Clear For Life 

 
 
NOTICE: You may NOT give away or share this report 
 

©2007 ‐ 2009 Seppo Puusa 
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this report may be reproduced or transmitted in form 
whatsoever, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any 
informational storage or retrieval system without express written, dated and signed 
permission from the author, 

DISCLAIMER 

This information is intended to inform readers of potential health‐care alternatives to acne 
and must not be considered as medical advice. See your qualified health‐care professional for 
medical attention, advice, diagnosis, and treatment. And keep in mind that anyone who is 
setting‐out on any dietary, drug, exercise, or other lifestyle change that is intended to 
prevent or treat a specific disease or condition should first consult with, request a green‐light 
from, and be monitored by a qualified healthcare provider. 

WARNING: Nutritional supplements, while usually benign, can produce adverse reactions in 
some people. Nutritional supplements can interact adversely with other supplements and 
with prescription drugs or can make prescription drugs ineffective or may boost their 
potency. As with prescribed drugs, long‐term effects from supplements are often unknown. 
Women who are pregnant or nursing should discontinue all supplements except as directed 
by their healthcare providers. Parents should not provide supplements to their children or 
teens except after consultation with their healthcare provider. Never exceed the 
recommended dosage on the container unless under the supervision and direction of your 
healthcare provider. If you observe adverse effects stop taking the supplement immediately 
and contact your healthcare provider. If you are under age 18, you may not lawfully view 
this website and/or any documents and emails associated with it. 

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com  
 Clear For Life 

Contents 
Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 6 
Why you can never cure acne – and the way to permanently clear skin .................................. 10 
What causes acne ...................................................................................................................... 12 
Blood sugar problems ........................................................................................................... 14 
Blood sugar levels and acne .............................................................................................. 14 
Inflammation and acne.......................................................................................................... 17 
Baseline of health.................................................................................................................. 19 
Mental and emotional aspects of health and clear skin............................................................. 25 
The story of two minds and how I messed up my coffee ..................................................... 26 
Internal Map of Reality – The software that creates your reality ......................................... 29 
How your mind affects your skin and health ........................................................................ 37 
How to cure acne ...................................................................................................................... 41 
Elements of optimal health ....................................................................................................... 43 
Diet........................................................................................................................................ 43 
Fitness ................................................................................................................................... 45 
Sunshine ................................................................................................................................ 46 
Fresh air ................................................................................................................................ 48 
Sleep...................................................................................................................................... 49 
What’s your weak link? ........................................................................................................ 49 
Acid/alkaline balance ............................................................................................................ 52 
Diet ............................................................................................................................................ 54 
How foods cause acne........................................................................................................... 55 
Diet and inflammation ...................................................................................................... 56 
Diet and blood sugar levels ............................................................................................... 58 
Eating your way to clear skin ............................................................................................ 58 
Cooked vs. raw ..................................................................................................................... 59 
Problems with cooked food............................................................................................... 59 
Benefits of cooking ........................................................................................................... 61 
Cooked vs. raw recommendations .................................................................................... 62 
Causes of indigestion ............................................................................................................ 63 
Essential fatty acids .............................................................................................................. 64 
Blood sugar controls and problems ...................................................................................... 67 

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com  
 Clear For Life 

How blood sugar controls fail ........................................................................................... 67 

How do I know if my blood sugars are out of control? .................................................... 70 
Restoring blood sugar controls ......................................................................................... 72 
Building a diet that gets you clear ........................................................................................ 75 
Comments on different food groups ..................................................................................... 78 
Practical diet tips ................................................................................................................... 88 
Supplements .......................................................................................................................... 92 
Working on the physical elements of health ............................................................................. 94 
Fresh air and proper breathing techniques ............................................................................ 94 
Sunlight ................................................................................................................................. 96 
Fitness ................................................................................................................................... 98 
Threshold – a new look at stress ............................................................................................... 99 
Threshold solution .............................................................................................................. 102 
Increase your threshold ................................................................................................... 103 
Recommended action plan for eliminating stress, dysfunctional emotions and behaviors 109 
Understanding the detox and healing process ......................................................................... 113 
What is detoxification ......................................................................................................... 113 
How you can help your body to detox ................................................................................ 116 
Digestive stress ................................................................................................................... 116 
Fasting ................................................................................................................................. 117 
Healing crisis ...................................................................................................................... 118 
How healing happens .......................................................................................................... 119 
How long does it take to get clear? ..................................................................................... 122 
Why does it take so long to get clear? ................................................................................ 125 
Cleansing and detoxing ........................................................................................................... 128 
Preparing for a cleanse ........................................................................................................ 128 
How long you should cleanse ............................................................................................. 129 
Example cleanses and detox diets ....................................................................................... 129 
Breaking the fast ................................................................................................................. 133 
Topical treatments ................................................................................................................... 135 
How happy and meaningful life leads to clear skin ................................................................ 137 
From curse to opportunity of a lifetime .................................................................................. 140 
Further resources ..................................................................................................................... 142 

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com  
 Clear For Life 

Books .................................................................................................................................. 142 

Other resources ................................................................................................................... 144 
Appendix ................................................................................................................................. 147 
Healthy cooking methods ................................................................................................... 147 
Recipes ................................................................................................................................ 148 
Gluten and acne – The hidden connection .......................................................................... 158 
How milk causes acne......................................................................................................... 163 

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com  
Introduction 

Live healthy. Be happy. Get clear.

6 words. One simple yet powerful and liberating message. Those six words condense the idea
behind Clear for Life. However it’s a common practice that books contain more than six
words. So the rest of the book attempts to dress them up with substance.
I know many people are tempted to dismiss those six words as simply too simple to be true.
There has to be to acne than that. They point to the people who live obviously unhealthy lives
and still have clear skin. They also say if acne would be only about health it wouldn’t be such
widespread problem. After all, health is not that complicated – right? You know what’s
healthy, don’t you?
Well of course you know what’s healthy, but I’m talking about other people. Those who aren’t
as smart as you are.
Even if you feel the temptation to dismiss this message I ask you to keep an open mind for a
while. Just see what I have to say and then make up your mind. I promise that reading Clear
for Life will be both entertaining and enlightening experience. Even if you are a health guru
I’m sure you’ll pick up a thing or two.
I’m going to throw a wild thought into the air. I say that our general ignorance about health
and what’s healthy kills us, keeps us miserable and puts many acne victims through needless
suffering. Consider these fictitious but common examples.
I’m in a robust health, said a man few days before he died of a heart attack at the age of 56.
“Sure I have diabetes, but other than that I’m in a perfect health”
Of course I’m in a good health, said a man. His friend asked about the 50 pounds of excess
weight the man carries? Oh that’s just little baby blubber, the man responded. He continued,
other than that the little bit of weight I carry, I’m in perfect health, and besides I don’t think
there’s anything wrong with being a little bit overweight.
These are just some examples of what you would hear, if you’d ask people how healthy they
are. Clearly we like to think we are in great health. Unfortunately the harsh reality doesn’t
often meet our grand ideas.
You could say people are delusional about their state of health. Dr. Douglas Graham puts it
aptly.
People are sicker than they give themselves credit for
Dr. Douglas Graham

© Seppo Puusa 2007  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 6 

 Clear For Life 

This comes from our definition of health. We think we are in good health as long as we are
able to go on with our daily lives. This reflects how doctors trained in Western medicine
define health; absence of disease or outward symptoms of ill health. In the Western society
what doctor says goes. Hence we get such comical answers when we ask people about their
state of health.
I’m going to suggest this is not a very good definition of health, and that it doesn’t serve you
in your journey to clear skin. If you believe you are already in good health, why would you do
anything to improve your health?
Clearly we need to redefine what health means.
The World Health Organisation offers a better definition of health.

A state of complete physical, social and mental well-being, and not merely
the absence of disease or infirmity. Health is a resource for everyday life,
not the object of living. It is a positive concept emphasizing social and
personal resources as well as physical capabilities.

This is far more useful as it defines health in positive terms, as well-being and resource,
instead of negative, as absence of disease.
Health is a state of vibrant wellbeing and joyous existence. When you are in a state of perfect
health people can see it. You have that healthy glow, and you have spring in your step. You
are happy for no reason and people like to be around you. You are charged with positive
attitude and truly believe in yourself and in your capabilities. You don’t need alarm clock to
wake you up in the morning. You wake up rested, full of energy and ready to go.
Capturing this state in words is difficult. You have to experience it. Perhaps you’ve had one of
those days when everything just went your way? You had tons of energy and felt fantastic the
whole day. Whatever you had to do you got it done easily. Imagine living most of the days
with the same energy and you understand what real health means.
Consider children. They are full of energy, laughing and running around the whole day. No
way could you have them sit a whole day semi-depressed in their rooms. I’m not suggesting
you should become like a child again, but by observing children we can get an idea of what
real health feels like; when your body and mind are still ‘pure’.
The reason we have lost that child-like energy and positive attitude is not because we have
grown up. It’s because through our diet, lifestyle and mental choices we have allowed our
health to degrade to a point where our minds are dull and bodies lack the energy and vitality to
run around and enjoy the whole day.
When we talk about health I believe we have to go beyond the body. A truly healthy body
requires a healthy mind. Depressed, negative and stress filled mind robs the essence of health
from you. It robs the joy of living. It robs the positive spirit that makes life worth living.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 7 

 Clear For Life 

The mind and the body are connected and affect each other. It’s hard to be positive when your
body is ravaged with illness. Similarly living under constant fear and stress makes a mark on
the body. Even the Western medical establishment begins to understand and accept this. To be
in perfect health you need to pay attention to both the physical and emotional levels of health.
Here, then, are few indicators of perfect health you can check yourself against.
On the physical level you are in perfect health when:

• All parts of your body glow with health

• You have almost boundless energy
• You sleep soundly and wake up easily and full of energy
• You are able to do and enjoy strenuous physical exercise
• You have athletic and toned body
• You have strength to withstand the stresses of life without falling sick, i.e. you are rarely
or never sick

On the emotional level you are in perfect health when.

• You are happy for no reason

• You have positive outlook on life
• You have positive self-image and believe in your capabilities
• You are in control of your emotional state and can remain happy and peaceful no matter
what happens

Think of your friends and family. Given the above indicators, how many of them are really
healthy? Unfortunately for most people the answer is none. What about you? Can you
honestly say you meet those standards?
If not, it’s time to celebrate. You just found the elusive answer you’ve been looking for all
these years. What I described above is not some supernatural state reserved for the selected
few with perfect genes.
That state of perfect health is your natural state. Your body constantly strives to regain it. Alas
most people never allow their bodies to regain that natural state of perfect health. They prevent
it through their actions, or through some force in their environment (such as radiation or strong
electromagnetic fields).
You’ve been in that state before (remember when you were a kid and had so much energy and
enthusiasm nothing could stop you?) and by removing the obstacles you can help your body
regain that state of perfect health.
Diseases, acne among them, are really nothing more than corruption of health and vitality. As
you allow your body to return to health you reverse the disease process. Healing is reversal of
disease process.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 8 

 Clear For Life 

That’s why I believe that working to improve your health, wellbeing and happiness is the only
reliable, and probably the only, path to permanently clear skin. And because of the side-
benefits (not effects, benefits) it’s also motivating and fun process to go through. You get to
see your energy levels go through the roof. You get to experience your body turning into trim,
toned and athletic. You get watch stress and negative emotions fly out the window, and
happiness and peace of mind flying in. You get a boost to your confidence. You get to watch
yourself perform better athletically. How many other acne treatments you know that can do
the same?
If that sounds like a lot, I admit, it’s easier said than done. I also admit it’s not going to happen
overnight, or even next week, and that it’s going to some effort and persistence. Like all good
things in life you have to pay the price and earn it. The price is the effort and determination
that earns the freedom for you. And it tastes so much sweeter when you know you’ve earned it
‘by the sweat of your brow, strength of your back, and courage in your heart’ (for those who
enjoy The Pirates of The Caribbean movies).
The rest of this book explains how to pay that price. We’ll talk about the six elements of
health and their effect on your overall health and skin. As you start working on these elements
you stop participating to the cause of disease and start participating to the cause of health.
Soon afterwards your body stops producing symptoms and starts producing health. When you
take the right actions good things happen to you. This is simple cause and effect.
I know you are anxious to get started so I won’t keep you much longer. I’ll just say few words
about the structure of the book and how to best benefit from it.
We’ll start by looking at how misunderstanding about the nature of the human body leads to
misconceived ideas about diseases and how to cure them. Then we’ll look at the physical and
mental causes of acne. Then we’ll move on to curing acne. We’ll go through the six elements
of health, and how they contribute to health, or lack thereof.
At this point we’ll leave theory behind and move into more practical matters. I walk you
through a simple exercise that uncovers your weak links. These are the areas you need to focus
on first. We’ll look at how to improve each element of health. This gives you the what (your
weak links) and how (how to improve each element of health) of your personal clear skin plan.
Finally we talk about detoxification; what is detoxification, and common misconceptions
about it. We’ll look at how to use this powerful health building tool. We’ll conclude by
looking at the essence of getting clear and how to turn acne from curse into a powerful
opportunity that can propel the quality of your life to new heights.
I promise this will be an exciting journey for you. I wish you all the best on your journey to
clear skin.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 9 

 Clear For Life 

Why you can never cure acne – and the way to permanently clear skin 

Have you ever wondered why acne cures have such a miserable track record? Why is it that
the brightest minds in the medical profession can’t solve a simple problem of pimples? It’s not
because of money. Acne is big business and anyone who can come up with a reliable solution
would get rich, very rich. People are desperate for a cure and are willing to pay almost
anything for it.
I’m going to let you in a little secret. There’s never going to be a cure for acne. All the efforts
to cure acne are based on a wrong mindset. All cures start with the assumption that there’s
something wrong with the body. That something causes acne and must be fixed. This kind of
thinking is very common in Western sciences that are based on reductionist thinking (trying to
reduce everything to their fundamental building blocks). It’s based on the assumption that the
human body is a machine.
While reductionist thinking has been very helpful in advancing our scientific understanding on
many fronts, it fails miserable when applied to complex systems; such as the human body, the
weather or stock markets.
It fails because the human body is not a machine put together by some celestial watch maker.
You know that your body is made of cells – right? Scientists used to think cells are simple
building blocks with little relevance of their own. The work of cell biologists Dr. Bruce
Lipton, among others, has shown this not to be the case.
We now know that each of those 50 to 100 trillion cells that make up your body is an
intelligent and sentient being. You can take them out of your body and they continue living on
their own. They exhibit intelligent behavior by moving towards food and away from toxins
and other dangers. The cells are capable of sensory perception. In the cell membranes they
have ‘antennas’ that perceive the environment. When a cell is in a safe and nurturing
environment it thrives and seeks to reproduce. When it’s in a hostile environment it tries to
protect itself. In other words the environment the cell is in determines its wellbeing.
So what do you get when you put intelligent and sentient being together? You don’t get a
machine, you get a community. You could think of your body as a city.
Human cities have their problems. New York has homeless people but nobody in their right
mind would say New York is broken and needs to be fixed. We understand that the problems
cities face (crime, unemployment, poverty, etc) are complex.
The reductionist thinking would try to solve crime by putting more cops on the streets. While
this might help, simply strengthening the police force will never get rid of all crime. Humans
are opportunistic. Individuals are pushed to crime because they see it as the best way to make
the ends meet – given their current situation. If the city would offer better employment
opportunities people would be less inclined to commit crimes. While police acts as a deterrent
against the life of crime it’s the situation (environment) people are in that determines their
inclination to commit crimes. Most people stay away from crime given good prospects of

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 10 

 Clear For Life 

honest employment and comfortable living. The employment situation is in turn affected by
factors such as taxation, availability of skilled labor, labor costs, raw materials and
infrastructure.
It’s easy to understand that we can never win the war against crime by fighting crime itself.
We can win by improving the economic environment, encouraging entrepreneurship and
making the city a more lucrative investment destination.
I hope this analogy helps you to understand why you can never with the war against acne by
fighting it directly. Cures based on reductionist thinking (pretty much all acne cures) could
work if your body would behave like a machine. But it doesn’t. It behaves like a community it
is. You can get permanently clear skin by improving the environment your cells live in. You
can do this through healthy diet and lifestyle choices. Supplements, pills, flushes, cleanses,
washes and laser treatments often fail because they try to fix the problems without improving
your internal environment. Create a healthy and happy environment and the community
thrives and health and clear skin follows shortly afterwards. Ignore the environment and you
are like a dog chasing its tail.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 11 

 Clear For Life 

What causes acne 

Now that you understand that your health may not be at the optimal level let’s turn our focus
back to acne. In this chapter we look at how steady decline in health leads to acne.
I've realized that nearly everything people know about acne and what causes it is wrong.
Because of that they look for solutions in the wrong places. I would even go as far as to
suggest this misunderstanding of the cause of acne keeps most people from getting clear.
As far as I understand acne is a result of ‘evil’ twins: chronic, low-grade inflammation and
blood sugar problems. Inflammation and blood sugar problems are not separate. They work
together and reinforce each other. Some doctors have suggested they are like two sides of the
same coin.
SIDENOTE: The human body is incredibly complicated organism and any model trying to describe what
happens in the body will have its limits. So does this blood sugar and inflammation model on acne. Basing your
efforts to get clear on this model gives better, more reliable and permanent and more predictable results than any
other model I’ve seen (including the ones based on toxins, weak digestion, clogged liver and leaky gut
syndrome). That said, if you know better models please let me know and I’ll incorporate them here. No point in
being dogmatic when only the results matter.

Together they:

• Lead to clogged pores

• Weaken the immune system so acne-causing bacteria can multiply
• Inflame your pimples
Let's see how they work.
Here’s the big picture:

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 12 

 Clear For Life 

In the middle of the picture is what I call 'acne engine'..

As you can see both sides of the acne engine need to be present before you get acne.
Unfortunately chronic, low-intensity inflammation leads to blood sugar problems and vice
versa. They feed each other.
If you have blood sugar problems it means your blood sugar levels swing too much (they rise
too high and dip too low). The core of the problem is your body cannot clear glucose from the
bloodstream quickly enough. That means your blood sugar levels are often too high.
Glucose is a simple sugar and also an inflammatory substance. Your cells need sugar, but too
much of it in the bloodstream is dangerous – in extreme cases even fatal. On the flip side
inflammation reduces insulin sensitivity, which is just a step away from blood sugar issues.
But let's see how chronic inflammation and blood sugar problems may contribute to acne.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 13 

 Clear For Life 

Blood sugar problems 

In the recent years the role of blood sugar problems in many diseases has been recognized.
Blood sugar problems have been linked to most degenerative conditions, acne being one of
them.
Blood sugar levels are like the fuel in your car’s tank. Sugar is one of the fuels your body runs
on.
As you look at sugar from that perspective you understand how important it is for you. Rapid
changes in blood sugar levels can cause all kinds of problems. In fact too high blood sugar
levels can be fatal. That’s why your body has elaborate mechanisms to control blood sugar
levels. Unfortunately even those cannot keep up with the onslaught of years of modern diets;
as is evident from the explosion of diabetes, metabolic syndrome, chronic fatigue and other
blood sugar related disorders.
Let’s explore how blood sugar problems lead to acne.

Blood sugar levels and acne 

I’m summarizing a study here by Dr. Loren Cordain called ‘Implications for the Role of Diet
in Acne.’ You can read the study
here: http://www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/Final%20Acne%20Article.pdf (PFD-file).

I’m translating the study from medical jargon into common English, so you don’t need a PhD
and a removal of the ability to speak clearly to understand it.
Dr. Cordain says swings in blood sugar level cause acne by:

• Increasing sebum production

• Causing skin cells to regenerate faster
• Causing dead skin cells to stick together
Faster regeneration of skin cells means that more dead skin cells have to be pushed through
skin pores (as skin cells divide and die at a faster rate. This also means your skin ages faster.
When dead skin cells stick together they have to be pushed through narrow skin pores in big
lumps instead of single cells. It's like diverting heavy truck traffic through narrow village
roads. That can only mean traffic jams.
Throw in a good measure of sticky sebum and I'm sure you understand it can only mean one
thing: clogged skin pores.
This picture summarizes the whole thing.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 14 

 Clear For Life 

The red line shows what happens to your blood sugar levels when you eat foods with high
glycemic index (GI). The green line shows the same for low GI foods. Glycemic index is a
measure of how quickly a particular food increases your blood sugar levels.
Eating high GI foods spikes your blood sugar levels. The pancreas responds by releasing large
quantities of insulin to bring down the blood sugar levels. It has to do this because high blood
sugar levels are dangerous.
Large quantities of insulin cause blood sugar levels to plummet. Too low blood sugar levels
trigger another emergency response. The adrenalin glands release androgens (male sex
hormones). Androgens signal the liver to release some of its glycogen (sugar) storages to raise
the blood sugar levels. Too low blood sugar levels can lead to unconsciousness.
Incidentally low blood sugar levels trigger serious sugar cravings. With these cravings
hammering the back of your head it's likely that you'll grab something sweet (high GI) and
repeat the process.
If this would happen only once in a while it wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately our modern
diets are full of processed foods filled with refined carbohydrates and sugar. So this becomes a
daily cycle.
As if this wasn’t bad enough in our ignorance we make the situation even worse. Through our
diet and lifestyle choices we bring about a condition called insulin resistance. Insulin
resistance means insulin becomes less effective. Now the pancreas needs to pump out even
more insulin to clear the excess glucose (sugar) from the bloodstream. Over time the situation
© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 15 
 Clear For Life 

spirals downwards. As insulin resistance gets worse the more insulin pancreas needs to pump
out. This is an 8-lane highway to acne, metabolic syndrome, chronic fatigue and diabetes – as
eventually the pancreas cannot cope with the stress anymore. This is the reason why some
doctors call acne ‘skin diabetes’.
So now you have this escalating cycle where more and more insulin is circulating your
bloodstream. If (and when) the blood sugar levels swing you also get a steady supply of
androgens.
Insulin never works alone. It's a precursor to most of the hormones in your body and always
affects other hormones. In this case we are interested of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1)
and insulin-like growth factor binding protein 3 (IGFBP-3). When insulin levels go up IGF-1
follows the lead but IGFBP-3 levels drop.
So how does this cause acne?
Well insulin, IGF-1 and androgens all increase sebum production. IGF-1 is a growth hormone
and increases the rate at which skin cells regenerate. IGFBP-3 facilitates separation of skin
cells when they die. So now you have a steady supply of three hormones that increase sebum
production. More of one hormone that makes skin cells regenerate and die faster. And less of
one hormone that helps the skin cells to separate when they die.
It’s easy to see how that can lead to blocked pores and acne.
But this is just a part of the equation.

Despite there being a correlation of acne with elevated IGF-1 and DHEAS
[type of androgen], it would be difficult to use these hormones as laboratory
markers of adult acne in the clinical setting because levels are usually
within the normal range. Undoubtedly, these hormones have important
effects in other organ systems in the adult in addition to effects in the skin,
and therefore nonspecific inhibition of hormone synthesis could have
undesirable effects.
Correlation Between Serum Levels of Insulin-like Growth Factor 1, Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulfate,
and Dihydrotestosterone and Acne Lesion Counts in Adult Women
Mark Cappel, MD; David Mauger, PhD; Diane Thiboutot, MD
ARCH DERMATOL/VOL 141, MAR 2005
www.archdermatol.com

In plain English that means that IGF-1 and androgen levels cause acne in acne prone
individuals, but the levels are roughly the same both for people with and without acne. This is
no surprise as people with acne eat similar diets and live similar lifestyles as people without
acne do. However as acne victims something makes us react to these hormones in a way that
causes acne.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 16 

 Clear For Life 

Now let’s look at the other side of acne engine; inflammation.

Inflammation and acne 

Inflammation is the body's response to injury. Healing begins with inflammation. So it's a
useful thing to have. Without inflammation we couldn’t heal and would die quickly.
But, like all good things, too much of it is bad.
Inflammation was meant to last only a short time. It was meant to be acute and then go away.
However with our modern diets and lifestyles we've created something new: chronic, low-
intensity inflammation.
Chronic inflammation is the response to internal injuries. Imagine that somehow very, very
small pieces of glass got into your bloodstream. These pieces of glass cause millions of small
cuts to your cells.
Now substitute the pieces of glass with free radicals and you understand what happens inside
of you. Free radicals are highly reactive molecules that damage the cells they come in contact
with. Unfortunately modern diet and lifestyle give us a bountiful supply of free radicals. For
example free radicals are generated by:

• Exposure to chemicals
• Pollution in air and water
• Toxins
• Eating inflammatory foods
• Chemicals and additives in foods
• Eating foods you are allergic to
• Indigestion (which leads to putrefaction of food and generation of toxins)
• Bacteria
• Lack of sleep
• Stress
• Sedentary lifestyle
Free radicals aren’t all bad. They are part of the immune system and used to kill pathogens
(bacteria, virus and parasites). Free radicals are also generated when your cells turn sugar and
fat into energy. The human body has a well developed defense mechanism against free
radicals. Antioxidants. Unfortunately our diet and lifestyle choices have left us with deficient
in antioxidants, our only defense against free radicals. As a result free radicals ravage
destruction through the body.
Chronic inflammation happens when the immune system keeps fixing these tiny, tiny injuries.
As this happens constantly over a time and throughout the body this turns into a big problem.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 17 

 Clear For Life 

Chronic inflammation keeps your immune system on high alert all the time. This constant
alertness is stressful to your body and weakens the immune system substantially.
It can also lead to heart attack, arthritis, diabetes and other serious health issues.
What does it mean when your immune system is weakened? It means the sheriff is out and the
bad guys have a field-day. It means the acne-causing bacteria can multiply out of control and
colonize your pores.
Chronic inflammation also makes your immune system trigger-happy and prone to
overreacting.
You just learned how swings in blood sugar levels leads to blocked pores full of yummy
sebum for acne causing bacteria. So when the p. acnes bacteria multiply in blocked pores the
immune system attacks viciously and perhaps triggers too intense inflammatory response. This
turns small harmless pimples into big, red and painful cysts.
So there you have it.

Blocked pores + extra sebum + overgrowth of bacteria + inflammation = acne

Just know that this didn't happen overnight. It took years, most likely decades, before things
got to a point where you developed acne.
Your body is constantly trying to fix things and, more importantly, you need a serious
imbalance to get to a point where the immune system weakens and blood sugar controls fail.
These are vital systems and the body does everything it can to keep them in good order.
Simply put, things are seriously out of order before you get acne.
It also means you have plenty of fuel for the acne engine stored in your body.
So acne won't go away immediately no matter what you do. It takes a while for the fuel
storages to empty. I'm not saying this to bum you out. You need to be aware of it so you
remain patient if you don't see results as quickly as you expect.
This also explains why it’s futile to think you can get clear by finding what causes acne and
then erasing that cause. In all but extreme cases there’s not a single thing that caused your
blood sugar controls to fail, or your immune system to weaken. It’s a combination of many,
small effects working together.
Rather than thinking there’s a single cause for acne let me give you a better way to look at
acne.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 18 

 Clear For Life 

Baseline of health 

It's called the baseline of health curve. I learned this from one of the leading expert in natural
health field, Dr. Jon Barron.

In the picture on the Y-axis you have your level of health. On the X-axis you have all the
bodily systems and functions. In reality your body has thousands and thousands of systems
and functions. For this simplified example I picked few that are commonly associated with
acne.
The blue line represents the health of different bodily systems. It’s called the baseline of
health. The red line is where you get acne. As long as your systems and organs function above
this level you remain clear. But as soon as any part of your baseline of health dips below the
red line you get pimples.
In this example the person would get acne because the state of his immune and digestive
system dipped below the acne line.
Depending on the genetic makeup the red 'acne line' is at a different position for different
people. In other words, some people get acne easily, while some people can abuse their body
more before getting pimples. Some won’t get acne no matter what, but will get other
problems. Remember that everybody has to pay the piper for our ‘health crimes’. Only the
payment method (health challenges) varies.
Baseline of health is also like a 'fuel indicator' for the acne engine. The lower the baseline of
health is the more fuel the acne engine has.
The baseline of health is not constant. It moves up and down – depending on your lifestyle.
Things such as unhealthy diet, stress and negative emotions and exposure to toxic chemicals

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 19 

 Clear For Life 

press the baseline of health down. On the flipside, healthy diet, exercise, fresh air, sunlight and
positive attitude lift the baseline of health.
Depending on which side is stronger the baseline of health moves up and down.
At birth your baseline of health was far above the acne line. However over the years (perhaps
even decades) unhealthy diet, stress and chemicals have pressed your baseline of health further
and further down. Until at one day you noticed pimples.
The baseline of health concept is a tool to direct your thinking rather than anything with
immediate practical application. In reality you never know what your baseline of health looks
like. You never know which part(s) dipped below the acne line.
In this light the only reasonable choice is to lift the entire baseline of health.
Just as stress, unhealthy diet and chemicals press your baseline of health down and fuel the
acne engine, the six elements of health lift the baseline and drain the fuel out of the acne
engine.
This is perhaps the most important point to understand. Operating from this model
automatically directs you towards things that get you clear. Because understanding and
operating from this concept is crucial to getting clear I included a related article that explores
this from a different angle.

Related article: Nothing causes and a simple way to get clear

Nothing causes acne.
Does that sound strange and illogical to you?
If you are looking for a specific cause to your acne, you have seriously misunderstood acne.
This misunderstanding may prevent you from getting clear. If you are running after a cause,
you are looking for answers in the wrong place.
Here's the real 'cause' of acne.
You have allowed your body to deteriorate to a level where it cannot cope with the stress and
demand you place on it.
I know this isn't what you've heard about the cause of acne before, but don't reject it if it
doesn't make sense to you. Let's use a simple metaphor to explain it.
Think of your body as a medieval castle.
This castle is under constant attack and needs robust defenses. The immune system represents
the solid walls. The liver takes the form of archers sniping away enemy troops that are within
the firing range. The friendly bacteria at the digestive track guards the castle gates.
© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 20 
 Clear For Life 

The castle is under constant attack by an enemy that wants to take over it. Among the attacker
are toxins, chemicals, stress and negative attitude, bacteria, virus, and free radicals.
Here's the interesting part. If the attackers manage to break the defenses and enter the castle
you get acne. And as long as they remain inside the castle you keep having acne.
Throughout a large part of your life your defenses have managed to hold off the attackers.
Unfortunately the attackers are persistent. They are on the castle like stench on manure. They
want in, and over time their ranks have strengthened.
At the same time you may have neglected to take care of the defenses. The troops on the walls
grow tired under constant barrage. One by one the archers fall down. Little by little cracks
appear on the solid walls.
Until one day a battering ram brings down the gate and the enemy troops enter the castle.
This is the day you get acne.
Here comes the moral of the story, so hold on to your hat.
Was it the battering ram that broke the defenses? Do you think the defenses would have held if
someone would have destroyed that battering ram?
Of course not.
Destroying that battering ram would have made little or no difference on the long-term
outcome. It was the persistent and coordinated attack from the enemy troops that brought the
defenses down; as well as the lack of reinforcements for the defenders.
However, most people with acne keep acting as if they could have prevented the disaster by
hunting down that battering ram. Or, if they are little more informed, they believe that just by
reinforcing part of the defenses, for example archers, they can prevent it.
If you think about this for a while you'll see that both of these approaches are doomed to fail.
Bring down that battering ram and another will replace it. And it doesn't matter how strong
your archers are if the gates are wide open and the enemy can ride in to the castle in massive
numbers. The defenses are only as strong as their weakest link is.
What can you learn from looking at acne from this view?
The only way you can break free from acne is to build and maintain strong defenses. You do
that by building your health.
Let me explain.
Building health accomplishes two important goals.
First, building health reinforces the defenses by giving them the necessary resources they
need. Some examples of these resources are high quality nutrition, fresh air, sunlight, positive
attitude and adequate and restful sleep.
© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 21 
 Clear For Life 

The keyword is health building. You can't reinforce the entire castle overnight. But you can
kick-off a repair and maintenance program that, in fairly short time, will substantially
strengthen the walls and reinforce the defenses.
Second, building health weakens the attackers. The great thing with this is that you can, in
very short time, cut the attackers' supply lines. It's simple. Just stop doing things that weaken
your health. Stop drinking coffee and smoking. Don't eat processed foods. Reduce your
exposure to toxic chemicals. Get some plants to filter the air in your house.
None of those individually causes acne, but they all add to the force that hammers the
defenses. As you drop them you weaken the attackers until one day they cannot break the
defenses anymore.
That is the day you get clear.
That is the real and simple truth about the cause acne and how to cure it.
The easiest and the most enjoyable solution to acne is to start building your health. You don't
have to wonder frustrated in the dark anymore. Instead you can focus your efforts on taking
action to building health, and sooner or later acne will disappear.
--End of article--

Before we get to curing acne I want to address another common question I get. The baseline of
health concept explains this perfectly.

Why treatment [insert an acne treatment] gets one person clear but does nothing to
other?
If I could get a penny every time someone asks me something similar to that. Another
variation of the same theme is the belief that everybody has to find their own regimen or
solution.
Acne forums are filled with misinformed people misinforming other misinformed people that
they need to find their own regimen. A classic case of blind leading blind.
As you soon discover the odds of getting clear this way are strongly stacked against you.
But hey, no point moaning about it, because I want you to meet Mike.
One fine day Mike was surfing the net looking for solution to his acne problem. He came
across with Tina’s post at a forum visited by people with acne. Enthusiastically Tina explained
to everybody that she got clear by taking XYZ supplement (or using XYZ treatment).
According to her this supplement is the answer to acne and everybody should take it. Some
other people also post enthusiastic praises for this supplement.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 22 

 Clear For Life 

So Mike thinks finally he found the answer and runs to the health store to get this magical
supplement. He gobbles it down like a starving hippo.
Feeling happy about himself he waits, and waits, and waits…
Despite the magic supplement nothing seems to be happening. He still has acne and the
pimples are as ugly as ever.
How could this be? I mean the magic XYZ supplement worked for all those other people, why
not for Mike?
Let’s examine what happened.
Here’s Tina’s baseline of health graph. The blue line is the old baseline of health and the
orange line shows what happens after she started taking the supplements.
As you can see her acne is triggered by problems with the liver. The magical XYZ supplement
helps her liver and immune system and her pimples disappear.

Here’s Mike’s baseline of health graph. As you can see the supplement has helped his liver
and immune system – like it did for Tina. It’s just that Mike’s acne is triggered by hormonal
problems and lazy digestive system. So to Mike’s acne the XYZ supplement is useless.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 23 

 Clear For Life 

The bottom line here is that the XYZ supplement used by both Tina and Mike to treat acne
produced entirely different results. What does this mean?
It means that gulping down miracle herbs and super supplements to treat acne is like trying to
hit a clay pigeon in the sky with a 22-calibre rifle… while blindfolded. The odds are against
you.
Another problem with this approach is the fact that baseline of health is at constant flux. There
are no guarantees that what works today keeps working tomorrow. It’s common knowledge
among acne victims that treatments often work for a while and then stop working. As I’m sure
you’ve either discovered yourself and heard from others.
As that happens you are back at square one. Confused, bewildered and wondering what
happened.

The only way to cure acne that works for everybody, every time and all the time is to live a
healthy and balanced life that lifts your entire baseline of health above the acne line.

I’m sorry but that is the inconvenient truth about acne.

You can gripe, whine and moan as much as you want but it doesn’t change the fact. To get
clear you have to accept total responsibility of and take constant action to build your
health. And you have to keep at it as long as it takes.
The sooner you can do that the sooner you get clear.
Luckily doing that is far easier to than you might think. In the process you become far happier
and grow as a person. And you can stop wasting money on supplements and other useless
pills.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 24 

 Clear For Life 

Mental and emotional aspects of health and clear skin 

Let’s bring revisit the “you as a city” metaphor again. This time let’s take it a bit further, and
you’ll get to discover whether you are a dictator or a liberator. I’ll let Dr. Lipton explain this.

Q: What did you mean with this statement: a human organism is not a
singular individual, it is in reality, a “community”?

A: When we look into a mirror we usually recognize the image as our self, a
single living human entity. But this is a misperception, because in truth the
cells are the living entities. An individual human is actually close-knit
community of approximately 50 trillion cells. Every cell is intelligent and
can survive outside of your body by living and growing in a tissue culture
dish.

However, when in the body, each cell is becomes an integral part of a

community, working with the other cells that share the common vision of the
community. The nervous system acts as a government that controls and
coordinates the functions of the body’s cells. When the mind serves as a
“good” government, the cellular community is in harmony and expresses
health. If the mind is confused, angered, in fear or disturbed, it can destroy
the harmony of the cellular community and lead to dis-ease or even death.

Just remember, your thoughts are sent to the body’s cells via neuro-
chemicals and nerve transmission. If you are harsh on yourself, it’s your
cells that are the ones that physically feel the brunt of your anger. Cell’s are
generally very loyal, to the extent that if you so wish it, they will actually
commit suicide (apoptosis in the cellular world). Positive and negative
thoughts shape your biology, for your mind is actually “governing” 50
trillion cells.

Dr. Bruce Lipton

Interview with Bruce in Planeta Magazine - part 3
http://www.brucelipton.com/article/interview-with-bruce-in-planeta-magazine-part-3rn

So… what kind of a government are you? Have you been nurturing a healthy and prosperous
community, or does it seem you’ve been more like a dictator and your cells have repeatedly
borne the brunt of your iron fist?
Even if you discovered that Stalin, Hitler and Mao could have learned few trick from you,
don’t worry, this chapter takes you into a fascinating journey to the depths of your mind.
You’ll discover how so far you’ve been at the whim of your mind, and, more importantly, how

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 25 

 Clear For Life 

to take charge of your life so that you can be happy and peaceful and your cells will finally get
“good government”.

End of preview.
To read the rest of the book please visit http://www.clear-for-life.com to buy your copy.

© Seppo Puusa 2007 ‐ 2009  http://www.clear-for-life.com   Page 26