Day 14: The Check Up
After logging my diet for two weeks and being mindful of the way I eat, now I get to do the antihistamine diet. It looks a lot like the elimination diet I did 13 years ago...
Here is my list for the next two weeks. I'm avoiding high histamine foods such as:
Supplement prescription #1
Used for: Supporting skin health
Name: High EPA Omega-3
Brand: Aqua Omega
Dose: 2 capsules
Route: Orally
Frequency: Twice daily
Additional Instructions: Start by taking 2 capsules once per day with your meals. After 3 days, if well-tolerated, increase to 2 capsules twice per day. Take for minimum of 3 months. Discontinue prior to any surgery as omega-3 increase blood thinning. Discontinue if you experience any adverse effects.
Available here: https://well.ca/products/aquaomega-high-epa-omega-3-fish-oil_153476.html
Supplement Prescription #2
Used for: Essential fatty acid that supports skin health
Name: EPO SAP
Brand: NFH
Dose: 1 capsule
Route: by mouth
Frequency: once daily
Additional Instructions: Can be found at healthy planet. Some side effects include upset stomach, stomach pain, headaches, & soft stools.
Body wash:
Used for: Supporting healthy skin & restoring skin barrier
Name: SA Body Wash for Rough & Bumpy Skin
Brand:CeraVe
Dose: 1-2 drops
Route: Topically
Frequency: when needed (during baths or showers)
Additional Instructions: Massage body wash into skin during showers/baths & rinse. Can be found at shoppers drug mart or on amazon: https://www.amazon.ca/CeraVe-Salicylic-Cleanse-Exfoliate-Rough/dp/B077TWXCQV/ref=asc_df_B077TWXCQV/?tag=googleshopc0c-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=336235023036&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10326168048758910330&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9000908&hvtargid=pla-527480207483&psc=1
Check in:
weight: 142
skin is... pretty clear actually! I went back on CBD 15mg a day as the existential dread won out. And it isn't making my skin crazy but it sure does make my eyes itchy and nose full. So very allergic, but hey, I'd rather itchy eyes than all the fallout of the side effects of an anti-anxiety pill.
This is as good as my skin usually gets, I just woke up too so after a full night's sleep (thank you valerian in my tea) my skin is as rested as me:
Hi Adriana
ReplyDeleteIt's good to see you posting again but I'm sorry you've had to!
I've been doing a lot of research in the last year, soon I'll maybe post it somewhere, but in the meantime here are a few dietary factors that can affect the function of SERCA2 protein (the cause of DD) in both good and bad ways.
I'm sure you get sick and tired of people suggesting random things for you to try but I wanted to both say hi and offer something that I hope is at least of some use.
Bad Foods for SERCA activity include:
- Sugar
- Cholesterol
- Palmitates (palmitic acid etc) - from palm oil usually
(Watch out for those last two in lots of skin care products too, they make your skin plumper but they could also reduce SERCA activity a lot making DD worse)
Possibly Useful Foods for increasing SERCA activity include:
- Fresh Ginger but any ginger is probably better than none (Gingerol)
- Strawberries and some other red fruits (Ellagic acid)
- Peppermint or Lemon extracts (Eriocitrin)
- Jasmine flower extracts (Jasmonic Acid and Methyl Jasmonate)
- Hibiscus flower extracts (Roselle)
Possibly Useful Supplements for increasing SERCA activity (or helping to restore cellular calcium dynamics)
- Magnesium - it can help a bit but at higher intakes (like >300mg elemental magnesium/day)
- Ubiquinol (The "reduced" form of CoQ10)
- Taurine
- Creatine
- TUDCA
- Vitamin D
There are other interesting things like Curcumin, Quercetin etc that can be useful although they can also temporarily reduce SERCA activity before possibly enhancing it so periodic use if key here rather than continuous use.
DD is requires kind of two approaches, both of which are opposing.
On one hand dietary and topical substances (and possibly medications) that enhance and protect SERCA activity are desirable to keep the healthy skin cells doing their job. When SERCA activity drops too low due to stresses (50% or less) the cells have a very hard time keeping it together and you will end up with a temporary lesion or areas of redness.
On the other hand, the skin cells in DD focal lesions (the persistent lesions/spots that are always there in the same place rather than ones that come and go) need the opposite approach because they arise from “flipped” stem cells at the bottom of the epidermis. These “flipped” stem-cells can live for many years and they will produce many thousands of faulty skin cells over that time. The approach needed here is the application of stressors to slow down their cell growth or to kill the underlying “flipped” stem cell which will then cause the lesion to go and new skin (supplied by “un-flipped” stem-cells) will hopefully replace the lesion. This is a similar approach to the treatments for things like Solar Keratosis (sun spots) which looks like it is also caused by “flipped” stem cells in the epidermis basal layer – in that case the stressor is excessive sunlight.
I wish you the best in getting this under control again, remember you did it before and you can do it again.
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I can't edit my comment but I had meant to say something on the Fish Oil, in fact it's originally why I was posting in the first place...maybe I need some for my memory :)
DeleteThe Fish Oil you were prescribed is mostly the omega-3 poly-unsaturated fatty acid "EPA" and in a similar way to magnesium it can help cells by putting the brakes on calcium release and reducing the load on SERCA.
It is indeed likely a beneficial supplement to take for DD (and other things too) - it takes a good while after starting fatty-acid supplements to get incorporated into the skin cells and for the skin to turn-over but stick with it.
Thank you! This is awesome! I will take this to my team to help me integrate your awesome share :)
DeleteAll the best to you and yours!