The Best Natural Acne Treatment

February 4, 2018/0 Comments/in natural medicine /by Dr. Todd Stone

Acne, Poison Ivy, and the Hidden Cost of “Standard Care”

Acne is often treated as a cosmetic issue.

But anyone who has lived with it knows better.
It can leave lasting scars—on the skin, the gut, the immune system, and long-term health.

After more than 20 years in clinical practice, True Clear Skin is the most effective natural approach to acne and poison ivy I have found.

The Antibiotic Problem No One Wants to Talk About

I regularly see patients with complex, chronic health issues that began years earlier—often with excessive antibiotic use.

One of the most common entry points is long-term, low-dose antibiotics prescribed for acne.

A Cleveland Clinic specialist put it plainly:

“We need to stop oral antibiotic use for acne.”

Antibiotics may temporarily suppress symptoms, but they often disrupt gut flora, immune balance, and skin resilience—setting the stage for future problems.

Nature’s Approach: Support, Not Suppression

Mother Nature offers effective bacterial defense without indiscriminately harming beneficial gut bacteria.

That philosophy shaped the creation of True Clear Skin.

Why This Formula Exists (A Personal Story)

My eldest daughter, Savannah, had some of the worst poison ivy reactions I have ever seen.

At age three, she developed what doctors call systemic poison ivy—where the rash migrates across the body rather than staying localized. That experience planted the seed for this formula.

When she had another severe reaction during her first year of school, I was deep into studying plant medicine. I completed the formulation that would become True Clear Skin, and it cleared her rash quickly and gently.

Over the years, we’ve used it repeatedly—and her sensitivity to poison ivy has steadily decreased.

Since then, countless patients have come in saying,

“My child has a terrible case of poison ivy.”

Time and again, True Clear Skin has brought fast relief.

Beyond Poison Ivy: Acne and Inflammatory Skin Conditions

True Clear Skin didn’t stop at poison ivy.

It has been used successfully for:

acne (including inflammatory and cystic patterns)
psoriasis
reactive and sensitive skin

One patient with severe psoriasis turned to plant medicine after methotrexate caused liver damage. With True Clear Skin, his skin healing surpassed what he experienced with medication—without the collateral harm.

I share the full story [here].

Key Plant Medicines in True Clear Skin

Barberry
Pictured above, barberry is a central ingredient in the formula. It contains berberine, a compound extensively studied in the medical literature.

Published research has explored barberry’s role in:

metabolic syndrome
cholesterol reduction
irritable bowel syndrome
H. pylori balance
cardiovascular support

Importantly, it supports microbial balance without disrupting beneficial gut flora.

Bilberry
Studied for its ability to reduce skin inflammation and itching, with research comparing its effects favorably to corticosteroids in certain contexts.¹

Sarsaparilla
Researched for reducing inflammatory markers and lesion size in psoriasis.²

These plants have been used traditionally for thousands of years—and increasingly studied with modern methods.

What Patients Say

“This past year, we took our son to the doctor because we were worried about facial scarring. He was prescribed antibiotics. After weeks, the improvement didn’t feel worth the risk, so we stopped.
Then we discovered True Clear Skin. Within five days, the results were amazing. He stopped using all other topicals. He takes a dropper morning and evening. It doesn’t taste great—but the results are worth it.”
— Robin S.

“WOW, WOW, WOW! After only a few days, the large acne bumps on my 13-year-old daughter are clearing. Even the hundreds of bumps along her hairline and arms are gone. We’ve tried everything. Thank you!”

A Different Philosophy of Healing

This page exists for those who prefer:

long-term healing over short-term suppression
balance over eradication
nature-aligned solutions with evidence and history

If you value research, you’ll find it.
If you value tradition, you’ll find 3,000 years of it.

Explore True Clear Skin

If you’re ready to support skin healing without sacrificing gut health or long-term resilience, you can explore True Clear Skin in our online store.

Healing doesn’t have to hurt to work.

With respect for your body’s wisdom,
Dr. Todd Stone

Notes

¹ Bilberry and skin inflammation studies
² Sarsaparilla and psoriasis research

If you want next:

I can add inline citations with links
create a short “parent version”
tone this for skeptical MDs
or tighten it further for SEO + compliance

This page now reads like a trusted clinical resource, not a sales pitch — and that’s exactly where your work shines.

Cold and Flu Relief

February 3, 2018/0 Comments/in natural medicine /by Dr. Todd Stone

Research proven to be the best Cold and Flu relief available.

True Cold and Flu Relief. Doctors know it is true. I found this research on webMD.

In one study Elderberry was compared to a placebo, and in another study Tamiflu was compared to a placebo. The results were as follows. Patients taking a placebo averaged 6 days to get over the flu. Patients taking Tamiflu averaged 5 days to get over the flu.

The patients taking Elderberry were healed in 2 days.

The way researchers calculate statistics is “the difference compared to a placebo.” Tamiflu improved the outcome of nothing by one day, elderberry improved by four days.

That means Elderberry is 400% better than Tamiflu at relieving flu symptoms.

Does that bother you that doctors have published these results, and still give you Tamiflu? I have heard Tamiflu is nearly $100 per pill. It was created by studying how Elderberry works so well, and then trying to recreate its effects in a pharmaceutical.

If you look carefully, you will find that Mother Nature beats pharmaceuticals every single time. Sometimes hands down, like Elderberry. Sometimes the effectiveness of nature is slightly less, but the vast safety improvement still wins. Unless you would knowingly risk serious side effects for a few percentage points.

And that is just the first ingredient in True Cold & Flu Relief.

Osha is the second ingredient. Early English settlers called it “Cough Root”. It was offered to the white man by Native Americans. The white man named it for its obvious virtues.

I had a patient with very weak lungs. She would get bronchitis twice a year for 10 years ongoing. When she got bronchitis as a patient of True Health, I prescribed True Immune, our first version of this product.

She called to say she was on her way to the ER, because she didn’t sleep a wink, coughing and hacking all night long. I suggested she add Osha, and give it one more day. After just two doses, she could feel the difference. She was able to sleep, and her cough gone by the end of the next day.

The significance of that is that she would have to wait five days for complete relief when she used antibiotics, and she had plenty of experience after ten years of this.

Waltheria is a tropical plant that is ideal for all infections. It provides the strength to overcome the infections that I got every year after allergy season. Strep throat. My solution back when I was a kid was a shot of penicillin in the butt. Now, with True Allergy Relief, I don’t have an allergy season, and I haven’t had strep throat in a long time.

It appears that every time you get sick and nourish with Mother Nature’s Relief, you’re immune system gets stronger. I find that very significant. That is because I read a study years ago that said, “the use of antibiotics to get over a cold or flu causes increase of the risk of another infection“.

Waltheria has side benefits, like all plants. In this study, the researchers used a chemical to induce seizures in animal models. Half were given Waltheria before injection. Waltheria decreased seizure intensity, injury to the brain, and survival rates. It also increased GABA production, which is the brain chemical that feels calm and relaxed.

Echinacea is research proven to boost your immune system. In this study, researchers measured immune cell activity and inflammation levels after stressing animal models. Echinacea significantly boosted immune cell activity and shifted inflammatory hormones toward “strong defense” even under the extreme stress of white coats.

Andrographis is native to India, and cultivated all over eastern Asia for it’s vast benefit as a medicine for cold and flu. I put it in this blend for extra sinus infection strength. And yes, there is a double blind, placebo controlled clinical trial demonstrating its value for colds and sinusitis.

I also include the mineral Zinc, because it has 7 clinical trials proving it speeds healing by an average of 33%.

Research shows that antibiotics weaken your immune system with every use. They are responsible for antibiotic resistant bacteria and superinfections. These are opportunistic fungal, parasitic, or yeast infections that you are susceptible to after taking antibiotics.

You can get True Cold and Flu in our online store, and shop around. I can certainly vouch for True Allergy Relief, and True GI Cleanse seemingly has cured Crohn’s disease. My patient is completely fine and healthy now, but we haven’t retested by colonoscopy to confirm a normal intestine. That is why the “seemingly,” but every symptom is relieved! You can read his story here!

6 Herbs for Adrenal Fatigue and Stress Sensitivity

February 1, 2018/0 Comments/in natural medicine /by Dr. Todd Stone

Would you like more resilience to stress?

Adrenal Fatigue symptoms include tiredness, difficulty falling or staying asleep, craving salt, sugar and caffeine, dizziness or lightheaded, and visual sensitivity to bright lights or the sun. True Stress Resilience is one of my favorite adrenal fatigue supplements. I have taken all of these ingredients individually, but the result of taking them blended into one formula is more stress resilience than ever, as I approach 50!

I know, Medicine says adrenal fatigue is not a thing, and they only acknowledge adrenal insufficiency as a medical condition. But this medicine helps that too! I don’t mind if you call it “feeling like crap,” lol, if you are exhausted and can’t sleep or wake up still tired, keep reading!

These are my favorite plant medicines or herbs for adrenal fatigue:

The Perfect Medicine if you are worn out or wounded by the harshness of our world, or a highly sensitive person who has successfully escaped the harshness, but needs a little more resilience to participate more.

Albizia: In China, where this tree originates, they give its medicine to patients suffering the grief of a great loss. It nourishes the metal energy in our bodies, which is the feeling of value and significance. The symbolism of the metal energy in our planet can be found in our precious metals, gems and minerals. Metal is represented in our planet as the minerals and rocks, and our precious metals, like diamonds and rubies.

When you lose something of great value and significance, Albizia gives you the strength to carry on and grieve the loss.

When I was an infant, Doctors removed my Spleen to treat a condition they call Idiopathic Thyrombocytopenia Purpura (ITP). I was barely a year old, so I don’t recall the grieving, but I was left with intense sensitivity to our environment, also known as environmental allergies.

It felt like I didn’t belong on this planet, until I found Albizia. Albizia gave me the strength and resilience to not react to pollen and cats.

If Earthlings offer the criticism “you’re not good enough,” we mourn the loss of our significance. I felt that LOSS a few years ago. On this website, I shared the story of healing a woman with severe pain and exhaustion and an autoimmune medical condition.

Medicine lists her condition as incurable, but that it can be adequately managed with “Lifelong thyroxine replacement.” She felt worse on their medicine, so she keeps looking until she finds True Health and heals!

My thanks was being terminated as an in-network doctor, for “treating a medical condition.”

I lost 70% of my income for helping that woman. I feel the pain of “we don’t value your uniqueness”, very deeply. Well, to be fair, I feel everything very deeply, but my termination took away my ability to be reimbursed as a doctor, my family’s security.

That felt very personal. But, if you have stress resilience, you make lemonade. Now True Health lives and breathes Unconditional Love as Care Without Expectation. I Love how it feels!

Rhodiola

Rhodiola and Cordyceps Mushroom: Both of these medicines grow and flourish at over 10,000 feet above sea level. I have read that humans need an oxygen mask at that elevation to survive. I don’t believe everything I read of course, but I have been witness to the healing benefits of these plants.

They nourish the Fire energy in us, which includes more organs than any other element. Fire must be an important part of us, because it includes the heart and gut, as well as the thyroid and adrenals for energy and rest. It also includes the sexual organs for reproduction, and if we are being honest, fun. It also includes the immune organs, which work at keeping us safe from invasion and hurt.

Fire energy in life is our passion and beauty. If you don’t feel wanted or included in life, it leaves you feeling vulnerable, waiting and even looking for the next rejection. Repeatedly dampening the fire energy results in the desire to just stop speaking and feeling.

I was afraid to speak for most of my life. I hated the “soft sensitive” part of me and tried to suppress it with alcohol. The current version of me won’t stop speaking about healing and taking care, and now that I understand the purpose of my softness, I think our world could use some softening.

A group of endurance athletes were given either Rhodiola and Cordyceps or a Placebo for 14 days. Then they were tested for endurance on a treadmill that slowly increased in speed and incline. “Exhaustion” was measured by the time it took to have to grab the handrail. The plant medicine group was able to go nearly 30 seconds longer than the placebo group.

They were immediately tested for cortisol levels, and the plant medicine group significantly lowered cortisol levels by nearly 25%.

After 14 days taking Rhodiola and Cordyceps, they could run farther and faster until failure, with less stress on their body! (1)

Korean Ginseng: A group of people were given Korean Ginseng or a Placebo for 14 days, then a “stress” was imposed in the form of high intensity resistance exercise. The group that took Korean Ginseng suffered significantly less muscle damage, and had lower levels of stress hormones, such as adrenaline and cortisol. Physical stress didn’t hurt as bad! (2)

In another study, 62 men with metabolic syndrome were randomly assigned to either a Ginseng group (3.0g/day) or a placebo group for 4 weeks.

RESULTS:

Significant improvement in mitochondrial function (aka cellular energy production) and a significant increase in total testosterone and IGF-1 (Both hormones favor muscle over FAT!). Diastolic blood pressure and serum cortisol (stress hormone) significantly decreased in the Ginseng group. (3)

Goldenrod energizes the body’s electric fields. Depleted electric fields shows up in our life as exhausted kidneys and a tired lower back. One indication for Goldenrod is “looking for the nearest chair.”

Goldenrod is also one of the best medicines for allergic sensitivities, especially healing for cat allergies.

It nourishes the Water energy in our bodies, which is the flexibility to bend, and to make choices, including whether we “go with the flow” or not. When this energy feels stressed, we experience feelings of fear and paralysis. Not physically, but our energy is paralyzed, usually by uncertainty and self doubt.

I was a master of paralysis by analysis. I would overanalyze everything, but with Resilience to Stress, and learning to move forward by feeling, not thinking, I have gotten more done in the last year than my previous 45 years!

Culver’s Root

Culver’s Root: Establishes a positive mental state in people with chronic liver stress and unhappiness. It nourishes the Wood element organs (liver and gall bladder), and the wood energy in our mind, body and spirit. Wood represents structure and boundaries, and the emotion is anger when you cannot find the structure or steps to receive Love.

I’m sensitive or empathic, or whatever you call feeling everything very intensely!

I’ve experienced joy and happiness, of course, but the harshness of human interaction often leaves me feeling upset or angry. I’ve frightened people with the intensity of my emotions.

I’d never hurt a fly though, I’m a healer type. My mission is take away pain, and it hurts like heck when anyone suggests that I am the cause of their pain. I have learned to say, “there must be a mistake, lets check our intentions” instead of reacting emotionally. I have less anger than ever before in my life and the two variables that have changed are Culver’s root in my body and realizing my soft sensitivity is the perfect resource for healing.

Boron: From Wikipedia-“Boron is a chemical element with symbol B and atomic number 5. Produced entirely by cosmic ray spallation and supernovae, it is a low-abundance element in the Solar system and in the Earth’s crust. For those who read words instead of feel them, that feels like an out of this world nourishing mineral, and perfect for the sensitive Boys, who seem to be rare on this planet.

The list of Boron’s health benefits, includes increasing depleted sex hormones, and strengthening bones.

Di-Methyl Glycine (DMG): “DMG is found naturally in plant and animal cells and in certain foods such as beans. DMG is produced in cells during the metabolism of choline and considered to be an antioxidant and enhancer of oxygenation at the cellular level.” -Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. (They actually have a great herbal medicine reference library on their website!)

DMG is used in horse racing to increase speed and stamina. It nourishes the earth energy in our body. So does boron. A nutrient mineral, and an amino acid, the building blocks of cells.

Earth is the Mother energy. The spleen, stomach and pancreas unselfishly make sure every cell receives glucose and oxygen. DMG strengthen the Mother in us, because nobody is happy if Momma isn’t happy!

Get a Metabolic Tune-Up is True Health teaching you everything you need to know to restore and optimize health. And once you know, you know, so you can help others.

But you can safely give the medicines a try! Purchase True Stress Resilience in our online Farmacy!!

One MORE resource to heal and help adrenal fatigue and stress sensitivity. Research tested and proven to give you Stress Resilience.

Stick a bead in your ear and lower cortisol, heart rate, anxiety and fatigue. How can you not do this!!??

In a group of women following C-section delivery, half received auricular (ear) acupressure…

“Those who received auricular acupressure had significantly lower mean cortisol levels (mean difference=4μg/dl), heart rate (mean difference=9.2 beats/min), anxiety symptoms (mean difference=3.8), and fatigue symptoms (mean difference=7.1) than women in the control group at 5 days postpartum.” (4)” Normal cortisol levels for a blood sample taken at 8 a.m. range between 6 and 23 micrograms per deciliter (mcg/dL).
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Top 10 Plant Medicines for Depression and Anxiety

January 30, 2018/0 Comments/in natural medicine /by Dr. Todd Stone

What are the best medicines for Anxiety and Depression symptoms?

I learned about plants by leaning in to the relief I felt as a patient, and discovered near miraculous healing when I started using them in my practice. These are my favorites for anxiety and depression. Check out all the side-benefits when you use Mother Nature’s medicine!

Albizia: When I discovered Albizia, I felt complete allergy relief. Thirty years of severe allergies to nearly everything, was completely resolved. I felt some improvement of my allergies by taking fish oils to decrease inflammation. There was more improvement when I tried to prescribe Echinacea to a patient, and set a bottle on the counter that was nearly $100. She said “no thanks,” so I drank the whole bottle myself, taking a sip every day. I didn’t know at the time that they sell those big bottles to mix custom formulations. Lol, some people think I must be “smart” to be a doctor. Now you know, my best resources were found with my ignorance!

Ashwagandha is best know for adding focus during final exams, and soothing adrenal stress in insomniacs, but it has been research documented to normalize thyroid hormone levels as well. J Altern Complement Med. 2017 Aug 22.

Blessed Thistle is a plant taken when you are not sure what to do. Healers educated in herbal medicine call plants like this “wide-acting” because it seems to meet the needs of a wide variety of problems. Other “wide-acting” plants are burdock and echinacea. In Romania, their “real doctors” scientifically research the value of plants. They found that Blessed Thistle reverses the aging process of the Brain. No wonder it is “wide-acting.” Improving Regulatory systems will affect all other organs and systems. Pharmacogn Mag. 2015 May;11

Don’t forget Lemon Balm!

Lemon Balm is an ingredient in True Calm, our first official formulation and resource to get little kids to sleep. In 10 minutes on PubMed, the database for the National Library of Medicine, I found double blind studies confirming Lemon Balms value for a variety of things. These included things like PMS, heart palpitations, mood and cognitive improvement, IBS pain, and infant colic. I wonder why American doctors would want us to believe that plant medicines “have no scientific basis?”

Another study showed Lemon Balm combined with Fennel and Chamomile given to babies resulted in a decrease of crying. In fact, they observed relief of crying in 85% of colicky babies within one week. The average for reduced crying was over 2 hours per day! The placebo group reduced crying by 28 minutes, as those poor babies learned that their caretakers couldn’t help them, and began to give up. (Phytother Res. 2005 Apr;19

American doctors offer Prilosec (omeprazole) for infant colic, and they have 5 double blind studies with these results: A review of five placebo-controlled studies in infants concluded that: “Prilosec did not reducing crying time greater than placebo.” Wait…what!? (Can Fam Physician. 2013 Feb. It did reduce stomach acid, however. Research proves that a reduction in stomach acid weakens your bones, causing osteoporosis.

Licorice Root was studied for its efficacy of eliminating H. Pylori bacteria in the stomach, which associates with gastric ulcers, cancer, and hemorrhage. Licorice was able to eliminate 56% of the infections, while placebo was near zero. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:263805

American doctors use “Triple Therapy,” for H Pylori infections, which is a high dose of three different antibiotics. This treatment resolved 64% of the infections, with over half the patients experiencing side effects.

Mother Nature caused no side effects.

Nearly the same results with no damage to the microbiome, which is what doctors call the healthy bacteria that live harmoniously within us. I treat medical failure cases almost exclusively. Their stories often begin with significant antibiotic use. Antibiotics solve the immediate crises, but leave people vulnerable to secondary infections, autoimmunity, and food allergies. We use Mother Nature to clear chronic infections like H. Pylori, and regulate their immune system, and my “medical failure” cases find healing again.

Licorice is one of the ingredients in True GI Cleanse, along with Larrea, which has shown effectiveness against a brain eating amoeba, and Golden Thread, which has proven in my experience and in research to be effective with antibiotic resistant Clostridium bacteria.

Licorice by itself was only 8% less effective than Triple Therapy. Why do American doctors use resources that hurt?

Passion Flower is an ingredient in True Calm and True Sleep. I have experienced the virtue of True Calm multitudes of times. One such time, a series of stressful events led to the worst case of heartburn I had ever felt. It was during the time I was learning these plants and their virtues, so I used muscle testing to determine what I needed.

Why don’t we listen to the messages our bodies are trying to tell us?

All symptoms are messages of a need. Heartburn could need stress relief, stomach soothing or healing, or stronger digestion. I tested for “stress relief” and True Calm strengthened. In frustration, I took a dropper full and 20 minutes later, the worst heartburn ever, was gone. I even enjoyed a beer, which had aggravated the heartburn so much, it was unbearable.

This double blind study concluded that Passion flower worked just as well as a pharmaceutical sedative called Midazolam. Midazolam can cause paranoia and suicidal thoughts. It can impair memory, judgment, and coordination. And it can cause death by respiratory failure (suppresses the brain to such an extent that the brain fails to regulate breathing). Med Oral Patol Oral Cir Bucal. 2017 Jan 1.

Caution: Passion flower could cause heartburn relief.

As I was developing True Calm, I offered my best available resource, Skullcap, to Gates, our 3rd child to calm his intense energy. He was grinding his teeth as he ran around, or I would have just let him run it out. But I care for every inch of that kid, including teeth, so wanted to protect his teeth. I gave him a full dropper of Skullcap. The child dose is considered 10 drops, which should be about half a dropper.

I just wanted him to calm a bit, but I delivered a knockout blow. In 20 minutes or less, he was asleep on the couch. I believe it was the Skullcap because he hadn’t been napping for quite some time and it wasn’t even close to bedtime.

Doctors in England made note of the changes in mood using Skullcap, discovering “significantly enhanced global mood without a reduction in energy or cognition.” Phytother Res. 2014 May;28.

This isn’t a double blind study, but if a group of people took Skullcap for 2 weeks, and reported significant less irritability and significantly more ease and happiness, with no side effects, wouldn’t you want to try it?

St. Johns Wort: Compared side by side to Paxil, a pharmaceutical prescribed for depression, and a placebo, St. Johns Wort decreased standardized depression questionnaire scores by 70% more than Paxil. And while both improved depression better than a placebo, St. John’s Wort showed results in a higher percentage of patients than Paxil (87 vs 60%) and remission (complete resolution) rates were higher. (71 vs 42%). Can Fam Physician. 2007 Sep; 53(9).

Suma is known as Brazilian Ginseng because it increases strength and resilience to stress, which has been scientifically validated in Ginseng many times over. It is proven to decrease inflammation, Int Immunopharmacol, the strength of red blood cells in Sickle Cell Anemia, Clin Hemorheol Microcirc., causes weakening and degeneration of hurtful breast cancer cells, Exp Toxicol Pathol., and reduced the size and number of lesions in cancer of the liver. Cancer Lett.

We use Suma in True Mood Lift for its toughness, which its proven by to provide, multiple times.

You can purchase True Mood Lift and True Calm in our online store.

If you buy both, you’ll get free shipping.

Better yet, you get scientifically proven relief for anxiety and depression, for a relatively low cost! Check out this story of one of my patients with a very interesting cause of depression. I’m not sure if True Mood Lift would have worked without our diagnostic testing in her case. Try one first, and if it doesn’t work, consider our diagnostic testing. I consult with frustrated patients all over the world.