I’ve put this off because I don’t know where to start. I’ve done a lot of digging and delving into what that pdf told me. I felt so clueless and stupid afterwards, too.

I’m sure you’ve all been told how important vitamins and mineral are for your body, but so often amino acids are overlooked. Can anybody name offhand any of the 20 amino acids? I couldn’t before. But I can name vitamin A, vitamin B complex, C, D, E, K, and minerals iron, zinc, and calcium right off the top of my head. Thinking a bit more I can name riboflavin, thiamine, beta carotene, and folate; and potassium, sodium, magnesium, selenium, and manganese.

But amino acids? Nope. I draw a blank.

I had heard of lysine before, but of the other 19 amino acids, I’d only heard tryptophan in passing. (Here is an article on amino acids. It’s pretty standard, but you get the idea.)

But it is lysine that is important in this post. Apparently, lysine is the amino acid that rosacea sufferers are deficient in.

From here

It is required for growth and bone development in children, assists in calcium absorption and maintaining the correct nitrogen balance in the body and maintaining lean body mass. Furthermore it is needed to produce antibodies, hormones, enzymes, collagen formation as well as repair of tissue. Since it helps with the building of muscle protein, it is useful for patients recovering from injuries and recovery after operations, and there might be use in lysine to help maintain healthy blood vessels. It also seems to assist in fighting herpes and cold sores.

Next point:

Those with rosacea often lack sufficient hydrochloric acid, which is basically the stomach acid that breaks down food.

So before I rushed out to the health food store and stocked up on both of these in supplement form, I did a check to see how safe these are for breastfeeding.

L-lysine needs further study to be determined just how safe it is, but the first thing I found when I did a google search for the safety of supplemental hydrochloric acid really stunned me.

I found this on google books. The book is “For Women Only!” by Gary Null and Barbara Seaman.

Pregnancy and lactation are times when women need iron supplementation. During the childbearing years, many women experience anemia caused by an iron deficiency.

Supplementation may not solve the problem because many people have difficulty absorbing iron. They lack enough hydrochloric acid, the stomach acid that helps assimilate iron.

!!!!!!!! IS THAT WHY I WAS SO ANEMIC WITH SHAWN?

I did a big post on what I’d learned about iron absorption, but I really didn’t think that my rosacea had anything to do with my iron deficiency!

The book goes on to list Vitamin B12 and Folic acid deficiencies as other reasons for being anemic, as well as some really fascinating facts about blood, menstrual cycles and pregnancy. Fascinating to ME, lol, but they aren’t relevant to this post. So, anyway…

Another thing is that Omega 3’s are especially important to help with rosacea, but NOT Omega 6 and 9, so the pdf encouraged more fish meals.

That’s great, I like fish, but… what about all the mercury and other heavy metals found in so many fish? Thanks, but there is a reason I refuse metal cocktails “vaccines” – I’m kinda sorta trying to AVOID poisonous metals, kwim?

I don’t know how I stumbled on it, but somehow in the course of my worldwide web itinerary, I came across this wonderful site. I can’t stop lauding its praises. I don’t agree with everything that is mentioned on this site, but WOW has it been a treasury of information to me.

Hellllo chlorella! Super food, cancer warrior, immune system booster, and heavy metal detox agent. I think I am in love!

So I look deeper into these super foods. I find spirulina. I google “spirulina lysine”. I find this.

I sign up for the NaturalNews e-letters and within days I’m sent information on dry skin brushing.

I’d never thought of it before. I mean, it makes sense – we brush our teeth, our hair, why not our skin? – it’s just not something that I’d ever considered before.

Halfway down the article, I see

Skin Brushing and Cellulite

Wait. What?

It says:

It is thought that around 90% of women suffer from cellulite. The little dimples that form on the thighs and buttocks are due to the accumulation of fats, proteins and other waste products that are not being excreted from the body efficiently. These unwanted products are usually carried out of the body by the lymphatic system, which is the body`s personal waste disposal unit. When the lymphatic system isn`t running smoothly it can cause many health and skin problems, including cellulite. Dry skin brushing can help kick start the lymphatic system by stimulating the lymph canals, which helps detoxify the blood and reduces the toxic build up that can cause cellulite.

You mean to tell me my “famine reserves” aren’t inevitable? That the same reason I have cellulite is the same reason I have rosacea!?

Holy! What else do I have wrong with me?!

Here is a good link on the dry skin brushing technique.

Whew. I’ve got to close this up now, but I do have a few other points I haven’t covered yet, so eventually I’ll be back. In the meantime, I did say this would be a big post, didn’t I? :P