Intro- Pt 2 (very long dietary post)

[Guest guest]

To continue from my last post, with some dietary-related changes and

experiences which have brought me dramatic improvements, not just in my

rosacea but in many areas of health:

I also have had digestive difficulties for years, and found myself

gradually eliminating more and more foods from my diet, because I

couldn't handle the symptoms they would cause. Over the past year or two

a number of conditions got really bad: gas and bloating, high blood

pressure, increasing stiffness and fatigue, deteriorating posture,

etc...

After some attacks that I first thought were food poisoning, I recently

found out that I have a dangerously enlarged, fatty liver that isn't

functioning well. My serum bilirubin levels are sky-high, and I was

hospitalized at one stage, with the doctor telling me my situation was

life-threatening, if it got any worse. I recieved the liver diagnosis

within a week or so of the rosacea diagnosis. The doctors all

immediately said that I should give up the booze, with both a bad liver

and rosacea, but I NEVER drink alcohol, and hardly ever have in my life

- I just do not like the stuff at all, and never have! When I told them

that, they hardly knew what else to say, except that " maybe it's a

dietary thing " . I have learned that most doctors know pitifully little

about nutrition, and nutrition-related disorders.

Determined to cure these problems and make an all-out attack on

restoring health and wellness, I started on the garlic/ginger/olive oil

mix [had trouble locating the horseradish here in Hong Kong] and a few

other steps that Mark on the board here has advocated. He has been very

supportive and helpful in some private email exchanges, which I

appreciate very much.

I have also read and studied several thousand pages on liver chemistry,

nutrition and the digestive tract, including piles of original research

reports (mostly courtesy of a friend at medical school), all the

relevant books in the public library ...I've even spent hours in all the

bookstores reading books (I couldn't afford to buy them ALL!), read

hundreds of pages on websites, etc... made lots of notes and tried to

plan the best possible " attack " on my health problems, including every

natural step and dietary change that seemed needed or appropriate.

SO, at the same time as starting the garlic, etc..., I ELIMINATED

COMPLETELY from my diet ALL processed/packaged-type foods, ALL foods

containing refined flour or refined sugar, ALL hydrogenated fats or oils

(in fact, all fats/oils except the olive oil and the naturally occurring

oils in flaxseeds and whole vegetables), ALL caffeine, All junk food,

ALL dairy products (except a small amount of real, additive-free, live

yoghurt), ALL wheat products (although I will add these back in, in

modest quantities, once I'm sure I'm not sensitive to them), ALL meats

except fish (and recently, a very small amount of skinless, non-fried

chicken), ALL drinks except pure water and freshly-made (not

store-bought) fruit and vegetable juices, etc... Basically, I stopped

eating almost anything that didn't look like something direct from

nature that a caveman might have eaten, period.

I have also eliminated all aerosol sprays, insecticides, etc... from my

home, and added electrostatic filters to my air conditioners and my

vacuum cleaner, to reduce household dust and contaminants. I no longer

use aluminum-containing deodorant products, and have stopped using

flouride toothpaste. [Plain salt makes an outstanding toothpaste, and

is all you need if you don't eat refined sugar. Flouride is made from

flourine, one of the most toxic substances known, which depresses the

immune system. It does nothing for the teeth themselves, it just kills

bacteria in the mouth (like salt does!), along with lots of your own

immune and other cells (which salt doesn't)] Steps like these reduce

the burden on the eliminative organs (liver, kidneys, lungs, skin,

etc...) and on the immune system, letting the body turn more of its

limited resources to healing.

Does this sound fanatical or obsessive? Maybe, but from all the reading

I've done, every single step I've taken had a good, logical reason

behind it. The explanations are too lengthy to repeat here, but there is

real " method to the madness " . I have never smoked and am a non-drinker,

yet I developed all these health problems, including rosacea, while

living a supposedly " normal, healthy " life. The problem, I've finally

learned, is that much of what we think is " normal " , just because it is

commonplace in today's world, is actually very abnormal for the human

body, which evolved over thousands of years in a very different world

from the one we live in today.

My diet is now about 75 percent raw, fresh fruits and vegetables, with

no more than one cooked meal each day. Cooking destroys needed enzymes

and other nutrients, so if I can eat something uncooked, I don't cook

it. I take supplemental digestive enzymes and betain HCL with each

cooked meal, which is usually steamed fish on rice. I have fish about

three times a week, and occasionally eat a boiled egg (never fried or

scrambled, which oxidizes the cholesterol in it) for extra protein. I

do add psyllium for extra fiber to some meals. I supplement with vitamin

C, vitamin E, Lecithin, MSM (Methyl Sulfonyl Methane), Brewer's Yeast

(not advisable for some people, but I'm OK with it), Pure Aloe Vera

Juice, Flaxseed, and Milk Thistle (for my liver).

Everything I eat gets chewed and chewed and chewed until it is well

mixed with saliva and completely broken down and liquid-like, before

swallowing. NOTHING gets down my throat that is not COMPLETELY chewed to

death. I do not listen to radio, watch tv, or read the paper while

eating -- the mind is very closely linked to digestion, and no one

should EVER eat when stressed, alarmed, or depressed. Obviously, I have

to prepare most of my own meals, but if I'm in a restaurant (for steamed

fish on rice, for example) and it's noisy, I put in earplugs, as loud

noise creates a stress reaction in the body. As much as possible, I eat

in a slow, peaceful attitude, and sit still for a few minutes after I

finish, before getting up.

I drink a lot of pure water each day. Actually, I always have, since I

grew up in the hot desert, but most people don't drink nearly enough.

One indicator: if your urine has more than a pale straw color, you

aren't drinking enough. It should be very pale or clear.

Incidentally, some mention was made recently on the list about PH

testing. If you eat enough raw fruits and vegetables, your PH

automatically becomes more alkaline, which helps with many aspects of

health. Cooked or processed vegetables do not always have this effect:

tomatoes, for example, are alkaline when raw, but very acidic once

cooked.

After several weeks on the above regimen, I have recently added hot

(cayenne) pepper to the garlic mix, and some whole grains, nuts and

lentils, which I buy in their original state, like birdseed. Sometimes

I eat these raw after soaking [ALL grains and nuts must be soaked in

water for at least several hours before eating; ideally, until they just

start to sprout], but sometimes I cook them like the rice, so I only

have to chew them maybe 100 times instead of 1000 times [;^/]. If

cooked, they get eaten with a digestive enzyme supplement, like any

other cooked meal.

I make sure I get a wide range of vegetables from different families,

not just the " usual " ones, and also make sure I eat a little raw onion

every day. It makes me sweat some, but has very beneficial effects,

similar to garlic, which is in the same family. Garlic and onion

together are better than either one alone.

Whenever available, I buy certified organic vegetables. Although they

cost a little more, they are probably better value, because they usually

have significantly higher nutritional values and are relatively free of

toxins (pesticides, herbicides,etc...) that damage our health.

Interestingly, hot cooked foods like curry are a trigger for me, so I

was skeptical about trying some of these things, but the " hot " tasting

garlic, ginger, and even the red peppers (in small amounts), despite

making my mouth " burn " , have not caused any real flares and have brought

me nothing but improvements. I've never liked eating hot, spicy foods

and avoided these all my life, but I force myself to eat these, because

they are so beneficial. It's a case of " no pain, no gain " .

Garlic has always made me very ill [Yes, I got teased a lot about being

a vampire!]. Until recently, the last time I ate it was in the 1980s,

and it made me feverish and very ill for three days. This time, I felt

sick and ran a low fever for 8 hours, until I finally fell asleep. The

next day, I actually felt a little better, so I tried it again. I got

sick again, but not as badly as the first night, and the next day I felt

even better, so I kept eating it. After about a week, the garlic no

longer made me sick. I later read in several places that garlic

intolerance is a clear sign of liver dysfunction, and there is clear,

proven chemistry to back this up. If anyone finds they cannot tolerate

garlic, they probably actually need to eat it!

Also regarding Garlic, the pills you can buy in the health stores do NOT

work, in my experience. It has to be raw, fresh garlic, and if you do

not want stomach discomfort, you have to chew it up first. This is near

agony for me, but it's the only way to get the real benefits. To get

rid of the smell, chewing and eating fresh parsley, apples and carrots

afterwards helps. I only eat the garlic in the evenings, and by the

morning there is no odor.

The results from all these changes have been dramatic, to say the

least. I am tempted to call it a miracle. I no longer am plagued with

gas and bloating that has bothered me for over 20 years, and the fat is

rapidly " melting " away from my whole body, although I eat as much as I

want without even thinking about calories or amounts. My waistline has

shrunk by more than three inches in the first month [my wife is

absolutely delighted by that!], and my previously tight trousers are now

so loose, I'll soon have to get a new wardrobe. My skin tone and skin

color all over my body has improved noticeably. It's smoother, more

flexible, more resilient, a little more transparent -- the best way to

describe it is that my skin looks YOUNGER than before. ALL of the

stiffness has left my joints and muscles, and I am more flexible now

than I have been since I was twenty years old (I just turned 42). I have

good posture again, whereas a few months ago my back was stooped over

like an old man's, and it was physically impossible for me to stand up

straight. My circulation has improved a lot, with visibly increased

blood vessels all over (but NOT the rosacea type of visible ones!).

Instead of fatigue, I have good energy all day long, and the " bounce "

has come back to my step. I have lost a substantial amount of retained

fluid that I didn't even realize I had: my face is more sculpted and my

muscles firmer, and along with this much of the " orange peel " of my

rosacea has gone. My blood pressure has dropped to a completely normal

approx. 120/80, and is quite steady. My heart doesn't pound anymore

after going up stairs, and I don't get out of breath; in fact, I now

ride a stationary bike until I get too bored or sweat too much (I don't

want to trigger a flush from the sweat, although it doesn't seem to be

as much of a trigger anymore). There doesn't seem to be a limit to my

endurance now -- at least, not within the first hour or two! A chronic

shoulder pain and a snapping in my knee (old sports injury site - had

surgery twice there) have simply disappeared. My liver has not fully

healed yet -- it takes several months for liver regeneration -- but it

is functioning better and better as time passes (I can tell from both

stool color and blood tests). My nasal and bronchial passages have

opened up and I breathe very easily. Not a hint of a cold or sore throat

or anything like that since I started this. Even the high air pollution

here doesn't seem to bother me anymore. I smell things and taste things

better now. I sleep better, fall asleep more quickly and wake up

earlier, and need less total sleep than I did before. This has been the

closest thing to a " fountain of youth " that I have ever experienced, or

even heard of.

As for the rosacea, it hasn't disappeared, but it improved quite a bit,

with my skin becoming less red, less dry and sensitive, thicker and more

" normal " feeling, with less thick oiliness in the oily areas, and with

more areas of natural (non-flushed) color, and with almost no more

papules and no pustules ... UNTIL the temperature shot up into the high

90's with high humidity last week. Hot, humid, sunny weather is by far

my worst trigger, and because of work I had to be out in it sometimes,

so it did make me relapse a bit. Still, I am sure it would have been

much, much worse if I hadn't already made such big improvements first.

The last two days have been rainy and a bit cooler, and the improvement

is returning rapidly.

To all the people who say they " tried the garlic, and it didn't work " , I

would suggest that maybe it takes more than just ONE or two things to

make a big difference that you see quickly. In my case, I went

completely nuts and changed everything at once, but the results have

been probably the best thing that has ever happened to me. By several

objective and subjective measures, my body has become from 5 to 25 years

younger, within a matter of weeks. I can't remember ever feeling

physically this good, except when I was a kid or teenager. I've taken up

weight training again, and plan to go dancing again soon, which I

haven't been able to do for ages. I'm applying for a new job, too. I

was prematurely aging and dragging through life, with potentially

life-threatening deterioration and little hope or optimism, only about

two months ago. These dietary changes have rapidly helped me to " get a

life " again.

I will never go back to the old ideas of eating, and I am optimistic

that once my liver has fully healed and my hormone, circulatory and

immune systems (which are already greatly improved) are very strong and

fully restored again, I may be able to completely eliminate all signs of

rosacea. [i actually came somewhat close to that, before the weather

got so hot again.] Like Dr. Nase, I have decided on a " zero tolerance "

attitude to disease, including rosacea, and although the war is not

over, many battles have been decisively won in very short order. Future

improvements will come more slowly and less dramatically, but they

should still come, and I will never give up trying to find better

solutions for better health.

Sorry for the very long post, but I hope this inspires/helps someone

else to try this approach, and experience the positive metamorphosis

that I have. If you can't do everything so completely at once, at least

do what you can, step-by-step, to make positive changes in the right

direction. The more improvements you make, the better chance you give

your body to achieve the health it wants to have. Whatever your health

problems are, and regardless of what other steps you take to heal,

feeding your body the kind of food it wants and needs, instead of the

usual junk, will accelerate your healing. Don't stop doing a good thing

just because you don't see immediate results from just one change. Some

things take a longer time to change, especially if not all the right

conditions are present. The more you can give your body of what it

wants (and eliminate what it doesn't want), the faster and more dramatic

the improvements will be.

I hope this post helps someone, the way Mark's post about the garlic mix

helped me get started. I sincerely apologize to anyone who resents it

being so long.

-Lee