60 seconds with Matt Hess
Matt developed acne, rosacea and a plethora of other diseases that lasted for fourteen years. Matt started getting acne in his teenage years and after struggling with his skin, he was prescribed antibiotics and steroid creams at 21 in the hope of healing his dermatitis.
When did you start to have problems with your skin?
The problem started when I was 14 years old after taking two courses of antibiotics to treat acne. This lead to a whole host of other issues such as food sensitivities, fatigue, depression, anxiety and chronic overheating and swelling of my nose and cheek areas, in other words rosacea.
At university I drank a lot of alcohol, ate junk food (sometimes daily) and was under a lot of stress from my course and barely slept. All the while I was using cheap topical treatments to try and combat my symptoms. I had my first outbreak of dermatitis aged 21, which lead to countless visits to doctors and dermatologists, who prescribed me steroid creams and other anti-fungals and anti-inflammatories, which as most of us know weaken the immune system. I also tried a whole host of other expensive treatments from various experts, including laser therapy. At one stage I was even taking anti-histamines and Valium daily, but the problems just kept getting worse and worse. Eventually nothing was working anymore and I became desperate, so I researched alternative treatments and stumbled across people who had cured all of the problems that I had with diet and lifestyle intervention.
Interesting, yes this is not dissimilar to my experience with antibiotics, alcohol, food and stress . My psoriasis started after three rounds of broad spectrum antibiotics, Amoxicillin, for tonsillitis. What changes did you make and what results did you see?
I made the transition to a whole-food, plant-based diet and I stopped using steroids and medications. I moved to Thailand, started meditating and exercising every day and putting all of my time and energy into my health. Now my skin looks healthier than it has in over a decade and my physical and mental health improves every day as I continue my journey learning about myself and the human body.
What would be your advice to other struggling with skin conditions and chronic health challenges? I urge anyone who is going through the same problems that I did to start making the necessary changes today. The best decision I ever made in my life so far was to take 100% responsibility and control over my own health, and if I can do it anyone can.
Follow Matt -
Instagram: @matthess_
YouTube: matthess
Read more about diet and lifestyle intervention for skin conditions in my ebook - 10 Powerful Steps to Clear Psoriasis
