Digestive Wellness: Strengthen the Immune System and Prevent Disease Through Healthy Digestion, Fourth Edition (151 page)

Food sensitivity testing

Celiac testing

Vitamin D levels

Red blood cell zinc levels

Vitamin A levels

Healing Options

Get tested for SIBO.
Since about 90 percent of people with SIBO and rosacea improved after treatment for the SIBO, this is the first place to begin. If discovered, eat a low-carbohydrate diet for several months.

Rule out candida.
Take the self-test for candida in
Chapter 11
. Get tested through organic acid testing, stool, or serum antibodies. If discovered, eat a low-carbohydrate diet and treat the candida with medications and/or natural therapies such as oil of oregano, grapefruit seed extract, garlic, or pau d’arco.

Take digestive enzymes.
One researcher reported finding low levels of lipase (fat-splitting enzymes) in people with rosacea. He reported improvements by giving pancreatic enzyme supplements. I would probably use lipase-loaded enzymes. Take one with meals.

Try an elimination diet.
I have found that this works extremely well for people with rosacea. Gluten and dairy seem to be the biggest culprits, but any food could be inflammatory. See
Chapter 15
.

See if HCl levels are normal.
Take the HCl self-test in
Chapter 11
.

Take probiotics and eat probiotic-rich food.
While there is no research on this, if dysbiosis and gluten sensitivity are main underlying causes of rosacea, it makes sense to protect the gut with probiotics and probiotic-rich foods.

Eat brewer’s yeast or nutritional yeast.
A study of 96 people with rosacea reported that about 1½ teaspoons daily of brewer’s yeast offered great improvement in their rosacea. This was not duplicated by taking synthetic B-complex vitamins.

Schizophrenia is a chronic, disabling brain disease. People with schizophrenia experience altered realities, including hallucinations, hearing voices, delusions, and confused or paranoid thoughts. Speech and behavior of people with schizophrenia can be very disorganized, which can be disturbing or confusing to those around them. During acute periods, people with schizophrenia experience a loss of energy, sense of humor, and interest in living. It affects one million Americans each year, and 1 percent of us will have it during our lifetime. It’s one of the top 10 worldwide causes of disability. It can be progressive or episodic. Schizophrenia has an autoimmune component, which may be a result of the disease itself. A large number of studies find correlation between prenatal and postnatal infections, including flu, herpes, polio, German measles, toxoplasmosis, and respiratory infections, and increased incidence of schizophrenia.