Jo Coffey has suffered from Candida for far too long. She is a customer of GoodnessDirect and has been helping us with the flagging of certain of our products to help point others with candida problems in the right direction.
Note: Jo hates celery even though its fine for candidiasis sufferers!!
The diet summary: Anti-Candida Diet:
FOODS TO AVOID Argh! No! The evil candida-aliens are coming!
SUGAR in all it’s forms, and all foods containing sugar, INCLUDING FRUIT – it’s still sugar after all. This includes brown or white sugar, demerara, molasses, syrup, honey, malt, chocolate, all forms of confectionery, icing, marzipan, ice-creams, deserts, puddings, cakes, biscuits, soft drinks, including squash and all canned drinks, tinned fruit in syrup etc. Check ALL packets for hidden sugar – it’s even in some frozen or canned vegetables! Types of sugar also include Fructose, Lactose, Maltose, Sucrose and Dextrose. So malted grains, even spices with added sugar are all out.
YEAST All foods containing or derived from it. This includes Bread, food coated in breadcrumbs or rusk, marmite, vecon, bovril, Bisto, Oxo (even vegetarian oxo cubes have sugar and yeast!), citric acid, monosodium glutomate, vitamin tablets (unless the label specifically states “yeast free”). Pizza bases and most makes of pitta bread (I’ve found naan breads are the same). Also beware of commercially wrapped bread which claims to have no added yeast if it has been made with sourdough, or sprouted grains because these products have been fermented and contain their own naturally produced yeasts.
REFINED GRAINS White flour, granary flour (which is white flour with added malt and whole grains), white rice, white pasta, cornflour (cornstarch), custard powder, cornflakes, most other produced cereals, unless “whole grain” or “wholemeal” is stated.
MALTED PRODUCTS some cereals (eg: weetabix), some crispbreads, granary bread, malted drinks like ovaltine, horlicks and caro.
ANYTHING FERMENTED: Vinegar and foods containing it (ketchups, pickles, salad creams, mayonnaise, baked beans), soy sauce, sourdough bread, ginger beer, cider, beer and wine. In fact all alcohol, including spirits, act as a stimulant which triggers the release of your blood sugar stores thus making sugar for the yeasts.
COWS MILK and most milk products including cream and most cheeses. (See foods to enjoy for yoghurt and other details)
FRESH FRUIT Raw, stewed, made into jam or juice. Pure fruit juice is virtually straight fructose and often also very high in moulds. Fresh squeezed lemon juice is allowed in salad dressings, mineral water etc (nice extra for fruit teas too!)
DRIED FRUIT including prunes and figs and mueslis.
NB: Figs or dates are used to sweeten some health drinks eg: caro, bambu and nocaff. (Plain instant chicory powder is seldom sweetened and is also good for you).
NUTS Unless freshly cracked, because of mould. Avoid peanuts completely, even in their shells(monkey nuts) because they are very high in mould. Avoid peanut butter for this reason too.
GROUND PEPPER One of the highest mould contents of the kitchen – the pepper pot, however freshly ground it’s okay.
SALT It is important not to overload the body with sodium at this time. If you must use it use LO-salt which supplements the sodium with potassium. Craving for salt is most likely to be due to ZINC deficiency consider zinc supplementation read optimum nutrition bible and/or see a nutritionist first though! Zinc is essential to libido too.
SMOKED OR CURED FISH and MEAT including ham, bacon, (even unsmoked is still cured) smoked salmon, smoked mackerel, smoked haddock.
MUSHROOMS which are a fungus. So are truffles.
TEA AND COFFEE – even decaf as they still contain other stimulants. Also avoid hot chocolate and all malted drinks.
COLA DRINKS AND LUCOZADE – they both contain caffeine (as well as sugars) as do Beechams powders and many painkillers (eg: anadin, phensic, panadol extra)
ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS. These have been found to feed candida just as well as sugar and also keep a persons sweet tooth alive.
PRESERVATIVES including citric acid which are frequently derived from yeasts and in any case introduce unnecessary chemicals into the body. Citric acid is commonly found in supermarket tomatos. Healthfood shop organic tomatoes are normally just in tomato juice alone.
HOT SPICES AND CURRIES – they destroy friendly bacteria in the gut and are an irritant.
CHEMICAL ADDITIVES If you don’t know what it is on the ingredients list then DON’T eat it!!! (Jo: rather makes sense to me about all food, yet apparently most people eat lots of meals filled with chemicals they don’t even know a thing about!!) Also avoid non organic meat or eggs, even free range, because of medicine residues. OTHERS: Also avoid any prescribed medicines such as: antibiotics, steroids, including creams and inhalers, the contraceptive pill, HRT, NSAIDs. Also moulds from house plants and build-up of moulds in any double glazing can be a trigger/problem. Often people are sensitive to gas fumes too, but that’s pushing it for here!
FOODS TO ENJOY Yum ! Scrum ! Fill my tum !
YEAST-FREE SODA BREAD Made with wholewheat flour, or other whole grains. See book for good recipes (most bought ones have added sugar or dairy or both)
RICE CAKES (may be lightly toasted), oatcakes (malt free) original or sesame ryvita, wholewheat crispbreads. Read all labels carefully. Nairn’s organic oatcakes are on the diet and very good with hummus.
PASTRY made with wholewheat flour, oatmeal and sunflower or olive oil in proportions of 3:2:2 Make very moist with water then dust well with flour before rolling.
UNSWEETENED SOYA OR RICE MILK as milk alternatives. Different makes of soya milk have drastically different flavours (some taste creamy and nutty, most taste of cardboard and water), and rice milk also comes in Vanilla flavour which is delicious and makes even better porridge than cows milk! Oat milk is surprisingly good.
BUTTER- unsalted for spreading and cooking, otherwise for all cooking use extra virgin olive oil.
UNHYDROGENATED MARGARINE read all labels carefully, make sure it is dairy free, and unhydrogenated AND avoid those with citric acid, (it’s mould extract remember), (and in Jo’s case dairy-free too!) Pure organic or SO olive oil are the only spreads we’ve found that are safe.
COLD PRESSED OILS sunflower, safflower, linseed – only as salad dressing (or jacket potato softner), with lemon or with egg in mayonnaise. DO NOT HEAT as they release free radicals!
NATURAL YOGHURT – low fat, natural, unflavoured. Have it as a dessert or breakfast with lecethin granules or mixed seeds, or with cereal such as whole puffed rice. Spread on top of lasagne before baking or flavour with mint as a dip. (Jo: Even though it’s not low fat we both love Rachels Organic Greek style yoghurt. You can do lots with it too; with a little carob powder mixed in makes a tangy chocolate mousse like mix – a little of this is the nearest I get to a dessert, vanilla and cinammon are great too … but I’ve always prefered savoury things to puddings anyway so that’s okay – sadly now eliminated by dairy allergy taking hold). Milled dark linseeds add nice flavour and texture too.
COTTAGE CHEESE as a spread or filler for jacket potato or with salad. (Jo: I’ve never been too keen on cottage cheese, and combined with the dairy intolerance history I can’t see a really good reason for me to eat cottage cheese ever. I don’t think Cliff thinks much of it either and as a person who suffers in the sinuses most dairy is best avoided too)
BREAKFASTS home made muesli with oat flakes (organic) And other whole grains, mixed with seeds, soaked in water and eaten with oat milk, rice milk or natural yoghurt. Shredded wheat with soya or rice milk. Puffed oats, wheat or rice or kashi (mixed whole grains) with soya or rice milk. Porridge made with soya or rice milk (see rice milk note – vanilla is excellent) sprinkled with cinammon or nutmeg and eaten with yoghurt.
Egg, boiled, poached or scrambled, eaten with wholewheat soda bread, or toast and butter, rice cakes with cottage cheese (yuk!) and sliced tomato, or slices of tinned pease pudding (help – I’ll take the rice cakes after all!) with tomato, grilled or microwaved, and many more besides.
MAIN MEALS Try to find a butcher (or farm shop) selling free-range chickens, and organic lean meat to avoid hormones and antibiotics. Rabbit and lamb are less likely to be affected. Do not forget though that all red meat has inflammatory qualities!
Enjoy any type of fish (except smoked) but oily fish is particularly beneficial (herrings, sardines, mackerel, pilchards, salmon tuna and trout.)
Combine a grain with a pulse for more complete protein from vegetarian sources. Eg: bean and vegetable pie, crumble, rice or bulgar wheat with chickpeas in tomato sauce or soya milk and herb sauce, wholewheat spaghetti, brown rice pasta twirls with brown lentils, tomatos and onions. Though even without combining you still get some reasonable protein from pulses.
FRESH VEGETABLES – of all types, steamed. Aim to have a plate full of salad (UNCOOKED VEGETABLES) including TOMATOES every day – it should be a 1/3 of all anyone eats, uncooked veg. Do not salt when steaming, even with lo-salt. We also roast our vegetables in organic extra virgin olive oil – not strictly totally healthy but a very nice alternative.
AVOCADOS are very good filled with houmous, yoghurt with tomato puree, or home-made vinegar free mayonnaise. Apparently others enjoy cottage cheese, but then there’s no accounting for taste!
LEMONS – apart from avocados and tomatoes, the only other fruit allowed. If adding slices to drink then scrub the peel very well to ensure all traces of moulds are removed. Use lemon juice for salad dressing, for a yoghurt sauce with casseroled chicken and for squeezing over your fish, also to substitute for the vinegar in mayonnaise.
SEEDS AND FRESHLY CRACKED NUTS – not peanuts. (Jo: I still gag at the taste, even scent sometimes, of 90% of nuts so best to avoid them. Seeds I’m weaning myself onto still, but should be okay.) They make a nutritious snack. Choose seeds such as sunflower pumpkin, flax and sesame. Keep in the fridge. A mix of above seeds gives balanced amounts of omega 3 and 6 essential fatty oils.
NB shelled nuts have unseen moulds so they must be fresh nuts cracked as you eat them.
HERBS OF ALL KINDS fresh or dried add interesting variations in flavour.
MILD SPICES also add interest. Cinnamon, coriander, tumeric, cumin etc, though still avoid hot ones especially chilli (irritant). (Jo: lemon grass, coriander and ginger go excellently with coconut milk or cream as a thai style stir-fry sauce). FRESH ground black pepper, but not pre-ground. Be wary – many mixed spice mixes have added sugar as one of the spices! Schwarz Thai 7 spice doesn’t but their chinese 5 spice does so check very carefully.
HOT DRINKS barley cup (yukky stuff plain instant chicory is far nicer and less burnt tasting) and herb teas or fruit teas providing they have no citric acid or malt or artificial flavours or colourings. Rooibos tastes closest to normal tea (if rather like somewhat stewed normal tea to my taste buds). Hot tomato juice makes a nice winter warmer. Roasted dandelion coffee (avoid added lactose or sugar) tastes good and is a wonderful detox for the liver. (Jo: having checked the health food shops out for this one I think you have to make it yourself to have it without lactose, milk or sugar). Favourite packeted teas: Cliff is a gingko biloba fan – Ginseng Vitality Qi tea is a favorite, commonly known as lizards (from a conversation about gekkhos in boiling water) sadly it appears they’ve taken out the gingko and added cinnamon and licorice – shouldn’t be allowed to even pretend it’s the same tea!!!! Peppermint is always safe and welcome, most teas which don’t have actual lumps of fruit or sugar are okay.
COLD DRINKS filter or bottled water, still or sparkling with added ice and lemon is refreshing. (Use a filter jug and a soda syphon, as carbonated drinks aren’t generally very good for you as the excess carbon messes up the bodys balance (I think it steals oxygen from the blood if I remember rightly). Chilled tomato juice is good as a starter, no citric acid or vinegar though (and most of them now have added worcester sauce too). Iced fruit teas are good and are a good alternative to squash or fruit juice (don’t store too long though). Yoghurt can be mixed into sparkling mineral water with added mint leaves or vanilla essence too (so they tell me). According to the hospital’s list one can still get away with drinking Gin and Vodka. So there are two alcoholic drinks one can have. Vodka and “pure, citric acid and vinegar-free” tomato juice, (most tomato juices are full of stuff that isn’t tomatoes) or gin and soda, with a slice of lemon – you can hardly taste it’s not tonic, or straight vodka of course! I’m not sure how on diet vanilla vodka is but it’s one of my favorites and seems to do no more harm than regular vodka and doesn’t smell or taste sweet. However these really are to be saved for special occasions as whenever I’ve had more than one I’ve been somewhat less than well for the following day or two and I think it might not be as safe as the hospital thinks. And of course they are stimulants, releasing blood sugar, which is sugar for yeast to feed on as much as any other sugars are )so it’s a no most of the time).
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31 responses so far ↓
About candida and candidiasis « GoodnessDirect Blog - Health foods & healthy lifestyles for you & your planet // 18 November, 2008 at 11:25 am |
[...] Tips for an Anti-Candida Diet [...]
Alicia // 1 December, 2008 at 1:29 pm |
Animal products are filled with poisons and are the reasons why so many people are sick and obese . Not to mention cruel .So it will cause candida .
Stephanie Wilson // 24 December, 2008 at 8:43 am |
Very helpful post. This will help me. Tnx. http://myyeastinfectioncures.info
Katy Burr // 14 January, 2009 at 10:21 pm |
Very informative. Thankyou
Katy Burr // 14 January, 2009 at 10:22 pm |
Thankyou, Very informative
emily // 29 January, 2009 at 12:12 pm |
thanks but may as well be dead!
Sophie McLachlan // 18 February, 2009 at 7:55 am |
Thanks , I have been pretty much constantly suffering from candida for the past year without realising – or admitting – it .
I am really hoping this diet will help, only I do agree with emily above , not much left to eat ! I have several food allergies – dairy, soy, citrus, peanuts and potatoes, which gives me eczema – which i have suffered from all my life so never really made an effort to not eat the foods. SO its really no wonder I have been suffering from thrush, when they are all prime contributors !
So thanks !
marianne marlow // 20 February, 2009 at 2:13 pm |
Thanks for this, weirdly though it seems to almost match word for word what Erica White’s Book says..
sofiya // 28 March, 2009 at 3:24 pm |
hi my name is sofiya, I have had candida for about seven years now,of which four of them I did not realisewhat it was.I would like to know if tomatoe puree feeds candida and also if fresh garlic eaten raw kills off the good bacteria as well as the candida.thanks
amanda // 11 June, 2009 at 8:10 am |
Diet seemed to work very well first few days, but now in 3rd week doesn’t. How long should it take?
The nice rice flour I found was made with fermented rice, so I presume , not allowed either. Isn’t soya spread ok? I just use sunflower oil for cooking-surely that’s ok as same as in spreads?
amanda // 11 June, 2009 at 8:34 am |
I don’t understand why butter is allowed and not milk, or why unsalted- can someone enlighten me please?
Stacy // 21 June, 2009 at 11:55 am |
I thought alcohol in any form was strictly forbidden on the anti-candida diet as it is fermented yeast and sugar. Why is Vodka and Gin OK? I’ve never heard this before.
Amanda butter is OK because it contains a tiny amount of lactose compared to milk. Unsalted because too much salt stimulates the adrenals and will release extra sugar in the blood. So it’s best not to exceed the recommended daily intake of salt which I think is 6g. If you like salt you are allowed to subsistute it with Lo-salt which is potassium.
Stacy // 21 June, 2009 at 12:05 pm |
Amanda also if you are feeling worse it’s good sign as the dying candida release more toxins than the live stuff, which means that you will feel bad till it’s out of your system. I suggest drinking plenty of water and/or dandelion root coffee. When I started on the diet I was constipated for the first few weeks, this happens because the body has had a big change in diet and needs time to adjust, some people get the runs instead.
I suggest buying Erica Whites anti candida cook book for a great plan that works and lots of great recipes. You may find it in the local library so it may be worth looking there first. You can even get the library to order for you, or if it’s in another library you can get it sent to your library.
Hope this helps.
Martin // 25 August, 2009 at 4:01 am |
Berry Fruit such as Raspberries, blueberries etc can be eaten after 4 weeks of being on the diet as is low in sugar. I find rice milk extremely sweet and this is due to the sugars produced by fermented rice! I Stick to Oat milk. There are many books on Candida and some are better than others. I have the one by Leon Chaitow which is based on the principles set out by the diet originator, William Crooks. The thing to remember is that Candida cannot be completely killed, it is present in everyone. It is about restricting and controlling it until health improves over time. Keep a food and symptom diary and reintroduce foods after a set time to gauge the effect.
Jayne // 20 September, 2009 at 9:33 pm |
Thanks, some sites contradict each other though….only on week 2 of diet so am hoping to get some good results soon although I already have loads more energy in the evenings and don’t suffer with afternoon slump on this diet either- always a bonus. currently waiting on the beat candida cookbook, wish me luck!!!
virginia // 25 October, 2009 at 9:34 pm |
I have been on a candida diet and kill off for 5 months and no better (had a couple of slip ups) Just ate sunflower seeds and horrible candida reaction. Rice milk causes my tingling/itching (my form of candida seems primarily to be thrush and skin reactions) all nuts, oat cakes and basically everything I eat except meat and vegies…UUH! Yes it would be better to be dead. Went to a party last night and for dinner from the buffet I had plain greens and a small cup of fried potatoes.
tess // 28 December, 2009 at 12:04 am |
For years I followed strict and rather terrible diets like the one described above. Then I came across a therapist who put me on the right treatment to finally get rid of the Candida plus some excellent herb treatment to tackle the die-off symptoms. She told me that fruit sugars do not feed candida. I can eat fruit! She tested me for various allergies. I can also eat goats and sheeps cheeses. She introduced me to healthy fruit-based sweeteners Xylitol and Agave syrup which are found in various chocolates, cakes, biscuits and ice creams in health shops – which I can now eat. Hey! you lot out there – there’s no need to be a candida martyr!
Lauren // 25 January, 2010 at 8:43 pm |
hello tess, are you a resident in the UK or US?
If you’re in the UK could you please tell me the contact details of your therapist. I’ve been suffering with candida for a while now and still haven’t found a diet which suits me. Thanks.
tess // 28 December, 2009 at 12:08 am |
Ref previous comment have now ticked box below
valgal123 // 5 January, 2010 at 3:15 am |
Hey tess, you said that your therapist told you that fruit sugars don’t feed candida? I didn’t know that, in fact I heard just the opposite. Is that because everyone is different and perhaps you have a different kind of candida? I want to eat fruit!
valgal123 // 5 January, 2010 at 3:22 am |
Oh and I have seen many, many different candida diet websites with the lists of do and don’t foods. Some say NO GRAINS, YES NUTS and YES GRAINS, NO NUTS, or GRANNY SMITH APPLES ARE OK, NO FRUIT OF ANY KIND. Some say yes to dairy like cream and others say no to cream, yogurt, cottage ch, cream ch, sour cream etc. Some also say YES TO BEANS or NO BEANS. Its so frustrating, I want a for sure answer here. I guess everyone is different and I just have to start off really strict and then reintroduce foods. Ick, I’m only 19 and have spent 6 years doing diets like this after food sensitivity tests, IM SICK OF THIS! I just want to be like everyone else.
Tess // 6 January, 2010 at 9:03 pm |
Hi Valgal123
My therapist hasn’t mentioned a specific type of candida. I will ask her if I have one. To quote her exact words “…fruit sugar does not feed Candida”. She really is something of an expert. The stuff she gave me to kill off the candida was goldenseal and the herb to treat the die-off was a mixture of bayberry and other herbs. She found I was not able to tolerate alcohol and sweeteners like saccarine, aspartme, acesulfame, plus dairy foods and gluten foods (which gave me terrible constipation) and various other foods. If u want me to give u the details of supplier of the above herbs I will do so. R U resident in the US or UK???
valgal123 // 8 January, 2010 at 3:57 pm |
I’m a resident of US. I believe I have had candida since birth and have spent almost ten years trying to feel better. I tried the raw food diet for 8 months and that is when the candida symptoms really became apparent. So I’m kind of hesitant about eating fruit.
John // 29 January, 2010 at 10:15 am |
Hi,
I’ve just come across this post and it’s very useful, thank you.
I’ve been following this type of diet quite strictly for about 3 weeks now, but since I’ve started I feel shattered most of the time. To do anything at all requires a super-human effort. (Out of curiosity I took my pulse one day at rest which was around 40 instead of the usual 60pm!). Is this a normal reaction?
I can only imagine it’s due to cutting out fresh fruit (esp bananas – two a day!), dried fruit (dates), decaf tea and (85% cocoa) chocolate but it seems an extreme reaction. My stomach’s feeling better for it, but I’m wondering if there’s anything I can eat that will give me more energy?
Tanya // 30 January, 2010 at 4:23 pm |
Hi Tess,
I have suffered from candida for almost a year very severely to the point where it’s very dehabilitating. Most of the doctors I saw didn’t know anything about candida it was only when I saw a doctor whilst abroad that I got diagnosed as having candida which is prediminately in the digestive system, bladder and gynaelogical ares. I am on an anti candida diet and am very strict cause determined to get better plus have intolerances even to wheat. I am on various medication but have seen little improvements and am getting so dispondent.
I would really like the name and number of your therapist that u mentioned who has helped u if your therapist is based in the UK? as I have no therapist or doctor in the UK who has been able to help me. Would really like to be tested like you have with regards to specific foods etc. I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks!
claudia // 24 February, 2010 at 3:35 pm |
Hello, yes I agree that there are many contradictions on the various web sites on the internet but if you keep reading them you will see which ones say the same things so it makes sense to trust those. Basically, you should first off avoid all sugars, yeast and fermented foods. A safe way to start is to eat food you prepare yourself from fresh ingredients, use almost nothing from a box! Fruit, especially ripe, is to be eliminated, though one fruit a day is accepted if it is low in sugar (apples, pears). No carbs as they convert to sugar in the intestines which is why a high protein diet is emphasized. I eat lots of garlic, onions and ginger as they are antifungal.
Everyone is born with “good” candida (sounds morbid but it’s function is to help the body decompose when you’re gone) but can multiply into the “bad” form if too many processed foods are eaten, too many antibiotics, steroids, etc.
Candida can exist as a symptom of other illnesses which doctors often treat with antibiotica thereby making the candida worse.
I have been working with an herbalist in the UK and am still under his treatment and hope to get better soon. If anyone is interested I can pass along his info as he works with people in other countries (I live in Italy and have never met him).
Helen // 24 February, 2010 at 4:09 pm |
Thanks for this post which I agree does almost echo Erica White’s book, but with some very useful additions – I for one am very grateful to find out about vanilla rice milk!
I have been on the candida diet for 2 weeks now (feels like forever already!), having had a fairly healthy diet previous to my Candida discovery. I think mine has mostly arisen from hormone therapy and is confined to intestines and pelvis mostly. Anyway, like John, I am feeling absolutely drained most of the time since starting the diet and would like to know if this is a common reaction when starting. I previously ate a wholegrain, organic, wheat-free, low-dairy diet, and the major change for me has been to cut out snacks and associated sugar of course (frusli bars were my downfall), my daily cup of coffee, the odd bit of cheese, the odd glass of wine or gin and tonic, and fruit. Why then do I feel like I’ve got M.E?!! It’s such an effort to keep me eyes open at times and I feel totally drained despite taking ginseng etc. Any advice anyone?
claudia // 26 February, 2010 at 9:59 pm |
I know it’s tough to feel energetic when all of the foods we used to rely on to give us a boost are off-limits and you don’t know where to turn! For myself, when I feel too tired, I eat a snack or another small meal. With such an extreme diet as this, at least quantity doesn’t seem to matter. So I may eat my one apple or a simple omelet or even juice some fresh veggies (fennel, parsley, ginger, celery, etc.) or eat rice cakes just to get rid of that hungry and weak feeling.
I have also been drinking 1,5 or more litres of mineral water a day and maybe all the fizzy bubbles keep me alert? At the very least you will be busy going to the bathroom most of the day which will keep you awake! Hope this gives you some ideas…
chatterton // 7 March, 2010 at 2:43 pm |
I realise that my post may be a little bit off topic. However, every piece of knowledge I could find in the internet was extremely helpful for me, and if my experience is going to help anybody I decided to post it here.
I am 19 years old and I was diagnosed with acid reflux ( feeling of a tightened esophagus, heartburn all the time and plenty, plenty of burping). It was terrible. For he first time, after eating curry with tomato sauce my esophagus tightened so badly that I had to go to a hospital because I thought I will suffocate. My heart was racing out of al the stress. The doctor wanted to give me a holter
I’ve been having it for 4 months now. I was given ranitidine first, than proton pump inhibitors which are supposed to limit the amount of stomach acid (by the way, stomach acid keeps the digestive system in check and prevents fungus and bacteria to overgrow). I took it for 2 months all together and i didnt help me at all.
The doctors basically didn’t know shit. The first doctor ( a Dutch one – stay away from them!) completely ignored the issue, and the other ones just gave me medicine and didn’t tell me anything about the diet. The medicine didn’t help so I decided to act on my own.
I stopped taking the PPI’s and for a week I had heartburn all the time. It was hell. I thought about coming back on medicine which helped just a little, but I endured it. I still didnt know what to do, which foods to avoid and which should I eat – because of so many conflicting information on the internet. Now it seems that I have found the solution.
For a week now I am on a diet which is very simple – I eat everythig cooked. And everything means vegetables, meat (must be organic – non-organic meat contains antibiotics and all sorts of this crap) and grains (quinoa, buckwheat, brown rice). A soft boiled egg form time to time.I don’t drink anything but water, chamomille, and fresh ginger with boiled water ( imagine how extremely difficult is that being a student). No pasta, nothing acidic and processed. I also have some aloe vera juice every dayto heal the esophagus, and a lot of ginger and cinnamon. I am also considering to start drinking sam Pau d’Arco which is very very good for detox removing fungus from your system;however, check how to use it, as it may become toxic if taken in too big quantities.
I also started to swim back again (I was a swimmer for my entire life). And it relieves stress perfectly.
I don’t know what I have. I know I have heartburn, I burp way too much (100 times a day, though I don’t have winds which is strange). Maybe it is candida, maybe it is something else. I know why I have it though: during my last semester, which was the first of university my life was a mess. It was difficult to move out away from home, live in a different country as a stranger.
Even though I am never sick I was sick two times! Even though I never take antibiotics the infections were serious enough to do so, and I had to take them twice over a course of 4 months for entirely different things (that is why it is likely that I have candida, way too much antibiotics and junk food) . I was also extremely unorganized and my habits were terrible. A pack of cigarettes a day, beer from the morning to the evening, no breakfast, plenty of processed food and chinese fast foods. A true disaster.
Some people say that reflux is uncurable. Bullshit. I do not believe that a perfectly healthy 19 year old has to suffer for this condition until the very end of his life. I messed up I agree but now it is time to get together and cure myself. Stopping drinking, as well as quitting smoking was extremely difficult. However, what is even harder is not being able to eat all the delicious food there is out there. I am definitely not going ti give up, because I am sure there is a cure. A freind of mine had a similar condition had the same strict diet for two months, and now she drinks and eats everything she wants, with limitations of course.
Guys don’t give up ! Don’t believe he doctors who say there is no cure to something. You just have to be very consistent, and have extremely strong will ! Because if you indulge in a guilty pleasure from time to time the whole exercise is not going to work ! Understand your body, make an agreement with it and you’ll be allright.
Guys I keep my fingers crossed for all of you, and wish me luck
!
Joanna // 10 March, 2010 at 11:06 am |
Chatterton,
You must have been touched by an angel. That post was truely motivating and inspirational! You’ve really changed my whole out-look. I’ve been aware for some time that it would be beneficial to me to go on an anti-candida diet, but it is daunting how restictive it is. However you have successfully put a positive spin on things and I just experienced the moment I’ve been waiting for – reading your post – when my mind is clear and I am ready and willing to make positive changes to improve my health! I was about to go out and get a chocolate bar
Now I’m in the mood for a salad! I’m only 21, I should feel bouncey and enthusiastic about life – I have every reason to, and yet I wake up feeling tired. I feel sluggish and demotivated. My skin is sensitive to everything. I am also a sufferer of acne and my self-esteem is at an all time low. But from here on out that’s all gunna change! Thank you. And good luck!
claudia // 11 March, 2010 at 4:08 pm |
Thanks Chatterton for the reminder to add ginger to hot water, I completely forgot about using it as a tea and sometimes it’s hard to drink ginger juiced straight…good luck with the detox!