This is a very personal post for me. This is where huge change started for me and really how I got to where I am now.

I’ve posted the detailed story here and here. But the short version is that back when I was in high school I was put on birth control to help alleviate the debilitating cramps that came with my period plus the teenage acne that embarrassed me so much. About 14 years later, in 2012, I had a steady partner (now husband) and decided to try getting off the only prescription medication I was on, not to get pregnant, but simply because I kept reading more and more how it wasn’t great for women to be on these synthetic hormones and not have a Real monthly cycle. Little did I know what I was in for! All that hormonal acne from my teens came rushing back, along with the total embarrassment and shame. How could I, a seemingly healthy 20-something year old, STILL have a face full of acne!?!?

Body care is one of those areas that doesn’t really fall under the nutrition umbrellas but does fall into the wellness category. It also seems to be one of the last things we talk about in a nutrition session. But it’s pretty important. In the US, our product safety regulations have not changed since 1938! That states that cosmetic companies don’t need to disclose their ingredients to the FDA before putting products on the shelf for us to buy and use. Wow! Did you know in Europe their regulations are so strict that they’ve banned over 1,300 chemicals we use here regularly in the US?!?! What the heck?!?

The average woman puts 515 synthetic chemicals on her body every day! 60% of that is absorbed into our bodies by our largest organ, our skin! Yikes!