This seems to be working for me. It hasnt been a quick process though. I can be 100% clear (if I chose to). But I still need to follow step 1, as I dont feel Ive fully completed step 2, and therefore cant complete step 3. Heres my suggestions in a nutshell.
Step 1 Elimination diet
Figure out your trigger foods and eliminate. For me, going on a 100% whole foods (single ingredient, nothing processed) diet and avoiding the most common allergens keeps me clear (eggs, dairy, milk, nuts, etc). Eat a paleo diet of easy to digest foods i.e., limit nuts/seeds (buy small amounts and test them if they dont break you out, eat them sparingly). Make sure to get enough fiber so that you are regular to aid step 2.
Step 2 Toxin removal
Toxins like heavy metals (mercury, arsenic, lead, cadmium) accumulate in fatty tissues in the body and then come out very slowly through the gut (and other paths). They are in our soils (non-clean coal burning plants from China spew it out and it drifts over here (the USA/Canada) by the sh*t ton and rains down on us), in some foods (arsenic in rice for example), and our mothers pass them on to us during pregnancy. Most importantly, NEVER EVERget amalgam fillings. Dentists/FDA/AMA say they are safe, but they are not. (see the smoking tooth video on youtube). MANY people have been severely fkd by them! They were almost banned in the US (like EU) but the Obama admin chose not to due to cost (btw politicians dont give a f*ck about your health and well-being no matter what they say (and I would go so far as to say they actually want us sick to increase profits to their croniesand also to keep us calm/lethargic and unable todo anything about it), and the sooner we get rid of all politicians and govern ourselves, the better well be - but well save that for another discussion forum). Limit tuna and other large fish, and choose small fish instead (or just take fish oil made from small fish and filtered). Also, dont drink the water if you live in Flint, MI! Fluoride doesnt seem to affect my skin probably just my brain!
Also, choose organic veggies and grass-fed meats to limit pesticides and antibiotic exposure as much as possible. With recent legislation (in US) giving more freedom to what can be called grass-fed that is getting much more difficult but you can still sort of tell by looking at the meat (local farms direct from farmer is one way to ensure). Completely stop eating anything GMO, grown with Glyphosate, etc. it all causes leaky gut in humans (and i've read in the pests too). Plus, it is not a 100% whole food.
Aid your body in elimination!
Depending on whats accumulated will help you determine the correct path. For example, you might have a lot of heavy metal accumulation. It might be caused by a weak elimination system. Or, you may have decent pathways, but you still have a poison source (tuna/sushi, fillings). Perhaps you are missing key vitamins. Mg deficiency, zinc, B vitamins, vit D, molybdenum, etc.
If you are feeling blah, my suggestion is to visit a functional medicine practitioner and get a test such as the Genova Diagnostics - NutrEval which will tell you what vitamins you are lacking in. It will also give you some, albeit very slight and possibly misleading info about your heavy metal body burden.
If you think its heavy metals, get a hair test but be sure to follow the counting rules metals hide, and often dont show up as high, even when they are so you use this tool to see how they are affecting mineral transport of things like zn, mg, etc. If you have amalgam fillings and acne, my suggestion is to visit an IAOMT dentist and have them properly removed and replaced with composite. Do not let a non-IAOMT dentist do the removal. Have an x-ray to confirm there is no amalgam remaining.
Optional if you have above average heavy metal accumulation, then in my opinion, chelation is the only way to get well. There is only one safe way to chelate, and that is via the Dr. Andrew Cutler protocol and, only if all amalgams are removed prior. Other protocols are dangerous and can make you worse, sometimes permanently. Cilantro/chlorella, zeolite, the Chris Shade protocol, Klinghardt/Mercola, etc., will not get the metals out of the brain and that is where they are stored, deep, and imo you cant really cure yourself until this happens. IMO these folks just want your money, and don't care if you get well. Dr. Cutler actually seems to give a fk about humanity and helping people.
Personally I feel like a lot of folks are toxic to some degree, and its only getting worse. I think a lot of people have metal toxicity, and after serious research, I personally believe its the root cause of many diseases. Youll see what I mean if you end up on that path. Youll recognize symptoms in your friends/family. But, theyll NEVER EVER listen to you if you try and tell them. Trust me, do not even bother they will think you are weird. And, conventional medicine doctors will NEVER EVER agree with you on this. Do not even try to talk with a regular doctor about it they will write down that you need psychiatric treatment and SSRIs and it will be on your permanent record. Just learn how to properly chelate and do it sans doc. (but do it soon because AGAIN the Govt is/has taken steps to make it harder to accomplish). And, its a long process if you have a lot accumulated.
This may also help if you have hormone issues since they affect those as well. Or, you may have a different problem like MTHFR, so you may need different tests to determine. My suggestion is, get some testing! You will spend money on testing, but save a ton on supplements because youll know what you should be taking and what you can forgo. Then, before you buy what the doctor suggests (usually supps from their office that are marked up many times what you can get them for elsewhere)come online and talk about it. Most of it isnt really necessary if you are eating a whole foods diet. A few supps are though, mostly minerals and some vitamins, imo. And maybe one or two supps to treat the gut in step 3.
Step 3 Treat the Gut
Toxins mess with the gut. They cause bad bacteria, fungus, parasites to hang around and cause inflammation which leads to acne in some. Dont waste your $ on store bought probiotics, other than perhaps SBO (soil based organisms) although some experts say these are dangerous. The least expensive way is to grow your own. You get FAR more potency too vs store bought. Make homemade water kefir, sauerkraut, etc. You can even eat the kefir grains if you dont like to drink the liquid. Eat foods, take supplements that help heal a leaky gut. There are a ton of posts on the site dealing with healing the gut. I think its important though, to do step 2 and 3 simultaneously. Step 3 wont work without step 2, unless you arent toxic. If you are, and just do step 3, youll just make yourself sicker. It might work at first, but in the long run it wont. Be sure while doing step 3, that you take substances to counteract the bad effects. For example, as bad bugs die, they give off harmful toxins. I like molybdenum for this, but some prefer other supps. I think it just depends on whats living in you and what it gives off ammonia, acetaldehyde, etc. I also find a supp to help heal the gut, important. You can use zinc carnosine, l-glutamine, white fish protein there are lots of choices. To save $, try rotating or doing one at first, and add if you need additional support.
-MGL
