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!
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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" ?
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.
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?
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!!
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...
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. : )
Have you guys heard of folliculitis? I am wondering if that's what I have... since my bumps are itchy and they come and go.... http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.acneskincareblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/folliculitis-300x164.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.acneskincareblog.com/&usg=__N3U6ALqwTjUPqilorKLUbSMq8yU=&h=164&w=300&sz=15&hl=en&start=1&um=1&tbnid=tGFBZmEN5W5wZM:&tbnh=63&tbnw=116&prev=/images?q=folliculitis+across+forehead&hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N&um=1
Were your bumps itchy and tingly at all?
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
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?
Oh so your acne lesions were on your shoulders? Mine occurs on my face :(
thanks everyone for all of your help! I am starting a green juice/veggie juice feast to kick start my anti candida diet!