of the foods included in this diet like grains, pasta, and some fruits can provoke an unhealthy glycemic response, especially when they are eaten in high quantities.

Related: Top 10 Blood Sugar Lowering Foods

Just imagine what would’ve happened if they eliminated low fiber, high sugar foods completely. Even better results, perhaps?

Unfortunately, there are no other research studies that can provide us with a conclusive answer.

However, we can make a couple reasonable assumptions from this data:

  • Diet definitely plays a role in the incidence and severity of acne in western populations.
  • If you eat more whole foods and less processed foods, then the severity of acne will most likely be reduced.
  • Insulin levels and acne severity are related.

With that being said, many questions still remain unanswered. Here are some that come to mind for me:

  • Are insulin levels and acne severity so strongly linked that a decrease in insulin levels will improve skin health?
  • Will a low sugar, whole food diet have the same effect on women with acne?

What This Means For You And Your Acne

The researchers of the previous study suggest that losing weight and eating more low-GI foods like meat and low-carb vegetables will create favorable changes in the body that improve skin health. The researchers also explored the implications their findings have for women by relating acne to PCOS.

They went on to explain how both PCOS and acne can be caused by chronically high insulin levels. In fact, women with PCOS typically have acne and some degree of insulin resistance. The research on PCOS suggests that low carb diets (a variation of a low glycemic load diet) are the best diet to help reverse PCOS and its symptoms (like acne), so it is fair to assume that eating in this way will also improve acne in women without PCOS.

What does this mean for you and your loved ones who have acne? That you can all benefit from cutting out processed, sugar-laden foods your diet. However, this way of eating may not eliminate your acne completely. Some studies suggest that dairy can play a role in worsening acne as well.

Related: Healthy Sugar Alternatives & More

Dairy — Just As Bad As Sugar for the Skin?

Insulin and basal IGF-I plasma levels are major players when it comes to acne, and high sugar foods aren’t the only thing that increases IGF-1 and insulin to unreasonable levels. Dairy products can provoke unhealthy insulin and IGF-1 levels as well.

Although there are no clinical trials on the impact of milk consumption on acne, three large population-based studies reported a positive association between milk intake and acne. This association is probably due to the fact that the natural hormones in milk (designed to help the calves grow into massive animals) may survive milk processing and stimulate the many processes that lead to acne production. Furthermore, the whey protein that is found in most dairy products also creates a potent insulin response that may further exacerbate any acne issues.

If you suspect that your dairy consumption could be harming your skin health, then consider replacing it with dairy-alternatives. Here is a list of some suggestions to make it easier for you:

  • Use coconut milk instead of milk. In recipes, you can substitute coconut milk in for regular milk in a 1 to 1 ratio.
  • Replace heavy cream with coconut cream. Make sure the coconut cream doesn’t have any added sugars.
  • Replace dairy-based cheese with vegan cheese. My personal favorite dairy-free cheese-making companies are Treeline and Miyoko’s Kitchen. Their cheeses are some of the best I’ve ever tasted. In fact, many people think that they are better than traditional dairy-based cheese. If Treeline or Miyoko’s Kitchen doesn’t have the cheese you are looking for, then try Follow Your Heart’s vegan cheese. Follow Your Heart makes almost every type of dairy-free cheese you could ever want.
  • Instead of Cream Cheese, have Nut-Based Soft Cheese. Treeline makes a cashew-based soft cheese that is delicious and savory, and it has almost the same texture as cream cheese.
  • Replace Yogurt and Sour Cream with Nut-Based Yogurt. At your local health food market, you will probably be able to find plain almond, cashew, or coconut milk yogurt. Just make sure it has no added sugars or dubious ingredients.
  • Instead of Butter use Coconut Oil or Vegan Butter. Coconut oil has a slightly lower melting point than butter and the same smoke point as butter, which makes it a good butter replacement. If you are not a fan of the flavor of coconut oil, look for dairy-free butter in your local health food store. Make sure the vegan butter doesn’t contain any hydrogenated oils, vegetable oils, or soy oils. You can also make your own vegan butter by following recipes online — Just search for “Vegan Butter”.

Seven More Ways to Improve Skin Health And Reduce Acne

Altogether, limiting your sugar and dairy intake should have a massive impact on your skin health. If this approach isn’t working as well as you’d like after a couple of weeks, then try some of these suggestions:

  • Supplement with Omega 3s. Long-chain omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are anti-inflammatory and may improve skin health. The best sources include wild-caught salmon, mackerel, sardines, herring, and anchovies. Or if you don’t want to eat fish, supplement with some vegan omega 3s that are derived from algal oil.
  • Eat non-starchy vegetables with every meal. Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables help promote hormonal regulation and improve skin health.
  • Take caffeine-free green tea extract. Green tea is the best source of the antioxidant EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate). A 2016 study found that green tea extract significantly reduced acne lesions in adult women with moderate to severe acne. We suggest taking the caffeine-free extract to mitigate the adrenal stress that is typically caused by caffeine.
  • Limit dark chocolate consumption. A 2016 study found that 99% dark chocolate might significantly worsen breakouts in acne-prone men. For this reason, you may want to limit dark chocolate intake.
  • Eat only whole foods. Stick to whole foods whenever possible. Avoid anything with added sugars, even if they are natural sweeteners like honey and coconut sugar.
  • Exercise daily. Consider adding a 15-30 min walk to your daily schedule. This will increase your insulin sensitivity, decrease your insulin levels, and reduce the severity of your acne as a result.
  • Experiment with intermittent fasting. By restricting your calorie intake to an 8-hour eating window every day, you can decrease your insulin and IGF-1 levels more than you would by eating normally throughout the day.
Related: Inexpensive, Easy Detox – The One Gallon Challenge

Putting it All Together — The Best Diet For Eliminating Acne

The current evidence suggests that processed foods — specifically foods that are high in sugar and low in fiber — are the likely cause of the current acne epidemic in westernized societies. The reason why I say “likely cause” is because the existing data is scarce.

However, with our current knowledge of the physiology of acne, the prevalence of acne in westernized vs. non-westernized societies, and the results from the clinical trial on how diet affects the severity of acne, we have enough evidence to suggest that cutting out processed foods from the diet and replacing them with whole foods is one of the best (and healthiest) treatments for acne.

To put it more simply, your skin will be much healthier if you use your money to buy more organic vegetables instead of expensive creams and ineffective antibiotics.

Once you’ve adopted a low sugar, whole food diet into your life, you can improve skin health even further by:

  • supplementing with omega 3s
  • eating low-carb vegetables with every meal
  • taking EGCG
  • limiting dark chocolate consumption
  • exercising daily
  • experimenting with intermittent fasting

When you combine these suggestions together with a low sugar, whole food diet, your skin will start clearing up and your health will improve tremendously. Keep in mind, however, that it may take a couple of weeks to months before you see noticeable results — just like it did for the participants in the study we looked at earlier.

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The Acne Vaccine Is Coming

Scientists don’t know the cause of acne. They know the bacteria Propionibacterium acnes (P. acnes) is partly to blame, but beyond that, they aren’t sure the cause of the skin condition that affects nearly 50 million Americans every year. Experts can’t be sure as to P. acnes’ role in acne, as the bacteria is also a part of beneficial processes in the body, like secreting digestive enzymes. That doesn’t matter, though. What matters is that there are 50 million people a year diagnosed with acne every year, and someone needs to fix it, quick. Enter a new vaccine.

Which One of These is Not Like the Other

At the University of California San Diego, researchers are developing a vaccine for acne. Lab tests on skin biopsies collected from test subjects suffering from acne have been positive, and the researchers are anxious to begin the next stage of trials. But if they don’t know the definitive cause of acne, what are they vaccinating against? According to the lead researcher of the project, Dr. Eric Huang, “Acne is caused, in part, by P. acnes bacteria that are with you your whole life — and we couldn’t create a vaccine for the bacteria because, in some ways, P. acnes are good for you…But we found an antibody to a toxic protein that P. acnes bacteria secrete on skin — the protein is associated with the inflammation that leads to acne.”

What is Being Treated?

So this vaccine is targeting a protein that causes inflammation that leads to acne. Here’s where the idea goes off the rails a bit. Vaccines are specifically designed to elicit an immune response, which inflammation is. Basically, scientists are hoping to treat inflammation with a different kind of inflammation. That kind of treatment makes sense if you’re thinking like a five-year-old who cleans their room by shoving everything into the closet or under the bed.

What if a pimple was treated as a sign to take care of your body? When the body (kidneys in particular) are not processing waste out of the body quickly enough, excess toxins push out through the skin. When that waste gets clogged in pores and infected a pimple forms. That’s a lot of steps that happen before the pimple forms, and with each step, there’s an opportunity to put safeguards in place. To focus on fortifying and strengthening your system with fresh, raw, organic produce while eliminating boxes, bags, and sugars? Diet is the foundation of health, but no one is perfect. Pimples can be a sign to look at what you’re eating and dial things back to healthy.

Forcing Nature

You have a pimple and you want it gone. The vaccine can accomplish that. But at what cost? You have a pimple for a reason. Scientists don’t know the cause of acne. If this vaccine is brought to market it will likely be labeled not harmful to humans. But there won’t be any long-term studies. The side-effects will likely be worse than what the vaccine is meant to fix. Those promoting it will never look beyond conventional medicine to actually address the cause of infection. After all, it worked so well with antibiotics.

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No Makeup & Blemish Free? Healthy Gut, Healthy Skin – Here’s How

For a movie star, 1080 was bad enough; now there’s 4k resolution! Pores on the face can steal the show under high def scrutiny. The typical solution is  more makeup. Not just any makeup, high definition, movie star makeup, which is even worse for the skin than the conventional kind. It’s a vicious cycle in which many a movie or television star find themselves, while others have radiant, beautiful, blemish free skin.

Why do some stars look young and vibrant well past the age when most of us are blotchy and achy all over, even when they are caught off guard and makeup free by the paparazzi? It may seem like they know a Hollywood secret, but they don’t. There isn’t one. There’s no pill or insider trick. It’s health. Pure and simple. Health that is mainly due to diet. What you see is an actor who consistently makes the right choices, every single day.

Poor skin health is a symptom of an unhealthy microbiome. The health of the skin, eyes, and mouth are very good indicators for gut health. Anyone who wants healthy skin will have to eat a healthy diet.

Our microbiome breaks down and assimilates food, assimilates nutrients, and helps produce hormones, all while crowding out potential pathogens and keeping Candida numbers in check. The body’s gut flora primarily consists of bacteria and fungi. A healthy gut contains a ratio of about 1000 bacteria to 1 Candida yeast cell. In this ratio, Candida albicans is just a part of our beneficial gut flora. It’s no coincidence that the most beneficial gut bacteria survive and thrive on the most beneficial foods we can eat. Healthy gut flora live off of raw, organic vegetables and other healthy whole foods. Nasty, pathogenic bacteria, fungi, and other microbes live in a gut full of fast food and prescription drugs. The more fresh, raw, organic produce we consume, the healthier the gut flora will be. Candida is very opportunistic, and it will proliferate in a host who consumes a poor diet or otherwise disrupts their gut flora.

An abundance of Candida will seriously damage the intestinal walls causing an overly permeable or “leaky” gut. Most people in modern societies like ours are living with this right now. When Candida is left unchecked, it opens the door for other pathogens. More accurately, it makes holes in the gut for pathogens to invade the bloodstream. When someone has poor skin health, it is a safe bet that Candida is proliferating.

Our modern lifestyle disrupts our microbiome system:

  • Antibiotics in our food, water, drugs, soaps, and other bodycare products
  • Refined foods that feed the pathogens (healthy food feeds the good guys)
  • Vaccines, drugs (not just antibiotics, but anything toxic), heavy metals, and other toxins that kill beneficial flora
  • Pesticides, herbicides, and other toxins that kill our bacteria
  • Other toxic “foods” that disrupt our gut flora (like foods that contain heavy metals, artificial sweeteners, GMOs, etc.)

Here’s the thing that the medical community is not getting: anything that is toxic to the body will disrupt the body’s natural flora. Then Candida proliferates, and the body falls apart shortly thereafter. For better health, fix the body’s ecosystem. It will take time. Fortunately, it takes less time to get well than it does to get sick.

Natural Skin Health Via Gut Healing Protocol

Still not convinced? Try the following protocol for two weeks. Before starting, take pictures for a before and after comparison. The difference will be notable. We’re not just talking skin health. Allergies and most other ailments will dissipate, too. Fix the gut and eventually, the whole body follows.

Drink Lots of Cranberry Lemonade

Drink between a half a gallon and a gallon of cranberry lemonade each day to flush the liver and kidneys of toxins and help rejuvenate the endocrine system, which will help keep the blood clean and reduce “die-off symptoms” commonly associated with killing Candida.

Cranberry Lemonade Recipe

  • Glass gallon jar
  • Safe, clean, spring water or distilled water
  • 1 cup of unsweetened, organic cranberry juice, not from concentrate
  • 3 organic fresh lemons
  • A citrus juicer
  • Liquid stevia
  • Liquid cayenne

Fill the jar to about 85% capacity with spring water (or distilled water). Squeeze the lemons and pour the juice into the water. Add cranberry juice. Add stevia to taste and then add cayenne to taste. The amount of cayenne used is up to you, but the more the better.

If you don’t have access to a good source for spring water, use other clean drinking water that does not contain fluoride. If you don’t have access to organic lemons, use conventional. Fresh is almost always best. If there are no fresh lemons, use organic bottled lemon juice. If you can’t get cranberry juice that is not from concentrate, get the reconstituted kind (just don’t get any kind of cranberry juice that has any other ingredients like sweeteners or other juices). If you can’t stand cayenne, don’t use it. No glass jar? Use plastic.

Eat Right

Produce detoxifies. Fresh, whole, organic, raw vegetables, herbs, and fruits pull toxins from the body and repopulates healthy, beneficial gut bacteria as it give the body the nutrients it needs including enzymes and other phytonutrients that are almost non-existent in most modern diets.

Try to eat a huge salad every day with lots of greens, plenty of other colors, garlic, cilantro, ginger, and more. Check out this salad recipe.

The Salad Base

  • Spinach
  • Arugula (I prefer baby arugula, mature arugula tastes funky)
  • Collard greens (they’re very bitter; use sparingly)
  • Lettuce (mix it up, try an organic spring mix)
  • Kale
  • Beet greens (the tops of beets)
  • Red cabbage (thinly shred like a slaw or a little thicker, depending on the texture you prefer)
  • Rainbow chard

Shredded, Grated, or Spiralized

  • Carrots
  • Zucchini
  • Beetroot
  • Daikon (or other radish)

Chopped or Diced

  • Leeks
  • Red onions
  • Red and yellow bell peppers
  • Cucumbers
  • Cilantro
  • Asparagus (try cooking it in a balsamic vinegar first)

Extras

  • Pomegranate seeds
  • Olives
  • Raisins or dried cranberries
  • Sesame seeds
  • Ground papaya seeds and/or ground pepper
  • Avocado
  • Eggs (try soft boiled)
  • Beans (black, pinto, kidney, green, garbanzo, etc.)
  • Garlic
  • Turmeric
  • Chia seeds

It’s not an exact recipe, and it doesn’t have to be. Mix it up. Try new things. My salads generally have about 15 ingredients. Make them big; make them diverse. Just imagine you’re in nature, not modern society, and all you have to eat is nothing but a wide variety of the best, whole, fresh, healthy vegetables and herbs. This is what a big salad a day can do for you. It’s life changing.

I throw in chickpeas or a three-bean salad combination. If you’re not vegan, try a sheep feta cheese with this salad and throw on some eggs. It’s good with meat, too, like chicken or steak.

Don’t ruin it with a crappy salad dressing! All this salad needs is a little balsamic vinegar (apple cider is better, but I don’t like the taste as much in my salads), or some fresh lemon juice. It doesn’t take much.

What Else to Eat and What Not to Eat

Eat whole foods; avoid refined foods. Brown rice is good; white rice is out. Avoid wheat; artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or sweeteners; trans fats; and MSG. Avoid carbonated beverages. Avoid GMOs. Limit fruits, and besides stevia, avoid or limit anything else that’s sweet.

Our modern diet almost always includes too much refined sugar. We don’t have access to agave nectar, brown rice syrup, fruit juices, and other sweeteners in nature. It’s just too much sugar. You may be thinking honey is a good alternative, but this is only true when the gut is healed, the body is relatively free of infection, and the immune system functions properly. Otherwise, even with its antimicrobial properties, honey can feed infection as it goes through the digestion process.

Supplements

Candida evolves to be resistant to much of what we do to try to kill it. This is much more of an issue with conventional treatments than it is with supplements, but it’s still a possibility. A multifaceted approach is the best way to eliminate Candida quickly. They won’t have time to adapt. Lots of protocols recommend multiple supplements that essentially have the same active ingredients, leading the buyer to believe they are taking a multifaceted approach when they are not. This is one of the many reasons typical Candida protocols are not very effective, though poor diet is the number one reason for any natural protocol not working effectively. For those on a tight budget or only wanting to add one or two supplements to their routine, I listed the following supplement links in order from the most to the least important in regards to killing Candida and balancing the gut.

  • Formula SF722 is one of the most effective products (perhaps the best) for killing any kind of fungal infection. It’s been shown in labs that Candida cannot adapt to undecenoic acid (the active ingredient in SF722) like it can with almost every other way we try to kill it.
  • Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse will kill parasites, Candida, and other bad guys while it heals the gut, improves regularity, and removes nasty biofilm (little-known fact: there’s good biofilm, and there’s bad biofilm), all while setting up a hospitable environment for beneficial flora.
  • Undecyn has many different active components formulated specially to kill pathogens in the gut, urinary tract, and vaginal area, but it kills bad guys everywhere.
  • FloraMend is a probiotic that passes through the stomach acid and releases in the intestinal tract.
  • Olive Leaf Extract supports the immune system and promotes a healthy intestinal environment and provides natural protection and a healthy environment for cells, without suppressing immune system function or harming beneficial microflora.
  • Shillington’s Intestinal Detox is important for anyone who may have heavy metals in their system, and this formula heals the whole digestive tract. It’s not as necessary for more people, but if you experience digestive upset or heavy metal toxicity the intestinal detox is perfect for these issues.
  • MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations is effective against all common parasites. With the Intestinal Cleanse and the Undecyn, this is overkill for most people, but if you’re very concerned with parasites, it’s the formula designed for that.
  • Allium Oil, made with organic olive oil, garlic, and vitamin E, encourages healthy, smooth sebum production and release and fights infection. (See this article for more on sebum.)

The SF722, Undecyn, the MicroDefense, and to a lesser extent the Intestinal Cleanse, will damage beneficial bacteria, so there are two options to get the most out of your supplements. One method is to take the FloraMend probiotic (and olive leaf) at bedtime and upon take the other microbe-killing supplements during the day with meals. Another option is to wait a week or two for symptoms to subside and then stop taking the SF722 and Undecyn and start taking the probiotic, but for those who are particularly ill, healing may take a little longer with this approach. Taking beneficial bacteria and the supplements that help support it at night makes for better B vitamin production, mineral uptake, and hormonal balance. Note that one of the great things about the olive leaf extract and the Intestinal Detox supplements is that while they do kill pathogens, neither formula will kill the good bacteria.

There are certain vitamins and minerals that have been proven to curb Candida growth, and of course, Candida depletes many of these nutrients. The right diet should suffice, but most people will do well with a nutrition formula, a mineral formula, fats and vitamin D, and a B vitamin complex. This is especially true for anyone who does not have access to high quality, nutrient dense food on a regular basis. Biotin, otherwise known as B7, helps prohibit Candida from converting to its hyphal filamentous growth structure, which is the form where tentacles drill through the gut. But there are at least a dozen other minerals and vitamins that we know are just as significant to gut balance, hence the holistic approach.

Maintenance for Clear Skin

After the gut is healthy and the body is healthy, continue to eat well, avoid processed foods, take the aforementioned supplements (nutrition formula, a mineral formula, fats and vitamin D, and a B vitamin complex), and continue to stay away from processed foods, wheat, alcohol, and vaccines. Or, stay away from them for a month and then go eat some bread and get your flu shot, watch the zits pop up. Your choice.

For those who are willing to spend considerable money to look younger than should be possible:

You can take systemic enzymes with collagen, but don’t take them at the same time. Take systemic enzymes on an empty stomach. If you take them with food, enzymes will help digest the food, which is great, but also take them on an empty stomach.

Use essential oils in place of perfumes, and make your own deodorant and sunscreen. Avoid all skin care products with chemicals, which is to say, avoid all conventional skin care, and read the “natural” labels diligently. Or, don’t use that stuff and just make everything yourself.

Conclusion

Candida is a hot topic of debate within both the naturopathic community and conventional medicine, with views ranging from Candida being the root of everything that’s wrong with the body to it being a very rare issue that is completely overblown. The reality is that a Candida infection in the gut is a process that happens when one is not well, and when left unchecked (it doesn’t take long) Candida will allow other pathogens to infiltrate the body through the gut. Candida is the key to many other diseases due to how it burrows into the intestinal walls. Once someone is chronically ill, it may or may not be Candida causing their problems, but you can bet Candida has played a big role.

Illness is never due to just one type of pathogen. If you feel ill, whether it be from a chronic illness or just a cold, it’s a little-known fact that there’s often more than just one virus, bacteria, or other pathogen affecting you.

Recommended Reading:
Sources:


Get Naturally Gorgeous Skin with These 4 Home Remedies

A peaches-and-cream complexion with a picture-perfect, porcelain skin – isn’t that every woman’s dream? Irrespective of the profession you’re in, or the age bracket you fall under, it is important to have flawless skin. It goes a long way in enhancing your beauty and adding to your charisma.

Today, both men and women lead extremely hectic and stressful lives. Lack of sleep, inadequate nutrition, exposure to pollution, alcohol use, and smoking contribute to unhealthy skin. Sure, there are a lot of skin-care products that are readily available, but most of them are loaded with chemicals. They may help you get clear skin now, but may not be good for you in the long-term.

What you need is something natural, something that will give you the desired results without any of the short-term or long-term side-effects.

Here are a few home remedies for naturally gorgeous and clear skin, using ingredients right out of your pantry.

1. Honey and Cinnamon Face Mask

This is a great face mask that can be concocted using just two ingredients. The mask is effective in fighting acne as both honey and cinnamon have anti-microbial properties. Here’s how you make it:

You will need

  1. 2 tablespoon honey
  2. 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Usage

  • Rinse your face and pat dry it.
  • Mix the honey and the cinnamon together until they have formed a smooth paste.
  • Apply this paste to your face and leave it on for around 10-15 minutes.
  • Rinse your face completely and pat dry.

2. Apple Cider Vinegar Toner

Another anti-acne remedy that can kill off the troublemaking bacteria, it is great to be used as an astringent which can dry up all the excess oil on your skin. Further, it is alkaline in nature and balances the pH level of your skin, which makes it harder for bacteria to thrive on it. Here’s how you use it:

You will need

  1. Unfiltered apple cider vinegar
  2. Fresh water

Usage

  • Wash your face and pat dry.
  • Take 1 part vinegar and dilute it with 3 parts water to make a solution.
  • Using a cotton ball, apply this solution directly to your acne/blemishes.
  • Leave it on for around 10 minutes. Wash your face and pat dry.
  • Reapply this solution several times during the day, washing your face thoroughly after each application.
  • Make it a point to use a good moisturizer afterwards, if you feel your skin becoming drier than usual. You may want to consider using coconut oil for moisturizing due to its antimicrobial, antifungal, and antibacterial properties, which go a long way in preventing breakouts.

3. Honey and Strawberry Face Scrub

Strawberries are well known for being high in salicylic acid, which is an important ingredient in many commercial acne-treatment products. It allows the skin to shed its dead cells more readily, opens up clogged pores, and clears the hidden bacteria. After use, it also shrinks the pores to a certain degree, which prevents them from clogging up further. Strawberries combined with honey, which is antibacterial and anti-inflammatory, make for a sweet way to fight acne!

You will need

  1. 3 strawberries
  2. 2 teaspoon raw honey

Usage

  • Wash your face and pat dry.
  • Wash the strawberries and mash them a little. (Mashing them too much will make them runny, and we don’t want that).
  • Add the honey to the strawberries and thoroughly mix them together.
  • Apply this mixture to your face. Massage it and let it rest for about 15-20 minutes.
  • Wash your face with water and pat dry.
  • If your skin feels drier than usual, use a good moisturizer. Coconut oil is great for hydrating skin as it deep-conditions and softens your skin.
  • Use this scrub twice a week for a month to see the effects.

4. Sodium Bicarbonate Mask/Scrub

This wonderful ingredient works its magic not only in cakes, but also on your skin. It is great for treating acne-prone skin, thanks to its mild antiseptic properties, which make it fight bacteria and fungus. It also helps dry up the excess oil on your skin, and exfoliate it via the process of microdermabrasion.

You will need

  1. Baking soda
  2. Water

Usage

The great thing about this recipe is that it can be used as a facial mask as well as a scrub. The procedure of preparation differs though.

For a mask:

  • Mix equal parts of baking soda and water to form a thick paste.
    Rub it on your skin in slow circular motions for a couple of minutes.
  • Leave it on for around 15 minutes.
  • Rinse thoroughly and pat dry your face. Moisturize, if needed.

For a scrub:

  • Mix half a cup of baking soda with 1/4th cup water.
  • Apply the scrub to your face, massaging it in thoroughly.
  • Leave it on for around 5 minutes and rinse well.
  • Pat your face dry and moisturize, if needed.

Conclusion

The above recipes are not only effective, they are easy to make. The natural and easily-available ingredients will ensure that you do not waste another penny on those chemical-laden, skin-care products ever again. And the best thing is you will never have to worry about suffering the side-effects; you can simply enjoy your beautiful, clear skin. All you need is a little discipline and dedication in preparing and applying these treatments regularly. You should see the desired results in no time.

Recommended Supplements:
Further Reading:


Skin Care? Take It from the Queen Bee

Rumor has it that some people have found their fountain of youth. While one may easily think this is all thanks to modern cosmetic and beauty procedures, you can actually stay young and healthy naturally without the ridiculous cost. How? Let’s take it from the Queen Bee, shall we?

The use of honey bee products for beauty can be traced back as far as Cleopatra’s reign in Nile, Egypt.  Cleopatra was one of the earliest historical figures who used honey (and milk) in their baths to pamper their skin. Thanks to modern research, we now know that the famous Egyptian queen was onto something when she included honey in her beauty regimen.

Honey is known to have natural antibacterial properties, making it a popular chemical free skincare alternative for acne treatment and prevention. It’s also naturally rich in antioxidants, so it’s of little surprise to find honey in many anti-ageing beauty products today.

Honey is also used as a skin moisturizer to keep the skin well-soothed, glowing, and freshly hydrated. Honey is also great for improving complexion and unclogging pores because of its antimicrobial and clarifying properties.

Now that we know the basic skin care benefits of honey, let’s move on to different ways we can take advantage of it to achieve  youthful and better-looking skin. Here are several home treatments you can easily do to incorporate honey into your beauty regimen:

Moisturizing Facial Mask

Tired of having to deal with dry skin? With its natural humectant properties, you can bring honey to the rescue. Clean your face with your usual soap and cleanser, and pat it dry. Get a teaspoon of raw honey and spread it liberally onto your face. Let it sit for 15-20 minutes for long-lasting and more effective hydration. Rinse thoroughly with lukewarm water. This beauty regimen also unclogs your pores.

Natural Exfoliator

While you can easily get your beauty treatment at your favorite spa or skin clinic, it’s still more relaxing and cost-effective if you do it at home. Exfoliating skin is highly recommended 1-3 times a week (depending on skin type and condition) to remove dead skin cells. You can make a gentle scrub with honey and baking soda (2 parts to 1 part, respectively). Baking soda powder has light exfoliation properties. Honey, as we already know, has moisturizing and clarifying properties, making this combo a simple and natural concoction to effectively soothe and exfoliate skin. And don’t just limit it to your face – it’s great for the whole body, too.

Acne Treatment 

One of the most common causes of acne is a build-up of bacteria and dirt on the skin. Honey’s antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties can help by preventing bacterial build-up and by soothing the skin irritation and redness caused by acne. Raw honey is recommended because of its unfiltered composition. For acne treatment, simply apply a thin layer of raw honey and let it sit on your skin for 10-30 minutes. Remember, do not rub your skin; rubbing will further irritate your acne. Rinse well with lukewarm water and pat your skin dry.

Hair Mask

Let’s have a quick rundown here as to why honey can be great for hair care and hair growth:

  • Honey is a natural emollient, meaning it’s a great organic alternative for hair conditioning because of its softening and smoothening properties.
  • Its antioxidant properties are great for scalp care and hair growth.
  • As a humectant and with its high sugar content, honey can add and help retain moisture to the hair and scalp.
  • Honey’s antimicrobial properties help prevent scalp problems and infections, such as common dandruff and itchiness.

To use honey for your hair mask, you’ll also need olive oil (extra virgin preferred) and lemon (alternative: whipped yogurt). Create a concoction out of 2 tablespoons honey and 3 tablespoons olive oil. Heat together with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice. Apply and leave the lukewarm mixture unto scalp and hair for 30 minutes or longer. Rinse and wash off.

While honey has some amazing benefits, some people are just naturally allergic to it, so it’s still recommended to do a skin test before you use it. The tips mentioned here are basic. You can experiment depending on your needs. Remember that there are a lot of natural products you can actually use; you just have to do some research and careful experimentation to develop the beauty regimen that is perfect for you.

Further Reading:
Sources:

 



Natural Remedies for Acne

Clear, clean, vibrant skin is the best visual indicator of overall health. Acne is not just unsightly; it is a sure sign of a body that is undernourished and full of toxins. Though it comes as no surprise, the conventional medical community does not recognize the link between diet or general health and acne, other than a possible link to a few foods.

Sebum

Other than the palms of our hands and the bottoms of our feet, our bodies are covered with hair follicles. Each of these pores contains sebaceous glands that secrete sebum, a waxy, fat substance that coats the skin. This oil protects our skin from bacterial infection, helps keep it “waterproof”, and keeps skin moisturized.

When sebum gets clogged inside the pore it forms what we call a whitehead or a blackhead. Blackheads occur in follicles that have a wider opening of the pore, which allows the sebum to come into contact with air. The plugs of sebum undergo a chemical reaction resulting in the oxidation of melanin, which gives the material in the follicle the typical black color. Whiteheads are follicles that are filled with the same clogged sebum, but have very small openings to the skin surface. Since the air cannot reach the follicle, the sebum is not oxidized and remains white. When a pore becomes infected it forms what we call a pimple.

Sebum does not cause acne. Infection causes acne. Hormones, poor diet, bacteria, toxin accumulation, poor nutrition, Candida, and allergies can all contribute to the infection.  For instance, an overly toxic liver can cause toxic accumulation in our pores which can irritate the sebaceous glands. When the diet is poor, the fats ingested typically cause inflammation which, in combination with toxins, can cause irritated inflamed pores ripe for infection from bacteria or Candida. In addition, with a poor diet, bacteria and Candida constantly overwhelm the body. This is why treating skin conditions such as acne with topical solutions like antibacterial soaps often have limited effect. Topical solutions do not treat the source of the problem.

Hygiene

While conventional medicated skin care products can reduce and in some cases even eliminate acne, using them is like taking aspirin for a headache. It may work, but it’s treating only the symptom, not the cause. Chemically laden conventional skin care can seriously age the skin. And the skin can become dependent on its use. For instance, oily skin seems to be controlled by the chemical cocktail that causes the sebaceous glands to produce more oil. Or dry skin feels better for an hour or two, but the sebaceous glands don’t produce more oil. The goal is infection free skin with healthy sebaceous glands that produce the right amount of sebum. This is an internal balance.  A healthy diet and skin care that nourishes the skin allows infection to heal, an end to inflammation, and healthy sebaceous glands that work properly.

We have tested Terressentials, Lusa Organics, and Tilvee skin care products. They are the best products we have found.  Products of this caliber do not strip away the skins nutrients. They do not toxify the skin or the body. Using high quality, chemical free healthy skin care products along with a healthy diet is the right way to care for skin. But there are some natural remedies for acne that can significantly reduce pimples and blackheads as well as or better than any conventional skin care product without the chemical toxins.

It should be noted that the skin care industry is rampant with “organic washing”. Even reading the ingredients carefully does not necessarily ensure you are buying a chemical free product because companies don’t have to list all of their ingredients. Even if a skin care product says “Made with organic ingredients,” there is a good chance the product contains toxic chemicals. Buy 100% organic skin care products

Essential Oils for Natural Acne Remedies

Tea tree oil is antifungal, microbial, and antibacterial. It has been proven to be as effective as benzoyl peroxide (the most common medication for acne) in treating acne, with less drying, stinging, and redness.

Neem oil is antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral and immune-system stimulating; and works as an antihistamine, antiseptic, or spermicidal.

Oil of oregano is also antibacterial, antifungal, antiparasitical, and antiviral.

Any of these oils can be applied directly to an affected area. But use caution. All of these oils, undiluted, can cause skin irritation. If applying these oils to a large area, any one or a combination of these essential oils can be diluted with aloe vera gel in a 5 to 1 ratio (incidentally, aloe vera is great for healing and nourishing skin).

Oil Cleansing for Blackheads and Whiteheads

Oil cleansing has multiple benefits. It nourishes the skin, naturally disinfects, and makes skin supple, smooth, and more pliable, which makes it easier for sebum to slide out of the pore without getting clogged.

Castor oil is an excellent cleanser but can be a little harsh if used full strength on the facial area. The standard instructions say to mix 25% Castor oil with 75% Extra Virgin Olive Oil, but we recommend unrefined coconut oil instead. Coconut oil has amazing health benefits and is very good for the skin. Coconut oil is solid up to 76 degrees, so heat it slightly to liquefy. Try adding some neem oil or oil of oregano to the coconut oil and you’ve got a gentle but powerful antiseptic.

Rub the oil mixture gently all over the face and then steam for 5-10 minutes. Wipe the oil with a steamed hot cloth.

Consider adding a small amount of one or more of the aforementioned essential oils for cleansing as well.

Diet

Diet is what it’s really all about. In most cases (almost all cases) eliminate gluten, refined foods, MSG, and dairy and the acne disappears. Focus on raw, fresh, organic produce. Slow kidneys are another common reason why acne happens, and the aforementioned diet will help the kidneys too.

Conclusion

Even if you suffer from oily skin, give essential oils and oil cleansing a try. Oil dissolves oil. Furthermore, oily skin is often a symptom of the body over compensating for dry skin. When the body is not as healthy as it could be, the oils secreted may not have the proper nourishing, moisturizing effect.

Balance the gut and detoxify the kidneys first. Then, if need be, balance the hormones. Then, after a little more time, you can forget all those topical remedies; you won’t need them.

Recommended Supplements:
Further Reading: