101 replies to this topic

[alternativista]

So apparently feelings of thirst, fatigue, rhinitus, etc can be symptoms of low functioning adrenals.

[alternativista]

Inspired by a discussion on male pattern balding along with this discussion, I've decided to start applying peppermint oil topically to problem hirsute areas. Since I moisturize my legs, and feet with oil anyway, I've added a few drops of peppermint oil to the last 1" of almond oil left in my bottle.

I put about 5 drops. I don't think that's much, but I didn't want to irritate. I may add more. Started this today and applied to my legs, bikini line area and chin. And a little on my hands, arms, toes etc while I was at it.

Clove oil might also be a type II 5a-reductase inhibitor and I think I might rather smell like cloves. I'll look into it.

[alternativista]

This allergy formula sinus busters seems to be doing me some good. My nose is a little runny, as in normal drainage, I think. Since they mainly talk about helping with airborne allergens, in other words, not foods, I'm thinking I may have been mildly allergic to my pets all along. And the worsening of my symptoms may have coincided with having pets indoors more often. Growing up, the dogs were mostly outside and cats indoor/outdoor, but thrown out by my Mom most of the time. And per tests, I am mildly allergic to cat and dog dander.

[alternativista]

Things you don't want in your nail polish: toluene, formaldehyde, pthalates. Supposedly clear and pastel shades are less toxic. According to Bill Nye, they use half the formaldehyde when embalming dead people these days because the bodies already contain so much of it.

I don't paint my finger nails, but I did use to always keep my toenails painted. And I did it by applying it messily and letting it flake off my skin. So I was putting that crap on my skin. It was pastel though.

Xenoestrogens sources to avoid:
chain and back into the body. They are fat soluble and non-biodegradable.

Petrochemical compounds found in general consumer products such as creams, lotions, soaps, shampoos, perfume, hair spray and room deodorizers. Such compounds often have chemical structures similar to estrogen and indeed act like estrogen. Other sources of xenoestrogen include car exhaust, petrochemically derived pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides; solvents and adhesives such as that those found in nail polish, paint removers, and glues; dry-cleaning chemicals; practically all plastics, industrial waste such as PCBs and dioxins, synthetic estrogens from urine of women taking HRT and birth control pills that is flushed down the toilet and eventually found its way into the food

More about excess estrogen, xeno or otherwise, and the liver in this DIM thread.

I've stopped taking BCPs, btw. This is my first month without. I was only taking them because I tried it for hirsutism, then thought i might need them soon and it's not good to go on and off them. And I paid a lot of money for my last gyno exam. Which reminds me, I plan to complain to the BBB.

Also, I've been using less and less chemical products. I mostly use baking soda, vinegar and water, and less often, bleach and water for cleaning which I have done for years. I've been moisturizing mostly with oil, but still have some under eye cream. I don't wash with soap or cleanser much, other than my hands and my face to get makeup off although I may start oil cleansing instead.

And I use shampoo and conditioner. And hair dye although it's a milder ammonia free semo-permanent type. And I have a cupboard full of assorted old fake tanners, hair removal and hair stuff. I only put the fake tanners on my legs. And I have a half dozen perfumes that I wear occasionally.

Read up on environmental estrogens, hormone mimickers and endocrine disruptors.

More

Edited by alternativista, 26 March 2010 - 05:31 PM.

[alternativista]

Link to abstract on study on diet and PCOS:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1820396...Pubmed_RVDocSum

Unfortunately, it's a pretty useless abstract.

[Ness3389]

hey,

Are nicomide and Niacinamide the same thing, because when I look them up they seem to be, but I am able to get Niacinamide without a prescription. Is Nicomide stronger?

[alternativista]

Bunch of studies about circadian rhythm, sleep, melatonin...

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10373104
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10373104
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1553220...ogdbfrom=pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1684065...ogdbfrom=pubmed

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1457212...ogdbfrom=pubmed


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1248536...ogdbfrom=pubmed

Excerpt from book on the evolution of the exploitation of plants and animals:
http://www.google.com/search?q=grains+pre-...art=20&sa=N

[alternativista]

So, I recently read in an article on nutrients for PCOS that chasteberry vitex helps hormones by helping the pituitary gland so it properly produces the hormones it's supposed to. And one of the causes of diabetes insipidus, if that's what I have, is damage to the pituitary gland. I think I'll try this.

Also, I quit taking BCP several months ago and think that the hair on my legs has gotten a bit coarser. So maybe it was having an effect, not that I ever noticed the improvement. Not like I did when I started drinking the peppermint tea. It's hard to say since I can't do a side by side comparison, maybe I just got used to the level of coarseness and now what I used to think was an improvement seems like too much. I've started brewing stronger tea in hopes to compensate.

[alternativista]

Started taking chasteberry vitex yesterday.

[ameliabright]

Hi! Your log is great, btw!

I had kind of shooed away the idea about diet related acne (for me personally, that is) because I was vegan for 3 years and rarely ate any refined sugar (only wheat bread, rolled oats, brown rice, etc) ate lots of beans and lentils, veggies, fruit, and soy. My skin was better than it is now (that is mild acne) but it didn't improve while I was vegan.

But recently I started doing ABG fairy's green smoothies--I've been doing them for 6 days now, and I haven't seen any difference in my skin, but i love drinking them and they're certainly good for general health! Anyway, I was wondering if you could maybe post exactly what you eat on any given day--like yesterday, for example. thanks!

[alternativista]

Anyway, I was wondering if you could maybe post exactly what you eat on any given day--like yesterday, for example. thanks!

How about you review my posts in this 'What I ate today' thread. This link goes to my first post.

http://www.acne.org/messageboard/index.php...t&p=2538745

[alternativista]

Started taking chasteberry vitex yesterday.

So my hirsutism has gotten a lot better. The hairs on my chin for example are really fine and hardly noticeable. This just started a couple of days ago i think. And not long before they had been really coarse, I think about as coarse as before I started the peppermint tea while on BC. But it could be a normal hormone fluctuation causing it as it's ovulation time about now.

[alternativista]

^It also just occurred to me that over the last several days, I'd been out of my usual peppermint tea and used some spearmint or mint blends, which maybe worked better. But peppermint is supposed to be more potent.

Well, I've been back to using my regular peppermint tea for about a week and I don't think it's affected growth.

Edited by alternativista, 08 October 2009 - 12:02 PM.

[Deadmau5]

I rather take this approach now I'm excited to start.

[alternativista]

Well, more time has passed, so I would say it is the vitex that is helping with my hirsutism.

Edited by alternativista, 19 October 2009 - 12:53 PM.

[puffymuff]

Hi,

Interesting thread. I definitely believe there to be a link between diet and acne and I think it comes down to common sense, for example eat as many fresh foods in their natural form as possible and as little as possible of refined and processed foods so as not to overload your system. I've had gestational diabetes twice now and found that a low GI diet focusing on natural foods and fresh vegetables really cleared my skin up!! I have recently stopped breastfeeding my baby and have been slack with my diet and my skin is horrible right now.

It's interesting you mention Vitex as I have also read that it works on the pituary gland (in the brain) to regulate hormones thus helping with hormone related problems. (it does not contain any sort of hormone however) Unfortunately it hasn't directly improved my skin but has shortened my period cycle from 37 days down to 30.

I am going to continue taking Vitex but plan on going back to my low GI diet and cutting out sugar. I also drink spearmint or peppermint tea as it is supposed to be antiandrogenic. Some supplements I plan on taking shortly are: zinc, b6 vitamin, licorice extract, ground flaxseed, vitamin E. I just started back on th bcp pill today (yasmine) and currently take fish oil supplements (cold pressed alaskan salmon), vitex, iron tabs with vitamin c and magnesium.

I personally think my hormones are to blame though I have never had them tested and believe my skin problems are further exacerbated by my diet.

I biggest vices are coffee (about 3-4 cups per day) and chocolate but I don't think I can stop and don't really want to stop!!

[alternativista]

hmm. So I've had some kind of acne going on on my back since sometime mid-summer. At first it was non-inflammed tiny things. Not like I can see it. It's all up and down my spine including the back of my neck. I used to get acne there, but haven't for many years. At first I thought maybe it was from the extreme heat, but summer is long over. And the ones on my neck have been there for a really long time. I've never had any pimples that didn't heal before, other than giant cysts that just took a long time to heal.

But starting in the last month, I've gotten a few cysts, mostly on my back, one on my neck, one on my jaw. I need to figure out what i've been doing. The cysts are small and heal fast at least, due to my anti-inflammatory diet habits. I was worried it was the Vitex, but I see I started that in September.

I also haven't been regular since some date in May. I don't know why. I eat a lot of fiber, drink a lot of water. And think I get adequate fats, but even if not, I've tried taking spoonfuls of olive oil, coconut oil, etc. I take small doses of epsom salts every few days and I've just managed to force down ACV for three days in a row.

I also quit washing with cleanser most days starting late spring. So I've decided I should go back to washing my back with a cleanser again.

Edit for new thoughts:
And I was taking MSM which I've stopped a couple of weeks ago. I'm not sure when I started.

I've also been eating more flaxseed. Not by the tablespoon or anything, just sprinkled on top of oatmeal or whatever. And again, not sure when I started that, but I stopped a few weeks ago. But flax seed breaks some people out due to the estrogenic effect. I'm also having Chia seed.

And at first I was having quite a lot of peanut butter on sprouted grain toast. This was a nearly daily breakfast. But I quit that during the summer. I do have almonds, cashews, etc nearly daily as a snack.

I keep thinking my skin is a bit better, but it hasn't gone away. The cysts have stopped though. It was mostly in the weeks before thanksgiving.

Ohh, and I started having stronger peppermint tea in hopes to help my hirsutism. But according to this log, that started in August. Or at least, I made a note of it in August. Peppermint tea is also estrogenic somehow.

Edited by alternativista, 15 December 2009 - 06:08 PM.

[White Fox]

How are you doing with the back acne at the moment? have you found the trigger? And also, how did you discover that oranges where causing some of your acne?

[alternativista]

How are you doing with the back acne at the moment? have you found the trigger? And also, how did you discover that oranges where causing some of your acne?

It's way better, but not gone. I haven't gotten anymore cysts since the one's mentioned above. And it seemed to go away about the same time as I got back to being regular. But I also started washing my back with a cleanser again. I also haven't had any flax seed in a while either.

I also started taking fish oil again. I hadn't taken it since before last summer because I meant to have fish several times a week, but I often didn't manage that.

Edited by alternativista, 11 February 2010 - 11:58 AM.

[alternativista]

Just added an MSM capsule to my aloe, green tea, niacinimide and oil concoction. Will report later if it makes a difference.

Also, i think my back stopped breaking out a long time ago. Maybe it was the extreme summer heat or other change that occurred over the summer. It's just that this type of non-inflamed acne doesn't just go away. It has to be extracted or exfoliate away. I know that's the case with the blackheads. I've never had these other little non inflamed closed comedones before.

I've been increasing my use of BHA to try to speed the process.