Craving Dove Dark Chocolate

The last couple of days have been tough on me. The Candida diet is really tough emotionally. Yesterday I really craved Dove dark chocolate. Eating it is a whole experience, but isn't that the way with chocolate. That and coffee is what I miss the most. Since Candida feeds on sugar, it will cause intense cravings to get fed. So although it may be really hard to resist, you must stand strong and refuse the craving. Well I was really craving almost anything I wasn't supposed to have. So my strategy will be to dig into God's word and find something I love to do and do it.

"For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Hebrews 4:12


So I will fight this with the word of God! He helps me overcome and takes over when I am weak! 


I was reading a blog the other day called The Candida Diaries.  The author is Amy, board certified holistic health coach and she wrote in her post Flat Bread and Crackers, or, Why I Love Flax, "But they weren’t bad and gave me the inspiration for intentionally making a big, thick ‘flat bread’ which is pretty awesome for someone who hasn’t eaten anything remotely like a sandwich in years!" She was talking about her first attempt at making flax seed flat bread. But it really concerned me when I read that she hadn't had a sandwich in years. I definitely miss bread. The flax seed bread will be my next recipe to try. I'll let you know how it goes.

Blessings until next time!

Frittata With Grated Zucchini, Goat Cheese and Dill

I made this recipe from The Candida Diaries for dinner this evening. It was a lot of work for me but I think I'm becoming more of a cook! My 17 month old son loved it! I have plenty left over for the next couple of days.

Almond Flower Pancakes with Almond Butter

I got this recipe from The Candida Diaries. Her recipe is Vanilla Almond Pancakes with Lemon Curd. I left vanilla out of mine and I topped it with Almond Butter. I like the consistency of these pancakes a lot more than the Coconut flour pancakes.  I'm on the hunt for Vanilla Extract made with glycerin instead of alcohol then I will try that in the pancakes! It's convenient to make a couple and save the batter. That way I can have them for the next couple of days when I need something similar to bread. I would make the lemon curd but I am not supposed to have stevia or xylitol at this point. I used coconut oil to cook them in.

Candidia Diet and Weight Loss

Since I've started my Candida diet a couple of weeks ago, I've lost 7 pounds. Now I wouldn't have chosen this diet for weight loss, its not really healthy for anyone, but its necessary to get the Candida under control. It is a side benefit for me and one positive outcome I'm focusing on during this time. I'm excited to one day get into some of my old clothes and feel better!

Causes of Candida

Antibiotics
Swimming in chlorinated pools
Alcohol use (most often beer, wine and vodka)
Regular use of Candida-promoting foods (sugar)
Alcoholism in either parent
Birth control hormones
Mother was always ill
Consistent exposure to mold
Mercury and mercury fillings (silver amalgam fillings).
Use of corticosteroids
Exposure to pesticides         

To read more about each cause visit CandidaMD

 

My Ph Balance is Acidic

I have been taking ph balance tests. I am extremely acidic. I have also taken an iodine test and am very low on iodine. I listened to an online seminar once about ph balance. The woman who led it talked about how the first thing she does with any of her clients was test their ph balance. With many health problems, the root starts with the ph balance being off. I found it very interesting and will find my papers on that at some point and share the information. The iodine is linked to that as well. So I am going to share a list of products I take to get back on the healthy track. I am also extremely low on calcium, zinc, oleic acid, magnesium and B vitamins.

Calcium-Magnesium
Nutri-Calm (B vitamins with other calming herbs)
Dulse Liquid (iodine)
Nature's Prenatal
Bowel Detox
Yeast Fungal Detox
Garlic (anti-fungal)
Lysine (strengthens immune system and helps absorb calcium)
Zinc
Vitamin E
Bifidophilus (Probiotics-healthy bacteria)
Vitamin D3

And I try to drink plenty of water! The absence of these nutrients and the excess of Candida have caused heart arrhythmias, anxiety and panic attacks in me. These are some symptoms of excess Candida, which I believe I got from too much sugar in my diet and swimming in a chlorinated pool.

All of the products listed above I got from Sunshine Herb Shop, my Nature's Sunshine website. 

How I'm Feeling With New Candida Diet Change

I am still trying to figure everything out. I'm not much of a cook. I mean I can follow a recipe but there are so many other things I'd rather be doing. So I have spent a lot of money at the Sunflower Farmer's Market. I should've waited until I knew exactly what I can and can't eat, because I've bought a lot of stuff that I found out later I couldn't eat. Trying to eat organic is extremely expensive, so I will have to spend more time planting and taking care of stuff outside in my garden. Everywhere I read about the Candida diet, its all supposed to be organic. I've also ordered stuff from Living Beyond Organic. It has great products, but also very expensive.

Now on to how I'm feeling. I have had some emotional times, but not near what I expected. I haven't really been craving sugar like I've read I would be. I attribute that to God's grace while I go through this. Now if I think about it or look at a desert too long I would like it, but I'm not like "I gotta have that." My energy in the morning is pretty good. During the afternoon I'm quite tired. I'm sure that has to do with the fact that I really haven't found a whole lot to eat that will give me energy. I'm getting sick of vegetables and grocery shopping, lol. But I have been able to fill my tummy. I fell like I'm eating to live rather than living to eat. :)  In other words, there isn't much flavor to all I eat. Some things are tasty but I've been eating the same things over and over. So I will soon try new recipes after I get the ingredients for them! I haven't felt sick except for the one day of flu symptoms. So I would say its going pretty well. 

Visit With The Natural Doctor

I met with Natural Doctor Mary Schrick at the Full Circle Health Clinic today to gain direction for my Candida diet. Here is the information I got:

Eat only lean meats, fruits (except bananas, watermelon, grapes), and eat vegetables. No grain flower of any kind (coconut and almond flour are okay). No condiments (including no Stevia or Xylitol), no mushrooms, no yeast, no corn, no starches. Absolutely no grains. Also, no milk products, including no yogurt. Eat 2 servings of vegetables for every 1 serving of fruit and eat more berries and apples than other fruit. Apple Cider Vinegar is okay.  I asked about filtered water since our water has chlorine. She said the water she recommends is reverse osmosis water, and no bottled water and to change the membrane on the reverse osmosis water filter yearly as its torn up by the chlorine. She also recommended talking Proteolytic Enzymes on an empty stomach and they would help get rid of the yeast. And take probiotics (healthy bacteria), which I already take.

So I am having to tweak my diet a little more. I'm glad to hear I can add most fruits back! But now I have to get rid of brown rice cakes, yogurt, stevia and xylitol. I am definitely thankful I have more of a program to go by!

I asked about detoxing, and she talked about how they used to switch between Silver, Caprylic Acid and another item I can't remember, to detox. She doesn't recommend that anymore because the yeast releases toxins into your body and her patients were getting too sick. She has tried everything out there to get rid of Candida and she now just recommends diet. How long it takes depends on how long the person has had it. She said the die off during the detox is only the weak Candida. The Candida spreads throughout your entire body and sets up residence. If you starve it, it won't know your doing it and it won't release any toxins. Candida also starts to become immune to the anti-fungal products if you don't rotate between them.

Since I have already been taking a detox and I've only been sick one day, she said I could continue it if I wanted to. Since I have a really strong immune system. I may just finish the bottle I'm on and not order more since the Candida might become immune to it anyways. So I will be sticking to this diet for as long as it takes.

The rash around my mouth is gone. I still have some thrush on my tongue and a yeast infection. When those are gone, I will do the saliva test again to see if I still have it, then call Dr. Mary again and go from there.

I bought the proteolytic Enzymes called High Potency Protease, the probiotics called Bifidophilus Flora Force,  and the reverse osmosis filter from Sunshine Herb Shop which is my Nature's Sunshine Product Website.

Roasted Asparagus

I got this asparagus from my garden and decided to try a roasted asparagus recipe. I would've made more, but that's all I had. Asparagus takes 3 years to grow until you can actually eat it. We were blessed when we moved here since the previous owners had planted it 2 years ago. So this year is the first year I have cut some. I adapted the recipe from She Wears Many Hats. Since I only had a few asparagus I just drizzled some extra virgin olive oil and squeezed some juice from a lemon onto the asparagus. I roasted it at 400 degrees 7 minutes on each side. I've never eaten asparagus before, but I loved the crunchy tops but didn't like the soft stems. I will have to try steaming it next time!

Opposing Research on Candida Diet

I have tried to look up exactly what I should and shouldn't be eating. There seems to be a lot of conflicting information out there on the Candida Diet. Some say don't eat any fruit, some say you can eat fruit. Some say brown rice is okay and others say its not. The same goes with Stevia and Xylitol. It's really hard to know which is the best way. So tomorrow I'm going to see Dr. Mary Schrick's at Full Circle Health Clinic to get more direction. Up to this point I've been staying away from all sugar, grains, and milk products (except plain yogurt). I have been eating brown rice cakes with almond butter and a dash of cinnamon as a treat. I've been mixing organic strawberries with plain yogurt and a little Stevia. I used to hate yogurt, but now its my favorite. My husband smoked a turkey breast and I've been eating off that all week. I've also been eating lots of broccoli, along with my first attempt at Roasted asparagus from my own garden. One of my staples has been blending unsweetened organic coconut milk (it has anti-candida properties) and unsweetened acai berries. It is tasteless but I know I'm feeding my body what it needs. I'll have more information for you tomorrow after my natural doctor's visit.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

These are the Coconut flour pancakes I made. I got the recipe from The Candida Diaries. I cut the recipe in half from what The Candida Diaries have. I used organic unsweetened coconut milk and coconut oil in the pan. I didn't use any spices either, so I'm sure her recipe would be tastier. I just don't know exactly what I can have yet. I'm planning on going to see Dr. Mary Schrick at Full Circle Health Clinic so I can have more direction with my diet. So these pancakes were ok, but I didn't like the consistency very much. However, I did make them more than once. It did give me something like bread, since I am not able to have bread. The organic strawberries really helped!

Omelet For Dinner

My husband made me this delicious omelet for dinner! Pretty simple, it just has tomatoes avocado, goat cheese and sea salt and pepper to taste. I'm not a fan of goat cheese yet, so he just put a little in and it was tasty.

Great Recipes for Candida

I have been searching for recipes to change my eating habits. I found this great blog called The Candida Diaries. I plan on trying some of these recipes very soon and will let you know how it turns out. Another website I found for Candida recipes is The Candida Diet.

Chlorine and Candida

I have been swimming every morning for the last couple of months in a chlorinated pool. I have had a rash emerging around my mouth for a while now. As soon as I found out I had Candida, I figured it was from that. And after some research I found out that rashes were a symptom as well. I thought it could've been from the pool since I have such dry skin. Well as soon as I found out about the Candida I stopped swimming. I wanted to research the affects of Chlorine on Candida before I started again. Sure enough I found out that swimming in a chlorinated pool can cause a "bloom in Candida." So that is probably when it got worse for me. It's just crazy how I was exercising to become healthier and it was just making things worse.  I already miss swimming so I need to find a pool that is a salt water pool.

Here is an exert from the Candida MD website

"Swimming in chlorinated pools.  Chlorine is a chemical in the halogen class that is used in swimming pools and Jacuzzis to kill bacteria and algae.  Just as chlorine kills bacteria in the water, it also kills the body’s normal bacterial flora.  However, it appears chlorine is not strong enough to kill yeast at pool water concentrations, so yeast growth in and on the body is encouraged when the competing bacteria are cleared out of the way.  While chloride is a very abundant and necessary ion in the body, chlorine exposure is not at all natural for us. Read more"

Candida Detox

So I have read a lot of information that I am to expect to have flu like symptoms while detoxing from Candida. When some of the yeast dies off, it releases toxins into your body causing you to feel flu like symptoms. I had started the detox using Yeast Fungal Detox before going out of town. So I stopped it so I wouldn't be sick over the weekend. I started it back on Sunday and all day Monday I felt really sick. I felt achy, sore and nauseous all day. But the next day it was gone. I've read to expect it from 1 day to 1 week and that it can come and go. You can find out some Candida die off symptoms here: Candida die off symptoms. Even though the die off symptoms only last a day, it seems that it can take 6 months or longer to get the Candida under control. I'll be looking into more of why that is.

Find Yeast Fungal Detox at www.SunshineHerbShop.com

Just Starting my Canidida Diet

Over this past weekend I went out of town. It was tough since I have just begun my Candida diet and I'm not really sure what to eat yet. I brought a bag of raw sunflower seeds and some 100% whole grain and whole wheat bread. Up to this point, I'm just really hungry. Trying to change your diet cold turkey is hard. But I know I have to do it. I don't want this yeast taking over my body any longer. After 3 hours in the car, we stopped at KFC, and I had some chicken and mashed potatoes and gravy. Immediately I had about 5 canker soars pop up in my mouth. I gather that was the wrong thing to eat. So I ate a lot of bread and cauliflower over the weekend. This week I'm researching more to know what I can eat. I will share more about what I find.

Some symptoms of Candida

fatigue, dark circles under eyes, poor concentration, poor short term memory, pain in the joints and muscles, tightness in shoulders and neck, acid reflux, blisters in mouth tongue and throat, sore throat, white coated tongue, jumpy, chronic sinus problems, headaches, migraines, chronic dental problems, brown colored mucus in back of throat, depression, paranoia, anxiety, mood swings and paranoia. This is only a short list. You can find more symptoms by doing a search.

If you think you might have Candida take the spit test that was posted before this.

Candida/Yeast Saliva Test

Anyone can do this test in the comfort of their own home to see if they have Candida.

Life Changing Diet Begins Today

I have been selling herbs with Nature's Sunshine for about 10 years now and taking Nature's Sunshine products for about 12 years. Since I am someone who is very into natural products, you would think it would show in my diet. It's always been a desire of mine to eat healthy and feed my family healthy foods. Well, I've had a sugar addiction for as long as I can remember. So anytime I've tried to eat healthy, it just never stuck. I know I could if I was really committed. There was a time I gave up chocolate for a year. Well, I guess I never really wanted to give up the sugar. I could never do a little either, it has always been all or nothing with me. So I went to the Full Circle Health Clinic about a month ago, and I got some tests to take at home. One was a spit test to see if I had Candida. I will post that test later so anyone can do it. I found out I do have it. A few days later I started doing research on Candida........ Candida is a yeast present in everyone's body. It is okay if its in balance. It eats the excess sugar that our bodies don't use. I'll post more about Candida later. I have it in excess because I eat too much sugar and it keeps growing. So I'm marking today as the day my life turns around from my Candida diet. I've done some crying, and have felt hopeless. Today I feel energized to make this drastic change in my diet to a healthier me. I will post more about my progress along the way and try to find some healthy recipes to share so that anyone else going through this can benefit! I'm excited to finally start eating right, loose weight in the process, and give my family a healthier lifestyle!

A lot of what I've read shows it takes about 6 months to get the Candida under control. Here is a link I found that shows the Candida diet if your interested:
http://www.holistichelp.net/candida-diet.html

Keep checking back for more posts on how to get rid of Candida!