Clearing your acne through diet & nutrition

You probably won’t believe this because you’ve heard it all before, but:

I know how you feel.

I’ve been exactly where you are now, feeling hopeless, discouraged and resigning yourself to having acne for the rest of your life. I’ve felt trapped in my own body, scared to look in the mirror.

I’ve been there.

I’ve come out of the other side.

And now I’m here to help you do the same.

How nutritional therapy made me feel like me again

If you’re sceptical that something as simple as food can clear your acne, you aren’t alone. I’ve been there myself.

I could tell you about the science behind nutrition, gut health, acne, and hormones, and bombard you with sciencey jargon until the cows come home. I could write an entire thesis on probiotics and gluten and vitamin deficiencies and iron and a hundred-and-one other things.

But it’d probably send you to sleep. Because you don’t care about any of that stuff.

You care about clearing your acne. You care about taking back control of your skin. You care about finally feeling confident again.

So let me tell you my story. Because I’ve been on the journey you’re on – and I’ve seen first-hand how powerful nutritional therapy can be for clearing acne.

Hormonal acne hit me hard…

When puberty hit, acne came along too. And while we all learn to deal with the hormonal challenges puberty throws at us, dealing with the acne was far tougher.

I felt like a stranger in my own body, trapped in skin that didn’t feel like mine.

And sure, acne is fairly common in puberty. But when it refused to budge as I approached my 20s and beyond, that’s when I turned in desperation to miracle cures and snapped up every magic bullet the skincare industry threw at me.

And nothing worked.

There was no skin cream, no facial, no 12-step morning routine that cured my acne. Nothing.

… and traditional medicine failed me.

I turned to my GP for help, thinking there must be something, anything, that would help my skin. That’s what GPs are for, right? To help us?

After my first GP visit, I felt like I’d made a tiny step in the right direction. I’d been recommended a 6-month course of antibiotics and benzoyl peroxide (a medicated skin cream that promised to clear up bacteria and prevent more breakouts).

But my hopefulness was short-lived.

I had a pretty severe reaction to benzoyl peroxide, leaving my skin even more irritated and inflamed than the breakouts ever had. I’d taken one step forward, and at least three steps backwards.

Nothing was working and I’d lost almost all my confidence, self-esteem and motivation. All I wanted to do was hide my skin away from the world.

Understanding PCOS, Crohn’s & hormones.

At around the same time that I was hitting rock bottom, my brother was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease and became very ill really quickly.

For his sake and for mine, I decided enough was enough.

I wasn’t going to let acne rule my life and I wasn’t going to let Crohn’s rule my brother’s life. I was going to take matters into my own hands and do something about it.

After many nights of Googling, I decided to study Naturopathic Nutrition. It seemed like the one thing I hadn’t yet tried, and I figured that even if it didn’t help me clear my acne, I could at least help my brother with his illness. 

It was early on in my studies that I came across Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and it felt like reading about my exact life. I had so many PCOS symptoms I was surprised that I hadn’t come across it before – so after another trip to the GP, a barrage of hormone tests and an ultrasound to top it all off, I was diagnosed with PCOS.

And I felt so relieved.

Finally, I had an answer as to why nothing was helping my skin. It wasn’t because I was destined to have acne for the rest of my life. It wasn’t that I hadn’t found the perfect skincare routine yet. And it wasn’t because it was just genetics.

It was a hormone imbalance, and something I could finally start addressing.

Holistic nutrition cleared my acne – and gave me my life back

While I was studying, I began seeing a holistic nutritionist to help with my PCOS and acne.

And (I know I’m biased, but I cannot stress this enough) it was life-changing.

I finally understood what my body needed from me, what I needed to give it, and how I could work together with it instead of fighting against it.

A series of functional tests showed issues with my hormones, inflammation, blood sugar balance and gut health – and, together with my nutritionist, we started to rebalance my body from the inside out.

And it worked.

My acne cleared. My PCOS symptoms reduced. My energy improved.

My periods became more regular. My IBS was more manageable. I was no longer getting tonsillitis 5 times in a year (true story).

I was able to focus better, I finally felt more motivated, and my self-esteem improved – all because I was finally giving my body what it needed.

It didn’t need hundreds of skin creams or antibiotics or anything else I’d been trying for almost a decade.

It just needed the right foods, the right supplements and a little bit of TLC.

I finally felt like me  again, and now I’m here to help you on the same journey.

Nutritional Therapist at your service

Now for the boring but necessary stuff…

How am I qualified to help you on your acne journey?

I’m a qualified Nutritional Therapist, having studied Naturopathic Nutrition at the College of Naturopathic Medicine and Functional Medicine at The Institute For Functional Medicine.

After completing my nutrition training, I wanted to learn more about the skin barrier and topical treatments, which led me to study to become a qualified Level 3 Skin Specialist. I also helped to deliver the NHS Healthier You Programme, which helps people who have been diagnosed with pre-diabetes get their blood glucose back into a healthy range through diet and lifestyle changes.

I’m a registered practitioner with the Complementary & Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC) and the Institute For Functional Medicine (IFM).

I’m also a member of the British Association for Nutrition and Lifestyle Medicine (BANT), which means even though I’ve “finished” my academic studies, I’m required to complete a minimum of 30 hours every year building on my nutritional knowledge so that I’m always giving the most up-to-date, research-backed recommendations for you.

I have an annoyingly insatiable appetite for learning everything there is to know about the human body and how interconnected every part of it is, so when I’m not helping clients you’ll usually find me reading journal articles, attending conferences or catching up on a webinar.

And when I’m not being a nutrition-nerd, you’ll probably find me cooking up a storm in the kitchen, wandering around a gallery, or snuggled up on the sofa with a purr-fect feline friend binging The Office for the hundredth time.

Emilia Papadopoullos
DipCNM, mBANT, Nutritional Therapist
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