My low carb breakfast

On the low carb board I frequent, there is something called a MIM (muffin in a minute).

It is a bread substitute. Yesterday I made a MIM and after toasting it, topped each slice with 1/2 a fried egg (yolk broken), then some tomato slices, another 1/2 fried egg (2 eggs total) and then some marble cheese. I broiled it for a min to melt the cheese. It was pretty good!

Muffin in a Minute
Serving Size: 1

1/4 cup flax meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 large egg 
1 teaspoon butter
shake or 2 of garlic powder
shake or 2 of seasoning salt

Put the dry ingredients in a coffee mug ( I use a wider raminkin).
Then add the egg and the butter. Mix well
Microwave 1 minute (or so). I usually do 1 min 15 secs.

You can simply eat them as is, or cut and butter and eat. I slice mine into 2 rounds and toast in the toaster oven. They come out more like toast that way in my opinion.

Kefir, low carb, sugar substitutes & rashes

I read about kefir, a probiotic milk drink several years ago but never really looked into it any further.
I recently read about it again on a blog I read. I was able to find free kefir grains in my neighbourhood. I have been making and drinking about a cup of kefir a day for approximately 6 weeks now.

About 2 weeks after starting the kefir, I also decided to start eating a low carb diet. I don't remember if it happened before or after going low carb, but I developed a rash on my stomach. I had it for a couple weeks before it dawned on me that it could be a candida die-off rash.

Candidia is an internal yeast over-growth. It is believed that many people have candida without even knowing it. Being on antibiotics kills off good bactieria and allows normal amounts of yeast in the body to grow unchecked. Candida can cause inflammation which can lead to a myriad of problems and diseases.

Kefir is known to kill off candida yeast. Eating a lot less sugars and carbs also causes candida to die as it is a yeast and feeds off sugars. It may be a combination of the two, the kefir and the low carb diet that contributed to the rash. Soon the rash also appeared on the inside of my left arm, wrist to elbow. It is EXTREMELY itchy. I am using anti-itch cream, Bach rescue remedy cream and GoldBond anti-itch lotion. None completely help.

I have not been 100% on the low carb diet - I have lost 10lbs but some days I am good, some days not so much. The rash is not getting any better and I am scratching my skin off! The on and off cycle I am doing could also be contributing to the rash, as the die-off symptoms should subside after a fee weeks. if I had been 100% with the low carb.

Since I am doing low carb, I have not been eating sugar. I use Stevia (powder & liquid) in my coffee and tea. Today I read that some people are allergic to stevia and get rashes. Great!
I have used stevia before but never for this length of time. I don't know if I am allergic to stevia or if the rash really is a die-off symptom.

I can go to my Dr but she will probably just give me an antibiotic cream which, if I do have candida, could make the problem worse. Most regular Drs do not believe in candida as it is very hard to diagnose.

This sucks! If I can't use stevia, what other low carb sweetener is there? I will NOT use Splenda - I get lightheaded within minutes of using it. I don't like any of the other sweeteners and I don't believe them to be safe either.

Does anyone know of something safe? I don't know whether to just give up the lowcarb and go back to eating sugar or not. Stop the kefir? I don't know. All I know is this rash is not going away and it is driving me nuts!