Hi
Having lots of problems with ear congestion.
This always happens about three or four months into eating a very high raw diet or having juice feasted for a couple of weeks. If I ease off on raw the ears return to 'normal', so its connected.

Its driving me crazy. My hearing is impaired and there appears to be some inflammation / pressure. (sinuses are clear)
Im using chamomile essential oil, which helps with the inflammation.
Im also using a netti pot, which has helped in the past, but does not appear to be helping just now.

Ive had my ears checked in the past, there is never any ear wax associated with this.
Has anyone else experienced these symptoms?
Its probably part of my higher detox process. It lasts for months, Its very uncomfortable. It takes the shine off all the positive aspects that eating high raw brings.

Any advice welcome
FFX

This may possibly be caused from a lack of fats, probably various essential fatty acids.

Are you eating enough fat out of interest ?.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

In the past people would have said it is detox, the forum has matured.

Hi powerlifer

My fat intake has been low recently.
I will increase it and see what happens.
Come to think about it, my fat intake would have been low every time that I experienced these symptoms in the past.

Thanks for your help

fat is the new penicillin. agree with pl. i don't like low-fat diets.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/26/2012 10:51PM by HeavenHands.

madinah Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> In the past people would have said it is detox,
> the forum has matured.

Um...it IS most likely the detox. Fruit Faery, you said it yourself: "this always happens after a juice feast or few months high-raw."

I am an earwax person and not even high-raw. I once asked a doc what caused it and she shrugged her shoulders and said it just happens. Ugh. No, it's MY place of exit for...ahem...toxins. I don't doubt for a sec that if I actually went high-raw or 100% it would clear up (especially if I went totally vegan)

It is detox

I don't think that her congestion is caused by ear wax.

banana who Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> madinah Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > In the past people would have said it is detox,
> > the forum has matured.
>
> Um...it IS most likely the detox. Fruit Faery, you
> said it yourself: "this always happens after a
> juice feast or few months high-raw."
>
> I am an earwax person and not even high-raw. I
> once asked a doc what caused it and she shrugged
> her shoulders and said it just happens. Ugh. No,
> it's MY place of exit for...ahem...toxins. I don't
> doubt for a sec that if I actually went high-raw
> or 100% it would clear up (especially if I went
> totally vegan)

If it is detox, it will pass all by itself without you needing to add or modify stuff in your diet. I would ride it out, and get more rest and sleep when you are experiencing the symptoms, and see if it passes after a few weeks. Detox usually last only a few weeks and then the symptoms are gone forever.

Hehe, and I thought it was just me not working on my ears during showers

This happened to me twice in my life, suddenly and randomly. I woke up one morning and thought I was deaf. It was horrifying, until I found out it was just... earwax.

I was told there is apparently no rhyme or reason. I researched it heavily and found nothing really informative. It's just a mystery of the body.

(TMI alert)

The first time, I also had my ears flushed with water, because the plug was so severe. When it was removed, the doctor let me see it, and it looked like (it makes me laugh SO HARD) a giant piece of dog food. It was the weirdest and most sudden and inexplicable happening.

I've never heard of detox through the ears by means of wax, but what Prana suggests is a good way to find out. You might have to have your ears flushed after a few weeks, but if it's detox the wax won't build up again. But if it's a normal happening, then it may be something in your diet, or the lack of something.

The reason i suspect fat is because i myself had ear congestion issues and they were caused by a lack of fat, essential fatty acids in particular. But mine was because i was malabsorbing fat due to my liver and gallbladder.

Detox is a very very over-rated buzzword in my opinion, not that detoxification doesn't happen, just it doesn't generally happen in the way people believe. Most detoxification is so under the scenes that you would never know it was happening day to day. People with heavy metal toxicity or have been exposed to other chemicals sure they experience many detox symptoms during chelation therapy etc, but for a generally healthy person eating more fruit and veg, detox is an over-rated buzz word that is used to justify every negative symptom or ailment a person runs into on a raw diet.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Thanks for your comments.
I feel that the eustachian is blocked.
There is no ear wax present to irrigate in the external canal. I wish there was as that could easily be remedied!

Prana, I agree that its probably something that needs time and rest to allow it clear. I have met this place several times and only managed to work through it once. Unfortunately, Im not in a position to rest just now. Im half way through a full time degree whilst also working part time.
I chose to put myself through this (not maybe realising the effect on my health and general sanity!)
Im comitted on many leavels to this stressful lifestyle for the next 18 months. I have accepted that its just the hoops that i have to jump through to get to where I want to be. I just needed to make the journey more comfortable.

I therefore decided to change the things that I could change. This is the reason that i chose to increase my raw food intake.
I have reintroduced the things that i most needed in my life, which are as we all know, usually the things that are the first to leave as the work load increases.

Alongdide a couple of juice feasts and increasing raw, daily (rather than haphazzard) meditation and yoga have also naturally crept back in.

So far my stress levels have fallen dramatically. I was suffering from palpitations, insomnia, and other stress related issues.
Thats behind me now. Im in a much better place to both work, study and to allocate time to be creative and generally look after myself.
Although the course and work are demanding, compared to where i was a few months ago, Im in a much more peaceful place.


Powerlife, thanks for sharing your exerience. reading your post helped me realise that im not eating enough fat and i do need to rectify that.

Im off to repeat a facial steam with some essentil oils now. It didnt fix my ear problem, but i felt so much clearer and slept well after enjoying the experience last night!

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I appreciate your help.
FFX

Powerlifer, how does lack of fatty acids create excess wax? Like, what's the process there? I have had dry skin and it would totally make sense in that instance, but wax doesn't make sense to me.

I don't understand why people think detox is overused. I do believe in the case of hair falling out, for example, that it is obviously a deficiency. When there is some sort of DISCHARGE, the logical conclusion is detox, right?! And hair falling out, nails getting brittle, skin flaking would seem to indicate a lack of a particular nutrient.

I have heard that excess mucus mixes with wax in ears and perhaps it's the point of exit for some people. Some people sweat like pigs, others' noses run...I think we all expel toxins in various ways.

I am unsure of why it is caused because i have never read any research explaining why but at a guess it is likely because of the low levels of fats, but i do know from the research i have done that ear wax accumulation can be caused by an omega-3 deficiency/fatty acid deficiency. Dry skin can also be caused by low omega-3.

Im still of the opinion detox is very over-rated and over-used, most of the common symptoms people have when juicing, going raw initially have logical causes such as hypoglycemia, too low fats, low levels of certain nutrients etc. Like i say most detox goes on under the scene daily, simply substantially increasing our fruit and veg for a couple of days isn't likely to yield what most think is a detox. Even many herbs and supplements which substantially increase our detox processes for example in our liver are rarely felt with physical symptoms.

Just my 2 cents but the symptoms that most people run into can usually i find be logically explained. The most worrying for me is when people have hypoglycemia symptoms especially during fasting, they will complain of being shakey, bad headaches/migraines, dizzy and will usually be told its just detox and to keep on struggling. Now the majority will give up because of their blood sugar but some soldier on only to hurt themselves.

I say that in most cases, there are some cases say if someone had poor liver function, heavy metal toxicity, these people may feel some detox symptoms. High levels of fiber, pectins etc from the fruits helps remove the metals. But for the majority like i say the body is in a constant state of detoxification breaking down harmful substances, hormones and we never physically notice it.

Adverse symptoms although in some cases can be a cleansing reaction i am of the opinion that in most cases there is a physical organic cause.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2012 03:36PM by powerlifer.

Just for the record, when I did have weird incidences with wax (once as vegan, once as raw vegan, years apart), I never EVER had a lack of fats in my diet. *wipes off hemp mustache*

But everyone IS different. That would be interesting if someone knew more about an actual mechanism for earwax and toxin removal!

Its not wax, its some form form of ropy old phlegm!

I have tried several facial steams today with Ravensara essential oil, followed by neck and lymp massage. Its wonderful. The steam appears to temporarily expand releiving the pressure for a while.

I then resorted to driving up and down a steep hill to try and get the ear to 'pop'. Any distraction from writing a dissertation proposal will do for me!

Did it work? Unfortunately not! but its a lovely spring day in the Uk and we need to make the most of this unusual warm spell whilst we can.
Happy days
FFx

Sure ear wax accumulation isn't only caused by a lack of fats, i just thought it was worth mentioning as it is common and many raw diets are low in fats. Like i say though my diet was including many good sources of fats, my problem was that i wasn't absorbing or breaking down the fats due to my liver and gallbladder.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Besides, Fruit Faery said it happened after high/total raw. Goes away on regular diet. That sounds like a cleansing reaction to me. And another thing: as I said, why would lack of EFAs have a thing to do with wax buildup? It doesn't even compute to me. I could see dry scalp, brittle nails, hair tangles...

I have had hypoglycemia many times. The feeling of low blood-sugar is totally different than detox! If you've ever quit caffeine, you would also know the difference. I know when I go into instant detox: for instance, eating watermelon. Right away I can feel all the toxins rushing into my blood stream. Completely different than shaky, foggy low blood sugar!

Well ear wax is made of certain fats such as saturated fats so that alone shows there is some connection to fat and ear wax. It is well documented that ear wax accumulation can be related to EFA deficiencies. It is said that the lack of EFA's make the ear wax more thick and likely to lodge, often causing inflammation(another problem that in some cases is either worsened or caused by a lack of EFA's). Bear in mind im not saying that ear wax accumulation is always caused by lack of EFA's although the OP mentions that the raw diet they were following was low in fat and remedied by going off raw. Research has also shown that lack of EFA's caused wax to become more dry in consistency also which would probably slow down natural excretion and allow to accumulate.

What physical sensations are you feeling with the watermelon BW?, there is nothing in watermelon that would cause such profound instant detoxification that could be felt as physical symptoms in my opinion of course. No food could go to work that quickly in the role of detoxification, which is why i still think its over-rated. I could be wrong however, just my 2 cents.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2012 08:29PM by powerlifer.

Here is another theory why:

Excess ear wax is a classic symptom of deficiency in EFAs. These control compounds called pros-taglandins. If there's an excess of prostaglandins in the ear, the body thinks there is an infection and goes about trying to get rid of it - by producing more wax.

So many raw diets are far too low in fat to be healthy long term in my opinion of course.

[www.dailymail.co.uk]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/27/2012 08:34PM by powerlifer.

Very informative PL and thx for posting the question FF

Very interesting, PL! That would make sense; it's as if the EFAs lubricate and render the wax less sticky. That certainly seems to be my situation; it's quite thick and is close to the opening of the ear (sorry for the TMI).

I totally believe that detox is happening with the watermelon! Watermelon is so...watery that it should never be consumed with other foods, while I have no problem eating a banana and then cooked. The feeling isn't so severe that I have to lay down or anything; it is just a quick wave sometimes (not always) that feels like when I have quit caffeine and am detoxing. It is just a quick thing and I am not allergic at all to melon.

Interesting!
Like washing your face with oil to take off the oil, lol, seems kookoo but it's very effective.

The whole ear wax concept is a moot point. Ear wax has a limited role in pressures in the middle ear in my humble opinion.

Pressures in the ear are relieved by the opening of the eustachian tube. The eustachian tube is dilated with help from the tensor veli palatini and some assistance from the levator palatini. These muscles are innervated by the Trigeminal nerve.

If you feel your ear needs to 'pop', then most likely there is a build up of pressure. Since we are all guessing on what the issue is, I would like to throw in my two cents (sense).

1) Magnesium deficiency due to tense muscles creating poor range of motion of the musculature therefore affecting opening of the aperture of the eustacian tube. Or imbalance of Calcium/Magnesium.

2) Underlying chronic sinus infection.

3) Degradation of the cranial nerve pathway from a long-term low fat diet (its a stretch!)

4) You are a hypochondriac and have no issue. ker pow.

Hi Pl
The daily mail link article regarding the build up of keratin....

'The tiny raised rough bumps on your skin are known keratosis pilaris (KP, or literally 'heaps of keratin', a protein found in skin, hair and nails). '

I found this very interesting as the author also attributes the keratin build up to low intake of EFAs.
This theory works for me.

When im raw, the skin on the tops of my arm clears. When I eat cooked food, small bumps form in the area and my skin is generally much drier.
Although previously low, i feel that on balance, i eat more EFAS on raw.

Two major physical changes that i notice when raw are that those bumps on my arms dissapear and my eyes change colour, from a misty grey blue to a clear blue colour.


When my daughter wants to give me some encouragement she makes positive comments on the progression of eye colour and rubs the tops of my arms and says things like "Less bumps!"

I have increased my EFAS thanks pL!

I have learnt a lot from starting this thread
Thanks so much for all of your contributions
FFx



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2012 09:10AM by The Fruit Faery.

I actually used to have those raised small bumps on the back of my upper arms all whilst i was growing up also. They dissapeared when i started eating EFA rich foods and supplements.

Again some of my problem was malabsorbtion of these fats so that needs to be taken into account incase sluggish digestion stemming from poor bile flow is contributing to the problem.

Doctors are useless even after showing blood tests that all my fat soluble vitamins were deficient and fatty acids he still couldn't work it out.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]

Pl
Interesting point regarding malabsorption.
I have sufferd with IBS for 20+ years. Always clears on raw and returns on a cooked food diet.
So it figures that there must be longterm deficiencies. Its not possible to live with longterm IBS without experiencing susequent health issues.

All good food for thought
thanks
FFx

I also am a past IBS sufferer Fruit Faery, IBS is linked to lack of gut flora and i found that restoring mine was the key to some of my health issues.

Proper gut flora balance is one of the most overlooked factors in health especially from a modern medicine point of view. Once the gut flora is imbalanced and PH shifting to an alkaline one, opportunistic organism can take hold such as candida, these pathogens such as candida can damage the intestinal lining causing leaky gut which is another big issue and research has shown that leaky gut can leaad to auto-immune diseases.

Worrying how western medicine completely ignores the above, which is why some people never get better i guess. The reason raw probably helps is due to the fiber rich foods which feed the gut flora, also if your have any degree of dysbiosis then protein putrifaction and carbohydrate intolerance is also a possibility. Raw foods are also easier to digest than your average SAD meal.

[www.vegankingdom.co.uk]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2012 11:23AM by powerlifer.