No sugar/No alcohol diet has improved blepharitis & MGD immensely in only 2 weeks

[georgia]

I posted on this board about a year and a half ago when I had finally gotten my blepharitis into remission after a 2 year battle. I used doxycycline, hot compresses, antibiotic ointment and no makeup for a few months to get it under control. I was in remission or about five months but it returned in February of 2010 and I have been struggling to get it into remission ever since. For most of the past year I've worked with the same opthalmologist who prescribed the usual routine (doxycycline, hot compresses, etc). Improvement was extremely slow and I hated being on antibiotics long term. I felt it was adversely affecting my overall health. I began to suffer new, mysterious ailments that I'd never had: chronic ear infections, acid reflux, hives, etc.

Last month I decided to try a different approach. I've done a lot of research on candida and met with a reputable naturopath who confirmed my digestive system is way out of balance because of overuse of antibiotics (I'd used them not just for my eyes, but for sinus problems and bronchitis in the past two years). Two and a half weeks ago he put me on a diet of no sugar (except 1 apple or pear a day) and no alcohol. I've also been avoiding wheat, dairy, corn and soy for the past two weeks to determine if there are any food allergies. If there are not, I can eat those foods again.

My eyes have improved tremendously during this time. They were doing fairly well before I began the diet, but I was still having symptoms. Now there is basically zero irritation or redness, no crusting in the morning and minimal discharge (it seems to be getting thinner and clearer, too). I'm still doing compresses twice a day. I've also been taking freeze dried garlic (antimicrobial), vitamin B, omega/borage oil, calcium magnesium power and acidophillus, per the Doctor's recommendations.

I should add that aside from my eyes, I am in very good health. I just ran my first half-marathon last weekend and I eat a mostly vegetarian/organic diet. But that was not enough to kick this resistant, mysterious eye disease. Removing alcohol & sugar entirely has made such an incredible difference in my eyes. As I understand it, sugar causes inflammation and your eyes simply can't heal when they are constantly inflamed, no matter how many compresses you are doing or what pills you are taking.

My doctor says I can expect to be on this diet for about 3 months until my digestive tract is back in order. Then I can begin to reintroduce alcohol and a bit of sugar, when my body is healthy enough to handle it again (small doses are key).

I hope this is of use to someone. I've often felt hopeless battling this condition and I'm so thankful I decided to a try a holistic approach. I feel the best I have in a long time and I'm not relying on medication anymore. Because of my cleaner diet, my skin is glowing, I have more energy and I just feel better all around. It might be worth consulting with a natural doctor about your digestive system.

Good luck to all of you.

Georgia

[presh]

That's wonderful!!!! I am so happy for you!

No sugar I could do, but no alcohol would be hard since I am kind of using this as a "crutch" to get me through the bad nights.

Is there a particular diet you are following? Atkins, etc? Are you mainly just eating meat and veggies?

[dave25]

Georgia, It's great to hear that this diet has improved your eyes. I just started trying to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet and I didn't realize it would be this hard. If you don't mind could you give me an idea of what you would eat in a typical day. I can seem to manage little to no sugar throughout the day and then at night I start to crave sugar! Sometimes I can resist and sometimes I can't. It's funny how I had absolutely no idea I was addicted to this stuff.

[Guest]

Georgia, It's great to hear that this diet has improved your eyes. I just started trying to reduce the amount of sugar in my diet and I didn't realize it would be this hard. If you don't mind could you give me an idea of what you would eat in a typical day. I can seem to manage little to no sugar throughout the day and then at night I start to crave sugar! Sometimes I can resist and sometimes I can't. It's funny how I had absolutely no idea I was addicted to this stuff.

Since I've been playing around with a very low carb diet (from Rosacea 101) for several months now, thought I'd chime in with what I might eat in a day...

breakfast: 3 eggs - sometimes I scramble them with garlic pdr, salt and pepper - sometimes I make them into an omelet with cheese, vegies of choice etc.

lunch options:

1)salad: diced cooked chicken breast, greens, tomato, red pepper, feta cheese, cucumber
or
2) salad: baby spinach, walnuts, tomato, leftover roast beef (shredded), balsamic vinegar/olive oil dressing, salt and pepper to taste
or
3) sliced cooked chicken breast, red, yellow, orange or green pepper strips, celery sticks, cucumber spears
or
4) salad: iceberg lettuce, diced cooked chicken breast, tomato, cucumber, celery, sweet bell pepper, grated cheese, dressing of choice (ideally with little to no sugar)

For the chicken, I bake an entire cookie sheet full of them in the oven... let cool, slice or dice, then individually wrap and freeze. That way, I can do a week or two's supply of chicken at once for a reasonable cost (cheaper than buying the pre-cooked stuff at the store)

For the beef in the spinach salad, I cook an extra roast in the slow cooker so it comes out tender - freeze in individual portions, well wrapped - easy to take out and add to salad.

The key for me to NOT getting hungry between lunch and dinner is to eat a very LARGE salad - for example, I'll have 1/2 a large English cucumber, 1-2 bell peppers (depending on size), 2-3 celery stalks, and enough greens for filler.

If I need a snack, nuts are great, so is cheese etc.

Supper: Here is where I deviate from the Rosacea 101 diet the most... Basically, I'll just try to cook my supper from scratch... nothing pre-packaged... some combo of lean meat, brown rice (sometimes potatoes), and vegies (ex. steamed broccoli, asparagus with melted cheddar, corn on the cob or whatever vegie is around). I try to fill half my plate with vegies, 1/4 plate of meat, and 1/4 plate of potato or rice.

It's hard to stick to, and I fall off the wagon a LOT... but I'm getting better at it with time, and no doubt about it, when I stick to it for a few weeks, my MG's are MUCH improved.

Good luck!

[dave25]

Hey thanks for the info SAAG! Overall that seems like a really healthy diet. I am just starting to really try to reduce my carb and sugar intake. Eating a large salad is a great idea. I have tried to replace my normal lunch which was usually a sandwich and some potato chips with salad but I also found that I got hungry much quicker.

For me it seems right around supper time is when I start to crave carbs and sugar. Like you said though, I think it will get easier with time. It just takes a little while to adjust. Have you tried any low carb desserts? I have gone to the grocery store the past few weeks and have tried some low carb cookies, but they have sugar alcohol in them and I know the Rosacea diet doesn't encourage eating these either.

[Anthony16]

Like Dave,i had no idea how hard it is to quit carbs until i tried brady barrows diet and my god i just couldnt follow it.I lasted 3 days!
I couldnt sleep at night cos of the hunger.
So,i added some wholewhaet spaghetti to the diet and other vegies to the diet and it makes it a lot easier.i just fell off the wagon 3 days ago and my eyes feel awful today.U guys have given me the motivation to try again and will start tomorrow(easy to say when iv just eaten a big bowl of porridge and brown bread)

Hey thanks for the info SAAG! Overall that seems like a really healthy diet. I am just starting to really try to reduce my carb and sugar intake. Eating a large salad is a great idea. I have tried to replace my normal lunch which was usually a sandwich and some potato chips with salad but I also found that I got hungry much quicker.

For me it seems right around supper time is when I start to crave carbs and sugar. Like you said though, I think it will get easier with time. It just takes a little while to adjust. Have you tried any low carb desserts? I have gone to the grocery store the past few weeks and have tried some low carb cookies, but they have sugar alcohol in them and I know the Rosacea diet doesn't encourage eating these either.

[Guest]

Have you tried any low carb desserts? I have gone to the grocery store the past few weeks and have tried some low carb cookies, but they have sugar alcohol in them and I know the Rosacea diet doesn't encourage eating these either.

I'm trying to avoid anything sweet altogether... once I start, I just crave them that much more. Mind you, I'll for sure have cake if I'm at a birthday party or something like that... but when home, I try to "be good" and avoid it.

Also, I found that the longer I'm able to stick to this crazy diet, the less cravings I get, and the less hungry I get... in fact, after sticking to it for about a week, I'm generally not hungry at all, other than at meal time.

The funny thing about eating this way is the volume of food I have to bring to work with me when I work a 12 hour shift though lol Bringing these gigantic salads takes up a lot of room in the fridge there! Back when I used to bring a bagel and cream cheese/piece of fruit for lunch, it was so much more compact!

Another thing that might help the hunger issue is to get lots of sleep each night - they say when you don't get enough sleep, it messes with the hormones that regulate hunger (making you hungry even though your body doesn't really need the food)... I do notice for myself that when I skimp on sleep, I want to snack more... maybe it's coincidence, but it since getting enough sleep can't hurt, I figure I might as well try!

[georgia]

Diet

My naturopath has me eating a high fiber diet with tons of veggies, rice, beans, nuts and meats and eggs. If when I do the food allergy tests next week (wheat, corn, dairy, soy) and don't have any adverse reactions, I can have those foods again (but in small amounts, as they're not great for you in large amounts anyway).

I usually eat oatmeal with apple and sliced almonds for breakfast, and some kind of nut milk like hazelnut or almond. Had millet with pear and almonds this morning.
Lunch and dinner are any combination of the above foods: lots of salads, chicken, beans, rice, etc. It took a good week and a half for the sugar cravings to die down. I also love wine and it's difficult to break that habit, but it does get much easier after a couple of weeks, once you're out of the habit. It helps knowing I will be able to have wine/sugar again in a few months. For right now my health is my #1 priority. When I think about how long I have suffered from this disease, a three month diet seems like cake.

Hope this helps.

[presh]

You are right Georgia, it would be very easy to give up wine knowing
1. It will help my eye health
2. I could potentially have it again!

I've always been a decent healthy eater (lean meats, lots of salads and veggies and yogurt and cereal) but I do like my wine and the occasional splurge on good thick-cut salty potato chips or a nice dessert.

Please keep us updated!

[dave25]

I'm trying to avoid anything sweet altogether... once I start, I just crave them that much more. Mind you, I'll for sure have cake if I'm at a birthday party or something like that... but when home, I try to "be good" and avoid it.

Also, I found that the longer I'm able to stick to this crazy diet, the less cravings I get, and the less hungry I get... in fact, after sticking to it for about a week, I'm generally not hungry at all, other than at meal time.

The funny thing about eating this way is the volume of food I have to bring to work with me when I work a 12 hour shift though lol Bringing these gigantic salads takes up a lot of room in the fridge there! Back when I used to bring a bagel and cream cheese/piece of fruit for lunch, it was so much more compact!

Another thing that might help the hunger issue is to get lots of sleep each night - they say when you don't get enough sleep, it messes with the hormones that regulate hunger (making you hungry even though your body doesn't really need the food)... I do notice for myself that when I skimp on sleep, I want to snack more... maybe it's coincidence, but it since getting enough sleep can't hurt, I figure I might as well try!

Thanks for the tips SAAG! I will probably use them all. I think the hardest part is just getting used to eating and buying these foods as part of our everyday routine. I still find the urge of wanting to go down the potato chip and soda isle in the grocery store, I just tell myself that it is only a habit and with time hopefully I will crave the healthy stuff and not the junk food.

[RonnieD]

Thanks for the email Georgia.

I saw a naturopath two weeks ago and started a program to treat candida. I have a lengthy posting from another board which is http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...ruined-my-eyes

For those asking about diet, here's a sample of what I've been doing to make it without sugar, which has been surprisingly easy, with this program:

*Drink LOTS of water;

*For breakfast I was told not to eat oatmeal (may contain gluten which feeds candida) so instead I eat quinoa with milled flax seed, blueberries and cinnamon;

*For meals, have a meat (mostly chicken) along with brown rice and a lot of vegatables. The key to making vegatables tasting good is to add some sea salt when cooking them. I've been heating a lot of brocolli (which I normally don't really like) on a frying pan with a little sea salt and I am really enjoying it;

*For pasta, buy non-gluten rice pasta and add ground turkey to the sauce.

*Make shakes with greens. A good one is spinach, pineapple and cilantro.

I haven't cracked yet and had sugar because I know once the first exception starts, it's like opening the floodgates. I find having the sugar on my vegetables takes away my sugar cravings.

[jads]

My doctor says I can expect to be on this diet for about 3 months until my digestive tract is back in order. Then I can begin to reintroduce alcohol and a bit of sugar, when my body is healthy enough to handle it again (small doses are key).

I hope this is of use to someone. I've often felt hopeless battling this condition and I'm so thankful I decided to a try a holistic approach. I feel the best I have in a long time and I'm not relying on medication anymore. Because of my cleaner diet, my skin is glowing, I have more energy and I just feel better all around. It might be worth consulting with a natural doctor about your digestive system.

Good luck to all of you.

Georgia

Georgia, I can say that my experience was exactly the same. A several week break from sugars, dairy, alcohol reduced the symptoms immensely. There's also the bonus that in general you feel much better, with increased energy and vitality! Now that's what I call a result.

I reintroduced things to my diet after the detox but in a much more moderate way than before: less processed foods, more whole, organic foods, vege juices and so on. The thing to remember is that you don't need to restrict yourself to the point that you feel guilty about having a drink, a bar of chocolate or a coffee. That's no way to live.... Simply moderate and thrive!

My firm belief is that this lifestyle choice then balances out your hormones, giving your body a better balance and overall health. Better digestive health also greatly improves your immune system, liver function and hormone health and balance even further. It's all cumulative!

Flare ups may happen but eventually things are much improved, if not in complete remission.

Good luck.

[tearless2]

Hi, This is a great thread. Thanks for the diet tips saag. I just started a sugar free/gluten free diet 3 weeks ago and am not sure I notice much difference. On the other hand, I have made some mistakes like eating soy sauce which I just learned has gluten So, I need to be a little stricter. One thing I really like is the Quinoa corn pasta from Ancient Harvest. It tastes almost like regular pasta.

Sometimes, when I don't have time to cook and I want something different, I go to an all natural store like whole foods and buy their soups which are less expensive than other pre-made foods. Then, when I get home, I put brown rice and spinach in a bowl and pour half the hot soup over it and I have a complete meal.

Just wondering, are most people completely eliminating dairy from their diet or just limiting it?

Keep up the posts on this sugar free diet, I am glad people are finding relief!

[Rebecca Petris]

One thing I really like is the Quinoa corn pasta from Ancient Harvest. It tastes almost like regular pasta.

I LOVE this pasta. I like it better than wheat pasta and so does my daughter. We eat the linguine, spaghetti and macaroni. - By the way another member here tipped me off awhile back to the Pamela's mix on Amazon. You can get 3x 4lb bags really cheap. I love baking with it - better texture and taste than wheat.

[Anthony16]

hey jads,
When u say dairy,would it be ok to consume goat dairy over cow dairy?A lady who suffered with severe rosacea told me when she made this change all her rosacea disappeared.The docs had previously told her nothing more could be done.

Georgia, I can say that my experience was exactly the same. A several week break from sugars, dairy, alcohol reduced the symptoms immensely. There's also the bonus that in general you feel much better, with increased energy and vitality! Now that's what I call a result.

I reintroduced things to my diet after the detox but in a much more moderate way than before: less processed foods, more whole, organic foods, vege juices and so on. The thing to remember is that you don't need to restrict yourself to the point that you feel guilty about having a drink, a bar of chocolate or a coffee. That's no way to live.... Simply moderate and thrive!

My firm belief is that this lifestyle choice then balances out your hormones, giving your body a better balance and overall health. Better digestive health also greatly improves your immune system, liver function and hormone health and balance even further. It's all cumulative!

Flare ups may happen but eventually things are much improved, if not in complete remission.

Good luck.