I have been susceptible to skin issues from a young age. When I was in 4th grade I had this weird peeling and itchy rash between my fingers they never figured out. Back then (because I was 9) I never thought about how I could heal myself from the inside or how my issues could be caused from what I was putting in or on my body. We were raised pretty healthy, even vegetarian up until that year, my mom rarely let us have junk food, but I was going through a very stressful time in my life. My parents had just gotten divorced, my mom had moved us to Florida from Virginia and right before my rash appeared my mom had moved us in the middle of the night away from a crazy ex-husband of hers (long story). We were living in a very stressful environment in many ways and it wasn’t until recently I have learned of the correlation of your mind and environment on your health – hello holistic living!
Fast forward to about six years ago, a very light white circle showed up on my arm, it didn’t itch and I didnt give it much thought. I was in Vegas for work, drinking every night and my immune system was way down. The mark spread like wildfire. Once I returned home from the week-long trip, the marks grew across most of my body except my face and hands. It never itched though so I wasn’t sure if it was in fact ringworm, but everything else about it signaled that it was. At this time in my life I ate whatever I wanted and drank quite frequently as I was young and in a stressful relationship that was having issues. I also did not yet get the correlation between food and health. Instead I tried the conventional methods of creams from doctors but it just seemed to get worse. I cried myself to sleep a few nights over this as I was scared it would never go away.
My parents are friends with a holistic healer in Naples who recommended I apply Tea Tree Oil directly to the marks (I didn’t dilute it) and take Olive Leaf Extract Pills (6 a day on a full stomach). In two days my ringworm was completely gone and I started to realize that alternative medicine not only works, but in this case much better than traditional Western methods. I wanted to share this amazing holistic method to help others who may be struggling with a skin issue like ringworm, but it can work for a multitude of skin ailments. One of the other major tips the woman shared was that cutting out sugars, flour, etc. was also smart so the fungus didn’t have anything to breed on, so I tried that as well but I wasn’t very serious about it at the time so I really contribute my success at the time to the oil and the extract.
// Tea tree oil //
The chemicals in tea tree oil kill bacteria and fungus, and reduce allergic skin reactions.Tea tree oil is known for its topical antiseptic and anti-fungal treatment or infection-reducing benefits. It also has antibiotic properties and helps aid against aliments such as skin infections, rashes, burns, dandruff and much more (I heard it works on lice too).
Tea Tree – 100% Pure Essential Oil – $10
// Olive Leaf Extract //
Olive-leaf extract has antifungal properties and helps to fortify the immune system. This can actually fight a number of things in your body like colds, UTIs, Lyme Disease and more. Make sure to eat before you take these as they are very strong.
NOW Foods Olive Leaf Extract 500mg – $10
In a perfect world we would all take ginger, turmeric, olive leaf extract and other immune fighting vitamins everyday to keep our immune system up and this is something I am currently striving to do more of. Aside from these things though, I can’t stress enough the benefits to your system by eating a plant-based diet so you don’t have to constantly be taking things and fixing things. Get your health from your food people! I also recommend really looking at your life, your environment, relationships and taking an audit of anything toxic so you can also clear those things out. Stress is a huge factor in skin related issues and sometimes when I am stressed marks still pop up on my body. However, if you are pretty healthy and just find your immune system compromised or a funny rash/skin issue pops up – try out the Olive Leaf Extract pills and Tea Tree Oil. It worked for me at a very unhealthy time in my life so I strongly believe it can cure many things quickly in a healthy body. Have you ever tried these remedies or have any tips for what else can work holistically? Share it in the comments below with me. xx, Beth
