Hi there all is there anyone that could give me some ideas, with food, juices, herbs, natural remedies for spots, have had them for the past two months, can't seem to shake them, I had clear skin for ages before then, I noticed they got bad since I had a bad period last month, been more emotoinal than usual.
Also I have a hyertrophic sare which is rather score, the doc want to give me a steriod injection, which I want to avoid at very cost! does anyone now any natural ways to help?

Thankyou Bracken X

Only thing that truly improved my skin was increasing my fitness level and improving my body composition. Basically, after gaining about 10 pounds of muscle and connective tissue my skin has become much less oily, blackheads and acne have dissapeard, and my skin is much more firm and resilient. I achieved this by mountain biking, and hiking daily plus lots of pushups, and increasing my caloric intake. The reason this worked, I suspect is because by becoming more fit I've improved my insulin sensitivity, and my extra physical activity helps put all my hormones to good use. Dietwise, I recommend either low carb or moderate carb with only low GI foods. For scars, you might benefit from rubbing in some organic cold-pressed rosehip seed oil.

Thank you jono, for your reply I do admit I don't excersise as much as I used too, it is hard for me now to find the right exercise as I have hip dysplasia in hips & (osteoprosis which was caused of years of ED) I do walk and do trampoline, & yoga trance dance, but I only have time to do this in the morning 20min -30mins a day if I can. I do sit alot of the day as I am a jewellry designer. I think I need to get my self better organised.

thanks again!

Bracken, if you commit yourself to raw, I think you'll slowly see your body improve in every way. It's slow, BUT it's in the right direction.

I have no idea what the things you mentioned are, but it seems to me that due to bad diet, ed,s, etc, our organs degenerate and aren't able to do the work they're meant to do, and this deterioration of function shows up in all kinds of ways - some visible some not. (I would never have guessed I would wind up with malfunctioning heart and kidneys, in addition to other problems).

As rawNora stated recently here, the only thing that knows what order reparations should be made in, is your body. So you won't necessarily see the results you want, but there will be reparations made, nonetheless. As or after the organs have healed, they will be able to work on the backlog of health or beauty problems.

For me, I think it will take about 2 years before my kidneys and heart have healed - this is just a guess, based on how long I think I've had the problems, etc. and I plan to increase the Raw and Rest intensity as soon as I can - in a few months, I hope.

I know my organs are still very compromised because I get the same symptoms from eating the few cooked foods or unsuitable raw foods I vary my diet with. I think you mentioned the difficulty you have choosing foods that don't upset your digestion in another post.

It sounds like your body has been really challenged by your past behaviour, (mine too.)

I've finally accepted that the only way back is clean diet (and living).

I hope you find your way with raw vegan, too and regain good health.

Blemish and acne free skin is hard to achieve for many of us it seems, doesn't it just annoy the heck out you when you see that absolute junk food eater with perfect skin and nice figure!

I have had acne myself for a about 12 years it seems to get better and worse in cycles, which to me helps show that our bodies do certain things in cycles, particularly cleansing.

The best thing to do in very unscientific terms is to just head toward a healthier life style over all over, diet and excersize.

My skin has improved since I started going to the gym 3 - 4 times a week, I always do 20 - 40 mins on the cross trainer when I go and then do different muscle group weights on different days.

I am not 100% raw but try to maintain at least 50% (I want to increase this amount slowly over time).

Most types of cleansing cause me to get more acne, usually a few days after the cleanse, so that is something to be aware of. The only one that doesn't is an apple fast (eat nothing but organic apples and drink water for 3 - 7 days) By the 3rd day you will also notice your acne reducing and the redness disapearing, but if you go back to your old habbits of eating your skin problems will return just as they were.

For me, I seem to break out more if I over eat more than any other time so I try to avoid doing that.

As Aquadecoco said a raw food diet will do it in time, but it is best not to dive into 100% raw straight away or you will likely revert to eating some cooked and binge on it (thats just my personal experience). As Jono said increasing your fitness level should help.

Focusing on an overall healthier and more natural life style seems to be helping my skin get clearer.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

Thankyou Aquadecoco & phil for you advice, I am trying to increase my raw foods, but i'm finding it so hard, as I had a flare up of I.B.S I was loose for about a 2 months then I was constipated around my last period. Where do you get the insoluble fibre from when eating raw? I got told that my bowel was creating a overflow where I had stools there but the loose was going over the top of it hence going from one extreme to another! I have thought of having a colonic but I just can't, as in the past of having internals has put me right off, as doctor once caused a 2 cm fissure inside, I do apologise for explaning all this it isn't nice. Plus I cant blulk up my stools too much as I always find them hard to pass as the muscel there is not used to it, as years having ED all i past was loose as I to laculose for years, I find it more comfortable loose but I know I am not properly cleaning my bowel. I feel really stuck for what to do?
I am trying to work out my excersise for the week. what do you guys eat a day if you don't mind me asking?

Thanks again & sorry for the indepths details.

Bracken X

Is there any way you could take a rest for a few months and cleanse? It would be quite hard at first but you'd get better much faster.

I have really simple meals: grated yam with chopt tomato, red pepper, cuke, lemon juice and a little avocado (or a simpler version of this) nearly every meal! I don't know why this is nearly all I feel like eating.

I also have been making a quart of green smoothie daily: lettuce or kale, lots of parsley, a little spoonful of raw organic tahini, and a date or three depending on my mood.

I'm not 100% raw: I have green chai every morning - love it, but can't wait to not 'need' it anymore. If I'm exercising a lot I wind up eating carrot cake (cooked) for the carbs I guess. My taste for most of the foods I used to eat has nearly disappeared - nearly everyone here seems to find the same thing, so with time and focus, you'll probably be more interested in finding raw things you like.

I can't eat fruits now - not sure why, I guess I just can't digest them, so I'll stick to what works. In other words, my diet is not an ideal raw diet.

Bracken,

It may be worth you looking into the apple fast I mentioned, apples contain pectin which is a truly excellent type of fiber and shouldn't make your bowels loose. It seems to normalize digestive transit.

You can google it to find more info, but basically you eat nothing but organic apples for a minimum of 3 days, drink only water (no tea or coffee etc).
On the morning you break your fast drink a glass of fresh Orange Juice eat a salad or fruits for lunch and slowly go back to a "normal" diet.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

Hello,

Let me introduce myself. I recently became a member on this forum and well since im not a TRUE veg. I still love this site so so much.

Anywhoo, I use to drink a gallon of cayenne pepper, lemon with distilled water everday for two weeks and my skin and eyes GLOWED!!

My skin was flawless, glowy, and dewy even after i went to bed late several nites and the whites of my eyes never been so WHITE!

True Story

My aunt saw me one morning and asked me what I was doing to my skin. I said nothing really and she said that the whites of my eyes are shiny and bright.then she mention how my skin was glowy. She jokely, ask if I was having sex because my skin looked so healthy with a radiant glow. LOL

The secret is .....the Drink

Cayenne- builds and increase circulation
Lemon- cleanses system
Distilled Water elimantes waste

Its not vegetarian like but it does help with skin.

PS This drink also helps you LOSE WEIGHT. Try atleast 1 pound a day.

Thankyou all for all the tips and sugestions, I sadly don't have time to rest & cleanse, but I will check out the apple cleanse, little worried of the juice cleanses though as I don't want to loose any more weight as I am 7st 2& am 5ft 5, under weight for my height, i'll give the cayenne a go for a while see how that goes Thanks again X

bracken Wrote:
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little worried of the juice cleanses though as I don't want to
loose any more weight as I am 7st 2& am 5ft 5, under weight for my height.


For me juice cleanses are difficult, at least with the Apple Fast you are still eating, I mean it's not technically a fast it's like a mono eating cleanse I guess. Some people do well on juice though, it's just whatever works for you.



tasha2003 Wrote:
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> Cayenne- builds and increase circulation
> Lemon- cleanses system
> Distilled Water elimantes waste
>
> Its not vegetarian like but it does help with
> skin.


Tasha, those ingredients look vegetarian to me.
This is similar to the drink on the Master Cleanser by Stanley Burroughs, which is excellent.

Distilled water is very well absorbed by the body, so when you drink it you get properly hydrated, unfortunately where I live right now Distilled water at a resonable price, when I was in the US I could just go into Walmart and grab couple of gallons for like 56 cents each or something. Oh well I will be back next year.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

How much lemon & cayanne do I need to put in the water? Cheers!

There's debate about distilled water, though......many people feel it's unnatural - it's condensed steam, so it's Cooked.


Some people say you should only use it for a short period of time and that it leeches minerals out of your body, almost as soon as you drink it.

I've drunk distilled water all my life and avoid any other type, I like it fresh and avoid the bottled distilled water. A distiller was the first thing I bought after leaving home. After opening up my distiller every day and seeing the junk that I'm NOT drinking I'm SO happy that I have a distiller.

I think it is natural, it mimics the natural cycle of water evaporating into clouds and then falling as rain.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/13/2007 05:58PM by tropical.

So tropical, you don't have any problem with mineral loss? There's so much debate about water and every side has its points.

All I can say is that my dentist did some kind of bone test and said I was fine.

I get my minerals from my food, the minerals I see on the inside of my distiller look like hard water stains from a dripping faucet and I think that they are supposed to be indigestable.

I drink bottled mineral water2 litres a day is that ok to drink or is there something I should know about that?

aquadecoco Wrote:
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> There's debate about distilled water,
> though......many people feel it's unnatural - it's
> condensed steam, so it's Cooked.
>
>
> Some people say you should only use it for a short
> period of time and that it leeches minerals out of
> your body, almost as soon as you drink it.


Cooked water? I still think that the best distilled water is in fruit but I really wouldn't worry about water evaporation, it happens all the time in nature. It clearly helps a lot of people, and I for one find my body absorbs it better than purified, spring or tap.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

tropical Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> All I can say is that my dentist did some kind of
> bone test and said I was fine.
>
> I get my minerals from my food, the minerals I see
> on the inside of my distiller look like hard water
> stains from a dripping faucet and I think that
> they are supposed to be indigestable.


Yes, the minerals in water are in a form that plants are able to break down, then we get the broken down version from them which is in a form our bodies can use.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

bracken Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I drink bottled mineral water2 litres a day is
> that ok to drink or is there something I should
> know about that?


Just my thoughts:

Do whatever is works best for you, try other types if you want. I filter mine via a Brita jug since I am in the UK and can't get distilled for a resonable price.
I find, as I said before that the best water is in plant life, fruit in particular so try getting a good amount of your water from those. Then make up the rest with whatever water you find is best.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

The evaporation in nature isn't the result of heating the water as hot as a distiller (usually). That's the argument I read.

I've been looking around at water filters so am going in circles about what's best.

I've been doing some research on drinking water to see what I should be drinking and the best recommendation I've found so far is to use a faucet Brita/Pur type carbon filter which gets some things out. Then put that water through a distiller which gets the rest of the stuff out. (The carbon gets a few bugs out that the distiller can't alone.) THEN, you can "remineralize" the water by adding a pinch of salt (not sure on the amount, you'd have to look it up) OR I've seen bottles of this stuff where you add a capful or so to remineralize distilled water.

I've read that the sources of mineral water aren't always reliable and the minerals could be polluted.

I haven't personally bought a distiller yet. A juicer is first on the list! But we do have a Pur carbon faucet filter and it seems to be doing a nice job. Just seeing the junk come out of the faucet that was sitting on that aerator/washer piece when I installed the filter was gross.

aquadecoco Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The evaporation in nature isn't the result of
> heating the water as hot as a distiller (usually).
> That's the argument I read.
>
> I've been looking around at water filters so am
> going in circles about what's best.



One certainly can't argue with that, however water does not have enzymes, nor does it get broken really or digested like food, it is mucus binding and not mucus forming.

The chemical composition is not really changed either, other than removing trace minerals/contaminants etc when the steam cools (and reverts back to water) it is no different from a chemical analysis point of view that the H2O had before it was heated, which as we know isn't the same with food.

Phil.

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"Those who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it" (Chinese Proverb)

To improve your spots/skin, improve your health. See this recent post about improving your health.

As for osteoporosis, on a low fat raw vegan diet, your bones will regenerate. Rosalind Gruben wrote about her personal experience of having 50% bone loss, and after being on the raw vegan diet, her bone loss is zero.

Supervised water fasting will help with the hypertrophic scar. However, with fasting, the body has its own agenda, and will heal thing in the order it sees best serves the body. Since scar tissue is going to be low on priority in terms of your general health and well being, this make require a longer fast. If you simply improve your health living a hygienic lifestyle (with a low fat raw vegan diet), this will ultimately heal itself.

Thankyou Bryan for your input, is it still ok to eat seeds & nut regular as I know they contain oils,the nuts & seeds are what keep the weight on me at mo, I have them on my breakfast & on salads? I am a little worried as I as before about fasting as i am underweight & I am currantly in need of putting on weight as My hubby & I want to try for children in the near future.
And taking into account that I am not eating 100% raw at mo. I eat little & offen all day, that is the way I recovered from E.D for just over 10 years. I'm 29 now & I really want to heal my body after what I did to it all them years.
I still eat a little brown rice with salads about twice a week, & cooKed lental burger or vegan burger(homemade a day) & maybe 1-2 wallaby bars a day, but I have been replacing the with raw food bars. Any help is well appreciated!

Kind regards
Julie

Hi Tasha,

Were you eating food, too, in addition to drinking that lemon cayenne water? And in what amounts do you mix the ingredients? I think I want to try that!

Julie I want to urge you NOT to try to have a baby until you're much healthier. You won't regret waiting. The stress on an unhealthy body, unhealthy organs could ruin your health for many years and it needs to be strong, not just for the pregnancy but for the few years following.

I didn't realize I had weak kidneys but after having my kids, I was very unhealthy and very miserable for many years.

I would hate to think of someone going through what I did- very hard on the family, too.

Hi aquadecoco I wont be trying yet as I Know I need to be more healthier in body & mind. I have alot of things I need to check out with docs etc yet, My hip dysplasia, which means my hips easily dislocate so the carring of the baby is a issue, plus I will have to have a C section, I have low blood pressure & weakened sphincter muscle & get acid reflux easy( caused by bulima) and I want to get over my O.C.D too! I want to give it a year or two, don't want to leave it too late though, being 30 this year!

Thanks for that though!

Chronologically you're 30, but if you rebuild your body you will be much younger than you are now.


I also want to say that the people here who eat the simplest sound quite radical in their advice: but that's only because we are all so used to believing SWD rules about nutrition.

Try Bryan's advice about eating only ripe fruits and vegs. Then add dense fat and protein foods (nuts, avos, etc,) ONLY when you crave them, or feel you really want them. That way you'll avoid including them in meals just because of your old conditioning about nutrition.

I have no qualms about including avos, nuts, raw nut butters in my diet when I WANT them. But for the first several months of going raw, I was including them because I was afraid I wouldn't feel full otherwise, afraid I would deprive my body of essential nutrients, and just because I had always based a meal around heavier foods.

I know you're worried about losing weight so feel the fats are important.

But the raw diet, or Natural Hygiene, etc, has its own set of nutrition rules.

It's really worthwhile to try to adopt them and disregard all the stuff you think you know about nutrition. Even if you just try Bryan's advice for a day or a few hours at a time, you'll only have an idea how you feel once you've tried it.

Truthfully, I had to slowly, through trial and error and advice, accept that my ideas about my nutritional needs were just wrong on raw diet.

It's like taking English grammar rules and applying them to Portuguese - they don't work.



I have low blood pressure too.

Thankyou again aquadecoco I will give it a go, I see what you mean about the nutritional thing I do see a nutritisionist, she is a sensitivity tester too, she has helped me a great deal brought me back from the brink of dying, so it it hard to try somethhing new, but I am determind to go raw, i think it will take time for me but I know I will get there, cheers so much!

Take it easy Ju X