Looks like I am now winning this war after so long on the losing side. I am so glad I did not give up. Well let us just say giving up was not an option considering I was in pain and the need to wash my hair so frequently did not appeal as something I had to live with. So the battles raged on until I found the main enemy. After eliminating that, the rest of the foot soldiers were just a walk over. Now I can say victory is mine.
It turned out, my major enemy was cow’s milk. You know, I knew from when I was young that I could not stomach sour milk (Amasi) My stomach just could not digest it. And yogurt, although healthy and all, often gave me an upset stomach and I did not understand why. However, a friend lectured me on the many setbacks cow’s milk has on our bodies and when she said, “Humans are the only mammals who insist on drinking milk after the age of 2 years and because we cannot produce the milk, we end up taking another mammal’s milk” it really hit home for me. I was forcing my stomach to digest another mammal’s milk and this was causing so much trouble in my stomach.
My son who is 8 also had mad dandruff all over his head and to make matters worse, the dandruff was eating up his hair so he ended up having 1cm diameter white patches all over his head. I was already scared that my dandruff could start or was already causing me to lose hair so I needed to do something really drastic. With my son’s patches, we had tried almost any over the counter application and had even got some prescribed medication with no joy. At one time he got another allergy thing going on and I gave him Allegex and only then did the patches disappear. However, this time around, even Allegex could not do the trick so I was really desperate and I knew I had to try my friend’s advice and eliminate lactose from both our diets.
I am writing this after two months on our lactose free diet and I can report that, my son’s white patches are all gone and there is hair growing there now. I also do not need to wash my hair 3 times a week. Once a week or in two weeks is enough and these days, I mainly wash my hair because I need to style it and I want to get rid of the product on my hair. I am no longer scratching like a mad woman and that’s a great relief. I wish I knew I just needed to remove milk from my diet a long time ago. You see, this is the information most doctors will not tell you. Busy dealing with the symptoms and not the cause of the problem. To think I have gone through many prescriptions for my ever so stubborn dandruff and all I needed is this simple?
Check out my clean scalp at 7 days post wash day
Besides the many dandruff topical treatments, I had also adjusted my diet in the hope of winning the battle against dandruff which for me was caused by yeast over growth. I had tried the low carb diet but for some reason, it was not sustainable for me. So I went back to normal eating but with high fibre foods. I also stopped adding sugar to my food and drinks and minimised carbonated drinks. You would think all this would be enough to give me a better state of health but alas. The secret weapon being used against me was still there so I did not have a chance.
My body did not give up milk without a fight though. After about 6 weeks, I became so sick I thought I was going to die. My digestive system was so upset with me nothing I ate or did made it any better. I also had fever every day for about a week. I felt so sick until I did not know what was wrong with me anymore. Only now I think they were withdrawal symptoms from all the years of having cow’s milk daily. I am fine now but my chapter with cow’s milk is closed. I am not going back there.
You know what, there is a time when dealing with symptoms is not enough and the root cause of the problem has to be dealt with and sorted out if possible. Applying this ointment or that wonder product may not be of much help if the main cause is not dealt with. That was the reason my remedies for dandruff used to work only for a short while and I would always have a major flare up here and there. As much as I still use dandruff shampoo now and all the other stuff for dandruff, like black soap, garlic oil, ACV rinses and all, my results are not so short lived and I am not a dandruff slave anymore.
Do you have dandruff and you feel like you are losing the battle, why don’t you try eliminating cow’s milk and its products bit by bit from your diet for about a month or two and see how it goes. Doing it all at once like I did may cause severe withdrawal symptoms. Bit by bit is the best thing to do it and you can substitute cow’s milk with many plant based milk products available in stores. I use Soy milk because it is not too expensive and it tastes great especially in oats and cereals. In sharing this, I hope someone who is also battling with dandruff can have a fighting chance against it. It worked for me. It may also work for you.
Blessings to you and yours and have a blessed Easter.
