Updated 12-20-17
Hi, I read something about mouth sores on a thread and I just wanted to address it out here where everyone can see it, then I realized zits kind of go along with this discussion too so I'm tossing it in for future reference!!
:kissy: LOTS of swayers find they get mouth sores and wonder what it means for their sway. There are hundreds of causes of mouth sores and just having them does NOT mean you shouldn't sway. In fact, mouth sores are probably meaningless for swaying and no one needs to worry about them either way.
ACIDITY - Mouth sores are often attributed to "acidity" and it is suggested that when you get more acid, you have more mouth sores. This causes blue swayers to panic when they find themselves getting mouth sores while swaying!!!
The real link between acidity and mouth sores is that whenever you eat acidic foods, you're more likely to get mouth sores. It has nothing to do with your inner acidity, it's what you eat and drink. So blue swayers drinking tomato juice, lemon water, etc are highly likely to get mouth sores, but that doesn't mean their sway is destined to fail, it just means they're eating a lot of acidic foods.
Pink swayers can get mouth sores from cran juice and chewable Vit. C tablets (we don't use those on this site, but they do on others.) Even dairy foods are acidic in nature.
It is IMPOSSIBLE to alter the pH of your body via the foods you eat, so the idea that you are getting mouth sores due to your body's acidity is really very farfetched. http://genderdreaming.com/forum/gend...ph-pickle.html
FOOD SENSITIVITIES - It is very common to be sensitive to a food without having a full blown allergy to it. When swaying, we eat a lot of strange and odd foods that we may not be used to (or at least in the amounts we consume them in) and so we may get mouth sores when we begin to eat these foods.
For blue swayers, offenders include pineapple juice, tomato juice, green tea, nuts, garlic, and baking soda drinks, in addition to other foods you may not have ever eaten before but are sensitive to. For pink swayers, aspartame, cranberry, and baby aspirin are linked to mouth sores. (the good news is that we have moved away from cranberry and baby aspirin as they did not work anyway and had more risks and side effects than we first realized, and we've really dialed it back on aspartame use since it also doesn't work)
MOUTH INJURIES - Oftentimes the site where a mouth sore develops is a place where the skin was broken/injured. This can happen when you are chewing a lot of sugarless gum (pink swayers), eating a lot of chewy foods (blue swayers eating nuts, meat, and dry fruits), or when your mouth is dried out from a high sodium diet or taking antihistamines (both!!)
BACTERIA (or lack thereof) - There's always some bacteria living in the human mouth, but the growth of harmful bacteria is usually held in check by healthy bacteria. When swaying, we do things that may alter that balance and lead to a bacterial mouth sore.
For blue swayers, baking soda drinks and a lack of healthy bacteria in the diet (we usually get this from eating dairy foods like yogurt, so if you're avoiding them, this can trigger mouth sores and vaginal infections). Garlic can also kill off bacteria, both friendly and unfriendly, and may provide an opportunity for bad bacteria to grow. (Please note, I don't actually recommend any of these approaches but some people do use them)
For pink swayers, eating less nutritious foods can lower immunity and make you more prone to bacterial infections. And even friendly bacteria can sometimes overgrow, so if you are eating yogurt constantly, the microorganisms may run amok and trigger mouth sores.
VIRAL AND FUNGAL INFECTIONS - There are all sorts of viruses/fungi that can cause mouth sores, but most of the time it's a herpes simplex 1 virus, the same one that causes cold sores/fever blisters. Pink swayers in particular may experience a slightly depressed immune system as a result of diet, but blue swayers' immunity may also be affected by the high sodium, low cal/mag of the traditional swaying diet. Either way, once your immune system is lowered, that allows the herpes virus that is lying dormant in your body to flare up and cause mouth sores, gum inflammation, and cold sores.
If you do find this to be happening, don't panic over having herpes! 90% of all adults everywhere on the planet are infected with herpes simplex 1 and research has indicated that it actually has a beneficial effect on the immune system. It is a good idea to wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes/genitals, however, because you can spread it (it's not the same virus as the dreaded genital herpes, but you still don't want it below the equator!!)
The common blue sway supp L-arginine has been proven to cause herpesvirus to flare up. L-arg is an ingredient in Fertile CM. So if you're taking l-arg or Fertile CM and are having tons of cold sores, the l-arg needs to go. (I cannot recommend anyone taking either of these things for blue sways, but just in case you were) And if you or DH has Herpes Simplex 2, stay well away from the stuff!!! One swayer reported a drastic increase in the number of outbreaks of genital herpes her husband experienced while taking L-arginine.
:fight: ZITS!!
Pimples, zits, spots, acne...these seem to plague swayers. We have all heard that high T = more zits and so blue swayers actually start to panic if their skin clears up, and pink swayers get nervous when they find their face breaking out on the pink diet. But it is totally normal for any change in your diet to trigger changes in your skin, for better or for worse. This is because there are several reasons why zits develop and hormones is only one of them.
The basic cause of pimples of all varieties is occurs when your pores/hair follicles become clogged with SOMETHING. Skin oil, ingrown hair, dirt, dead skin, bacteria, and white blood cells trying to fight off bacteria, all can cause pimples to form when they plug up the opening to the pore. If the infection takes hold, the pore swells and gets red and becomes what we recognize as a zit. Only the really big huge swollen acne-style pimples are aggravated by testosterone levels, all the other causes of pimples have more to do with other factors and so can affect both pink and blue swayers equally.
For blue swayers, they are eating a diet higher in fat which can contribute to oiliness, and their diet is raising testosterone. Meat and eggs may also feed certain bacteria due to its sulfur content. Also, working out a lot and sweating has also been linked to more pimples, so if you're pumping iron, you may see an increase in pimples due to sweat. So it is not uncommon for blue swayers to see an increase in pimples. But that doesn't mean that if you don't have pimples, that your sway isn't working...more on this below.
For pink swayers, a high sugar diet can feed bacteria on the skin and cause it to overgrow. Also, a lower fat diet can contribute to dryness, and this shrinks pores and can make them more easily plugged and also more likely to develop ingrown hairs in the pores. If you are exercising a lot, sweat can contribute to pimple formation. These factors are totally independent of testosterone levels and you can definitely get more zits even as your T levels drop.
So if you're a blue swayer that has always had pimples and you find your skin is improving on the TTC blue diet, don't panic. Your diet has simply improved your skin. Less simple sugar in your diet provides less food for the bacteria on your skin to live on, and increased oil production has alleviated some dryness that was causing your pores to become more easily plugged and made your skin more supple and less likely to have breakouts.
:tissue: Any time you change your diet dramatically, you are altering the environment throughout your entire body (which is GOOD because that means our sway is doing something, anyway!!). It's no wonder that we develop all kinds of nutty symptoms when we sway!!!
