Killing Candida Part 2

This is part II of the presentation that was given yesterday.  Again, GREAT information to have if you suffer from candida overgrowth.  Enjoy!



  

Killing Candida Part 1

I love the way the following video gave information on candida!  It isn't strict mainstream or naturopathic based information on candida nor is it just how to combat the disease.  The presenter gives information about the disease, why mainstream has problems with it, how to get rid of the overgrowth and he gives information as it's understood from both mainstream and naturopathic practices.  I like this because it offers lots of information and many options from which people could choose from.

Killing Candida can take several months.  As you will hear in the video, getting rid of candida overgrowth doesn't stop when you kill enough of the candida.  There needs to be immune strengthening protocols to prevent the candida from coming back, there needs to be an environmental conditioning to make the body an unfriendly place for the candida AND there needs to be a re-balancing of cultures.

Candida can be a real pain in the butt; sometimes literally!  This video can offer great insight on what is going on in the bodies of those who have it and what to do about it.  I warn you, some of the pictures may be a little... detailed.  Nonetheless, this video was certainly VERY useful for me; I hope it is useful for others who need to know this info as well.

GAPS Introduction Diet, Week 1 - Plan to Eat - Plan to Eat

I found this article as I was doing my daily research.  The author talks about her experience on the introductory GAPS diet.  I had some trouble with it too.  I suppose most people do since you don't eat much more than bone soup, ginger and honey.  I admit that I was pleasantly surprised how quickly I got through the introductory diet though.  There were times when my candida was so bad that I was practically immobile.  To the author of the article below, I guess that makes me one of the lucky ones.  But there are other issues that I'm having with the full GAPS diet right now because of other diet restrictions.  Believe me, that puts me right back in the same boat.

My main source of probiotics is sauerkraut because I'm sensitive to dairy, soy and kombucha right now; which stinks because that REALLY decreases my options of probiotic rich foods.  No dairy rules out yogurt, no soy rules out miso soup and no kombucha... well... that just rules out kombucha!

So to the author of this video, I know that it's hard, but hang in there!  The good thing about GAPS is that it wasn't designed to be a permanent situation for anyone.

GAPS Introduction Diet, Week 1 - Plan to Eat - Plan to Eat

Compost, Recycle, Landfill

Since finishing my "poor man's compost bin" which BARELY cost me $20, I've been able to tremendously reduce the amount of stuff that I'm putting into landfill.  It's exciting for me that now I get to practice this AND I get some free soil for my garden next year!

I have to admit that putting the bin together was a bit of a pain in the butt.  Chicken wire doesn't take direction very well.  It kind of does it's own thing.  Once I got control, however, the rest was easy.  I put all the weeds, grass clippings and kitchen compost in this device and I even found some worms who volunteered to help at no extra cost!

Recycling is something that I've made a practice of for a long time now.  As soon as I learned the benefits of recycling, I began to make a habit of it.  My recycle bin is always the first thing to fill up.

Unfortunately, the next thing that usually fills up in my house is the landfill bin.  The good news is, since I've made my compost bin, it doesn't fill nearly as quickly.  I'm still looking for ways to reduce what I put into landfill.  Thank God I'm getting closer and closer the more I research I do.

Dehydration

Dehydration; I've been there.  It's not a fun place to be.  I recently experienced it, yet again, last week which is why I haven't been around for a few days.  

I snaked out my kitchen drain the week before, but failed to snake out my reverse osmosis drain tube.  As a result, my tank wasn't filling as quickly and I ended up running out of water last week.  So I went through a whole night without water to drink before bed or when I woke.  On top of that, I had to go out and buy some water and couldn't until early in the afternoon.  By then, it was too late for me.  The end result was a series of illnesses that included a migraine.  I haven't had a migraine in MONTHS, so this was the sure sign that I was dehydrating AND beyond desperate for water.  At that point even the water that I was drinking wasn't helping with the symptoms.

It took a few days, but I did recover from it.  My RO system is fixed and I now have plenty of water to drink.  Bottom line is, I'm back!

My Comments On a Video

Ka Sundance's channel on Youtube is fabulous for raw foodies.  I suspect that he and his family have been on the raw food diet for a while.  I have enjoyed several of his videos.  I had a problem with the video below, however.  While it's very possible to heal candida on a raw food diet, it's impossible to do so with the protocols that I'm familiar with (GAPS and BED diets).  Another issue I had with this video is some of the misinformation given.  I commented on Youtube:

"You are incorrect about a few things (I'm SO sorry and I hope you don't mind my saying).  First, not all fermented foods feed candida.  Kombucha and sauerkraut actually KILL candida (I know this fact not just from research but from personal experience and confirmed per advice from a board certified nutritionist).  Yes, these foods DO increase symptoms AT FIRST, which is a bummer.  But this isn't because the candida is being fed but killed.  When the candida dies off, they release a toxin that cause or increase the same symptoms as the candida overgrowth itself; these are called die-off symptoms.  To combat candida, I've had to INCREASE the amount of cultures in my diet; so I have been eating and drinking a LOT of kefir, kombucha, sauerkraut and probiotic supplements and my overgrowth is almost gone.  I can testify that I got worse before I got better, but again, die-off is just a nasty phase that some of us go through.  Then I discovered that charcoal (or Takazumi, which is carbonized bamboo) actually absorb the toxins and decrease die-off symptoms; so this is something to keep in mind if you're about to do a fungal detox or candida diet.

Another thing that you're incorrect about, is that if you have candida overgrowth that is even half as bad as mine was, you will need MUCH more than two weeks of detox and sugar elimination (other than low amounts of honey and the sugar in kefirs, kombucha or other bacteria rich fermented foods).  Decrease of symptoms doesn't mean that the candida is gone either.  I am almost symptom free and I have another couple of months to go in my battle.

Thirdly, curing candida will take much more that detox.  Chances are, you have an inflamed or leaky gut.  Candida can and (and if the overgrowth is bad it probably did) damage your gut especially if you've had it for a while.  The gut should be repaired as the candida is being killed or symptoms will continue.  The only vegan foods that I know of that will repair the gut are marshmallow root and slippery elm bark which I STILL eat every single day.  Beyond that, my advice isn't raw food vegan friendly, so I'll just stop there.

I felt that this was important, and I truly hope that I was helpful!"



 

November's Book: The Candida Cure

This month, I was inspired to gather more information about defeating candida.  We read about Donna Gates' Body Ecology Diet and Dr. Campbell McBride's "GAPS" diet and saw how many different ways such eating habits can heal the body.

This month I wanted to look at other ways to combat candida.