THE 10 BEST Natural Supplements for CLEAR SKIN Clear Acne and Increase Radiance with the Transformative Power of Supplements Celestyna Brozek 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction.............................3 Listening to the Body............5 Vitamin A...............................12 DIM (Estroblock)..................21 Spirulina.................................29 Probiotics..............................36 Zinc........................................43 Reishi.....................................52 Berberine..............................63 Saw Palmetto.......................70 Vitamin C/Camu Camu.....74 Vitex/Chasteberry..............81 My Supplement Journey...88 2 INTRODUCTION When I decided I wanted to write books about healing acne, I knew immediately the first one I wanted to write would be about supplements. No one else wants to write about supplements - or at least no one else has. But for me supplements were the key to clearing my acne. Yes, supplements. Two other things that really helped were managing my diet and stress, but the credit for the #1 most helpful thing STILL goes to supplements. This is for a few reasons: • Supplements buy you time with the difficult stuff. Changing diet and lifestyle is really friggin’ hard. It takes time, it takes experimentation, it takes self-knowledge. During that (often long and not entirely painless) transition, supplements can get and keep your skin clear, even if you’re still eating a little bit more unhealthily than you should and you’re still pretty sure that there is absolutely no way to reduce or manage your stress (There is). • Supplements give you (pretty) fast results, which gives you the strength and motivation to keep making diet and lifestyle changes (especially if you are doubtful of a holistic approach ever working). They keep your morale and motivation much higher than if you were JUST making diet and lifestyle changes alone. I used supplements to bring and keep my body in balance while I worked on changing things that took a little bit more thought, effort and time. Sometimes, your body is so out of balance that you MUST use a supplement - food is simply not strong enough. I want to take a moment to state explicitly that you WILL have to eventually make lasting and sustainable diet and lifestyle changes. There is no way around it. Supplements (even though they are natural) are not to be used indefinitely. In fact, the upper limit on the supplements mentioned herein ranges from as little as 2 weeks to the absolute maximum of 18 months. The risk of writing this book is that some of you may read it and begin to use supplements incorrectly - you will use them as a long-term band-aid for your poor diet and lifestyle instead of as a temporary springboard to greater health. 3 Supplements are more powerful than food, and can cause adverse symptoms if used incorrectly or if you happen to have a sensitivity. You must approach all supplements with common sense and caution. We have come to the part where I tell you I am not a doctor or a medical professional and have absolutely zero qualifications for handing out any sort of information or advice. So why am I doing it? Because just because I have no official qualifications does not mean that I have no knowledge or expertise to share. I do, and I feel like it is my obligation to share it with those whom it may help. That being said, you cannot sue me if something goes terribly wrong. Use any and all information in this book at your own risk, and when in doubt, ask someone who knows more than you do, like a doctor or naturopath. It may cost more than the amazingly tiny investment of this book, but it is worth it. Your health is truly your greatest asset and your bliss is a close second. If you can spend money to become happier or healthier than for gosh sakes, do it. There are 10 supplements covered in this book and each supplement has all of these questions addressed: What is it? How does it work? Who will benefit from it? What is the best form to take? How to find your dosage Contraindications When will you see results? Guidelines for finding products Tips and tricks Final thoughts 4 LISTENING TO THE BODY Supplements are dangerous when you come from a typical Western mindset. We are a culture of instant gratification, of “more is more,” of near-complete disembodiment and of total disempowerment in the areas of self-help and health. This is the perfect storm for not being able to “hear” what the body is saying about a supplement. While it takes time to develop a relationship with the body, so you can begin to listen to and trust what it is saying, here are some things that may help you with figuring out your supplemental regimen and dosages in the near-term. 1) Move Get into your body. Take a yoga class, go for a run, dance in your bedroom. Notice how you feel before and after you do the activity. Notice how you feel during the activity. Put words to this in a journal. After you have been moving your body with mindfulness and awareness for some time, you may try the sway test for determining dosage. Please keep in mind the sway test is by no means the only way to determine dosage, and if your intuition or gut overrides the results of the sway test, by all means listen. Here’s how it works: A Self-Testing Method for Vitamins, Supplements and Food (adapted from tapintoheaven.com) Stand with your feet no more than shoulder width apart. Either test barefoot or in flat shoes such as sneakers. Heels are not recommended. Place the substance you are testing in one hand and close your fist over it. Hold 5 State: “This is good for my body.” Become still, centered, close your eyes, take a deep breath, release it and let go. After a few moments you become aware of your body either being pulled forward or falling backwards. If you feel yourself falling forward, your body is embracing the substance in a positive reaction. If you feel yourself going backward, away from what you are testing, your body is repelling it in a negative reaction. Sometimes we don’t get a reaction or are not sure what answer our body is giving us. If you feel you are not getting a true reading, take the following steps: • Perform the test again. Make sure to take a deep breath and clear your head. • Drink water —your energy system may be dehydrated. • If you can, take the vitamins or supplements out of the plastic container and place one pill or tablet in your hand. • Program your body to go forward for a positive answer and backward for a negative answer. Simple tell your body “Go forward for a yes answer,” and “Go backward for a no answer.” Then test your body by saying “yes” and waiting for a response, then saying “no” and waiting for a response. Once your body continually sways forward for “yes” and backward for “no” you can be more assured of a true reading. Remember that since the body is electrical, energetic, physical and metabolic, it is always in a state of flux. What is good for us one day may not be as beneficial the next. And we may overload on certain foods or vitamins, creating a toxic, or allergic, reaction to our energy system. Therefore, it is best to test before you ingest at various times. Test your vitamins, supplements and other products on a regular basis, or at least when you buy a new supply. Although you can learn the Sway Test in a few minutes, it may take some practice before you feel comfortable using it. Since this method is always available, day or night, requires no instruments, and is free, you can practice it regularly with almost 6 any product or food. The more you practice, the more instinctive it becomes. Using The Sway Test To Determine Dosage Hold one capsule or tablet in your hand and state, “This is good for my body.” If you sway forward, add another capsule and state again, “This is good for my body.” Keep adding capsules, one by one, until you sway backward. Then you have exceeded the optimum dosage by one. Also ask the body, “I take this dose once a day.” If you go forward, state, “I take this dose twice a day.” When you go backward, the previous statement that tested positive is best for your body. REMEMBER: Your body is constantly changing, so your optimum dosage may also change. If you use this method with prescription medications, use the results to open a dialogue with your doctor. DO NOT change prescription medications without first talking with your physician. 2) Use a journal Having to write about it will force you to start to notice things like how you feel, when you get acne, what it looks like, etc. By journaling, you can discover patterns and insights that were previously invisible to you. Journal your journey into supplements - write down when you add a new supplement - what dosage, what brand, etc. Write about your health - how you feel, how your body feels, how the particular symptom or body part in question feels. I mentally journal my acne - I notice and analyze each and every single blemish I get. But I tell my clients to actually do it on paper. Don’t go overboard, but make it part of your daily routine. Writing down information about your body and health will teach your brain to start paying attention to subtle feelings and signs and you will be able to catch any sort of bodily illness or distress earlier, especially since you’ll have a written record to refer to in order to make comparisons.