The Many Health Benefits of Diatomaceous Earth

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.

DE Health Benefits for Humans

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):

Natures Wisdom

Permaguard

Earthworks

Wolf Creek Ranch

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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