hi Fire, fixing the things you mentioned did nothing for me. I have food intolerances similar to yours. I got a skin prick test, and also a similar blood test. for me, I only react to the skin prick, all blood tests came back inaccurate. I later found out I had an overgrowth of bad bacteria and candida. I fixed those over a year or two, got retested for confirmation - but now I react to even more foods than before. if you google my username you will see a lot of posts (many on curezone) from my journey over the years. I've more or less fixed everything I wrote about that was bothering me - and nothing has fixed my food intolerances which is why I started on this journey in the first place. I also tried quercetin for histamine, also otc histamine blockers - did nothing. TMG/betaine for stomach acid, nothing. Ox bile/enzymes for digestion.. nothing. capsule probiotics, homemade kefir, sauerkraut, kombucha, nothing (but I rarely get colds now!) - at first these broke me out but that went away. I have a closest full of supplements. Oh.. vitamin A in a high enough dose does work for me - however, as I'm sure you're aware from this site, that's highly toxic so I don't do that. the bright side is... if I avoid those foods and eat what I know I'm ok with, I'm 100% clear. it sucks because the list is quite small. I think my reactions are inflammatory cytokines. but even things on the anti-inflammatory diet still bother me, like turmeric, beans, etc. if you have any suggestions, lemme know. good luck!

-MGL

maybe this is the answer,

[Removed], his first article on the page from Sept 11, "Peanut Allergy Cause & Cure"

it won't let me cut & paste the URL

if that doesn't work, google Dr. Art Ayers. I've been reading him for a long time but this is the first I've seen of his recommendation to try Clostridium butyricum for food allergies. in fact, I have some AOR 3 probiotic in the fridge, but it has milk so I never took it. I will now!

Those were the foods my TCM doc restricted me from, too.

I saw a movie about Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Syndrome called SAFE starring Julianne Moore. I feel like my issues with food and topical is like that, worse and worse over time, the body getting sick of continuing to have to tolerate foreign invaders. Humans weren't supposed to live this long..

mygutleaks, THANKS for the answer. This is very helpful to me.

I saw that you cured your gut by not eating any sugar and carbs for a year and taking nystatin and other antifungals.

I have a strong willpower, I think I could do it, cos this is the only way my skin stays clearer. Sorry if I bother you with too many questions, but do you think it is safe to do the low carb thing (basically vegs, rotating variety between hormone free meat, chicken, fish etc.) for so long? I fear it might be dangerous on my hormones... I dont know. Also did you eat some beans or lentils or really hard core no carbs? If yes, then respect. I think about 2 times a week some lentils, some pumpkin for example.

My other problem is I have a strong intolerance to the best antifungal coconut oil. I know I could use other antifungals (no medications), but will they be just as effective? I eat a whole lot of garlic

I will be happy if you write down some basic resumee of the most important things you did during this year of healing. Did you eat animal products every day? I try to eat them just 3 times a week. Did you eat nuts? I can eat walnuts.

P.S. i dont have a problem with the fact that I have food allergies against the above mentioned thing, cos I really dont think they are healthy anyways (besides tomatoes maybe, coocnuts). I eat paleo, my concern is just the fruits. If I could eat fruit and stay clear... oh Dear.... I will be SO happy. I am afraid to start eating it on a regular basis.

hi Fire, forgive me I have been traveling and forgot to check the post. yes, I did the no-carb thing for a while, it was horrible. I think it was 6 months. I feel better overall having done it, and now have no candida in my gut, but I suspect I was too strict. I think you are right to eat some lentils, beans, brown rice, etc., if you can tolerate them (for me, tolerating means not breaking out). being too low carb will hurt one's gut flora. but, i also think it depends on your personal reactions. candida eats carbs so that's why I was strict. Also, if you want to go low carb for some reason, just make sure get enough prebiotics (more below on that).
for me, I believe it's my lack of gut flora - possibly missing some keystone species as Dr. Ayers calls them, that makes me break out from certain foods. maybe the candida played a role indirectly too, by keeping certain flora from growing, but i just dunno. I'm currently trying that probiotic I mentioned above even though it has lactose, but won't know for a few days if it makes any difference as i just started.

have you ever taken antibiotics? if not, your gut flora might be just fine. the hormone issue makes me think poor fat digestion (you also mentioned coconut oil which is all fat). i can tolerate coconut oil, but i break out from coconut meat/milk. a good way to improve fat digestion is by taking ox bile with meals that contain fats. it will also help kill gut candida. I buy the Nutricology brand and take it once/day when i eat an avocado. I also take a digestive enzyme once/day with my morning meal. to improve stomach acid, you could try TMG (trimethylglycine) and zinc/b-vitamins. I learned that from an herbalist on curezone. I was taking betaine hcl but TMG is the precursor of betaine, and will help the stomach make its own acid rather than relying on the pill. if you take these things and feel blah, you could take molybdenum or NAC. if it's candida, it gives off aldehydes as a byproduct when it dies (i think alcohol is literally acetylaldehyde) - and it can make you feel like a hangover - so don't drink much while you're doing this. molybdenum sythesizes it and makes it non-toxic. also when bad bacteria die, they give off byproducts like ammonia so NAC would help with that. Now foods makes a NAC with molybdenum and selenium added in and it's a good price. but NAC can have side efx, and you might need more like 150 - 300mg molyb. anyways my feeling is that if your hormones are off and you breakout, there's a good possiblity it is poor digestion so look in to other ways to improve it such as by eating fermented foods like sauerkraut - i make my own. eat prebiotics often like inulin, buckwheat (bob's redmill hot cereal is good- but make sure to soak it - google how to properly soak grains), chickory root, arabinogalactan (larch tree fiber), unmodified potato starch, raw onion, banana, veggies are also a prebiotic - mix them up to maintain gut diversity. you'll find lots on prebiotic suggestions if you google it. also, drink 20-30 minutes before meals and not during, 2+ hours after.

Have you had any other testing done? A functional medicine doctor could give you tests such as the Metametrix to check your gut for bad bacterial, candida, etc. i had all the testing done and still no help (and cost me thousands) - personally i'd say save the $ and experiment on yourself. but.. this is all coming from someone who still hasn't cured himself - now i just manage it by not eating the offending foods. to answer your ?, i do eat meat often (since so much else bothers me). Also nuts currently bother me, but they haven't always. i will try them again soon. sometimes something bothers me, then it doesn't, so i eat a lot of it, then eventually it bothers me again. other things like avocado, buckwheat, etc., i eat all the time, and it never bothered me.

Also, if your thyroid is off, you could try adding selenium in to your diet - one or two brazil nuts/day would give you the right dose. be careful you don't OD on it though, i believe 400mg/day is the most you'd want to get. you could try an adrenal supplement to help with the cortisol - but if you do this, i would suggest going to the functional medicine doc for advice. a good test that i had done is called Genova Diagnostics NutrEval test. however, everything might correct itself if it is digestion that's a problem... one can hope! good luck!

-MGL

how do u get tested for this?

i remember some time ago i wanted to do a 'full scale food intolorence test' like the one u described after reading some stuff about it, and i went to allergy/immunology doctor and he wasnt even sure what i mean and that i dont need it and shit like that, and im not even sure such a test is widely available here.

so did u go to a private clinic or something? or its widely avaiable in ur country?

I also have too much cortisol, testosterone and DHEA-S, TSH on the higher side, low estrogen.

Androgens (testosterones) stimulate acne. DHEA-S can convert to testosterone. Estrogen on the other hand is anti-inflammatory and also helps counteract testosterone.

Since you're high in both testosterone and DHEA-S, and low in estrogen, you are fighting a serious hormone imbalance.

Some people can control their hormones through diet. I couldn't, and I'm as willpowered as they come. Maybe changing what you eat simply cannot reverse years of hormonal imbalance...like the body gets to a new normal and won't leave it without serious hormone replacement therapy. I couldn't even get it under control with a tiny list of food. At one point I was basically eating the blandest vegetables and only a bit of meat and water. My acne didn't improve.

I tried going down some other routes to find a root cause, like getting my thyroid tested, getting an allergy panel done...and nothing conclusive there either.

I take spironolactone. If your elevated androgens are mostly adrenal, spiro is the best thing. If they're mostly ovarian, then certain types of oral contraceptives help more there (only a few certain types though--most OCs make it worse). Although I guess i haven't found the "root" cause--why are my hormones so out of whack even though I have a great, low-stress, healthy lifestyle? But I am much happier because my acne is under control. And it is nice to just life a more "normal" lifestyle...I still eat healthy but I indulge now and then, and I don't have to worry that a new crop of pimples will greet me the next day.

Hey,

thank you all for the answers!!!!!

I am already 1 month into the no candida diet and am seeing results.

I take probiotics, maca, spirulina and a whole bunch of other supplements. I am convinced my acne is 100% gut related and not hormonal.

I did the vegs-meat-fish thing for 2 weeks and couldnt manage more. I then introduced some COLD beans, lentils and recently also COLD potatoes. Yeah, potatoes. They have resistant starch and feed good bacteria. I also started to eat around 200 g sauerkraut (home made) a day and am really feeling better. I also introduced some walnuts and green apples. I firmly believe that the no carb thing would hurt me in the long term. Now with the probiotics my skin break out only if I eat over 500 calories of starch or fruit or if I sleep with make up (not on purpouse). I dont know what is the main reason for the improvement, but I dont want to quit carbs for sure. Hope it helps... I even drink 1/2 espresso a day ( I know its bad, but I have exams and I NEED something that makes me happy, so 1/2 small italian espresso, 5 times a week).

I took antibiotics for years, every year since I was a child. My last antibiotica was in february I think..... The immune system is totally broken, but hopefully I will be able to restore it. If the carbs start breaking me out, I will remove them, but since I started taking the probiotics, my face is "a whole different story".

I will keep you in touch for my results, maybe I could help someone else

I used to do abx every year too, but since eating better and avoiding allergens I no longer need them. seems like u r on the right track. careful with things like spirulina (and chlorella, algae too). they can have a negative affect on the immune system and also stir up/redistribute toxins.

Candida is rarely the issue, even though many think it is. The issue is general dysbiosis, caused by an imbalance in usually bacteria. A probiotic rich diet of whole foods will still help this condition, however; but avoiding sugars is largely unnecessary if the sugars are coming from whole food sources in reasonable amounts.

Hey,

thank you all for the answers!!!!!

I am already 1 month into the no candida diet and am seeing results.

I take probiotics, maca, spirulina and a whole bunch of other supplements. I am convinced my acne is 100% gut related and not hormonal.

I did the vegs-meat-fish thing for 2 weeks and couldnt manage more. I then introduced some COLD beans, lentils and recently also COLD potatoes. Yeah, potatoes. They have resistant starch and feed good bacteria. I also started to eat around 200 g sauerkraut (home made) a day and am really feeling better. I also introduced some walnuts and green apples. I firmly believe that the no carb thing would hurt me in the long term. Now with the probiotics my skin break out only if I eat over 500 calories of starch or fruit or if I sleep with make up (not on purpouse). I dont know what is the main reason for the improvement, but I dont want to quit carbs for sure. Hope it helps... I even drink 1/2 espresso a day ( I know its bad, but I have exams and I NEED something that makes me happy, so 1/2 small italian espresso, 5 times a week).

I took antibiotics for years, every year since I was a child. My last antibiotica was in february I think..... The immune system is totally broken, but hopefully I will be able to restore it. If the carbs start breaking me out, I will remove them, but since I started taking the probiotics, my face is "a whole different story".

I will keep you in touch for my results, maybe I could help someone else

How did you get the 300 food test? was it through a naturopath? Also, was it specifically an intolerance test? My test results for allergy blood test came back innacurate, but my prick test gave some results.