Still struggling with candida symptoms?
This post is in response to a few questions that I’ve had about ongoing candida issues. Remember though, I’m not a doctor or a health professional but I can share some of my experiences which hopefully may help you.
[Warning if you are squirmish then stop reading here, as I'll be talking lots about poos, wees, farting and other such stuff!]
Candida thrives in a high sugar environment, if you are getting candida symptoms in other parts of your body then there’s a high chance that the candida is feeding off your high levels of blood sugar. In actual fact the candida is doing you a favour! Candida is natural and not to be feared, although it can make you feel so totally awful when it seems to be getting out of control.
Two things I know that cause high blood sugar (and fatigue, candida, and a host of other things) are:
a) too much fat (reduces effectiveness of insulin)
b) not enough insulin
There are several other things (eg worn out adrenals) that may contribute to it too. It may be worth getting tested for type 1 diabetes and some of the other things that cause fatigue and high blood sugar levels. I’ve seen a lot of stories online of type 2 diabetics totally recovering, and type 1 diebetics improving when adopting a raw diet.
I’ve also heard of candida suffers recovering by having amalgam fillings replaced using the correct protocol (ie rubber dam, removed in correct order, use bio-compatible composite white fillings etc). I still have my amalgam fillings. Using diet, I’ve been able to recover enough to get on with my life. If I was still struggling then I’d consider getting them replaced. I may well get them replaced when finances allow anyway.
Some people cut out the fruit and sugar foods (ie Gabriel Cousins approach), others cut out the fat and keep the fruit (ie Doug Graham approach). The thing to remember though is that fat and fruit don’t mix.
If you are still in and out of addictive foods and cooked foods, then please take a look through my blog postings and read one entitled ’setting yourself free from addictive foods that control you’ http://eatmoreraw.net/blog/?p=329
Certain foods will really feed candida, wheat is one of them. Have a think about how you can substitute one food for another healthier food and move towards a healthier diet.
I don’t totally follow the 80 10 10 diet, but I’ve embraced Doug’s teaching on keeping low fat levels to manage fatigue and candida issues. Just before I had success with 811, I was wretching (painfully) and couldn’t quite vomit fully, oh I wish I could have! I also had incredible wind and belching. Something was inside my digestive system and needed to be out. I fasted for a couple of days, and did 2 enema’s containing threelac probiotics. The belching and farting reduced massively after that.
If I cheat on my diet, then the farting sometimes comes back for a couple of weeks. I think it is because small amounts of undigested matter get stuck inside and ferment or putrefy. If the farts are smell free then it’s fermentation, eg from fruit that is backing up inside of the digestive system, typically caused by a previous heavy meal. Or if it stinks, the body is struggling to digest heavier protein type of foods. The odd cheat meal can litterally effect me for 2 or 3 weeks, or more! I really try and stick with my diet now, it’s just not worth it for the odd bit of comfort food. If anyone’s interested and not grossed out by now, it comes as a relief to know that I rarely fart or belch nowadays!
Before I had decent success with the low fat raw diet, what I ate came out in the loo! It was hardly digested, and I used to explode on the loo 6 times a day. I had terrible fatigue and often had depression.
Even since having digestive success, eating any fat would make my poo look like a washed out beige colour. Nowadays though, fat doesn’t bother me like it used to, so I think a degree of healing must have taken place.
When I first had some success in the low fat raw vegan diet my digestion was still poor. If I ate lots of greens then my poo would be green too! Nowadays my poo is pretty much always brown. I think part of this is that my body is MUCH more alkaline. I read recently that part of your digestion (fat digestion) only occurs efficiently when your body has a higher pH. If I wee on pH paper nowadays, or if I spit on it, it doesn’t matter what time of day it is, then the pH paper turns green (ie pH 7 or above). When I had fatigue very badly, the pH of my wee was always less than 6.
To increase the body’s pH: eat greens, greens and more greens!!! and make the rest of your diet raw and low (ideally free from) grain, low fat and no processed or cooked food.
A higher body pH will also help digestion. In order to have good acid levels in your stomach to aid digestion, then your stomach lining needs to be alkaline, otherwise the acid will just burn through your stomach. With a poor stomach lining, to protect you the acid needs to become weaker, hence poor digestion. Eating more greens will gradually help improve your stomach lining, acid levels will improve and so will digestion. If at first you can’t digest greens very well, then have them in smoothies. Cabbage and broccoli may be too strong though and may make you explode on the loo. Eat celery, lettuce, pakchoy etc, and no strong flavoured greens. Have half in a smoothie and half in a salad. Try and work up to eating 1 to 2 pounds of greens a day.
If your body can’t cope with the volume, then please keep eating cooked food, but move towards the healthier options, and gradually increase the amount of greens in your diet.
Teeth.
I’m trying not to eat betweens meals, as my teeth seem to have deteriated a little. I think that’s because I was eating a lot of dates straight out of the packet and honey. Both of these stick to your teeth. I am now trying to eat food just once or twice a day. I do eat alot! I’m trying not to eat outside these meals and I’ve started brushing my teeth with baking soda after food as well. I’m not entirely happy with my teeth, I’m still watching how they repsond to my recent dietary changes. The food hasn’t changed, it’s more when I eat that’s changed and I’m brushing & flossing more often.
Many raw fooders have problems with teeth. I think that is probably partly due to our mineral defficient diet (modern agriculture), and partly due to constant grazing on food (like I was doing). Also if saliva is acidic then that will cause decay too. That’s another reason to increase the pH of the body.
Anti fungals and probiotics:
Be careful! Anti-fungals can make you feel absolutely terrible – It’s no joke. If you do use them, then don’t rush any dosage. Even things like wheatgrass juice help alkalise the body and kill off candida, but can really make you feel so awfull, as can coconut oil. Antifungals address the symptoms, rather than the cause.
My personal preference was to go totally fat free for 3 months. ie. no oil, seeds, avocados, durian etc for three whole months. I ate lots of lettuce, celery, pak choy, salads and fruit – lots of it!
I also drank plenty of water. Dehydration is a huge cause of depression and fatigue. You’ll need more water especially if blood sugar levels are high. Check out the watercure video on my main website links page. They recommend salt with the water but I don’t use it. Maybe I should?! Dr D. Graham says we don’t need it. I seem fine without it, but my teeth could be better.
Acne.
What gets rid of acne for me are ZERO fat foods, a 100% raw diet and ZERO spicy foods. In experimenting with my recent menus, I’ve used more fat foods (coconut, seeds etc) and more spicy foods to flavour things up (eg onion, garlic, indian spices etc). I have had a couple of spots, but nothing serious. My skin is totally amazing though, especially when I just eat fruit and salads without trying to do anything fancy. My skin was awful as I was growing up. Also, my psoriasis, joint pain, back pain, itching, fungal skin infections, athletes foot, and cracked skin have totally gone, and quite a few other things have either vanished or greatly improved with improved my diet.
If you find that fasting helps you, then all is not lost. That’s what I used to find, but as soon as I started eating then my old symptoms would come back. What I’d suggest is learn how your body responds to food. Write down everything that you consume, and see how it effects you in the next couple of days. Use the information learned to help you with your diet.
Do you have a desperate hunger? Then if you feed that hunger you are not feeding yourself!!! Feed your body what it needs and learn to ignore any cries for unhealthy food. If your body cries for healthy food though, then go for it!
I hope that helps!
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