I’m 100% positive I have Candida (over growth of yeast) which is what causes my acne and the sudden onset of skin issues starting last year.  I’ve tried various things: Healthier diet, fish oil pills, Candex pills, a colon cleanse, switching make up, and resorting to typical acne medicines like benzoyl peroxide. All of which helped to lessen my issue but I’m still not getting to the root of the issue: yeast in my gut.  It’s hard to kill, yall.

So, I’m embarking on yet another new adventure with apple cider vinegar. Have you heard about how awesome apple cider vinegar is? It’s got multiple uses, everything from shiny hair to house cleaning to weight loss to digestion issues.  I’ve even used it to get rid of planters warts and it worked. This website lists some of the uses and how to use it for each, great stuff. Anyway, so as I’ve become frustrated again with my acne (it has it’s up and down phases, but still overall better than it was a few months ago) I’ve been doing research again. I’ve read about ACV for months, even used it as a toner for a while (which Mark hated because of the smell!), but wasn’t brave enough to drink it like many people recommended.  Until today. I decided that the benefits are well worth dealing with the taste and seeing if it helps.

I’m sitting here with a mug of hot water, 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of honey. And really? It’s not too bad! It reminds me of apple cider with a kick. I’ve always like vinegar type stuff anyway (salt and vinegar chips, anyone?) so maybe that makes me more prone to tolerating the taste better than others, but I don’t think it’s that bad as long as its diluted enough.

I’ll keep you updated :-)

I’ve had several people asking about the agave peanut butter cookies I made for my birthday so I thought I’d share with everyone! I made the dough Thursday night and baked them on Friday.   I’ve made peanut butter cookies before (not using agave) without refrigerating the dough first and let me just say, it was much easier this time with the dough chilled. These turned out really well, they tasted exactly like other recipes I’ve made using regular processed sugar, and perhaps even more moist and tasty!  The only thing I might add next time is more peanut butter. I like my cookies to burst with flavor and even with the chopped nuts in it, it needed  more peanut kick (the same thing happened when I made regular peanut butter cookies last time) so I indulged in adding a tiny bit of a home made peanut butter frosting on top (using powdered sugar since I couldn’t find an agave frosting recipe online. If anyone know of an agave frosting please share). I also halved this recipe because I do not need to eat 5 dozen cookies by my self. So in short: these are tasty and could fool anyone who didn’t know it wasn’t a typical recipe!

Agave Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2C butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
2/3 cup honey OR agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
1 1/2 cups WW flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped peanuts

In a large bowl combine butter, peanut butter, honey (or agave), vanilla and egg. Beat thoroughly.

Stir together flour and baking soda. Add to peanut butter mixture and blend. Add peanuts and mix. Chill dough several hours or overnight.
Preheat oven to 325F. Oil a baking sheet.

Drop dough by level tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until lightly browned. Let stand for a few minutes on baking sheet before removing to wire racks to cool.

Makes 5 dozen. NOTE: If using HONEY this would go under the 3 grams sugar rule. Broken down this would give you approx. 48tsp of honey, you are making 5 dozen, (60 cookies), broken down, this will give you 3.02 grams of sugar per cookie.

Source: 3fatchicks.com forum. They have a ton of great healthy recipes, but this is the only one I’ve tried so far.

P.S. Curious what agave is?  It’s a natural alternative to sugar from an agave plant. It’s very similar to the texture and sweetness of honey, but without the honey taste.  It’s a low glycemic sugar substitute so diabetics can use it, and I chose to use it to limit my intact of processed sugar and even though I am not diabetic I try to follow a low GI diet for my acne’s sack. I hate artificial sweeteners for their bitter after taste and for just how bad they are for your health, and this is neither of those!  It can easily be found in local health food stores like Trader Joes, Earthfare, etc. for about $5.

I’m home.

I got there at 11, they took me back pretty quickly to get changed and an iv started (which I had to go through twice!  That was the most painful part, ugh. It was worse than the times I had it during child labor)  I was touched that the dr (never met before) said a prayer for me, the baby in heaven, my children here on earth that they would know God as they grow, etc. before he left. It calmed me a lot knowing he was a Christian too and I felt like I was in good hands. Mom was able to come back after I was settled in and we waited and talked until 1:30 when they took me back (they were running late).  I was starving and it sucked.

They gave me medicine through my IV before I was even wheeled to the OR and by the time I was down the hall and saw the room I was already feeling tired.  I remember they moved me to the operating table and put an oxygen mask on and the next thing I know I was waking up in recovery an hour later.  I wasn’t in pain (and still not), just tired. And when I realized where I was I started crying. That all this was over, the remains of my babies tissue were gone, that I was no longer pregnant, etc.  The nurse was very sweet and rubbed my back and gave me tissues.  Every person that took care of me was amazing and made the process so much easier to have great people around me.  I think some one commented, either here or elsewhere, a prayer  that angels would be with every person that worked with me, and I truly felt they were. I felt in very good hands.

I was moved to second recovery soon after I woke up where my Mom joined me and I got the best tasting ginger ale and crackers ever (lol I was so hungry). I had no nausea which was good, they kept warning me about it and I know friends and family that react badly to it but I was fine.  I was meeting all the “requirements” to go home easily and felt good so by 4:30 I was able to go home. I got soup on the way home from Panera Bread and was able to eat some of that.

Savannah snuggled with me after dinner, she was upset I can’t lift her up or play right now so snuggling satisfied her.  I’m doing really, really well. Seriously, very little pain, mostly none without even pain meds. I’m just tired and taking it easy and loving being able to just relax.

Thanks for all the prayers! They are truly felt right now, physically, mentally, and spiritually.  I’m not in any pain and feel at peace, even when I get a little teary-eyed some times that all this is over.

1) The word “delicious” should not be associated with Kidetox, as it says it is in it’s brochure.   Herbally tasting? Maybe.  Borderline gross, but drinkable if you immediately follow with water? Absolutely. But not delicious. I’m betting parents would have to fight with kids to swallow this every morning.  However, the probiotics that are like chewable vitamins do taste good.

2) It’s the last night to sign up for the Crayola light up toothbrush giveaway!  ( And another giveaway coming tomorrow!)

It’s been awhile since I’ve talked about my health changes, so let’s up date shall we? Well, after a few weeks of eating relatively healthy, I’ve reached a point that I’m not so careful anymore.

It was our weekend away (and therefore having to eat out the whole weekend) that started this.  And then it was the 12 hour long school days where I have to eat fast food on campus to survive through the day.  And then, I just got lazy.  Why cook my own healthy meal when my MIL has a meal already done?

I haven’t completely reverted back to eating whatever crap I want. I still don’t drink coffee and use an alternative to sugar when possible.  I eat pretty much only whole grains if possible, no high fructose corn syrup, I eat fruit pretty much with every breakfast, etc. But, if I am craving a chocolate bar or oreos? I eat it (but usually don’t pig out like I used to). If we go out to eat?  I don’t pick a salad or sandwich, I go for the fried chicken or pizza.

Anyways, my skin hasn’t changed dramatically or anything. I still have acne all over my cheeks.  After doing lots of research I truly, truly think that my skin issues (which has evolved to me even being allergic to my wedding rings!) root in having digestive issues. I’ve always had digestive problems growing up so my system surely is loaded with toxins just sitting inside and therefore escaping through my skin.  So, my next step is to do a colon cleanse.   Again, doing research, I decided that the Colonix program (don’t click the link if you are squeamish) would be the best for me and all the testimonials (both on their website, other non-affiliated websites, and even a friend of a friend!) assured me that a colon cleanse can help clear acne.  I ordered the kid version though, because 1) it’s cheaper 2) I hate pills and I have trouble with taking them 3) I’m small. Like, I’m the same size as my 11 year old brother so I thought the dosage would be more suitable for me in the kid form.

It finally arrived today so I will be starting the process tomorrow. I’ve read testimonials that capture every nasty detail, day per day. I’ll save you from that fun, but I do plan to update if I notice changes.

Here’s what I hope to accomplish:

- Acne (stop the active acne, fade scarring)

- Clear up rash on neck (the dr. this week told me it might be psoriasis) and other skin allergies

- Better energy, better sleep

- Lose the gut (seriously, stuff is just sitting in there!)

That’s a lot to hope for in one product, but we’ll see.  If the 100’s of testimonials are true, then I have faith it can be done.

Also, I’ve had some readers asking for products that I do recommend that are natural and not full of chemicals. I’m still learning/finding products myself, but I do plan to share the ones I’ve found soon.  My latest purchase (today) was an all natural mineral foundation from Larenim (did you know that not all mineral make ups are equal?! Bare Minerals has cancer causing agents in them, too! ) So, I will try it out and do a review soon.

I’m frustrated.  The more I do the research and more that I try to live a healthier life style…I keep getting slapped with the hidden truth and reality that my country (the USA) sucks at being healthy and therefore makes it difficult to be healthy.

Exhibit A: It’s now known that there is mercury in high fructose corn syrup (in addition to all the other risk factors of HFC). Which, makes me even more thankful that I’ve changed my diet and haven’t even touched HFC in nearly 3 weeks. But, my husband and daughter still eat whatever they want.  My daughter I could make the choice for her, but my husband? He’s set in his ways, he could care less and probably thinks I’m crazy for the holistic approach I’ve taken to life recently.

Exhibit B: I figured I’d get rid of the toxic products I’ve been using for years as well and traded my .99 cent Suave shampoo for a $8 Burt’s Bee’s shampoo.  The label sounded perfect, not only would my hair be full, voluminous and smell fabulous but it’d also be paraben free, SLS free, etc.  I was willing to spend $8 to get rid of those nasty cancer causing chemicals.  But oh, wait!  I went to Skindeep (cosmetic safety database) and decided to see if it truly was “better” and healthier than my cheap Suave. Guess what? It’s not. (See here for Burt’s Bees Very Voluminous rating, here for Suave clarifying) it has the same rating of moderate toxicity.  Sure, the label on Burt’s Bee’s is clear of harsh chemicals and looks perfect, but they hid the toxic stuff under the label “Perfume.”  Companies are allowed to not list “trade secrets” and they hid the crap under that secret code name.

Ever look at the ingredients of your make up or shampoo bottles?  Have you ever gone to cosmeticdatabase.com and looked at the facts in the face that just about every product that touches our skin is linked to cancer? And people wonder why our kids are dying of cancer at a young age, why it’s becoming like an epidemic, or why couples are more and more being diagnosed as infertile?  THIS is the reason, folks (or at least one of them). Because the companies we use ever single day are being allowed to put harsh chemicals in our products with no repercussions.  Sure, they may say it’s not that much used in the product but when we use them day after day, year after year it builds up. And why, if these chemicals are so bad for us have they not been banned? Europe has banned them. WHY NOT US?

I’m finding that more and more, as I do the research, that our lives are saturated with pure nastiness. Our face washes, house cleaners, laundry detergents.  You know that famous Johnston & Johnston baby shampoo you are using on your precious baby at bath time? Full of toxins. Even the food we eat! You would think shopping at a health food store that all the products they carry would be chemical free and safe, right? Wrong!  Some lotions clearly have parabens in them on their labels.  Companies like Burt’s Bees, Jasons, 7th Generation, Method, etc. that claim to be natural can still have harmful toxins. Why are companies stooping to these low levels? Oh, I know because they are more concerned about money than about the quality of products and health of their customers.

I’m just sick of this. Sick. I have read way too many blogs lately about kids dying from cancer all of a sudden. I’m tired of letting the beauty industry tell me and millions of other girls and women what products to use that will make us more beautiful, less wrinkly, smell great, etc. when really all the products do is lead us closer to death.

My point in sharing this with you folks: Do your research. Don’t continue living in a life saturated with chemicals that may harm you or children, now or later on in life.  Don’t let the beauty industry (or any industry) fool us any more, stand up with me. Get mad with me. Let’s change it.

P.S. I’ve received several comments from people upset that I’ve stopped blogging. That means a lot to me that I’m missed!  But I promise, I will continue blogging, but just need a break to let go of the pressure of having to do it. So from now on when I blog it’s because I want to, like with this post.

More Resources:

-Environmental Working Group

-High on Health

-America the Beautiful Documentary

-Food Matters Documentary

3 days ago I started a diet.  I know everyone that has met me in person just gasped and said “No! Why?! You’re already too small!” And I totally agree, but my diet isn’t to loose weight, it’s just a makeover of my food choices to be more healthy in general.  And, to get rid of this acne that is only getting worse with age rather than better (it’s totally a myth that acne is for teenagers!).

For several months  I’ve been reading all that Fran over at High On Health has to say, along with reading about the experiences of other acne sufferers and what they had tried.  In most cases? Food was the problem and was the answer. However, being stubborn me, I didn’t look at my diet or change it, I just bought more products to try because nothing was working.  I even resorted to buying the Proactiv trial (for $5.00 on ebay!) because I was sick of my face and wanted a quick fix before school started back.   It didn’t clear my skin, I’ve just been left with acne and horribly dried out, bleached skin (and towels).  Obviously, that doesn’t sound to healthy either, so I’m switching to gentler and more natural products in the next few days.

Back to the diet.  I decided it was time to fight acne (and the other health issues I have such as suddenly being allergic to products, a rash I’ve had for a year, digestive issues, etc.) from the inside. I bought Fran’s ebook and went to the grocery store to start all over with my foods.  Basically, I’m following a Low GI diet (like a diabetic).  I am positive that it is sugar causing my acne, so this diet eliminates all the refined sugars and replaces it with healthy alternatives like honey and the natural sugars in fruits.  I realized that my acne started getting worse this summer when I started drinking coffee regularly.  And in my coffee? I had 1/3 cup of sugar (yes, you read that right. I like things SWEET!) and who knows how much vanilla coffee mate that has even more sugar.  So, I’ve completely stopped drinking coffee and now drink (decaf) tea with honey.  I’ve also switched to all whole grain breads, pasta, and rice.  Eating tons of fruits and veggies and I try to cook as much as I can, rather than resorting to processed foods.

The result?  Just in 3 days. 3 days, people! I have noticed a huge difference in my body.  My acne and the scars are already subsiding.  My digestive issues are more regular.  And I just feel better, folks. I’m excited for these new changes for a healthier life style.  I’m slowly making my way into livng a more “green” lifestyle, both inside and out.