6 Ways To Naturally Clear Up Acne—Without Becoming Obsessed With Food

Instead, try integrating these six steps into your daily routine. It's about cutting out the confusion and figuring out what works for you, all while leaving ridiculous concepts like "perfect skin" to animated characters who don't actually exist in real life.

As a health coach, people often ask me what they should eat. Before we dive into delicious recipes and kitchen hacks, though, it's more important to know how you're eating. Do you scarf down breakfast while running out the door? Are you always eating over your laptop? Do you chew your food three times and then gulp the whole thing down? Lesson #1: No matter what it is you're munching on, you need to chew your food thoroughly and pay attention to what it is you're actually putting in your mouth. Even if it's an organic pear, if you gulp it down without chewing then you’re asking for digestive trouble—and that leads to acne, or makes already existing acne worse.

While the research is mixed, gluten can potentially be one of the largest aggravators of gut health, acne, and your hormones. But you won’t know if this is something that majorly affects you until your body has a chance to function without it and then you add it back in to see how it reacts. So try cutting it out for a minimum of three months. No, that doesn't mean your nightmares of Italian feasts flying out the window is coming true, nor do you have to say good-bye to pasta and French baguettes forever. Remember, there's no shortage of gluten-free products on the market today covering all your favorites: pasta, cookie dough, bread, muffins, and more. And before you say everyone's been eating gluten for years and been fine, remember that gluten was tampered with quite a while ago, and this isn't the same stuff our grandparents broke bread with over the dinner table. So if you're looking for a change, really cut it loose for three months, and be sure to observe how your digestion, skin, and energy levels react.

I’m not saying you need to move into a teepee in the woods and live on berries, but the more you can cut out processed foods with scary ingredients, the better. Again, I’m not into advising you to never eat another French fry for the rest of your days, but I do recommend you simply see that processed food = complicated food, and complicated food exacerbates skin problems. Your body loves organic, fresh, raw (when possible!) and—most importantly—well-chewed food. So let's keep it simple and give your bod what it really wants.

You checking your skin in the mirror daily is just keeping your attention on the fact that your skin is in the process of change, and that can get frustrating because, these days, we want results, and we want them now. When that happens, you may even end up making matters worse—like that time you peeked in the mirror, saw a zit, and just couldn't help but pick at it...even though you're not supposed to. So step away from the reflective glass. You’ll be shocked at how your skin regains its suppleness and how much less the imperfections matter when you stop studying them every chance you get. And in your newfound freedom, you can focus on what's awesome about you (like how brilliant you are at your job or how great of a mom you are).

If you remember one thing, let it be this: It does not matter if you are eating “perfectly" if you are not also consistently exercising, drinking enough water, and getting plenty of sleep each night. Seriously, it doesn't matter! Nothing replaces these three things. If you live in a dry climate, you're going to need more water, so pay attention to your body (your urine is a great indicator of whether or not you're dehydrated—the more clear it is, the more hydrated you are). Aim for the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night, and try to get in three days of exercise each week, as the CDC recommends 150 minutes of moderate activity, plus two or more days of muscle-strengthening activities on a weekly basis. Regardless of diet tweaks, staying consistent on these three things will do wonders for your skin.

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