Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

Gluten Free Blueberry Muffins

1 1/2 cups Tom Sawyer Gluten Free flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup rice milk
1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup frozen blueberries, thawed

Thaw blueberries. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Grease a standard 6-muffin pan or line with paper or silicone liners. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, sugar, and oil. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a few light strokes, just until the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not overmix; the batter should not be smooth. Fold in the thawed blueberries. Divide the batter among the muffin cups. Sprinkle a little sugar on muffin tops before placing in oven. Bake until a toothpick inserted in 1 or 2 of the muffins comes out clean, about 12 to 18 minutes depending on how big the muffins are. Let cool for 2 to 3 minutes before removing from the pan. If not serving hot, let cool on a rack.

Nutrition Information

Rosacea Triggered by Vitamin E?

I have searched the internet for any connection between rosacea and vitamin e. The only connection I have found is product advertisement toting vitamin e's skin benefits. Based on my experience, I am ready to conclude that vitamin e is actually the trigger for rosacea. Think about it - rosacea appears to be a vascular disorder (http://www.rosacea.org/patients/faq.php). Vitamin E is a vasodilator (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16046707). Research shows that people with high levels of cathelcidin and stratum corneum tryptic enzymes have a response such as flushing, pustules, and/or papules and theoretically the vascular structure of the face has changed and dilation of the blood vessels are tied to the reaction. Finally, when you consider the most common food triggers of rosacea (http://www.rosacea.org/rr/1999/winter/article_3.php), most of these foods are high in vitamin e. I will continue monitoring my vitamin e consumption, but for the past 2 weeks I have not had another outbreak of pustules since I have limited my vitamin e consumption.

Fish Oil Spoil

As always, rosacea is an adventure. The ride has its ups and downs, and I've been going downhill for the past two weeks. . . I thought I'd find some success applying my theory that an anti-inflammatory diet and topical treatment would be the ticket. However, the "trigger" factor of some seemingly benign substances continue to confound me. This time the culprit appears to be glycerin or d tocopherol (Vit E). Who knew that fish oil supplements, boasting their 1300mg of anti-inflammatory Omega-3s contain such vexing vehicles of menace? Since discontinuing use of the fish oil supplements, the inflammation has subsided and the skin is beginning to heal. I have included salmon in my diet daily and hypothesize that the Vitamin B-12 must be the key component that has been keeping the inflammation down. We shall see . . .

Sebamed Cleanser

I purchased Sebamed Cleanser online through Costco. It was a substantial investment as the warehouse sells it packaged as two 32-ounce pumps for around $40. Surprisingly, a little goes a long way! The idea behind Sebamed is the natural pH of skin is 5.5 and all the products we use on our skin throws the pH off balance. I have been using the cleanser for about 3 days now and like the feel of it. I haven't had any negative reactions thus far and no new rosacea symptoms. The p&ps (2) are healing. So right now I will continue the cleanser, the morning application of sea buckthorn seed oil, fish oil, curcumin, and probiotic supplements and the anti-inflammatory diet.

Sea Buckthorn Seed Oil

Today I bought a 10 ml bottle of sea buckthorn seed oil. I read that it can effectively treat inflammatory skin conditions and that it is also a natural sunblock. I purchased it because of course I want to treat my inflammatory skin (rosacea) but also because I have not yet found a sunscreen that doesn't irritate my skin. I have finally resigned that the sunlight probably does irritate the rosacea and that I should wear sunscreen and a hat when I go out. So what did I do with my sea buckthorn seed oil? I applied 4 drops to my freshly washed face, working it in gently. I felt immediate relief but time will tell if there will be visible changes to the p & ps.

Is Rosacea an Inflammatory Disease? AID (Anti-Inflammatory Diet) - Let's Try It!

If you've done any extensive research on the rosacea question, I'm sure you've come across the demodex mites, the trigger foods, the sun exposure, hormones, temperature changes, vascular, genetic, and inflammation theories. My question is always "Why can't anybody figure this thing out!!!!" Yeah, the frustration level is pretty high. I've thought to myself and have heard others say, "Count your blessings. It could be worse. All you're dealing with is red skin." And I truly believe that. But when your skin is inflamed, you do experience chronic pain due to the inflammation. You become self-conscious because if you can feel it, surely everyone around you can SEE it. I totally get the psychological implications of what to us seems to be a very visible disease. I even find myself searching for other rosaceans in public. Does she have rosacea? Look at his skin, hmmm. I wonder if they can eat chocolate and drink coffee without worrying about how it will make them look or feel?

So I decided several months ago to follow the inflammatory condition angle of the disease and began an inflammation free diet (see The Inflammation Free Diet Plan by Monica Reinagel and visit http://inflammationfactor.com/). I have modified my diet extensively to remove "trigger foods." The whole idea of trigger foods is an anomaly to me so I'll get to that later. So what am I doing to try to control the inflammation of rosacea by diet? I'll start with the supplements: acidophilus, curcumin, and fish oil daily. As far as food goes, Monica Reinagel recommends a combined IF rating of 200 or above for the therapeutic inflammation free diet. If you want to check the IF (Inflammation Factor) of the foods you are eating, you can refer to Monica's book, or check out Self's Nutrition Database at http://nutritiondata.self.com/.

When I first began eating a low inflammatory diet, I thought I would die from malnutrition. No joke! I scheduled an appointment with a dietician because I was already borderline underweight and sure that I would be missing key nutrients and calories by limiting my food choices. As I cut out processed foods however, I realized that cooking from scratch was a lot easier than I ever thought it would be and the food actually tasted pretty good. Also, when I cut sugar out of my diet, I suddenly didn't crave sweets anymore. Has the low inflammatory diet cured my rosacea? No. But I have noticed that when I reach a higher IF rating on a regular basis my rosacea is less inflamed.

Erythromycin

I visited my dermatologist two weeks ago - annual trip due to family history of melanoma. Of course, we talked briefly about the rosacea. He suggested I try erythromycin and I finally caved in to the ANTIBIOTIC route. I had previously tried Oracea for about a week and my rosacea was worse for the wear, so trying another antibiotic was a BIG DEAL for me. I was somewhat surprised that it worked at clearing up a couple papules/pustules right away. (For anyone who doesn't have rosacea, I apologize for the graphic content. For us rosaceans, papules and pustules are just our way of life!) However, after two weeks - voila! - p & ps are back again. So if rosacea is an inflammatory condition, the erythromycin is a short-lived solution . . .