3 Tips To Identify The Root Cause Of Your Acne_82
As part of my acne clearing course called Naturally Clear, I take members through my proprietary method called the GLOW Method which stands for GUT HEALTH, LIVER, OVARIES (HORMONES), AND WASH (SKINCARE).
In today’s episode I am going to take you through the first phase of the Gut Health module where we start to hone in on what the root cause of your acne is, and how to start priming our gut for better hormones and detoxification.
Show Notes
The Biome Blueprint: https://detoxingwithdani.com/biomeblueprint
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Medical Disclaimer
The information provided by the Detoxing with Dani Podcast, Dani Ferguson CN, or any of its guests is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice. Please consult your physician first before implementing any of the information provided.
Episode 82 Transcription
Hello, everybody, and welcome back to another episode of Detoxing with Dani, if you are new around here, welcome! My name is Dani. I am a holistic nutritionist and I specialize in helping you clear your acne from the inside out. And that is exactly what we are going to be doing today. I am going to dive in on the first part of my GLOW method, which if again, if you are new here, bear with me while I explain to you a little bit of the ins and outs of what I do.
Also, if you are new here, I have had an episode of Bell's Palsy about nine months ago. I am still healing from it. And so sometimes my words do not come out of my mouth as flawlessly as they normally would because my lips just don't work the same anymore.
But anyways, the GLOW method. So the GLOW method is the method by which we understand the root cause of your acne and clear it from the inside out. It is the method that I used in my program called Naturally Clear, which is a self-paced online course. It's not available at the moment. Bear with me, though, because we are going to be announcing a launch date soon.
But what we are doing right now is revamping it and going to be coming out with a bigger and better version. So if you already got your hands on Naturally Clear, do not worry, you will be getting those updates as well. And if you have not joined the program yet, you are in for a treat when we do launch and announce those dates. But I want to give you a little sneak peek as to what the GLOW method is. So the GLOW method stands for gut health, liver, ovaries (which pertains to hormones, especially for women), and washing (which is skin care), because skin health is something that needs to be addressed both internally and externally.
We have a microbiome inside of our gut. We also have a microbiome on our skin. The microbiome of our gut does dictate and influence the microbiome on our skin. However, our skin microbiome also can influence and dictate the microbiome of our gut. So it is this one round about loop, so we got to take care of both. So like I said, the GLOW method starts with gut health. It all begins in the gut, you guys, because unless your gut is functioning on all cylinders, meaning you are eliminating frequently and consistently, you are getting rid of those toxins.
You have a robust microbiome, meaning that you have a really good balance of all the different types of billions and trillions of bacteria that we have living inside of our gut. You don't have any creepy crawlers in there that we don't want, like pathogens, parasites, worms, fungus, yeast, anything like that. The commensal bacteria that you do have is an overgrown, meaning you don't have any sort of bacterial overgrowth going on. We want to make sure that is all intact and like I said, functioning on all cylinders, because if that is not taken care of first and not your drainage, that's our drainage funnel.
So if your drainage funnel is not working properly, then your detox funnels cannot work properly, your immune funnels can't work properly, your lymphatic drainage funnels cannot work properly. Nothing else can work properly because that drainage funnel is like a big old bottleneck. Nothing is able to get out of it. So maybe you have a fantastic detox process in your body, but you have poor drainage. It doesn't really matter because just because you're detoxifying if that's not getting out efficiently, you're actually re-intoxicating your body with those toxins because your body saying, “OK, I don't know where the heck this is going, like, this isn't going out as quickly as I thought it was. I need to reprocess it through the liver again and repackage it up and get it ready for excretion.”
If that consistently happens time and time again, you're just constantly re-toxifying your body. Toxins also come out in our bile through our gallbladder. So if your gallbladder isn't working properly, if you don't have a gall bladder, that's another issue that we need to talk about and address, because the body is meant to detoxify all day, every day, especially at night. And if your drainage funnel is clogged, it's going to cause this major bottleneck. It's like your toilet's clogged, you guys, and nobody likes a clogged toilet.
So what can we do right now that we can talk about and kind of get into to give you some tactical tips to take away to start getting your gut in check? Well, number one, I'm going to give you a shameless plug of the Biome Blueprint. If you have not grabbed your hand on the Biome Blueprint, this is essentially the G of the GLOW method.
I pulled it out of Naturally Clear and made it its own course because so many people were asking me, saying, “I don't have skin issues, but I have got issues, what should I do?” So I pulled the entire part of the course that pertains to gut health, pulled it out, turned into the Biome Blueprint for you guys. And that is available right now. That's available all the time. You can go to my website and grab it, go to detoxingwithdani.com/biomeblueprint. You can snag it there. And that will get you started on your gut healing journey, it will lay the firm foundation that you need in order to then go in deeper and possibly detox the liver, get your hormones in check, and then get a set up for clearing that skin.
But if you haven't grabbed the Biome Blueprint yet, let's talk about some tips and tactics that you can do. So I always kind of layer things in so I have Naturally Clear, which is the GLOW method. And then within that GLOW method we have G which talks about gut health. And within that I have something called the three R's, which is remove, repair and restore. So number one is what we're going to be focusing on, which is remove. So what do I talk about? What am I talking about with that? Remove is removing things that are going to negatively impact your microbiome. So whether that is food, whether that is a parasite or pathogen, a bacteria, a yeast overgrowth, a fungal overgrowth, we need to remove that out of the body because that is only going to basically give you three steps forward and two steps back.
So you may gain some momentum, but it's going to set you back because parasites, fungus, pathogens, yeast, all those things that I just talked about are very opportunistic. So you may start on a protocol and maybe you've experienced this where you see great, great push forward. You see your skin starting to clear up, or maybe you're going to the bathroom very frequently and you're like, dang, I'm on a good trajectory. Like, this is really great.
And then something halts you. It's like when we get to a plateau, when we're losing weight, something halts you in your healing journey. That is what I'm talking about. We need to remove those things that are halting you in your healing journey.
Now, how do we figure out what that is? What you need to take a step back and analyze your health, analyze your gut health. If you're somebody who does not struggle with skin issues, analyze other symptoms that you're having.
Do you have frequent headaches? You have intense brain fog, do you have fatigue, slight memory loss, not to the effect where you possibly have dementia or Alzheimer's, but that memory loss of like, oh, gosh, where did I put my keys? Or like, where are my glasses again? What was I supposed to do when I came into this room, those kind of triggers? Because, again, we know our brain or our gut is connected to our skin, but our gut is also connected to our brain.
So keep an eye out on little symptoms that you can journal essentially and keep track of. Some other symptoms that you could be experiencing are intense PMS, crazy mood swings. Maybe you're kind of feeling blasé, like you're not necessarily depressed, but you're just kind of like, blah. I'm like, nothing really brings me joy, but nothing really makes me sad or upset either. That is an indication that you could be having neurotransmitter issues, which is a type of hormone that we create in our gut.
And again, it all goes back to the gut health and gut connected to the brain, gut connected to the skin. It's called the gut brain- skin access. So keep an eye on that. Are you constantly craving carbs and sugary things? That's another sign and symptom. Are you having trouble sleeping or focusing? Are you having problems not necessarily falling asleep or staying asleep? Do you wake up in the middle of the night? And if so, do you wake up at the same time every single night? Because that can give us an indication that maybe you have a parasite going on.
Are you nauseous frequently after you eat or are you only nauseous certain times of the day? Are you burpee? Are you belchy, are you constipated? Do you have loose stool or do you go back and forth between the two? Maybe you're constipated and have loose stool sometimes. All those symptoms you guys will give you an insight as to what is going on with your body. You have to listen to those. You cannot write them off as, like, oh that’s normal. Just because other people say it is. If it’s not normal to you, it’s not normal to you. Please remember that. Especially, I hear this all the time. I’ll get on the phone with a client for a 1 on 1 call or a consultation or a discovery call, and they’ll say, “oh you know, I’m okay. Like I don’t have serious digestive issue. Like, ya, I get a little bloated by the end of the day. But like, who doesn’t.” And I go, “Whoa, whoa, whoa, back it up just a minute.” That is not normal you guys! You should not go through life feeling bloated all the time. You just should not. I know especially as women we make fun of it as, like, “oh gosh, I have a food baby” or whatnot. That is not normal! That is a sign from your body that something is not right. So listen to it!
Same thing goes for heartburn. So many people have heartburn and say “I’ll just take some Prilosec or whatever.” NO! Do not just take something to cover up your symptoms. Like you can do that, and if that’s the path that you want to go down, I don’t really know why you’re listening to this podcast, but you have to uncover the root cause. You have to figure out, okay, why am I having heartburn all the time? Is is a certain food I’m eating? Or is it happening all the time regardless of what kind of food im eating? You need to listen to those symptoms.
So that is number one. Write down all of those symptoms that you are experiencing. Even the slightest thing. Do not discredit it. Seriously, put your phone on a timer for like 60-90 seconds and just write all the things that you wish you didn’t have as far as your health goes. Like, “I wish I had more energy, I could sleep better, digest better. I didn’t have so much gas or bloating.” Don’t over think it. Stop overthinking it. Just write it down.
So once you have all that written down, I can kind of see a good picture, like, “oh wow, I’m kind of experiencing a couple different things. I’m experiencing a little bit with digestion. Maybe a little bit with my brain. Maybe a little with my skin, or my immune system, or my hormones.” Anything like that. So you can kind of compartmentalize them.
Most of the time I will say, 80-90% of the time, we have got to start with the gut. Even people who say they take a pro-biotic, they take digestive enzymes and they eat really well, they still have to start with their gut. Because just because you take a pro-biotic doesn’t mean that your gut health is good. Honestly, pro-biotics are just one part of the puzzle. We have to put all of the pieces of the puzzle together in order to create this perfectly resilient gut. Because we’re not striving for perfection when it comes to gut health, we’re striving for resilience. So that, if something does come up and you do get sick and you do have to take that antibiotic, your microbiome can bounce back from being on that antibiotic. If you go out to dinner and you eat something that you typically don’t eat because you know it doesn’t really settle well with you. But if you get your gut health in check, your body is able to digest that a little bit better and it is able to handle that little indulgence much better. And so that you’re not miserable the next day. You don’t have to worry so much about that acne that’s going to pop up every single month because of your cycle. This are what a resilient gut health will get you. It will give you resilience and confidence in your health and in your skin, and in your brain, and in your gut.
So, once you have identified your symptoms, I want you to also write out all the supplements you’re taking. And maybe you’re in the camp of, “oh man, I’m not taking any supplements right now.” And that’s perfectly fine. Or you’re in the camp of, “oh my gosh, I need 5 pieces of paper to write down how many supplements I’m taking.” Just write them down and then, write next to each one of them, if you notice a difference when you take it. Or, maybe you don’t necessarily notice a difference when you take it, but you notice a difference when you don’t take it. Or, maybe you don’t notice a difference at all. If you don’t notice a difference at all, write it down. Write it down next to the supplement that you’re taking. And this is more supplements you’re taking on a daily basis. I’m not talking, like, immune boosting supplements that you take when you’re feeling sick or when you’re in need of vitamin C, that kind of stuff, that’s for front line defense. I’m talking about foundational supplements that you’re taking on a daily basis.
So you can write these down and identify which ones you like and which ones you don’t like. Then from there, now, I would say first and foremost, please consult your physician before you change anything about your supplements, especially if you are working with a functional health care practitioner, please consult them first. This is for informational purposes only. But this is what I do with my one on one clients. Then we assess if you really need to be taking these, and when it comes to gut health, usually we strip everything back. We pull the curtain back. We really strip everything down to bare bones. And only introduce what is going to impact the gut right now because when you are impacting the gut, you’re most likely impacting the rest of your health. And so that typically looks like a good pro-biotic blend, which is called a symbiotic with a combination of pre-, pro-, and post-biotics. Or a lot of them are starting to add post-biotics, not all have them, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good. At least pre- and pro-biotics. You want to be on a good, strong pre- and pro-biotic.
Then from there, you want to assess, okay, am I dealing with something that is more of a leaky gut situation or am I dealing with something that is more of a food intolerant situation? Or am I dealing with something that is more of a digestive situation? Meaning, I might need more digestive enzymes, hydrochloric acid, bile salts, something along those lines. Is it a combination of them all? Or am I dealing with a bacterial issue? Pathogenic, candida, yeast, all of that good stuff. And that’s a little bit more complicated to dig our teeth into especially on a podcast because it just, is. Its something that you need to really dig deep in a uncover. But most of the time, people are dealing with a little bit of a food intolerance, so that’s number 1. And that’s where we’re going to hone in on as far as removal. So, remember, remove, is the number 1 R in the 3 R approach when it comes to gut health: remove, repair, restore.
So when you’re removing, you want to remove key foods that you eat very, very regularly. So, I have my main 4 that I tell people these are non-negotiable. Like, you need to eliminate these for 30 days. Initially I would say 2 weeks, but I changed my mind as we continue to learn more and more about the microbiome and how food interacts with the immune system. Ideally, I would like to tell you 90 days, but you would probably look at me and want to murder me. And so I’m telling you to try a 30 day challenge of eliminating these food items: (1) gluten, (2) dairy, (3) corn, (4) and sugar. Those are my 4 non-negotiables. DO NOT talk to me unless you have removed those for 30 days, religiously, not “oh I removed them during the week but I kind of indulge in them on the weekend.” No! Absolutely not. You need to be off of them for 30 days before we can even have a conversation about reintroducing them.
So that’s your top 4. Now, if you’re also somebody who has a lot of nuts, or maybe you eat a lot of peanut butter or almond butter. Or maybe you do a lot of soy products. Or maybe you do a lot of caffeine or even alcohol. Those are additional food items you really need to consider eliminating. Really, consider eliminating or significantly cutting back on them, especially on caffeine. Because I know that’s one where it’s really difficult to just cut out cold turkey because people are going to have withdrawal and detox symptoms, like headaches. And we don’t want to just add salt to the wound when we’re removing stuff. So, just significantly think about eliminating those. And what this really comes down to is we’re really approaching this as an anti-inflammatory diet. Because when it comes to gut issues or skin issues or even brain issues, it all boils down to inflammation. You’ve got to cool down that inflammation that’s going on inside of the body. And so by pulling out these foods, which all of the ones I mentioned are highly inflammatory, it’s going to allow your body to essentially cool down. You want to cool down the inflammation. And so by doing that for 30 days, its giving your body some time to rest, digest, reset, go in and do some clean-up of the damage that’s been done, from possibly eating these food very consistently that are causing an inflammatory reaction inside of your gut. And that’s where we’re going to stop.
That is part of the remove phase when it comes to really dealing with gut health. There’s a lot more to it, not going to dive into it here on the podcast. But I want you to start, if you are dealing with gut issues, skin issues, or brain issues, I want you to start here! This is the first place that you want to start in your journey. Don’t go down the rabbit hole on Google of gut health because it is just going to severely overwhelm you. And when we get overwhelmed, we get paralyzed, we don’t do anything, and we are in the exact same spot that we were 3, 6, 9 months ago.
So start here with the removal process. So I’m going to recap everything right now.
(1) Write down all the signs and symptoms you are experiencing right now as it pertains to your health. I would do this by yourself. I would not do this with a significant other because you don’t want them to influence you. Because it is scary when you start talking about your health, and people start saying, “am I forgetful?” People don’t want to say, “yeah, you’re forgetful all the time.” I mean maybe your husband does or maybe your kids do, I don’t know. But it can be kind of scary when you bring those things up, and we’re not diagnosing you with some crazy, incurable disease. So write down all your symptoms by yourself.
(2) Write down your supplements that you’re taking on a daily basis and write down next to each one if you notice a difference when you take it or when you don’t take it. Because there are some supplements that people will say, “well I don’t really notice a difference when I take it” and then I say, “okay go off of it and see how you feel” and they say, “oh yeah, I noticed a huge difference, I need to get back on it.” Pull all the stuff out that you don’t really notice a difference. Pull back that curtain and analyze what you’re taking. Listen to your body intuitively. Ask yourself, “am I taking too much, here?” and just do the bare minimum. So for me, the bare minimum is a good digestive support protocol, which is some sort of symbiotic, which is a pre-probiotic combo, maybe some digestive enzymes and some hydrochloric acid if you need it. Again if you’re working with a practitioner, please consult them first. But I would say, if you and I were working on a 1 to 1 client type of scenario, we would really go down to the bare minimum.
(3) Then you want to do the removal of foods. We want to pull back and pull down and calm down that inflammation. Really give your body a chance to reset. And that is basically phase one of the removal process. So with the foods, its going to be gluten, dairy, corn, and sugar. And just to clarify with the sugar part. I’m not talking fruits, (whole, natural) maple syrup, or good, natural, manuka honey. Those, to me, don’t fall into the sugar category. So that is the remove, number one R, process.
Take this, implement it, because part of healing is implementing what we hear, and let me know how it goes! Reach out to me on Instagram! You can @ me at @detoxingwithdani. Let me know how it’s going. Let me know if you have questions. I am here for you and I want to support you. I know that starting this kind of health journey can be difficult so I want to be there to be your support system. Before we jump off of here, I do just want to ask if you have not left a rating or review and you really enjoy this podcast and you enjoy listening to it, I would ask that you take just 60 seconds to write a rating and review. It really does help me so much with ratings and getting this information out to more people. It also helps me know that you guys enjoy what I’m putting out there! So please leave a rating if you can. Find me on Instagram, I hang there all day every day at @detoxingwithdani. You can ask me questions on there. Until next time, I hope you all stay safe and sane. God bless you and I’ll see you next time. Bye!