Fermented Goatsmilk - a cure for eczema?

Hi All

I said that I was going to keep you all up-to date with my progress regarding the 21day program of drinking Kefir in goats milk (basically fermented goats milk), thus replacing the nasty bacteria in my gut with super duper highly charged good bacteria.  Which would then (in theory) help with my eczema!

So I am nearing the end of my experiment now, and here are my experiences so far!

The milk arrives in a cooled box, with some rather fancy cooling device - which my dad promptly removed to use on footballers legs!  Anyway my fridge looked overloaded with the milk and it all looked quite daunting - a lot to get through;

Fully stocked fridge!!

I was particularly taken with the wording on the bottles that says 'I don't taste very nice on my own!'!!  So I was 'looking forward' to starting with a bit of trepidation.

Here's there reason I wanted to try something different.  I'm now 40 (and a bit), and have suffered from eczema to a lesser and greater degree all my life - I was born with it.  I can't remember a time when I wasn't covering myself in some cream or other.  I have used steroid based creams for most of my life, and my skin is now showing the effects of long term usage.  My hands, which have always been affected the worst, now look 10 years older than I do!  

So I decided to try the goat milk and lessen the steroids, it wasn't going to do any harm.

The first day I tried the goats milk - I used my Nutribullet and mixed the milk with strawberries and blueberries.  Due to the fermentation process the milk is quite fizzy, so when you take the lid off the top of the container it makes the gassy noise like when you unscrew a bottle of Coke - which is a bit weird at first.

When I first tasted it, it didn't actually taste too bad (this is considering I don't even drink cows milk due to the texture), but it was the smell of it that put me off and made me wretch a bit (I'm really selling this now).  It has a cheesy smell, which can be quite off putting first thing on a morning!  But I discovered that if I didn't breath in whilst drinking it (a skill I've discovered) the taste was ok, once you get used to it.  It is recommended that you have it first thing on a morning.  So I tried to imagine all the good bacteria going in and getting rid of all the rubbish in my gut.  I've now, actually got quite used to the taste.

As I'd stopped using the steroids - I expected my skin to get worse before it got better and my word it did!  I was absolutely covered and thoroughly miserable with itching and scratching - the below picture is my arms (which have never been particularly badly affected by eczema) after about a week.

I did cheat a couple of times with only a tiny bit of steroid cream - especially when the eczema started to creep up onto my neck.  But I have moisturised for England!!  I used the Moisturiser from the 'Chuckling Goat', but the pot honestly wasn't big enough to hit everywhere where I was having an outbreak - so I ended up buying a giant pot of Organic Coconut Oil and literally covering myself in it every morning and every night before bed.

So I have only half a bottle of goats milk left to drink and then I'm finished the 21 day course, do you want to see the result....?

Next blog post!

Jill x

For more info on the Kefir and Goatsmilk - see the below link;

https://www.chucklinggoat.co.uk

It's been a while....!

Hi All

It's been a while since I updated my blog and loads of things (of a life changing nature) have happened in the past 6 months - including a close family bereavement, the family dog passing away and being made redundant!  One thing I've learned - life goes on, you only get one chance, so be as healthy as you can and enjoy your life!!

So, whilst I've been away, I've been reading loads of books on various health topics, and as a result I have become very interested in the bacteria in the gut and how it affects your health.  It's a very new area of research and scientists are only beginning to understand how the bacteria inside your gut plays an important part in vitamin absorption, and recent research suggests that certain bacteria in your gut can help you stay thin (or vice versa).

One area that interests me is how the bacteria in your gut affects your skin.  I have been a lifelong eczema sufferer.  I was born with it and throughout my life I have never really been totally clear of it at all.  One of the more annoying things about suffering with eczema is that it seems completely random - there is no predicting where or why an outbreak may occur. For most of my life I've used steroid creams to control it, however, I'm now getting to an age where using steroid creams is starting to show (my hands look 10 years older than me!). I've tried everything - literally, I must have spent a fortune on various lotions and potions over the years - but nothing really works long term.  

So one day I was listening to Radio 2 and a lovely lady came on talking about her goats milk and kefir (basically fermented goats milk!) and how it was really good for eczema, so I decided that I'd give it a try.  The irony is that for years my mum told me to drink goats milk, and also my best friends mum (who breeds goats) told me to drink it - I did try it, but I thought it tasted awful.  However, doing my research and being convinced that it was worth giving it a try, I decided to undergo the 21 day program.

So I am going to keep you updated on my progress....

If you're interested in finding out more information then here is the link through to their website;

https://www.chucklinggoat.co.uk

Let me know if you have skin conditions and what has worked for them.

Jill x

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