Two LJ posts in one day!
Jul. 13th, 2010 06:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mamagotchaIt's your lucky day!
You might not want to bother reading this, though... it's rumination on psoriasis, and probably way TMI.
I'm pretty sure I've got psoriasis, which my doctor said was garden-variety dandruff and to just use Head&Shoulders. When I persisted, he gave me a scrip for a steroid cream. No thanks!
So... lots of trying stuff, research, testing ideas, and frustration. This last weekend, I decided to quit trying to TREAT the damned thing and instead figure out what the hell's CAUSING it. Since I'd tried no-pooing (using baking soda and vinegar to clean my hair instead of shampoo) with not a lot of success, I was pretty sure it wasn't the SLS in the shampoos or some other contact dermatitis.
Pretty quickly, I came across a number of sites talking about "leaky gut," Candida infections, and gluten-free diets.
This guy's free e-book pretty neatly sums up the situation, as far as I can gather. Thank goodness for the web... I was able to get info on all this stuff within hours and days, instead of months and years like he had to. The upshot:
Kill the yeast (caprylic acid, garlic)
Get rid of the yeast (psyllium, bentonite)
Get healthy bacteria growing in its place, heal the gut (probiotics, serrapeptase, glutamine)
Don't let the yeast gain the upper hand again (diet change)
That last one I'm still a bit shaky on. Some folks advocate GFCF (gluten-free, casein-free), others focus on no white/processed foods or sugars at all, some say no alcohol or caffeine... it looks like it has to do with acidity. Here's one view: "In general, animal foods -- meat, eggs, dairy -- processed and refined foods, yeast products, fermented foods, grains, artificial sweeteners, fruit, and sugars are acidifying, as are alcohol, coffee, chocolate, black tea, and sodas. Vegetables, on the other hand, are alkalizing. That includes a few that are technically fruits: avocado, tomato, bell pepper.”
There are also some salivary enzymes that are supposed to help restore gut integrity (this means: chew yer food a LOT).
Some other places encourage some dairy (kefir, yogurt) as beneficial, and stuff like butter as being neutral... probably going that path for now, along with cutting back severely on most grains, red meat, and using fish and chicken sparingly... while pumping up stuff like broccoli, spinach, red bell peppers, beans, and such.
Still searching... but I wanted to just jot this down and let you all know what's been going on.
You might not want to bother reading this, though... it's rumination on psoriasis, and probably way TMI.
I'm pretty sure I've got psoriasis, which my doctor said was garden-variety dandruff and to just use Head&Shoulders. When I persisted, he gave me a scrip for a steroid cream. No thanks!
So... lots of trying stuff, research, testing ideas, and frustration. This last weekend, I decided to quit trying to TREAT the damned thing and instead figure out what the hell's CAUSING it. Since I'd tried no-pooing (using baking soda and vinegar to clean my hair instead of shampoo) with not a lot of success, I was pretty sure it wasn't the SLS in the shampoos or some other contact dermatitis.
Pretty quickly, I came across a number of sites talking about "leaky gut," Candida infections, and gluten-free diets.
This guy's free e-book pretty neatly sums up the situation, as far as I can gather. Thank goodness for the web... I was able to get info on all this stuff within hours and days, instead of months and years like he had to. The upshot:
Kill the yeast (caprylic acid, garlic)
Get rid of the yeast (psyllium, bentonite)
Get healthy bacteria growing in its place, heal the gut (probiotics, serrapeptase, glutamine)
Don't let the yeast gain the upper hand again (diet change)
That last one I'm still a bit shaky on. Some folks advocate GFCF (gluten-free, casein-free), others focus on no white/processed foods or sugars at all, some say no alcohol or caffeine... it looks like it has to do with acidity. Here's one view: "In general, animal foods -- meat, eggs, dairy -- processed and refined foods, yeast products, fermented foods, grains, artificial sweeteners, fruit, and sugars are acidifying, as are alcohol, coffee, chocolate, black tea, and sodas. Vegetables, on the other hand, are alkalizing. That includes a few that are technically fruits: avocado, tomato, bell pepper.”
There are also some salivary enzymes that are supposed to help restore gut integrity (this means: chew yer food a LOT).
Some other places encourage some dairy (kefir, yogurt) as beneficial, and stuff like butter as being neutral... probably going that path for now, along with cutting back severely on most grains, red meat, and using fish and chicken sparingly... while pumping up stuff like broccoli, spinach, red bell peppers, beans, and such.
Still searching... but I wanted to just jot this down and let you all know what's been going on.