Acne caused by candida??

I have had a reoccurring "acne rash" since February of this year. One day my face is nearly completely clear....then I feel this little tickling on my face and a rash of pimples appears on my face! Usually it's only on my forehead and nose..now I am getting some on my cheeks. I'm curious who has been DIAGNOSED with candida and experienced something similar? I am thinking this may be candida related, but I do not have any money to see a natural path. Or if anyone has experienced something similar and knows how to treat it. I definitely think it is diet related... I just moved to a new city and I am currently looking for a job, this acne is really weighing on my self esteem and I want it to go away once and for all!

Comments

  • someone please help with any information on candida or acne. Anyone get rid of acne through a raw diet? Or high raw diet?

  • no one???

  • Can anyone give me some tips on getting rid of acne through a raw diet? Who here has experienced acne and noticed a dramatic improvement with RAW or even "cured" ?

  • ladydaventryladydaventry Raw Newbie

    I was waiting to see if you someone could give you some advice but I'll share my story whilst we wait!!!

    I went raw last November and within two weeks my skin was clear, I had that glow that people speak of. It was great! I was drinking a simple green juice when I woke up and lots of raw creations - cauliflower rice dishes, red cabbage and ACV salad with spicy guacamole and plenty of fruit inbetween.

    By the time January came round I thought I may as well quit my supplements and birth control (stopped that in December) I also switched onto 811 as I just preferred the simplicity of eating fruit.

    By mid-February I had started to develop what seemed like a red rash high on my cheeks and in my hairline. Detox I thought. Six months and a lot of heartache later I now have full blown acne on my face and back. It's just awful. I started my birth control last month and yesterday had my first period since November. I was also prescribed a 30 day course of Roaccutane, which I started two days ago.

    My zest for raw has gone - I'm hardly a walking advert for raw. There are so many conflicting ideas and ways of 'doing' raw. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please throw them my way!

  • RawKarenRawKaren Raw Newbie

    Hi Karen and Lady Daventry,

    There are a number of candida threads on this site if you work through the forums. I am not qualified to tell if your acne is candida related, but here is a quick summary of what can work and what does not. Raw foodists often have different views on how to treat candida, but I can share with you what has worked for me.

    811'ers will tell you that candida is fat related, not sugar and that if you reduce your fat to 10%, your candida will clear up. However there are alot of stories about 811 aggravating candida , but if you are more comfortable doing it the 811 way, give it a try although it reads like Lady Daventry has already been down that path. I think everyone is different and managing candida can be quite a personal thing.

    The middle ground that works for me is to reduce sugars as far as possible by eating more veg than fruit. Take care with your fruit choices by eating low sugar choices such as berries, lemon juice, lime juice and try to avoid sweet fruits. However citrus is known to aggravate acne - especially oranges. I have a friend who always breaks out if they OD on oranges, similar to symptoms you describe. If you decide that you must eat fruit, eat it whole not juiced. Avoid mushrooms, vinegars, dried fruits, olives, coffee, chocolate, alcohol, grains and any nuts that have a high propensity to grow mould, eg pistachios and peanuts. Some hard core anti-candida folks avoid nuts altogether, but you might find this is too restrictive if you are completely raw. If you want nuts, go for almonds and walnuts which are not so bad. Soaking nuts does help to remove some of the fungus and soaking makes them easier to digest anyway. There is also no harm eating more seeds than nuts for a while. As a substitute for grains, try buckwheat. It is a fruit seed, not a grain, but gives you 'carbs'. Eat lots of greens.

    Eat coconuts and coconut butter/oil as coconut has high antifungal properties. Flax oil is apparently a great antifungal. Garlic and onions are great and also have anti-fungal properties.

    Buy some pau d'arco tea. Try to get it wild/raw. It needs boiling for 20 mins to release the compounds. Only take it for a week and see how you feel and read the contraindications carefully. Green algae such as chlorella or spirulina also helps. Grapefruit seed extract is also a great anti-fungal.

    Pre-biotics and pro-biotics will also assist to allow good bacteria to flourish. Avoid the dairy based ones even if you are not raw as dairy aggravates candida. The only exception (if you are not raw vegan), is natural yogurt - this is good for candida.

    Expect to feel under the weather whilst the candida dies off. You should really give it six weeks if you have it bad, but your acne symptoms should start to clear up quite quickly.

    Let us know how you get on and good luck.

    annem1895
  • LadyDaventry: I am convinced that what we are experiencing is pretty much the same thing! I have cut out fruit and have been on a high raw diet without sugar/high starches and my skin is improving so much. How are you doing?

  • amberablueamberablue Raw Newbie

    Hey Karen, just wanted to add my experience and second some of the above info from RawKaren.

    I went raw in March 08 and was feeling absolutely amazing, almost too much energy. Then around June I was experiencing what I found out was candida. Just my luck, skin issues were my main symptom. When that cleared up it was absolutely, overwhelming, enrapturing fatigue. I literally went from moving furniture, running up and down stairs like 'superwoman' to that kind of invalid, spoiled housewife you see in 'period dramas' (at least this is exactly how felt) ...all finished off with that 'dreamy' unreal spaciness typically described in candida symptoms.

    I believe mine was caused by having Mono earlier that year, low-iron, and the adrenal fatigue (i am sure i burned myself out during that move) which was the final trigger. Candida is often caused by several factors. and virus, anemia, and adrenal fatigue are certainly in the Top 6, along with the BC use and Antibiotics...from what I read.

    First thing I did was cut out all sugar, honey, fruit (berries are ok), wheat (no sprouting it!), beets, carrots, wine, vinegars and mushrooms, anything fermented. This was good but did not take me all the way. What I did eat was more vegetables, sprouted buckwheat, & herbal stevia to name a few.

    I then added some of the supplements mentioned above. Pau'darco, etc.

    But what really got my recovery going was taking garlic in a particular way so that it was very effective to killing candida. I had been taking garlic from the beginning, but just adding it to food or taking it after eating, as with vitamins.

    What I finally read to do was upon first waking, swallow 1 clove of fresh, chopped garlic. Wait 30 minutes. Then take the probiotics (if you are using them). After that you need to wait another 30 minutes before eating or drinking your first foods of the day. Yeah it was a hassle. I only had the schedule to do it about 3 times a week, but it was then that I truly started to get over it.

    In my experience, it really did make a difference letting the garlic kill the candida rather than just taking it with food, which I had been doing for some time. some researchers also emphasized that you want to be on the candida diet for awhile (few weeks, a month?), and do the 'garlic thing' or essentially approach the 'step 1 program' of killing off some of the candida, before you start a program of populating with probiotics, etc. i'm sure it's debatable. just something to keep in mind.

    one last thing to mention is that adding and making sure i was getting adequate protein seemed to really make a big difference for finally kicking the candida too. just want to mention. anything i can remember, as I certainly cannot forget just how hard it is to get good information on this, and how much there was to sift through!

    the book i read from the library, was called 'the yeast connection' and listed almost all the info i followed, except the garlic method i found somewhere online.

    good luck and get well soon!

    annem1895
  • Thanks so much for the info. Do you think taking a garlic supplement would be just as beneficial? Eating a whole clove of raw garlic gives me a HORRIBLE stomach ache and cramps....it seems to want to "flush" everything out..which I'm sure could be a good thing, but it's quite uncomfortable. Also curious, did you use anything topically on your skin that improved it's condition? I just bought some witch hazel today and it seems to have calmed down some of the inflammation already. Thanks for your help!!

  • missemymissemy Raw Newbie

    Actually garlic pills aren't that great. And the reason you are getting cramps from the raw garlic, is that it is doing it's job. You are experiencing die-off Karen. I know what that is like, if you keep doing it it should subside, unless you are eating high sugar fruit in-between ;)

  • I am sure it is die off. But I also think if anyone hate a whole garlic clove raw they would experience the same discomfort. Do you think? I am definitely not eating high sugar fruit at all lately...this garlic incident happened like 2 months ago...

  • missemymissemy Raw Newbie

    No, I don't. One would think, but I never expereince it when my candida isn't that bad. Only when it is like an 1800 out of 2000. (That is how my biofeedback Dr does it) If you stay away from ALL sugars for at least a week, and then try it. or just try a half of clove, and work your way up. And then do it 3 x a day. but if you can't stand the pain, it's up to you. but at least lay off the sugar, of any kind. I know it's hard. I was really loving all the carob ice cream I was making with frozen bananas, and felt "normal" (Whatever the heck that is) again. But have now been convicted to lay off all sugars.

    em

  • Thanks for all of your help. Could you give me an example of what a day of your food intake typically looks like? Just so I could get some meal ideas. : )

  • missemymissemy Raw Newbie

    truthfully, I still struggle myself, but I got the book "Rainbow green live foods", and he gives some really good recipies. And shows which ones are in phase , as he suggests 3 months without any sugar. I know, we are so used to it in this society, but hey, have been at this for 10 years, what's another 3 months. Right now I am eating a lot of salads, green drinks (a little spinach in water in a blender,,,doens't sound great but it does give you energy) there a lot you can do with nuts. I LOVE the "manacotti" that's on this website. And there a lot of neat ones as well, gonna try the lasagna out of the book I have today, but I think I have to go and get some ingrediants. Little own a dehydrator seems to be key to add variety. Also, add onions and things that are like that, they kill the bad guys......

    oh here's one I got off of Alissa's Cohen's site:

    I think it needs a dressing though, but the jicama makes you feel like you are eating apples at least ;)

    No Potato Potato Salad

  • amberablueamberablue Raw Newbie

    hi Karen22: i haven't heard of that, but i do remember that when i was getting the skin breakouts, it was before i knew i had candida, and in the beginning stages. it happened the first, and worst time when i broke my raw diet for a special occasion and ate things that contained white flour which i usually completely avoid. this was: pasta, garlic bread, waffle. something like that. anyway, that's when it got bad.

    i think it got better again, then worse after eating something else a few weeks later, maybe this time with wheat flour.

    this is just my experience and in that book i mentioned, 'the yeast connection' the author explained that this could be from food allergies that can be prevelant in candida. or...it is like when your body has candida, the foods that make it worse can give you immediate allergy symptoms.

    so maybe you aren't normally allergic to that food, but are having reactions due to the candida. hope that makes sense. in the book he explained how food allergies and candida are usually experienced together. this is why avoiding certain foods helps, and why you should introduce these 'forbidden' foods slowly back in to your diet when ready... so you can see how recovered you really are, and to determine if you truly do have any food allergies. so far i do not have these bad symptoms now if i decide to eat the occasional cooked grain food. i am not sure if this will tell you anything useful or not. hopefully it will!

    oh, and recently i have been using hydrogen peroxide on the skin for more hormonal related issues. i read about it here: http://www.earthclinic.com/CURES/acne6.html (scroll to bottom). worked very well.

  • mine aren't like normal type zits though..they are hard little bumps and seem to be focused around hair follicles : ( I bet hydrogen peroxide would work for that too though...since folliculitis is a fungus

  • ladydaventryladydaventry Raw Newbie

    My skin is drying out because I have a short course of Roaccutane. I have very high levels of candida and only when I switched to high fruit did my skin flare up in such a way. It may just be coincidence... who knows. I have been reading into Dr Perricone's anti-infammatory diet which is quite interesting. He says to avoid certain foods like bananas (I could eat 20 a day...) so I have cut those out. I start the day on a spinach and strawberry smoothie as he advocates eating a large quantity of berries. Obviously I am trying to adapt his diet so it is raw. Here is a link to his piece about adult acne and the 28 day diet.

    http://www.dailyperricone.com/2009/08/women-stress-and-acne/

    http://www.dailyperricone.com/2009/08/28-day-acne-program/

  • ladydaventryladydaventry Raw Newbie

    Yes!!! My mum once commented on how she could actually see my skin flaring up infront of her!

  • camiheartsrawcamiheartsraw Raw Newbie

    Long post, but I had rash pattern acne and the source might surprise you.

    What kind of skin care products do you all use? I have systemic lupus and had candida overgrowth at the beginning of my healing journey. Over the past 3 years, I have tried so many things that have helped me and I am just in the past 2 months a convert to raw food. What you put on your mouth is definitely not the only thing to consider and it honestly frustrates me when people claim that what you eat can cure every ailment. Unfortunately, this statement over simplifies things. What you eat is absolutely, completely critical, but what you expose yourself to is just as important. What we breathe and what we put on our skin is just as influential to our health.

    About a year ago, I was reading a lupus book. I do not use any of the conventional medications, but I still keep up on literature because they can offer good ways to cope emotionally and physically - many books offer recommendations on exercise, meditation, alternative herbal and homeopathic treatments, etc. I read a chapter on allergies and by God it hit me. Parabens! Parabens, fragrances, and sodium laurel sulfites/sulfates are evil! Many people who struggle with their immune system are sensitive to these substances. I had rash pattern acne all over my back, neck, and side of my face and I could not get rid of it no matter what I ate. I read that book and stopped using my makeup, shampoo, conditioner, hair care products, and deodorant (ew, right?). I switched to castille soap for shampoo and body wash, skipped the makeup for a month, and just dealt with natural hair. I use a few different brands of natural deodorant without aluminum or parabens. I'm telling you that crap is in everything and it mimics hormones that cause all sorts of symptoms.

    So, long story made a little shorter, try going all natural for about a month and see if that helps. Don't forget to also switch laundry soaps. I can post a list of things I've found safe for myself. Google "dangers of parabens" and you will get a list of reasons to avoid them and ingredients that contain them. Methylpolyparaben, ethylparaben, parabens, etc. They wreak havoc on the system and they are carcinogens.

    If you have candida, it's crucial to get rid of it. I got rid of it using nystatin, garlic, concentrated oregano oil, and cinnamon - with the direction of a wonderful doctor. Oil of Oregano and plenty of fresh garlic will help you detox along with avoiding sugars and carbohydrates - it's important to find a candida knowledgeable doctor who can help you through this. Detoxing makes you feel horrible - I felt like I had the flu for 2 months and kept wondering if it was worth it (it sucked - but yes - it was worth it). I still had the rash after - and that's how I found out about parabens and now my skin is great.

    Cami

  • camiheartsrawcamiheartsraw Raw Newbie

    It might be worth reviewing Elaine Gottschal's "Breaking the Vicious Cycle" (available at most libraries and on Amazon). She recommended a diet that is easy to replicate with a raw diet and explained which fruits, grains, etc. feed candida from a scientific stand point. It's referred to as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

    Cami

  • Thanks so much cami for your reply. I am so glad you beat candida. Actually for the last week I was not using any products on my face, just sea salt in warm water to wash....but this rash thing has been going on the last six months. It's not really a "rash" it's like hard pimples and when they are extracted it's almost like a seed is coming out...ya I know that's really disgusting..but it's true. I definitely think it's yeast related because I have noticed a white coating on my tongue also and I have a history of food allergies which I read was also candida related. I will definitely check out that book. May I ask which laundry soap you use now?

  • camiheartsrawcamiheartsraw Raw Newbie

    Unfortunately it took about 1-2 months avoiding parabens and SLS to notice a difference. The acne takes a while to recede. It definitely sounds like what you had - rash pattern zits. Not hot! :) I can just now finally wear tanks and sleeveless dresses again now that the scarring has died down.

    I will try to remember to check the product name when I get home. I get it at Whole Foods or PCC in Seattle and it's very concentrated (2 TB per load).

  • Oh so your acne lesions were on your shoulders? Mine occurs on my face :(

  • juicefastfanjuicefastfan Raw Newbie

    There's a really easy test you can do at home to see if you have a problem with candida. First thing in the morning, get some water in a glass glass (or one you can see thru easily), then spit in it. If you have candida, it will look like gooey fingers are drifting out of it. If you are candida free, it pretty much dissolves into the water. You have to do it first thing in the morning and before you have had anything to eat or drink. I learned about this at one of the essential oil meetings I went to a couple months ago

  • camiheartsrawcamiheartsraw Raw Newbie

    Found the detergent. biokleen cold water formula :)

  • thanks everyone for all of your help! I am starting a green juice/veggie juice feast to kick start my anti candida diet!

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