I hear it a lot in my clinical practice: "I think my acne might be hormonal". In a sense all acne is hormonal. You may not have overt hormonal aberrations turn up on your blood test, but there may be something more subtle at play. Let me explain...
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PCOS
Herbal medicine has a long history of traditional use, throughout the world, for menstrual irregularities and fertility. More recently, scientific research has been showing positive results for herbal and nutritional treatments for polycystic ovarian syndrome, and deepening our understanding of the underlying causes. We now know that herbs and nutrients can be used to adjust levels of specific hormones and encourage the normal, healthy function of organs. Teamed with modifying our diet and forming good habits in our daily lives, these therapies can form the basis of long-lasting hormonal change.
All food launches some sort of inflammatory response in our body. This happens because food is a foreign object entering our body and our immune system's job is to identify and accept or reject it. However, some foods are more inflammatory than others...
So now that you know you have PCOS what can you do about it? The most important change you can make is to your diet and the first step is to quit refined sugar. Sound difficult? It’s actually not that hard once your body learns a new way of enjoying food. In fact, low sugar, whole food eating can be delicious. So much so that you will never want to go back.
So you’ve been diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Confused? I was. You may have been told it’s about cysts, excess male hormones or lack of ovulation. All you really know is that something is not right. It might be showing up for you as acne that persists well beyond your teenage years, excess hair on you belly, chin and upper lip, irregular periods, weight gain, or maybe you’ve finally decided it’s time to have a baby and the pregnancy test is negative time after time...
Once or twice a year I like to hit the 'reset' button for my body by doing a cleanse. Spring is the perfect time to cleanse your body. The weather is warming, which makes the body feel like moving more, letting go of some of it's fat stores and eating a lighter, fresher diet. Furthermore, if you are like me, you will have been indulging in a few red wines and more 'comforting' type foods over winter, so it is time to detox and change habits.
Doing a regular cleanse helps me keeps my periods regular & less painful and prevents return of acne & clogged pores.
Got acne? Irregular periods? Excess hair growth? Trouble conceiving? Scalp hair loss? You might have polycystic ovarian syndrome. Read on to find out...