Diatomacious Earth ( DE ) thread :)

[Taedareth]

me - let's take this to PM's

[me]

I just wanted to add that the scratchy feeling can also happen on the other end when things start getting cleaned out, rotfl....please dont ask. But it does go away
Eat whatever you want and take it whenever you want! BUT!!! PLEASE, start at a 1/4tsp and work your way up if you arent in perfect health and have NO signs of parasites. If not, then PLEASE work your way up. I have heard so many people say it didnt work or it hurt them, if you start slowly and work your way up this wont happen. You start small, take about 3 days, add more, wait, add more, wait. That way if you start bloating or getting constipated you can adjust your diet and keep things going forward. You want to always have the stuff in your system. THis way you dont have to stop taking it, you just stay at the smaller amount till your body self corrects. If you want to make big changes, remember it took big changes to get where you are and we should be patient in bringing the body back to where it use to be. And not everyones body is the same, so when you go up i increments you can watch your body and see what amount is right for you at that moment in your life. Sometimes I take more sometimes i take less. Same with my kids. Also, when you work in increments, you can see symptoms go away and know at what amount you needed. So if you felt great at 1TB, then worked up to two and the night grinding went away, then once the night grinding goes away you can back down to 1Tb and see if it works for you at 1 tb. THen lets say, you pick up a bug and dont know it yet, you start grinding, you know to up your amount to 2tb.
Begin with the end in mind

I dont know about the bio system, worms and bacteria. On one hand, it is something natural that they would come into contact anyway, on the other hand, it kills worms so why not those too. Perhaps clay would be a better alternative if you find out that de isnt gonna work. And if clay isnt going to work i would rethink the system, rotfl...cause clay kills things that shouldnt be in our body and clay is actually what dirt should have in its prime. If they are truly beneficial in nature they wont be affected.

[Taedareth]

Thanks, that's a good idea to start with a little and work up to the full dose. DE is such a simple, benign substance that I forget about the need to let your digestive system adjust gradually when you first start taking it.

[FamilyLove]

I've read this entire thread twice now. Very interesting. I've been taking DE for 2 days now, and both days I have gotten a raging headache within about 30 minutes of taking it. Did anyone experience this or have a guess as to the cause?

[cobluegirl]

my guess would be that you are detoxing

[Taedareth]

I don't think DE causes detoxification? Kombucha causes your body to release stored toxins, and to some degree lemon juice does as well. But not a clay substance, I don't think. Normally you would take a clay (therapeutic-grade calcium bentonite being a good one) along with the detoxifiying agent so the clay will absorb the toxins being released. Because if you detox without taking a clay, then toxins will be released into your system and give you headaches. But if you are taking a clay or DE along with your detoxifying agent (kombucha or whatever) then the clay absorbs the toxins and you don't feel so bad.

[FamilyLove]

Well, I haven't started anything other than DE recently, so if it doesn't cause detox then maybe I should just stop taking it. The mystery headaches have me worried. I even got bloodshot eyes during the worst of it.

[Taedareth]

How much are you taking? I'd suggest going off of it for just a day or two, and seeing how you feel. Then begin taking 1 tsp per day for 1-2 days and see how it goes. Increase to 2 tsp per day etc. until you reach your desired dosage (typically 1 or 2 Tbsp per day for adults).

Did you see the links a couple pages ago with info on how DE works in your body? It does draw toxins and bacteria into the core of the DE particle, allowing you to safely pass them out of your body.

Oh and another thing DE can do is gently loosen old crud from your intestines, so that it can get be pushed out during normal colon action. The impacted fecal matter is a problem because it lines the intestinal wall and prevents your body from absorbing all the nutrients out of your food. Also since it's made of rotting material, it is a constant source of toxins. So when you finally begin removing the crud from your intestinal wall, I guess you could say it's like stirring up old toxic matter. Like sweeping a dusty attic that has be untouched for years! So maybe that's the source of your detox-like symptoms. Although hmmm... I would have thought it would take more than 2 days to start doing that. But I'm no expert.

Anyway, back off and then go slowly. HTH

[FamilyLove]

Thank you for helping me. I'm going to do exactly what you describe. Stop for now and start very, very slowly when I start again. I had started at a tsp, so I guess I'll go down to 1/2 or even 1/4 tsp and work up from there. I haven't done a cleanse for years since I've either been pregnant or nursing, so maybe my body just can't handle much right now.

[Taedareth]

Oh my, you were getting headaches within 30 minutes of taking just one tsp? Can I ask what exactly the label says? I am concerned about the quality of this DE. You want the kind that says "Fossil Shell Flour, Perma-Guard, Food Grade." If that's definitely what you have, then perhaps we need to look at time of day, whether you're taking it with food or on an empty stomach, etc.

Or another option would be to wait on taking DE until you're further along in your cleansing process. Might want to start with taking a small amount of therapeutic clay daily for a few months first. If so, get the Earth's Living Clay brand calcium bentonite. It is more effective by far than conventional brands available at health food stores. That's the kind I use, because if I'm going to eat dirt, then I need to know for sure that it's doing something good for me http://earthslivingclay.com/TLC_PRODUCTS.HTM

[FamilyLove]

Originally Posted by Taedareth

Oh my, you were getting headaches within 30 minutes of taking just one tsp? Can I ask what exactly the label says? I am concerned about the quality of this DE. You want the kind that says "Fossil Shell Flour, Perma-Guard, Food Grade." If that's definitely what you have, then perhaps we need to look at time of day, whether you're taking it with food or on an empty stomach, etc.

It definitely doesn't say exactly that. It reads "100% diatomaceous earth, food grade." And then in finer print it says, "Repackaged with permission of Perma-Guard." I assumed that last part meant that it was perma-guard, just distributed by someone else. Maybe that was a bad assumption. I've been taking it first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach.

[Taedareth]

You're exactly right, that's the good stuff

Hmm. Well, in your situation I think I'd go with a couple months of clay before starting DE. But if you want to try the DE again, maybe try mixing it into a breakfast smoothie?

[LorenP]

I sieved the food grade DE that I bought, and it is much better now. I was left with a little container of DE covered rocks. Finer grade stuff isn't available at the moment because of all the flooding in Nth Qld. Still, ours is food grade and we haven't had any bad symptoms.

DH cant stand taking it but he has serious food texture issues!! I ended up adding his to a SC Diet Brownie recipe and he likes that much better. Have to say - I like them too!

[me]

Start slow and make sure you POO PEOPLE!! ROTFL ......as in atleast 1 to 2 times a day. de can kill things that give off toxins in your body once they are dead. And also the whole sloughing off of yuckness. You want to remove that kind of stuff.
I love this guys series on the importance of pooping,lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLZCoOwn0Jo

[homesteadmama]

Originally Posted by me

Start slow and make sure you POO PEOPLE!! ROTFL ......as in atleast 1 to 2 times a day. de can kill things that give off toxins in your body once they are dead. And also the whole sloughing off of yuckness. You want to remove that kind of stuff.
I love this guys series on the importance of pooping,lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLZCoOwn0Jo

Oh my WORD!!!! I still can't stop laughing over that poop video!!