You see a little redness on your cheek, nose or chin. Maybe you’ve got little bumps popping through your skin. You check your calendar and realize that yes, your period is about to start soon.
But if you’re in your 30s or 40s (or even 50s), you might be thinking “I’m well past puberty. How can I get pimples at my age?”
Maybe you try to get rid of them by washing your face vigorously or applying acne cream. These may help temporarily, but if you want to get to the root cause of your hormonal breakouts, you have to take care of your skin from the inside out.
What’s causing these cyclical breakouts? And why do they always seem to happen right before you’re about to bleed?
It all starts with the health of your liver.
What’s the purpose of the liver?
The liver is one of the largest organs inside your body. It is critical for metabolizing nutrients to feed your cells. With the help of bile from the gallbladder, it breaks down fats and produces energy. The liver breaks down carbohydrates and helps regulate your blood sugar levels. It also metabolizes proteins, breaking them down into amino acids to produce energy.
With healthy liver function, you have energy to stay active and go through your day with ease — without excess caffeine. Healthy blood sugar levels keep your brain sharp, your moods steady and your creative energy high.
The liver is also the master cleanser of the body. It collects toxins and converts them into harmless substances. It filters the blood and helps shuttle waste out of the body. It also can help clear out excess hormones from the body and release them through elimination.
When your liver cleanses your body properly, it will support balanced hormones — which means better moods, digestion, and less bloating. A healthy liver will also help you stay trim, sleep better, and wake up refreshed.
What does the liver have to do with acne?
If you’re dealing with cyclical breakouts, you probably have a tired, overworked liver. Everything you eat, drink and consume is processed by the liver.
This amazing cleansing organ is very good at cleaning out toxins, waste products and poisons. But if it is constantly dealing with toxins and excess hormones, it can get tired and overworked.
If there are too many toxins to be eliminated through your waste, the liver will try to store the backlog in itself or push toxins into fat cells. If you suspect that your liver might not be functioning properly, you may need to talk with your physician. Routine blood work can often provide insight on whether your liver is working properly.
To minimize hormonal breakouts, you can start by taking better care of your liver.
How to care for your liver
There are many things you can do to support your liver and make it easier for it to eliminate toxins. Here are just a few ways to promote liver health:
Reduce Exposure to Toxins
There are toxins and chemicals everywhere in our environment. There are toxic, chemical scents — or what many products refer to as “fragrances” — in household cleaning products, home materials (like paint and flooring) that off gas chemicals, chemicals in personal care products, and even foods that are in plastic storage containers.
Even if you eat clean and drink filtered water, you’re likely exposed to chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tracks and screens all chemicals made or imported into the United States. Its TSCA inventory currently contains 86,741 chemicals of which 42,293 are active in U.S commerce. While many of these chemicals may be harmless, some do get tested and reevaluated as endocrine disrupting chemicals.
But you can protect yourself by eliminating your exposure. Our free Perfect Period Detox Challenge will help you reduce your exposure to toxins. It will walk you through the steps to knowing which things to eliminate and how to make better choices for your household products, food storage containers, and personal care products. The more you can reduce your exposure to chemicals, the easier it will be for your liver to eliminate any toxins and waste products that you’re exposed to. Download the free Perfect Period Detox Challenge here.
Limit Alcohol
Drinking alcoholic beverages is particularly hard on the liver. Alcohol-related fatty liver disease affects about 2 — 2.5% of the population worldwide, with a greater percentage in regions with high alcohol consumption.
The World Health Organization reports that there is no amount of alcohol that is safe for our health.
Why is fatty liver so bad?
It makes the liver sluggish and unable to remove all toxins. If you drink, you should consider drinking moderately to reduce the harm of alcohol. According to the Dietary Guidelines for America from the USDA, that means two drinks or fewer per day for men and one drink per day or fewer for women. If you’re noticing more redness and breakouts in your complexion, especially near your period, you might want to consider how much alcohol you’re consuming.
Manage Your Weight and Blood Sugar
Hormones can go out of balance when you eat too many foods with added sugars — think foods like soda, candy, pastries and sweets. Added sugars can also hide in “healthy” foods like yogurt, pasta sauces, salad dressings and energy drinks.
The imbalance can start with imbalanced blood sugar and inflammation, which can lead to mood swings, fatigue, and acne breakouts. If not managed, over time it can turn into insulin resistance, excess weight and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease.
Newer research points to even greater numbers of cases of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) — occurring at a rate of between 25 — 30% worldwide!
Cutting back on foods with added sugar will help your liver function better so that it can clear your body of toxins and excess hormones. It will also help balance your weight, have more even moods and clearer skin, even around your period.
Eat Liver Supportive Foods
The liver thrives on anti-inflammatory foods. Fruits and vegetables that are rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants can help reduce inflammation. Berries, cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower), artichokes, and dandelion are all good sources of liver supportive nutrients.
Eating healthy fats such as avocado, nuts and seeds can also help support liver health.
Reducing bad fats and eating leaner protein can also help promote liver wellness. Chicken, turkey, and fish that are rich in omega-3s such as salmon and trout, are good for the liver, too.
Add Ragweed — The Unconventional Liver Supporter
Common ragweed is often associated with allergies and hay fever. But it can be more helpful than most people realize.
Ragweed is said to have many medicinal benefits, including use as a homeopathic remedy to reduce symptoms of ragweed allergy. Some traditional medicinal uses of Common Ragweed: It's been used for menstrual issues (by Native American women), as an astringent (to reduce moisture, or to stop bleeding from a cut, etc.), as an antiseptic (antibacterial), and as a febrifuge (or fever reducer). It has also been used as a liver cleanse.
Extract from the common ragweed plant (before it blooms) can be used in teas or tinctures internally to support the liver and promote menstrual wellness. Poultices are applied externally to help soothe skin conditions. That’s why we include ragweed in our Perfect Period formula.
If you’re concerned about allergies, you should know that the ragweed in the Perfect Period formula is harvested before it blooms. It is the blooms that create the pollen that trigger allergic reactions. While there have been no reports of people experiencing allergic reactions when taking Perfect Period, it is always a good idea to consult your allergy doctor.
Perfect Period Supports the Liver for Healthier Skin
A healthier liver means that your body can more easily clean out excess hormones and toxins. All of which makes you feel better physically — more energy, better moods, and better looking skin. When you look and feel good, you’re naturally more confident and excited to take on anything that comes your way.
Perfect Period includes common ragweed extract in our proprietary herbal blend to support liver function. Each one of our herbs is handpicked for its ability to support easier, problem-free periods.
Perfect Period works best when taken regularly. So the best way to feel the difference is to add it to your daily regimen. Because it is a natural, herbal blend, it will take your hormones a while to adjust with the added support.