Calcium and facial flushing. Normal?

serling78

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I haven't had luck finding supporting evidence on this, but I have very sensitized skin and am prone to facial redness /flushing and I've long known that calcium from dairy makes it worse. I always assumed it was some vitamin or mineral in the milk that caused the redness like vitamin A, which on its own as a supplement has the same result for me, but lately I've just been getting calcium from calcium carbonate powder and it's the same thing. My face is very red and irritated when I take it.

Does this indicate something? I've never heard of a Calcium allergy and I don't show symptoms anywhere else on my body. But it's annoying and keeps me from getting 1k mg or so of calcium daily. If I take a small amount like 300mg then the redness is more manageable.
 

Stilgar

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I've had the same in the past - for me it was always gut irritation. The flushing was a serotonin reaction.
 

aniciete

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Do you get sufficient magnesium or are you under a lot of stress? I recently started trialing some magnesium glycinate and my facial flushing disappeared overnight.
 

Smitty

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I've consumed about 2 cups (500ml) of milk per day in addition to some yogurt, cheese, and ice cream for close to a year. In the past month or so I've been more prone to flushing and always have rosy cheeks by the end of the day. I just starting taking 1mg of Cyproheptadine to see if it is in fact serotonin causing the issue. I'm almost concerned its stage 1 rosacea.
 

Jonk

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I've consumed about 2 cups (500ml) of milk per day in addition to some yogurt, cheese, and ice cream for close to a year. In the past month or so I've been more prone to flushing and always have rosy cheeks by the end of the day. I just starting taking 1mg of Cyproheptadine to see if it is in fact serotonin causing the issue. I'm almost concerned its stage 1 rosacea.
I am going through something similar. I feel like I am like "50 % healed" and my body still has issues with utilizing an increased energy intake. Too little energy = fascial flushing. Too much energy = facial flushing. But for me - if i have had a lot of calories in a day with a lot of meat, taking some eggshell powder in the evening makes me feel a lot more at ease -> lowering blood pressure effect. So yeah my best guess is gut irritation. I am currently waiting on a B1 TTFD and B6 supplement to arrive.
 

Jonk

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Another example - I have some difficulty drinking coffee because of a flushing of the face effect. Still need to drink it cold, but the negative effect is mightily mitigated with some heavy cream mixed in.
 

Smitty

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"50 % healed"
That's a good way of framing it. I've played with Benfotiamine and P5P in the past mind you for different issues but had no tangible improvement. Coffee for me as well exaggerates my symptoms.
 

aniciete

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That's a good way of framing it. I've played with Benfotiamine and P5P in the past mind you for different issues but had no tangible improvement. Coffee for me as well exaggerates my symptoms.
Have you tried other b vitamins? Do you consume lots of coffee and sugar?
 

Smitty

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Have you tried other b vitamins? Do you consume lots of coffee and sugar?
I take B1, B2, and B3 on a daily basis. I don't do well with caffeine because it gives me anxiety but I do occasionally have decaf. I consume copious amounts of honey, maple syrup, and sometimes sugar in my milk/oj.
Do you get sufficient magnesium or are you under a lot of stress? I recently started trialing some magnesium glycinate and my facial flushing disappeared overnight.
Re your magnesium suggestion to OP, I used to take 400mg of magnesium glycinate per day but recently lowered my dose because I noticed a bounding heart beat in the evening. I believe it was causing an imbalance in my sodium and potassium levels.
 

Smitty

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Milk is high in tryptophan which can convert to niacin and cause flushing but it's strange that you experience the same reaction with the carbonate powder. I'm going to try cutting out milk myself and see how it goes.
 

Jonk

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Milk is high in tryptophan which can convert to niacin and cause flushing but it's strange that you experience the same reaction with the carbonate powder. I'm going to try cutting out milk myself and see how it goes.
Well b1 and B6 didn't help much. I have been noticing I can somewhat control my reactions to stressful situations (which are making me overheat) by NOT breathing. Also having a problem with waking up in the morning/not feeling refreshed, also dry mouth. Will try and sleep with mouth tape see if that can maybe lower adrenalin/cortisol levels at night and allowing me to use it more beneficially during the day. A little OT but thought I'd write it down since we're maybe in a similar boat ?
 

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