skin not regenerating like before

[cinnamon panda]

i used to get a cut or a blemish and the next day it would be halfway gone.

i have been raw for 66 days and now i am noticing that this cut on my finger is not closing as fast as it should, or blemishes stay longer on my face than they used to.

?:confused:

[cinnamon panda]

someone please tell me something i am lacking maybe, b/c my skin used to fix itself super fast

i'm not taking any supplements, just eating raw foods. the past couple weeks i've been eating less and very simply. i haven't really gotten into the oils, i tried to do the coconut oil thing a few times, but got sick and am fearful of ingesting it again, so i just use it on my skin.:o

[Cabosun]

Try taking sulfur, which is MSM. And it absorbs much better by drinking a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice with it.

Also, are you getting enough protein? Raw Hemp powder is an excellent source.

Also, your oils are very important. if you are having a problem with them making you sick try some raw ground chia seeds. They are an excellent source of Omega 3's and protein.

[justinesmith]

Cucumber juice works wonders for skin. Avocados are great too. You could try oil pulling if you are up for it ~ I've been no less than shocked at the difference since starting that. There is nothing wrong with eating simply.... as long as you are getting a good variety. Cucumber juice has been like a skin miracle for me personally. Good luck!

[EZ rider]

Try taking sulfur, which is MSM. And it absorbs much better by drinking a fresh squeezed glass of orange juice with it.I like to get my sulfur from fresh garlic which is where most MSM gets its sulfur from (only its not fresh). I agree with you about taking the sulfur with orange juice and fresh garlic / orange juice is delicious.

[cinnamon panda]

thank you. i'll try all that stuff. i eat a lot of cucumbers already...but i don't have a juicer.

the chia seeds sounds promising, this is the second time someone told me that.

i probably am not getting enough protein, b/c the hemp seed powder sort of ruins my smoothies, the taste of it...but maybe i need to force it down. i haven't had any in like a month.

thanks so much for the replies.

[jenjen]

hi! are you eating enough dark green veg/salads? being a raw girl you probably are but some people avoid or eat only a little. this works out to be a problem for your skin because one gets a deficiency in folic acid. this is the nutrient your body uses to repair and the re-growth of all the cells that turn over quickly in your body. so, skin, intestinal walls, a growing baby, ect.

good luck,
j

[cinnamon panda]

well, i feel like i eat a lot. usually a blender full with my green smoothie of kale, spinach or collards. it's definitely not a whole bunch a day...so i guess i need more. i don't avoid them though, i love the greens, it's the only way for me to start my day.

[cinnamon panda]

BEFORE raw i would sleep 10-12 hours a day. always tired and depressed.

NOW i sometimes sleep 4-8 hours a night depending on what's going on.

do you think less sleep has anything to do with my skin not fixing itself faster?

maybe this is normal and before it was abnormal b/c my body was working so much while i was asleep to fix things up. now i am awake more and my body is doing other things??

[Weezo]

Probably zinc... I know whenever I used to take a zinc supplement last winter while raw this prob would go away. I believe nuts, greens, and avocados are scources of zince (not sure if they contain enough to make a difference though).

[StarFire]

This is a fascintating thread. I wish I could add to it as far as helping you out though!

the only things I know of are the things already mentioned... my skin did change drastically when I started ingesting coconut oil, and oil pulling with it and lathering it all over my body as a moisturizer!

plus I do eat a lot of avocados if I can get them.

keep us posted and let us know what works... I hope you see some progress soon.....

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s43/FireStar_830/monkey.gif

[trinity082482]

I had the EXACT same problem! After 1 month of being raw I was opening up a can for my spouse and at the time I had a poorly working can opener so the smartie pants that I am I had decided taking a butter knife to pry the lid open was a good idea.. not so... I opened it so fast my index finger went right through the lid. :( I had 6 stitches and it was so deep I had seen the chunky tissue beneath my skin.. :eek:
The doctor assured me that it was healing great.. but it took over 6 months to fully heal.. I blame raw.. but mostly I blame not eating the proper raw foods to encourage healing. My iron levels are not great so my blood isn't normally thick.

[Cabosun]

One more thing that I can think of is to start taking a good concentrated silica to help with collegan production.

[ron4540]

I do think that supplements are important. A multivitamin, calcium, and B12.

And it's important to get enough in fats and protein too (hemp and ground flax seeds, sprouts, etc.).

[Cabosun]

Silica's importance in overall optimal bodily function has been recognized for quite some time. As early as 1878, Louis Pasteur predicted that silica would be found to be an important therapeutic substance for many diseases and would play a significant role in human health and consequently nutrition.

Research
During the 20th century, progress was made by pioneering researchers and scientists such as Carlisle, Butenandt, Iler, Bergna, Kervran, and Schwartz. Edith Carlisle's work in the 70's through the 90's at the UCLA School of Public Health, perhaps more than any other, demonstrated the necessity of having silica in the body for proper growth and development. As a result of her research, we know that silica is absolutely essential for the body to create and maintain collagen. What was dramatically shown through Carlisle's research was that when silica is withheld from normal nutrition, gross abnormalities develop and normal growth does not take place. While Carlisle's work was done with chickens and mice, humans have also been experimenting with silica.

Human experimentation has yielded some amazing results. Where animal research showed the absolute necessity of silica for healthy and normal growth maintenance, human research has demonstrated the effects of silica supplementation on a much broader spectrum of maladies from youth through middle and old age.

The necessity of silica for collagen formation and development is the basis of many of these physiological effects. Collagen is the tough fibrous material that holds us together. Many aging problems are a direct result of the body's inability to maintain adequate collagen. Think for a moment about the following aging problems: joint deterioration, brittle bones, hardening of the arteries, dry skin, inability to digest food properly, weakened teeth and gums, and atrophying organs. They all are collagen related in one form or another. When we are young, Silica levels in our body are high and our bones and joints are flexible. Our skin is supple and glowing. As we age, Silica levels decline and without adequate tissue levels of Silica, we manifest many of the symptoms of aging such as joint disease, weakened digestion, and wrinkled skin, to name a few.

Nutritional and Therapeutic Applications for Silica
1. Connective tissue strengthening and support (joint, ligaments and muscles)

2. Bone strengthening and support through enhanced calcium absorption Within bone, silica is the essential component making up the collagen matrix upon which calcium is deposited. This relationship is so fundamental that it is truly impossible to form bone without both calcium and silica. In fact, researchers are exploring the possibility that supplementation of silica, rather than calcium may be what is needed for maintaining strong bones.

3. Strengthening of teeth and gums

4. Cardiovascular support: Silica in adequate quantities creates supple arteries and veins and is effective in removing plaque from artery walls. This has actually been known since 1958 when Loeper and Loeper found arteriosclerotic artery walls showed excessively high levels of calcium and lower than normal levels of in silica.

5. Stomach and digestive disorders : Most disorders of the stomach and digestive tract involve a degradation of the lining in the G.I. tract. Silica is an essential element involved in rebuilding and maintaining these tissues.

6. Immune system enhancement: Our skin is our first line of defense against naturally occurring bacteria, virus's, and other pathogens. Silica promotes and maintains healthy skin tissue.

7. Wound and burn healing: Silica stimulates the rapid re-growth of damaged skin tissue.

8. Thinning hair, brittle nails, and dry skin. All of these external parts of our body are collagen based.

9. Aluminum elimination enhancement Silica has been shown to be a good eliminator of aluminum. Aluminum has been implicated as a cause of Alzheimer's. While the above areas may seem quite diverse, in actuality they are directly or indirectly related to proper collagen formation. Given that connective tissue is basically collagen, the inability of the body to rebuild this tissue will result in excessive injuries, general deterioration, or excessively long periods of healing time when injuries occur.

To Supplement or Not To Supplement?
The age-old debate rages on with a definitive swing in favor of supplementation. The American medical establishment is also beginning to embrace the need for supplementation to enhance health and longevity. Why is there a need to supplement with silica if it is the second most prevalent element on earth? The reason is threefold:

1. As we age, scientific measurements have shown that the human body retains less and less silica.
2. Silica does not occur in sufficient amounts in a wide variety of foodstuffs. It is primarily found in natural oats, millet, barley, wheat and potatoes. If we eat these foods at all, they are normally refined to a point where all the silica has been removed.
3. The average American diet does not contain adequate levels of essential nutrients especially Silica.

Studies have shown that the average person ingests between 20 to 60 milligrams of silica daily depending upon their diet. Results from people who have supplemented with silica at 375 mg per day support silica's effectiveness and reinforce the fact that 20 to 60 milligrams per day is not adequate. According to researchers some form of daily silica supplementation will be very beneficial.

[EZ rider]

Cabosun -- Thanks for this really good article as it is most informative. :)

[Weezo]

You know what... silica makes sense... my skin healed FANTASTICALLY on macrobiotic... (not that that is a reason to return... I did not have as much energy on that diet!) and that diet was rich in the silica containing grains...! I have noticed that last winter when I was raw for 3 months I did have skin healing probs.... always attributed it to zinc... hmmmm

[EZ rider]

Cucumbers are high in silica (reference = http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42 ). I just had a cucumber/apple juice for the first time and its a delicious combination.

[Cabosun]

Cabosun -- Thanks for this really good article as it is most informative. :)


You are more than welcome EZrider:) Anything to help people here.

Lynn

[cinnamon panda]

thanks everyone. i have been eating lots of avocados and cucumbers since i went raw, and a lot of greens. i need to look into supplements and will do that tomorrow. great feedback!

[irishserra]

I was visiting my mom in NC when I started eating raw (there are some awesome farmers' markets in the area) and I was bitten by a house spider.

It started to heal and I didn't think anything of it. However, as weeks went by and i was continuing to eat raw, the bite started to get worse. It would ooze and it looked fresher than ever. Immediately, I suspected it had something to do with my eating raw, but I just let it run its course. It healed, but it just took longer than usual.

Some form of detox??

[Weezo]

What if this delayed healing is responsible for increased longevity on raw? Your body's cells may only regenerate but so many times right? I dunno... just a thought!

[PhoeniX]

I find the same thing when I am fully raw. If I have a cut it will heal fine, but takes a little longer. I attributed this to the body for some reason producing less hormones to cause blood clotting. I don't think this is necessarily bad though. I figure that if the blood clots slower then I am less likely to have to worry about strokes and other similar conditions.

[subbacultcha]

I'd take a zinc supplement, or (better!) make a point to eat foods that are high in zinc such as squash, corn, pumpkin seeds, pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, etc. - body piercers tell people to take zinc supplements, it cuts healing time by about a half. It's worked wonders for me!