I’ve gotten a lot of emails and messages from IBIH readers asking for updates on my recent issues with food intolerances. First I want to say thank you so much for your concern and well wishes – it really means a lot to me. I’m so excited to let you know that I can now EAT ALL OF THE THINGS!!!!! Which is both good and bad! ha ha!
I went from being able to eat and drink almost nothing without having a reaction, to now being able to eat and drink pretty much anything. I credit this amazing change to the diatomaceous earth I started taking almost 2 weeks ago. In my desperation to find answers to my sudden onset of intolerance to everything, and in getting no answers from the doctors I tried, I did a ton of research online. I tried all sorts of supplements and enzymes in case it was a Histamine Intolerance and saw no improvement.
Mr. Hungry was also doing research and asked me about parasites, because he read that they could cause a sudden onset of food and chemical intolerances. In our research about that, we found diatomaceous earth (DE) which was supposed to kill parasites with no chemicals or herbs, so it was unlikely that I would have a reaction to it. Since DE was also purported to flush out viral, fungal and bacterial pathogens, heavy metals (especially mercury since I have a few amalgam fillings), yeast (Candida) and pesticide residues (we live in an agricultural area and they spray year round here), I thought it was worth trying since all of those things can also contribute to sudden intolerances.
I ordered the Diatomaceous Earth (Food Grade ONLY) online and started taking just a teaspoon a day (mixed into water) on an empty stomach, and worked up to a tablespoon a day within a week.
I don’t know how quickly it actually worked, but my last reaction was on a Sunday evening (it was a bad one) and I started taking the DE the next morning and haven’t had a reaction since. I started testing foods in small amounts that Thursday, and nothing produced a reaction. By this past Sunday I was eating everything, and even drank a beer with no issues.
I deliberately pushed the envelope with sugar, gluten, and high sulfite foods like canned tomatoes and aged cheese, just waiting for a reaction to come out of nowhere and it never did (though I felt bloated and awful from eating all that junk). I still can’t believe it! Now that I can eat anything, I’m going back to my low carb/gluten free way of eating (with the occasional splurge) before I gain all the weight back that I lost since January! I’m also very excited to be back in the kitchen and cooking for the blog again. I have lots of recipes on my list to share with you guys soon, and I’m so looking forward to that!
While I can’t be 100% sure that it was the DE that fixed my problem, in my gut I feel strongly that it was no coincidence that my issues went away when I started taking it. I don’t know if it was parasites, or pathogens, or yeast, or built up toxins that were causing my intolerances – maybe it was a combination of things, but I can tell you that in the first week of taking it I saw some very disturbing things getting “flushed” out. That’s all I’m going to say about it, and no I did not take pictures, but I feel a lot better knowing that stuff is gone – whether it was causing my food intolerances or not!
Diatomaceous Earth isn’t just for parasites and all of the other stuff I mentioned, though that alone is more than enough reason for me to keep taking it! There are many, many other health benefits that come from taking DE – including lowering blood pressure and cholesterol! DE is also made up of mostly silica which is crucial for the production of collagen which improves skin tone and the health of your joints and tendons – not to mention gorgeous hair and nails!
I read so many testimonials about DE improving people’s arthritis and joint pain that I told my mother in law about it and she started taking it too. Mr. Hungry is also a believer and has been taking it for over a week, and I’ll be starting our son on it in small doses soon. DE is also used for livestock and pets to control worms and parasites. All of our cats will be starting the DE as well, since that is likely ground zero for a lot of potential parasites that the rest of our family might come in contact with.
There are so many uses for DE that I can’t possibly write about all of them here so I’m going to give you a few great links on it’s many uses, how to use it, where to get it, etc.
FAQ & other DE uses – for pets, livestock, gardens, bedbugs, etc.
Diatomaceous Earth Testimonials 1
Diatomaceous Earth Testimonials 2
Sources to purchase DE online (you can also find it at some health food stores to avoid shipping charges):
To take the DE, stir one tablespoon (you can work up to that amount if you’d like) into about 4 ounces of water. Be very careful not to inhale the dust from it when stirring. Once it’s fully incorporated, drink it down quickly and chase with some more water or your drink of choice. It’s best taken on an empty stomach in the morning or evening before bed (or both if you’re hard core!)
Drink lots of water throughout the day or you may get “bound up” as they say. You may experience some mild stomach discomfort and strange sensations in your abdomen in the first few days (things dying?!?!? Ewww!) which Mr. Hungry and I both did.
It’s also possible to have a Herxheimer Reaction, which is a normal part of detoxing, during which you may experience flu-like symptoms for a few days. This is a result of the toxins being released from the parasites, fungus, viruses, bacteria or other pathogens being killed off. Our family already had a bad cold the week we started taking it so it’s hard to say if we experienced that or not. But if you do, stay the course – it’s a good thing!
If you have food intolerances that randomly just popped up like I did (or even if you’ve had them for awhile), don’t just accept that they are simply there for life like most allergists will tell you. Try the DE – it’s cheap and has many other health benefits so you have nothing to lose! I can’t say enough how glad I am that I found and ordered this amazing product! I’m a believer for life!
If you’ve used DE before with great results (or not) we’d love to hear from you! And if you haven’t yet, but are inspired to research it and try it out for yourself, please do let me know about your experiences with it! I feel like I want to bag it up and hand it out to everyone I know! Hmmm…maybe there is a DE giveaway in the near future – I’ll get on that! ;)
UPDATE 2: I received an email from Larry Smith, the President of Earthworks, who wanted to clear up the misconception about any dangers of inhaling food grade diatomaceous earth – here’s what he wrote: “This is a misunderstanding about food grade DE. There are 2 kinds of DE—food grade and filter grade (used in swimming pool and other filters) Only the filter grade is dangerous to breathe. The “dangerous” part of DE is the amount of crystalline silica that is in it. Filter grade is 65% crystalline silica while food grade is less than 1/10 of 1%! The world health org. has said that diatomaceous earth is safe to breathe as long as the crystalline content is under 2%. Food grade is 20X lower than even that level!!”
So no need to be concerned about any danger associated with using DE for pets, bedding, consumption or anything else – as long as it’s FOOD GRADE! Thanks so much for clearing that up Larry!!! It’s a huge relief to know that I don’t have to worry about that anymore!
Necessary internet disclaimer: I am not a doctor, nor do I have any medical training – I’m just sharing what worked for me. Use this product at your own risk. Also, this is not a sponsored or for profit post, and I have no affiliation with any of the companies that produce this product.
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Janie May says
I’ve been taking DE for a few months now, 2 Tbsp a day. I uunderstand it acts in the power of opposites… being negatively charged it attracts and pulls out the positively charged bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. My question – does it also attract and remove other positively charged components that our bodies actually need? For example, magnesium is positively charged. Will taking DE result in a magnesium deficiency?
As I’ve been taking DE, I’ve been listening to my body and have noticed a return to magnesium deficiency like conditions. I have done various cleanses to rid myself of yeast and parasites, all with good results. Educating myself along the way, I have recognized that having an internal environment allowing candida overgrowth and parasites results in several deficiencies due to the colon’s inability to absorb essential minerals, which cascades into numerous health conditions and illnesses. For me, as for many people, magnesium was one of the minerals in major deficit. Before I understood the root cause of the deficiency (candida, parasites), I took magnesium supplements in the proper bioavailable form (which is anything except magnesium oxide) and noticed a great improvement in my general well-being. As I began treating the source (candida, parasites) instead of the symptoms, I’ve seen even greater improvements, including when taking DE. However, I’ve noticed a return to magnesium deficiency like conditions. Hence, my question of does DE attract and remove other positively charged components, like magnesium, that the body needs?
Mellissa Sevigny says
It’s certainly possible Janie – that’s why it’s recommended that you don’t take supplements or medicines around the same time as the DE – so if you usually have your supplements in the morning, take your DE before bed so that it won’t interfere!
Beth says
Add colostrum to your diet (on an empty stomach 1T 1-2 times a day)will heal the leaky gut
joel says
what brand of colostrum?
lauren says
The food grade DE is totally fine for humans and animals to ingest. We rub it on our dogs everyone month to prevent fleas, and you can put some on their food to prevent worms. Important to note that the bugs need to have an exo – skeleton. The DE get into their joints and acts like little razor blades.
Debbie says
Melissa,
Is this still working for you? About 10 weeks ago, I started having the same “allergy” problems. Taking B12 worked for a while, then stopped working. The same for spirulina. Curious to know if you’re still symptom free. Thanks!
Autumn Southall says
Hi there! I am 18 and I am planning on taking DE for the first time in a few weeks. I know there are some amazing questions and answers about DE. I was simply wondering if I should be grossed out that I am going to drink dirt everyday? I mean I know I will get used to it but it kindof freaks me out. I have a yeast infection and I know about the toxins that are realeased when the yeast dies. Is there anything you could tell me like tips on what to do. Like should I change the way I eat completely? And how long is it safe to do this everyday?
Dale says
Hi Autumn,
Here is some information about Candida Yeast that might be very helpful to you. To your Health.
Sincerely Dale (EFT Practitioner and Life Coach)
http://healthwyze.org/index.php/component/content/article/242-naturally-and-holistically-curing-allergies-by-eliminating-candida.html
Kjersten says
I’ve just gone through a similar experience.
Sometime around the beginning of the year, I began feeling sick randomly throughout the day. I would start getting hot and cold flashes/sweats, nauseous, light-headed, achy and just physically exhausted. Around May things began getting worse. The nausea progressed to vomiting and soon I was afraid to eat because the feeling was so intense and miserable. There was a period of about 3 days when I didn’t eat anything. I lost 6lbs in 4 days. I went to the Dr. and all my labs came back normal. My aunt mentioned that maybe I had a parasite since I had been eating so much sushi lately. I decided to look into natural parasite cleanse techniques and diatomaceous earth came up right away.
I started taking 1 T (heaping) a day and after about 5 days of feeling like I had the flu (as i understand it, parasites release toxins when stressed and their dying off can cause side effects), I woke up feeling better than I have in years. I not only don’t feel sick, but I actually feel GOOD. I had forgotten what it feels like to be healthy and it is so liberating!!!
I also began taking Para-stroy after seeing “proof” that I had parasites following an enema.
I highly encourage you to not only consider starting to take DE everyday (80% of people have parasites without experiencing major symptoms). It is extremely beneficial for other reasons so it is worth looking into!
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for sharing – I haven’t taken it in months and have started feeling really tired lately – definitely think I need to start taking it again!
ANEE says
Very informative site, was impressed by the ‘raw truths’ that was shared. I am starting DE tonight and am inspired by all the posts….I feel a real sense of community promoting good health is here!
lhunt says
I have ordered some DE after several coworkers are trying it. I am hoping to have less pain in my neck an muscles due to inflammation. Also, find out if I do see any parasites in my stool (tmi). I will post a follow up as I try it. It should arrive in a few days…I have been researching thud, ever since a a coworker told me about it last week. Love all the replies, good and bad, about peoples reaction to this product. ♡
Mellissa Sevigny says
Keep us posted! I hope you have good results with it – it may take a few weeks to see a difference inflammation-wise (or not), it usually takes my husband and I about 3 days to a week to notice a difference in his knees and my tendonitis – but we’ve been taking it on and off for over a year now!
Gracee says
Hi,
Thank you to everyone here for sharing!
I have had bad stomach problems for over a yr and at times i was only eating 1 small bowl of white rice a day because it was the only thing that wouldn’t cause major pain.
My diet has been strict for many, many yrs. now. No sodas, fast food and very little bread. Rarely any dairy. After several failed attempts with the doctor and meds, I decided I needed to try and cure this on my own. In the last yr I rarely have pain, but no matter how small my meals are my stomach is so bloated it feels like I’ve had 4 large plates of pasta. Arg! A stool test came back positive for pin worms, I quickly started taking paragone and didn’t notice much of a difference. I’ve been doing a ton of research online and I’m now getting serious about taking DE and will be drinking diluted apple cider vinegar. I noticed my stomach feels better after drinking the acv. With a strict diet, DE and acv, I hope to feel normal again soon.
Naz says
Hi Mellissa
Thank you. Found your website useful.
I started DE two weeks ago. First few days I went to the toilet twice a day. I suffer from irritable bowl syndrome. Both of the times I was constipated just like ever but it was strange that I had the urge to go twice a day. Slowly as the days went by, I became regular to one time a day. Apart from that I have not felt any other change yet. I still have the same pain and discomfort in my stomach. I also suffer from Fibromyalgia and can’t say that the pain is gone or decreased. I shall let you know as the time goes. I am hoping to get better but that remains to be seen.
Thank you all for valuable information.
Naz
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for updating us Naz – if you haven’t already experimented with this, you may want to try eliminating gluten and or dairy from your diet for a few weeks and see if it helps – lots of people, including myself have had success with that because they both increase inflammation which can really exacerbate the fibromyalgia symptoms. Let us know if you try that and how it works out for you!
Dale says
Also you might want to look at eliminating MSG and Aspartame because they are both excitotoxins. Which means that they over-excite the brain’s neurons, until many of them burn-out. An all-natural antidote for MSG poisoning is called taurine. Also known as L-taurine. I hope that this helps.
Sincerely Dale
Naz says
Hi Mallissa
Thank you very much for your reply.
I am going to follow your advice and come back to you. Meanwhile I shall not stop taking DE.
Take care
Naz
Nicki says
I am wondering if you’ve had any reaction from the mercury leeching from your amalgam fillings? I’ve read that your not supposed to take it if you have amalgams due to the danger of mercury pulling from the amalgams and flooding your system with mercury. I really want to try it for several reasons but am concerned because of the amalgams. You said you have amalgams so….
Mellissa Sevigny says
I didn’t Nicki – I don’t know that the DE would pull mercury from the fillings – only what has already been absorbed by your body already. If you have a link to an article that says otherwise I hope you’ll post it here, I’d love to read it! Thanks!