If you or your children are frustrated with acne, a grain-free diet will very likely clear up your skin. If you have been on a low-fat or "fad" diet, you may be also dealing with some vitamin/mineral deficiencies so concentrated doses of supplements like vitamin A and zinc may be a necessity too. Antibiotics are unnecessary AND unsafe because correcting your diet creates an internal environment that does not allow bacterial overgrowth to occur. Taking antibiotics is SO detrimental for your gut flora...it kills all of your good bacteria which can lead to autoimmune diseases and food allergies (Fun Fact: You can decrease your baby's/children's chance of a food allergy by 70% if you give them bifido bacteria in the first year of their life: it is naturally found in breastmilk if the mother is eating fermented veggies).
STEP 1: We all know that "simple carbohydrates" are just empty junk calories. These would include white bread, white rice, all sugars, soda, candy, cookies. Eliminating these would be step one in clearing up your skin. TOTALLY getting rid of high fructose corn syrup is a mantra we all should follow and teach our kids how to read labels to never eat this. I found it in pickles this past weekend! Fruit also contains a high amount of fructose, so it should be consumed in very limited amounts and NEVER in the form of juice.
STEP 2: Complex carbohydrates are just glucose molecules linked together in long chains, our body breaks them down into glucose (AKA Sugar) in the blood. Complex carbohydrates are found in foods such as beans, nuts, whole grains, and starchy vegetables. These sound healthy right, BUT if acne is a problem for you, limiting these will decrease the inflammation of the skin caused by the rise in insulin. Our bodies prefer the complex carbs found in non-starchy vegetables instead of the complex carbs found in whole grains, because your body handles their digestion differently. Veggies, such as cauliflower, are slow to break down into simple sugars, with minimal insulin impact, whereas digestion of grain-carbs, such as brown rice, raises your insulin.
High insulin levels increases male hormones, which cause your pores to secrete more sebum, a greasy substance that traps acne-promoting bacteria. Insulin also causes skin cells to multiply, a process associated with acne. This rise in male hormones can also cause fertility issues, so a low carb diet would greatly help women with PCOS.
STEP 3: If step 1 and 2 don't work, then I suspect a food sensitivity to gluten. Gluten in wheat and other grains may be contributing to your acne symptoms if you have a gluten intolerance, which many people do. This is a separate issue from the insulin effects already discussed. Gluten is a prime suspect if you have rosacea. A person who is sensitive to gluten cannot digest gluten, so the body will not recognize it when it is eaten and therefore treats it as a foreign body when trying to digest it. The gluten can push the toxins through the skin and cause acne.
BUT, you must be careful when choosing "gluten free" products, such as the wraps in the photo, they are very high in carbs which won't help acne. It may seem impossible in our society to eat 'gluten free' and low carb, but we do it and we still enjoy pizza, donuts, risotto...just in my "healthified" modified ways!
STEP 4: Get rid of hormones in your food. Get rid of milk, or only buy whole-organic-hormone free milk. Purchase hormone free meat, chicken, and eggs. To read more, go to: The Sea Of Estrogens!
STEP 5: Add in helpful supplements such as Cod Liver Oil. Vitamin A and EPA/DHA are extremely helpful in clearing acne. Zinc and other minerals can also help.
Try these tortillas instead!
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp Celtic Sea Salt
1 1/2 cup egg whites (or 6 eggs)
3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
Coconut oil spray (for frying)
Sift together the coconut flour and baking soda. Add in the lemon juice, egg whites, and almond milk (make sure it isn't "vanilla"). Blend until very smooth (I used this food processor: click HERE...I always use it to make cake batter, pancake batter...it makes life easier, I can move about the kitchen while it mixes for me). Let sit for 10 minutes to let the coconut flour absorb the liquid and thicken.
Heat the pan to medium heat. Make sure the batter is thinner than a pancake batter. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter on a heated pan greased with coconut oil spray or butter (grease well). Pour the batter into the pan and swirl the pan to spread the batter to cover the entire pan (make sure it is very thin). Make sure the tortilla is golden brown and cooked almost through before flipping. Once the tortilla is ready, flip and cook on the other side until golden brown. Use these to make sandwich wraps with, Mexican dishes, or sweet desserts! Makes 9 servings.
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per tortilla):
Traditional Corn Tortilla = 180 calories, 30 carbs, 3g fiber
"Healthified" Tortilla = 58 calories, 4 carbs, 2.3g fiber
