Candida, Hungry, and Overwhelmed: Please Help!!

[CalamityLaura]

Hello,

I am brand new to the forum, and need some advice. There is so much information that I am completely overwhelmed! I spit-tested positive for Candida, as well as having many of the symptoms. I am struggling to figure out a healthy, natural diet for DH and I (no kids yet), with little successes to keep us going.

I am on anti-depressants and birth control, neither of which I am able to discontinue right now. I need to do something to take care of the candida, as well as having a consistent healthy diet, and I feel a real need to detox my body. I work in a hardware store with chemicals everyday and my career is in paint, so I want to detox to get all those things under control and try to maintain keeping my body as clean as possible before we TTC (another 3 years or so, if all goes "according to plan") I am on 800mg folic acid/day as well as the BCP and anti-depressant.

So my question is, Where do I start? I feel like I should get a handle on healthy eating in general before I go down to a diet as restrictive as the candida diet (Plus I'm a vegetarian, so it is even MORE restrictive). What should I do next? I've been reading on the threads a lot lately, but I am so overwhelmed with all the things I feel like I need to do: detox? supplements? healing the gut? should I be tested for chemical and heavy metal toxicity? PLUS trying to figure out what I should eat to get the candida in check, some information says certain foods, and some say others and they all seem to contradict each other. All I know is that I am hungry and overwhelmed and have no idea what to eat. Please help!

TIA

Laura

[Cupressa]

Welcome!

Originally Posted by CalamityLaura 

Hello,

I am brand new to the forum, and need some advice. There is so much information that I am completely overwhelmed! I spit-tested positive for Candida, as well as having many of the symptoms. I am struggling to figure out a healthy, natural diet for DH and I (no kids yet), with little successes to keep us going.

What is your diet like right now? That might help us figure out where you should start.

I am on anti-depressants and birth control, neither of which I am able to discontinue right now. I need to do something to take care of the candida, as well as having a consistent healthy diet, and I feel a real need to detox my body. I work in a hardware store with chemicals everyday and my career is in paint, so I want to detox to get all those things under control and try to maintain keeping my body as clean as possible before we TTC (another 3 years or so, if all goes "according to plan") I am on 800mg folic acid/day as well as the BCP and anti-depressant.

Would you be willing to look into alternative birth control options?

You will experience some amount of detoxification simply by switching to a healthier diet depending on your current one. With your job exposure, I would be concerned about heavy metal toxicity.

Mercury has been associated with candida overgrowth, and it is thought that candida incorporates mercury into its cell wall and prevents it from circulating in the blood stream. When the candida is killed, the mercury is liberated and can  cause it to be circulated throughout the body and damage the tissues. If I were you, I would look into getting tested for mercury and then consider chelation with a health care practitioner, or gradually transition to a healthy diet in order to detox slowly.

Many posters here are very knowledgeable on mercury and detoxification, hopefully someone who knows more than me will chime in.

So my question is, Where do I start? I feel like I should get a handle on healthy eating in general before I go down to a diet as restrictive as the candida diet (Plus I'm a vegetarian, so it is even MORE restrictive). What should I do next? I've been reading on the threads a lot lately, but I am so overwhelmed with all the things I feel like I need to do: detox? supplements? healing the gut? should I be tested for chemical and heavy metal toxicity? PLUS trying to figure out what I should eat to get the candida in check, some information says certain foods, and some say others and they all seem to contradict each other. All I know is that I am hungry and overwhelmed and have no idea what to eat. Please help!

TIA

Laura

Without knowing much about your diet, I would say to start by excluding all processed and refined foods, including sweeteners like agave, maple syrup, and fruit juices. Try to eat only whole foods, emphasizing non-starchy vegetables. Depending on how many sweetened or processed foods you eat, this could cause some detox.

I know that many candida guidelines are contradictory. I really like the body ecology diet, and although I've never done it, the GAPS diet is designed to heal the gut and starve pathogenic bacteria. Those both very wholesome, comprehensive programs that seem to work well.

You may be interested to read the 7-day detox miracle, which is a nutritional detox manual that discusses the body's detox pathways and how to support them, along with a detox plan. Good luck!

[Lovemy3girls]

Candida is an awful beast to deal with, isn't it? I feel for you, it can really make you feel awful! The PP made some wonderful points, especially the mercury-candida connection, and the body ecology diet. You will definitely need to focus on heavy metal removal before you can successfully rid yourself of the yeast beast. (I have used zeolite with success but there are a lot of different products you can use.)

May I add another suggestion, that you regularly cleanse your bowel with fiber "sweeping" agents while you do this to get all the nasties out. Many products exist, but you can also make your own. Here is a colon cleanse recipe that worked very effectively for me, you can can get these items at a health food store:

Mix together in a jar:

6 oz non-citrus fruit juice

6 oz non-fluoridated filtered water

1 T liquid chlorophyll

1 T aloe vera juice

1 T hydrated bentonite

1 T psyllium hulls

Cover the jar, shake well, and drink immediately. It's best to do this on an empty stomach before breakfast. Drink lots of water too throughout the day. Ferments can help you to colonize and heal your gut.

www.curezone.com

Fabulous resource.

Be well!

ETA: Yes, do please rethink the bc pills - they can cause mineral deficiency, cervical dysplasia, and CANDIDA! http://www.buzzle.com/articles/candida-and-birth-control-pill-how-are-they-connected.html

Edited by Lovemy3girls - 4/14/11 at 9:08am