I used to proud of how much sugar I could put in my coffee. People would say, “would you like some coffee with sugar?”.

I even went to the doctor to ask if I could cause the early onset of diabetes simply by using too much sugar in my coffee. He said no so I continued to pour on the sugar without a care in the world.

photo credit: Surat Lozowick

Today as I sit here in my hotel room for SXSW which begins tomorrow, I wasn’t happy with how much sugar I had for breakfast.  I’ve made drastic reductions in my sugar intake in the last month and eating cornflakes, orange juice and yogurt with a cup of coffee has left me feeling a bit bogged down.

I’m Your Pusher

Sugar was easy to get. Sugar was my friend. I started drinking coffee when I was 14 and found it to be a great medium for delivering both a sugar and caffine rush. Remember that I have ADD so caffeine does not affect me the way it does other people so I viewed coffee as a delicious, toasty warm treat that was my gateway to adulthood. The sweet, syrupy taste of of a strong cup of espresso with steamed milk and a generous pour of sugar was a welcome sight each morning in my early 20′ s.

Breakout

I started getting really bad acne at the age of 26. They were painful, large cysts along my jaw line. They were deep made my tender. Before, I had regular pimples but nothing like this. I looked to the world of formal medicine to help me fix it. but it

My dermatologist had me take pills (tetracycline?). And then Retin-A, then a few laser treatments (holy cow! Expensive!). Then I changed the cleanser I was using on my face. I tried to stop using benzyl peroxide otherwise known as Clearasil. I mean sure to wrap up my hair every night but nothing seemed to help.

I was in denial. I didn’t think that sugar could be the problem.

Eventually I read that I could have a hormone imbalance and one of the solutions was to take birth control pills. One of the side effects of this could be cancer so I decided to look for a different solution.

Exploring Natural Acne Remedies

I tried all sorts of things like putting egg whites on my face, masks with various food items but nothing was working.  I would be okay for a day or too and then another huge, painful pimple would show up.

The search led me to the co-op. I had been there before because it or I could always find lactose free milk and then discovered lactose pills. For those of you who don’t know lactose intolerance means that you have a problem digesting milk and milk products. In fact, 75% of the world is lactose intolerant. Anyway, the wonderful deli smells drew me in. I began sampling some of the food. It was pretty good! And so began my journey into the world of natural foods and homeopathic skin care.

It took two years of shopping at the local co-op before it decided to join and become a member. Once it did, I felt entitled to assess staff more questions, especially questions about my health. I began trying skin care products, deodorants and face care items.

Did you know that you can use coconut oil on your skin? It’s actually quite good for you and is closer to mimicking your body’s own natural skin oils versus mineral.

Skin Care Can Be Dangerous

During this time of experimentation, I was determined to stop using benzyl peroxide. One of the most frustrating things about using it was that it bleached my clothing. I have lost many favorite shirts to the curse of Clearasil.

I also learned that anti-inflammatory ointments like cortisone were not good for use on the face (can cause the skin to thin) and my skin could become dependent on it.

This meant I needed to find a solution that reduced the severity of my acne in the most natural way possible.

Ch, Ch, Changes

The change to my skin didn’t happen overnight but over the period of one year, I began to notice a change. I was having less, cystic breakouts after changing all of my body face care products to ones I purchased at the co-op.

One of the things the staff suggested is that I reduce my sugar intake. I didn’t like this.  Remember, sugar was my friend.  Of course, at one time, cigarettes had been my friend too and after smoking for almost 14 years (started when I was  13), I quite for good in 2006 (age 28).  I began to think about sugar as a possible addictive agent…

I was becoming desperate to get rid of this acne. Not only was it painful, I started to scar more frequently. It seemed like a vicious cycle of breakouts, trying to get rid of the acne and then dealing with the scars.

I now use Dr. Hauska face products and love it!  It’s homeopathic and smells wonderful!  I saw even more improvements after using a base set of cleanser, moisturizer and night treatments!  Woohoo!

Yeast. It’s an organism that makes bread grow. It loves sugar. The co-op staff and my friend @swirlspswirloth mentioned probiotics. I had tried to eat yogurt every day but found it hard to hit it down and look forward to eating it. I wasn’t sure what probiotics were but it sounded like I wouldn’t need to try and get down a cup of yogurt every morning. Turns out probiotics were live bacteria that you took each day that capsule form to help with digestion. They could also help control yeast overgrowth.

As a woman really east overgrowth I knew of was yeast infections. Thankfully those have been few and far between in my life yet I’ve been given the “opportunity” by American television to see all the “wonderful” as its for feminine hygiene products. Joy of joys.

Lasting Change In Effect!

So back to probiotics. Each time I asked about the co-op, the staff said that I should also reduce my sugar intake. This caused me to feel defensive. I’d like sugar. Why should I think that it was causing my acne? Why these people want me to stop eating sugar?

I begin to look into sugar and started to experiment with sugar alternatives. In February 2010, I tried Agave nectar Which is from a plant that sort of looks like an aloe plant.

I was also moved to try this because I started probiotics in January and felt that they are having a positive effect on acne.

Third I met several people who were moving to gluten-free diets. Gluten is derived from grains like wheat and some people are highly allergic to it. This means they eat carbs that come from potatoes, rice and other non “cereal” crops. I had tried gluten-free desserts at the co-op and some quite tasty so I wondered to if reducing my sugar intake and exploring gluten-free products would continue to improve the condition of the skin.

In the month of February, the only time I had table sugar was when I was out having coffee. I was able to avoid consuming any table sugar at home.

Has this made a difference on my acne?

It has!

I’m happy to report in the last two months I have seen a significant reduction in new outbreaks. This means a combination of homeopathic skin care products plus probiotics plus a reduction in in table sugar has started me on the path to acne recovery. Now that I am no longer breaking out several times a week, I am able to address the scarring.   I’ve been experimenting with an at-home glycolic peel which has been going quite well!

all continued to do pose related to health, my acne and co-op stuff throughout the year so stay tuned by subscribing to the RSS feed.