How Gluten Elimination Cleared My Acne And Excess Weight
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For my whole adult life, I’ve been a huge health geek! I’ve always enjoyed eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly and practicing mediation. As a result, up until a few years ago, I maintained a steady weight and was relatively healthy except for some minor health issues. One chronic condition I could never really shake was adult acne. I tried several products and dietary changes, but nothing really worked. I didn’t worry too much about it since it was cosmetic, and I figured it would improve with age.
After recovering from a long bout of depression and its after effects, I was finally happy again, but with 20 extra pounds! Since I love natural health, I began fighting the weight gain with a stricter diet and more exercise. My diet was already pretty clean (vegetarian, whole grains, unprocessed foods) so I eliminated dairy, reduced my carb intake and started intermittent fasting. For exercise, I began running to add intense cardio to my work out. I absolutely hated running but I forced myself to do it as often as possible and tried my hardest to like it.
A few people had suggested eliminating gluten, but I resisted for a long time. I figured that I didn’t have Celiac disease because my digestion was pretty strong. I also didn’t want to give up whole wheat, since I always thought it was so nutritious.
Finally, on a trip to India, my schedule and long flight home forced me to fast for extensive periods. When I arrived home, I happened to not eat gluten-containing foods for a week. I noticed some weight loss, so I decided to consciously eliminate all gluten from my diet for a month. I lost 10 pounds and was pleasantly surprised not to have any breakouts in that period. I couldn’t remember the last time I went for a month without a single pimple!
I continued a whole food, gluten-free diet for the next six months. I replaced running with walking (since running made me miserable), and added some dairy back into my diet. I lost a total of 15 pounds out of the 20 that I gained initially. My acne decreased significantly too, but I still experienced occasional hormonal breakouts.
Finally, I went to an Ayurvedic doctor for my remaining acne. She prescribed me herbs, dietary changes and remedies. Since starting her plan, I haven’t gotten a single pimple and I was able to lose the remaining 5 pounds, finally returning to my original weight.
I did several Internet searches on the relationship of gluten to weight gain and acne so I could understand the science of how gluten was affecting my body. Several websites (and my primary care doctor) said something along the lines of, “There is no official research to link gluten to acne.” Despite these few websites, I found many more in which people recounted their own experiences similar to mine. Ultimately, my gluten journey was a huge scientific experiment, so it’s all the data I need to prove something to myself that official science hasn’t yet investigated.
