Laney's quest toward healing.

[Laney_Rae]

Wow, so as of lately I am totally thinking that I have candida. I didn't think so at first, but when I sat down to think about it, it makes sense. I took antibiotics for at least a year as a baby, and then again for two years in my teenage years. My tongue is white in the mornings, I tested positive for the spit test, and I didn't break out at all this week when I limited my sugar and ate yogurt every day. (I am broken out now though thanks to cheating on my diet on Saturday) Sounds like candida to me, although I could be wrong. So step one I guess is do grapefruit seed extract and don't eat sugar. THIS is going to be a challenge for me. Does having candida mean I basically can't eat sugar ever again? I have such a sweet tooth...I will mourn my chocolate chip cookies. Is candida generally the main cause for acne, or would this possibly be combined with a clogged liver? I am so new to this, I apologize for all my questions! You guys are great, I love you!

[cjb]

Hi Laney,
It doesn't necessarily mean you can never eat sugar again, but you definitely shouldn't eat it for awhile. Even if you don't have candida, sugar is a sure-fire trigger for acne, plus refined sugar is SO bad for you in so many other ways, it would be smart to break the sugar habit. See what happens if you cut it out. You must read labels, because it is in so many things. "evaporated cane juice" is sugar. Check your yogurt. Unless it's plain, it probably has sugar. Get some stevia, and use that as you need to sweeten tea or hot cereal, plain yogurt etc. I have found that the easiest way to give something up is to find a good substitute. You can make fruit smoothies with berries, stevia and plain yogurt or kefir. Good luck.

[Laney_Rae]

Hey, thanks for the advice cjb? Where can I get this Stevia? Would it be at natural foods stores?

My face right now is beautiful!!! My skin is the clearest I can ever remember it being...it feels like a baby's butt! I don't really know why except for maybe eating yogurt every day...which I guess would support the candida link. Other than that I haven't been doing anything special. I've been washing my face with olive oil which is AMAZING and makes it so soft. Other than that I am just eating yogurt and trying to avoid sugar (somewhat successfully). I want to do grapefruit seed extract soon but I can't do it now because it is finals week and I can NOT afford to have brain fog lol.

[cjb]

Hi Laney,
Yup, stevia can be found at health food stores. It may appear expensive..it's like $10 for a spice-size jar of it, but keep in mind you only need a tiny pinch to sweeten. I use about 1/4 of a 1/4 teaspoon (guess that would be 1/16) in my smoothies.

So glad your face is looking good!! Yay. If you're used to eating sugar and now you're avoiding it, that could go along way towards clearing you. It is my main trigger. If I eat it, I'm sure to break out.

[glein]

STEVIA ROCKS!
I don't eat any sugar at all. For me, Suger= instant breakout.

[Laney_Rae]

So Stevia is completely safe right? It's just so hard to know since I always hear so much controversy about artificial sweetenters. It sounds pretty decent, but I just want to know for sure.

[cjb]

Stevia is an herb. Yes, completely safe, and it's not artificial. ...nothing like aspartame or any of that crap. It's completely natural.

[Chrissi1981]

Why don't you post pic's so that you can see your own improvement? I would do the same if I could get my damn computer up and running.

Cheating is a big no no. When my skin is radiant and I am pleased with it ... I feel I can give a little and eat a little sugary treat that's when it starts breaking out. You need to give it a rest for a while until you are pretty sure that your body is clear enough ... give yourself a treat only when you know it's ready.

Good luck Laney

[glein]

yeah taking pics is a great way to see your improvement. I take pics of my face every other week or so and compare. and boy there is a big diff! Damn shame that i had a computer crash and my real before pics are gone. The ones showing how bad it really was... maybe i will post my pics some day when im feeling somewhat clear.

[Laney_Rae]

So I did my third liver flush last night. Results again were a little disappointing. I don't understand why I am getting so few stones. I only got about 15 tiny ones, lots of chaff again though. Maybe my liver isn't the major cause of my acne. Maybe the answer really is candida for me. I can't wait to start my candida cleanse and see where that goes. I don't think my liver is extremely toxic because my mom raised me very healthily and the whites of my eyes are super white. I did have all those years of eating school lunches though and I ate pretty badly the first two years of college. How long does it take to make the liver super toxic? I got acne my Freshman year of high school, and previous to that I had eaten pretty healthily. That's when I went on antibiotics for about two years, which did absolutely nothing for my acne. (I had been on antibiotics as a baby too) I really hope candida is the answer. Liver flushing is pretty discouraging when I get so few stones. Next liver flush though I am going to go very intense with breaking them up and also I will probably do the epsom salts.

[cjb]

It's not uncommon at all. I've had a couple flushes with only 10-15 small stones. My last flush (my 5th) was by far the most productive thus far, and I got maybe 60 or so. It's up to you, but I wouldn't give up yet. Besides, even if it is candida, liver flushing will help.

Are you following the anti-candida diet? I find when I stick to that 100%, I don't break out. I think diet is the most important part of a candida cleanse.

[Laney_Rae]

Thanks for your encouragement as always, cjb. You help me keep my sanity. No I haven't officially started the candida diet yet, but I have severely cut back sugar. I will be starting the candida diet officially on June 1st. I am hoping and praying that this is the answer for me. Whenever I am good about not eating sugar and when I keep eating yogurt, my skin always rapidly clears up. Whenever I cheat, even just a little cheat, I pay for it through the skin. I have such a hard time dealing with social situations now because of my diet changes. What do you tell someone who offers you cookies or makes you pancakes for lunch? What do you do when you go out to dinner with a group and there are no healthy options on the menu. I am doing the best I can right now but I don't know how to avoid these situations without being completely rude. Starting June 1st I'll be living in another city for the summer and I won't know a whole lot of people there. The people I do know I will warn in advance so that awkward situations do not arise as often. This is why I am waiting until June to start my diet. I guess this was a little long winded and maybe I am rambling, but hey, I have been up since 5:30. I am going to go back to bed! Thanks again for all your brilliant advise and words of encouragement. It means so much to me.

[cjb]

Haha, I've been such a picky eater for so long, no one even bats an eye. I was a vegetarian/vegan for years, plus I've always been a bit of a "health nut." I'm just open about it for the most part. For gatherings with family and friends, I almost always cook at least some of the meal myself, so I know there will be something for me to eat. My mom has actually come around a lot to my way of cooking.

It can be hard to tell some people that you're not eating wheat. If you're really uncomfortable, just tell people you think you might be allergic or sensitive to it, so you're avoiding it for awhile to see how it affects you.

[glein]

Alot of people ask me questions like: why do you bring that waterbottle to school everyday?, or, why do you allways snack on apples? Or why wont you come eat pizza for lunch with us?

I just tell my friends/classmates or whatever that if i eat unhealthy i break out. ^^ And let me tell you that shuts them up in an instant!

[Laney_Rae]

Most people know I am somewhat of a health nut, but before I knew about all this I wasn't above an ice cream sundae or a few brownies. It's hard now to explain to people why I have changed. I am so in the closet with all this acne stuff. I know I am just afraid of wounding my pride and that is so lame, but seriously hardly anyone knows I have body acne. If you would look at my face you wouldn't really think I struggled with acne at all. So I guess I could tell people that certain foods break me out but I usually just try to ignore that topic and pretend that everything is okay. Man here I am confessing all my insecurities to you all. I guess with my closer friends its okay. Yesterday I was working for this lady at her house and she went and cooked up a big batch of (white flour!) pancakes with butter and maple syrup. I was like ooooooh crap. So I ate them because I just didn't know how to refuse, and of course now my skin is mad at me.