Guys, I ate an entire pint of Double Dark Chocolate Talenti Gelato last night. BY MYSELF. I never do that. Last time I ate a pint of ice cream/gelato by myselfwas last summer and I thought I was going to die: 1. because I was so full but ate ALL of it anyway, and 2. my stomach goes into overdrive if I eat ice cream, and then I break out.

I try to stay away from milk products in general, because after taking them out of my diet I immediately notice that my skin clears up. But, when I reintroduce milk products, like I did last night, my skin acts up within a day or two. I get little pimples and blemishes along my cheeks & chin, and I get those lovely red bumps on the backs of my arms as well, delightfully referred to as “chicken skin”. Chicken skin, coincidentally, is a reaction to an intolerance typically found in people with a gluten or lactose intolerance.

Did you know that our skin is the single largest organ in our bodies?! Yes, your skin is an organ- just like your heart, liver, kidneys, pancreas, etc. Often times in holistic health, skin is referred to as the “second liver” because, among many other functions, it rids the body of toxins when the liver is overwhelmed.

In layman terms, the liver gives the leftover toxins to the skin and says, “Hey! This stuff shouldn’t be in here. I’m overwhelmed at the moment and can’t get rid of it all by myself. Can you help me get rid of it?” The skin accepts the overflow by default, and pushes those toxins out in any way it can, typically expressed as eczema, a rash, hives, pimples, blemishes, dry skin, the list goes on and on.

Remember, a toxin can be ANYTHING that your body doesn’t accept! For some people that could be something as unsuspecting as spinach or a Febreeze air freshener in the house, or something as typical as lactose or gluten. Moral of the story here- take some time to figure out what you are uniquely sensitive to and respect those sensitivities so that your body can function at an optimal level.

Like I said, the last time I downed a pint of ice cream by myself was a year ago. I do my best on a regular basis to respect my intolerances, especially the ones that cause my own body the most harm. I do overstep some at times, but I do understand the repercussions that will ensue after. I’m by no means perfect, so please don’t think I’m some crazy food nazi over here! There are certainly foods I will never intentionally put into my body (like corn syrup, gluten, and many more) but theres also some foods that cause minor issues that I’ll let myself slip up on at times, like a pint of gelato once in a while 😉