Gummies-Turned-Acne Post
by Sarah Servold
For the past 3 ½ months, I’ve been reliving what the initial stages of puberty must have felt like. Well, Peter might say that I’m no stranger to mood swings, but the acne that has decided to ruin my nice Paleo skin is definitely new and really putting a damper on things.
Outside of the fact that it’s terribly embarrassing and I don’t wear make up to cover it up, it’s just stressing me out because it’s been progressively getting worse from basic clogged pores/black heads to full blown cyst zits. Sorry if this grosses any of you out, but I’m trying to be honest here. And given how embarrassing this is for me, sharing this on the damn interwebs is a big deal.
So anyhow, the most frustrating part has been the fact that I eat super clean. I’m married to freaking Paleo Pete! And we all know how much digestion affects our skin. Nonetheless, there are a few other factors at play here - my other existing health conditions that I've outlined in a previous blog post (http://petespaleo.com/blog/healthy-on-the-inside) and the removal of my Mirena (IUD) a couple of weeks before the skin issues appeared.
Which all leaves me thinking that it's likely a hormonal issue - the acne mainly appears on my jaw line, my hormones are definitely out of whack because of my adrenal fatigue, PCOS and removal of the IUD. But what is the cure?!?!
This has left me feeling like Nancy Drew - attempting to solve the mystery of my skin! I've enlisted the help of my friend Liz Wolfe of Cave Girl Eats and author of The Skintervention Guide. While she is doing some research of her own about this, I'm too impatient to sit around, wait and hide my face like a 13 year old, so these are the things I'm doing:
- Increase my sun exposure to get more Vitamin D
- Decrease my intake of starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes
- Reevaluate my process of the OCM (oil cleansing method) courtesy of Crunchy Betty
- Finally buy some of this damn Fermented Cod Liver Oil/Butter Oil Blend that Liz and Diane keep ranting and raving about
- Increase my intake of grass-fed gelatin starting with these amazing gelatin gummies courtesy of Balanced Bites
But seriously, these gummies are ridiculous! So easy to make and really kind of addicting. But the great thing is they are GOOD FOR YOU! No joke, even Peter and Shane were obsessed with them.
Well, that's about all from me for now. I'm open to advice if anyone has any. And please stay tuned for an update from me and hopefully a fabulous "after" picture!