Please comment on Susun Weed letter titled "Candida is a helper. It is keeping you healthy!" - Page 5

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by duckmom

It's my understanding that supplemental glutathione is contraindicated in mercury toxic people.

Sorry, it's really not my intention to stray OT from candida...

Yes, this is what I was responding to. Glutathione is NOT contraindicated at all, and in nursing mothers is quite helpful.

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by SAmama

Mostly eczema on her arms, legs and neck, but sometimes funky rashes on her face that look like pimples. Also diaper rash, depending on what is going on with her digestion. We are avoiding a LOT of foods, but she has never been clear. And we are trying to focus on healing rather than pursuing whatever phantom food may still be causing it. That is why I am wondering about the yeast. I am pretty sure that is our issue, but I am really suspecting that we are dealing with metals. I have been diagnosed as having issues with heavy metals (by a hcp we saw a few times when we were visiting my family) with a Quantec machine, which is all the rage with many alternative practitioner in South Africa now. I read up about it but don't understand much. I guess it is also energy medicine. Anyway, although he was mainly working with dd, he didn't find anything indicating metal issues... just yet. It seemed to come up with new stuff every time we went and we had to return home. It seemed to have helped and I wonder if it would have changed a lot of things for us if we continued going.

Please don't feel badly. IF you couldn't continue going perhaps it wasn't the right path for now. There are MANY ways to deal with this.

Have you ever though about low HCl? That can cause those bumps you are describing as well as lead to panallergic responses. Many people relate them to food allergies (true) but what's really going on is low hydrochloric acid which can also lead to yeast....it's just further back on the cascade. If you don't have enough HCl then you cannot properly break down food and there is a bigger job to be done in the intestines later on. If bigger pieces pass on to hte intestines it's way more food for the baddies. Something to think about.

Digestive enzymes can also be healing in that a good protease will destroy yeast and other pathogens taken between meals. It will also go to work on any dead tissue in the gut. Taken with meals they assist the digestive processes and break down food lessening the chance of having anything slip through the gut. They can be quite helpful in healing the body and preventing further damage.

If you are nursing you can take them, or depending on the age of your dc give them directly. Now, it's further back in the cascade, but it's still not the beginning. Metals can deplete HCL levels as can structural issues like tongue tie. I don't like isolating things, as I said, but you may want to broaden your search a bit and see if anything I'm saying makes sense or applies to your situation.

Also in a smaller sense you could look at using herbs in potency for drainage. IF there is that much eczema still going on the liver is still being stressed. I love drainage for that, but digestive enzymes would also help clear up the load.

[Mamapits]

SO I have a question. I know that vinegar feeds candida but does that include raw apple cider vinegar? because that is fermented right?

Also can we compile a list of good yeasty foods that will help keep the candidia under control? Maybe in another thread???

[staceychev]

Originally Posted by Mamapits

SO I have a question. I know that vinegar feeds candida but does that include raw apple cider vinegar? because that is fermented right?

Well, the one thing I can say is that it's the one vinegar allowed on BED, so I'm going to say that it's at least (in honor of the turn this thread has taken) "try-able" to see if it's OK with your own body.

Also can we compile a list of good yeasty foods that will help keep the candidia under control? Maybe in another thread???

That would be awesome. I, for one, would love that. Even better if the mods could sticky it!

Joining the love-fest. You all rock!

[Koalamom]

Until someone starts a thread about foods to eat, I am updating about the way I ate yesterday. For I would like to say, I feel great! It is amazing! For months I have a had the most painful vagina and breasts, and This morning, the symptoms are gone. I ate so sour and moldy all day. I even ate organic grapes without washing them. I also drank lots of nettle tea all day. My sourdough bread was so sour. But I do have one difference in my body, I has a stuffy nose. So does my nursing daughter. I wonder if it is related to my diet change? I am going to continue like this because I am seeing change.

[rainbowmoon]

:

can candida mimic a wheat allergy?

[Leilalu]

Originally Posted by bluebirdmama1

Until someone starts a thread about foods to eat, I am updating about the way I ate yesterday. For I would like to say, I feel great! It is amazing! For months I have a had the most painful vagina and breasts, and This morning, the symptoms are gone. I ate so sour and moldy all day. I even ate organic grapes without washing them. I also drank lots of nettle tea all day. My sourdough bread was so sour. But I do have one difference in my body, I has a stuffy nose. So does my nursing daughter. I wonder if it is related to my diet change? I am going to continue like this because I am seeing change.

On the same vein of breast pain- was it like thrush?
I have had this. Even after this baby- we both had symptoms. but it did clear up. I like to use it as a personal health marker when I am nursing, since I can readily see any body changes , in my milk supply/production or any problems with yeasts, etc.

I do have what I think is a milk blister, and some angry veins right now. I tried a cabbage poultice this morning, but to no avail. I need relief. it is on a side he nurses from most. Does anyone know if taking gads of probiotic foods may help give immediate relief? Which ones are best? I am sure it can only help, but I am desperate here for something.

Not to derail the thread- I just know that when I have had problems before it is partially yeast related, so I don't want any extra inflammation or problems since the milk is backed up a bit.

[staceychev]

Originally Posted by rainbowmoon

:

can candida mimic a wheat allergy?

It's funny you asked this. I came across this site this morning.

[duckmom]

Originally Posted by firefaery

Oh, sorry. I thought you said that glutathione is CONTRAINDICATED in one with merc. toxicity. IN this case the glutathione is to protect the breastmilk while you are chelating, not to inherently mobilize mercury. I was addressing a specific question, not telling anyone how to chelate.

Originally Posted by firefaery

Yes, this is what I was responding to. Glutathione is NOT contraindicated at all, and in nursing mothers is quite helpful.

I'm fine with disagreeing here. Again, I'm relying on Cutler, and I'm comfortable with that. Unless the toxic person knows their plasma cysteine is low, supplemental glutathione is contraindicated.

Glutathione levels are low in toxic individuals because their bodies are in oxidative stress. If they up their antioxidants, they can more efficiently use the glutathione they already have.

It appears to me that at best, supplementing is ineffective, and at worst, can cause more damage. Just not a risk I'd recommend taking.

Don't get me wrong, I love MDC, but this type of forum communication is no substitute for face-to-face discussion and it's frustrating when ambiguity sets in. I have the utmost respect for you, firefaery, so no offense meant at all here.

Sometimes I feel like we need a "THE mercury thread" up in here because the topic rears its ugly head in lots of different places. It's so closely tied to yeast, thyroid, adrenals, etc.

And now, we take you back to our regularly scheduled Susun Weed candida thread...

[CrunchyFarmGirl]

Originally Posted by duckmom

Sometimes I feel like we need a "THE mercury thread" up in here because the topic rears its ugly head in lots of different places. It's so closely tied to yeast, thyroid, adrenals, etc.

Yes! lets do that!

[Calm]

Mostly eczema on her arms, legs and neck, but sometimes funky rashes on her face that look like pimples. Also diaper rash, depending on what is going on with her digestion. We are avoiding a LOT of foods, but she has never been clear. And we are trying to focus on healing rather than pursuing whatever phantom food may still be causing it. That is why I am wondering about the yeast. I am pretty sure that is our issue, but I am really suspecting that we are dealing with metals. I have been diagnosed as having issues with heavy metals (by a hcp we saw a few times when we were visiting my family) with a Quantec machine, which is all the rage with many alternative practitioner in South Africa now. I read up about it but don't understand much. I guess it is also energy medicine. Anyway, although he was mainly working with dd, he didn't find anything indicating metal issues... just yet. It seemed to come up with new stuff every time we went and we had to return home. It seemed to have helped and I wonder if it would have changed a lot of things for us if we continued going.

Hi SAmama. My son had eczema. I haven't updated the board yet, but it's gone. It's totally gone. I treated it as yeast, and it went.

When the immune system is activated to "find" a particular pathogen (virus, bacteria, yeast, parasite... etc) it doesn't just settle for it being in the place it originally found it. It "scouts" the entire body system looking for it, to eradicate it. This is a normal and healthy reaction, essential to life under normal circumstances. However, when you are overrun by candida in the gut, the trigger is the same - the immune cells go on the hunt and they will almost always find candida on the skin if you have an overgrowth in the gut. They may find a harmless, fairly dormant candida on the skin and start to fight it.

This fight is the typical immune response - inflamed, itchy, weepy, oozing, scaly skin. It goes by many names (eczema, psoriasis, dermatitis) it's all the same - an immune system war. Treating the skin, or the allergies, or anything else is treating the symptom . Allergies are a symptom of yeast tearing through the bowel wall causing "leaky gut" and allowing undigested proteins into the blood stream. Eczema is a symptom of an allergic response coupled with a yeast skin war.

(this is where FireFaery and I disagree, but that's ok) In so far as this is concerned, treating the yeast is treating the CAUSE of the allergies, the CAUSE of the fight on the skin, the CAUSE of leaky gut. Until you clear that yeast in the GUT, the relief on the skin is not complete, and is temporary at best. The gut and the skin are intimately related, esp in yeast issues as yeast is so readily found on the skin, esp in skin folds and creases (nice moist yeasty zones).

My son also had seborrheic dermatitis (cradle cap gone mad) - itching oozing mess that drove us all bonkers. It was so much worse than the eczema and he had eczema all over his body. All common treatments for dandruff/scalp dermatitis are antifungals like zinc pirithione

There have been many strategies for the control of dandruff. Simply increasing shampooing will remove flakes.[9] However, elimination of the fungus results in dramatic improvement. Regular shampooing with an anti-fungal product can reduce recurrence.

dandruff - wiki

So I treated DS with an anti dandruff shampoo with zinc p and it cleared in one week of every two day shampoos. I was using tea tree, but found out he was allergic to it. (he isn't now, he has been successfully treated with NAET for all allergies, and I CAN EAT WHAT I WANT! I had Thai curry last night : )

I am on an antifungal protocol that includes Pau D'arco (yeah, not a popular one on this thread but it works for us), oxygen elements that include strong oxygen particles and enzymes that attack the yeast cell wall, and some other things including nystatin. I was on Threelac but DS was allergic to lemon so I stopped taking that. It was the most effective next to nystatin. But nystatin doesn't repopulate with anything. It just kills yeast.

I also eat my own homemade sauerkraut and water kefir (Japanese kefir grains similar to milk kefir but there is no dairy involved, they've been grown on fruit, not casein and you ferment it in sugar water ). I don't eat gluten or dairy but I haven't eaten dairy in a long time, don't enjoy it at all, and gluten I've been off for three months and don't intend on eating it again other than in oats and spelt. And that's it. No strict diet (for some the gluten and dairy would feel strict but I find it easy) and I did.. uh... "purge through the eye of a needle" for quite some time. Wicked crazy horrendous die off symptoms - I thought my head would explode, my eyes hurt, my ears rang, I was a cranky maniac - and those were the fun parts. But I was a toxic waste dump from the c-section so I had a seriously funky die off.

My son had die off, it was terrible too and very tough. Now he just sleeps all the time and that will ease when his body has completely healed.

But his skin is clear as a daisy and he doesn't cry all the time anymore. He laughs all the time! : One of my greatest achievements, I must say.

The Candida Test:

To check for candida, you can do the spit test. It is not an exact science , but whatever, eh? You spit into a glass of water in the morning before you ingest or smoke anything, just on the top of the water and don't stir it. Let it sit for up to half an hour. If it disperses into the water, you're not too bad off. But if it grows legs, gets sediment or goes cloudy - yeastie beasties!! Here's a pic of a yeasty spit test

Good luck!

[Panserbjorne]

Originally Posted by duckmom

Don't get me wrong, I love MDC, but this type of forum communication is no substitute for face-to-face discussion and it's frustrating when ambiguity sets in. I have the utmost respect for you, firefaery, so no offense meant at all here.

No offense taken. This is a forum and not a place to seek medical advice. When asked what one would do I stated what *I* would do. I do not tell others what they should do. As I said, I look at everything holistically which cannot be done individually on a thread. I have done quite alot of research on this topic as it's something I see frequently. I have no problem stating my approach, but that is all that it is. Faced with mercury toxicity and breastfeeding what *I* would do is glutathione and biotin supplementation, no question. There are always different viewpoints and it's up to all of us to find the ones that makes sense to us based on the current information.

Thank goodness for a place where we can come and share our experiences, but caution must always be taken. Everyone needs to be very thorough in their own research and application when it comes to deciding what is right for their families.

[Calm]

SO I have a question. I know that vinegar feeds candida but does that include raw apple cider vinegar? because that is fermented right?

I answered this in one of my lengthy posts, so I can understand why it's overlooked . I'd say yes. Anything fermented naturally, that uses all the naturally occurring microorganisms would be harmonious, in balance, and cool bananas. An out of balance vinegar contains toxic yeast chemicals, which are antibiotics. You need the bacteria to be present with the yeast.

[tolovemercy]

Whew! I left for vacation when this thread was just starting up, and just came home and read the whole thing.

I've been battling yeast in my breasts/oral thrush in DS2 for months, and I've been following a pretty rigorous anti-candida diet, with some success, that is, until I cheat, and my symptoms come raging back. Ugh.

Anyway, I loved Susun Weed's letter, and loved all the input from you lovely ladies. I'm just feeling terrified to add fermented foods back into my diet, for fear of the evil pain coming back. Convince me, please.

Someone please start a thread of good/bad foods!!

What are your thoughts on fruit and candida?

[suzukiaustin]

Whew...lot's of good discussion here. Thanks again, to everyone, for your input!!

bluebirdmama1 - I took the plunge and ate some sourdough and blue cheese, some yogurt, some sauerkraut and a bowl of bone broth. I didn't feel well afterwards. I had a super headache and wanted a BC and a Coke (what my sisters take for their headaches. I call it the liver killer)...and a chocolate bar. I hope you are still doing well...

Anyone else eating rotten? How are you doing?

[Leilalu]

This is what I find so interesting... how one person can feel fine with a certain protocol and another-completely terrible.

It's crazy how affected we are by the microorganisms around and in us and so many people do not even know or understand it. It's fascinating.

[SAmama]

Firefaery, I am taking digestive enzymes (Digest Gold, only with meals right now) and some HCl. DD is 27 mos and has been taking Zyme Prime with meals (not yet snacks, always) for a few months now. It made a difference in her digestion, but not much eczema wise. I need to get protease and No-Fenol in her, but it has been such a drama just to get this far, so I am taking the supplements slow. We do have a herbal tincture for eczema that is mainly liver support, that I will start slowly with this week. Sometime in the future our whole family will have to deal with the metal issue. Oh, how would I be able to tell if dd has a tongue tie? I tried to look, but I don't really know what I am looking for.

Calm, I do have Nystatin that I got for DD a few months ago when she had thrush while we were out of country. I never used it though, because it cleared up by itself and I really don't like messing with meds. So, once it looks like her liver is doing better, I might try that. I will probably try it for myself as well. And eventually get Threelac for both of us and see if that helps. It seems endless, this road to healing. I am envious of your amazing progress. Fantastic that things changed so quickly for you! Just eating gf/cf would be a dream!
Oh, I did the spit test and although I could see some strings, it was hardly noticeable. The other thing is that with all the diet changes, loads of fermented veggies, kombucha, etc. I never had any die-off symptoms. And never could tell if dd was flaring more than usual. I also don't really have any yeast symptoms. So weird.

Well, thank you wise women for all the advice. I will continue to do research and hopefully get this under control at some point.

[Panserbjorne]

It's hard to describe what a type 3 or four would look like at this point-you need someone who knows what they are looking for to take a peek. However you can pretty easily assess her palate. If it is nice and wide and arched she likely doesn't have a tie. IF it is pitched, angled or high then she may. Digestion begins with peristalsis which begins at the tip of the tongue. If it is anchored peristalsis will be incomplete or uncoordinated. This leads to significant digestive difficulties and an atmosphere for yeast to thrive. What it ALSO does is create thrush in mama as any amount of tongue tie can challenge a baby and end up with mama having microbrasions on her nipple which of course, being damp encourages yeast. So now you have a baby with challenged digestion and yeast being introduced on mama. It will then happily end up in baby's gut.

Most often mother's with this issue will have discomfort with nursing (some describe it like a kitten licking their nipple...kind of sandpapery.) They will often have recurrent nipple yeast. Their babies will often not stool daily (because the muscles can't coordinate properly), sometimes not even weekly, and this of course sets up gut dysbiosis. It's a whole picture and you can see in just this instance how simply fighting the yeast would end up being a losing battle without correcting the peristalsis, and initial structural issue so that mom's nipples can heal.

[Calm]

Originally Posted by SAmama

Calm, I do have Nystatin that I got for DD a few months ago when she had thrush while we were out of country. I never used it though, because it cleared up by itself and I really don't like messing with meds. So, once it looks like her liver is doing better, I might try that. I will probably try it for myself as well. And eventually get Threelac for both of us and see if that helps. It seems endless, this road to healing. I am envious of your amazing progress. Fantastic that things changed so quickly for you! Just eating gf/cf would be a dream!
Oh, I did the spit test and although I could see some strings, it was hardly noticeable. The other thing is that with all the diet changes, loads of fermented veggies, kombucha, etc. I never had any die-off symptoms. And never could tell if dd was flaring more than usual. I also don't really have any yeast symptoms. So weird.

Well, thank you wise women for all the advice. I will continue to do research and hopefully get this under control at some point.

Nystatin isn't absorbed, which is why I like it. I'm not a med girl obviously, myself, so this was very important to me. It travels straight down the digestive system and out, it can't pass through mucosal walls. For instance, you cannot treat a baby with nystatin through breast milk as it hasn't been found in breast milk. Which is a good thing, cos otherwise it would mean it is absorbed. Although, the liver will still need to be in good nick because the chemicals released from the dead and dying yeast are wicked.

So, for what that's worth in your considerations. It helped me decide to give it to DS. His die off was bad though, so I had to back the dose off. He screamed non stop for five hours, which he had never done before. He behaved as though in a lot of abdominal pain. Lesson learned for me. So when you do try it, start off slowly and build up. I gave DS the dose recommended on the prescription, too, that's what freaked me out. How many babies are experiencing terrible die off without the parent realising it when they give the baby antifungals for oral thrush!

Not having die off symptoms either means you're lucky, or you didn't kill them. It doesn't mean you don't have yeast. We all have yeast in our bodies, whether they are giving us trouble or not. It's similar to antibiotics, we all have bacteria, whether we are sick with an infection or not, and taking antibiotics will wipe out bacteria no matter who you are. Some people get quite sick and constipated on antibiotics, some don't. Same thing. It isn't an indication of the presence of bacteria though. Nystatin is an antibiotic and will wipe out yeast indiscriminantly (good and bad) therefore fermented goods will repopulate. But the important thing is that it DOES work (which diet alone and herbs are subject to flaws and slip ups) and will make ROOM for the repopulation of your choosing.

Bifidus and lacto's are my suggestion for that - you need to make the colon ACIDIC. People confuse this, they think it needs to be alkaline because they hear that "alkalising" is the new health craze. 'Taint so. Yeast love alkaline and bacteria make and require an acid environment. You cannot "alkalise" the body. There are acidic spots and alkaline spots. But you can increase your alkaline reserves (what we do when we "alkalise") and still create the acidic pH in the colon necessary for bowel health and good bacteria maintenance.

This is the reason taking cranberry works for urinary infections. Cranberry is one of the few fruit/veg that causes acidity, it causes the bladder and kidneys to become ACIDIC - making the yeast and alkaline loving bacteria that cause urinary infections so uncomfortable they move out. Anti yeast treatments are very effective at halting chronic urinary infections, btw.

Threelac will give you die off. PM me if it doesn't! Seriously, it's great stuff.


I recommend this book, too: An Extraordinary Power to Heal: http://www.nutritioninstitute.com/power_to_heal.html

Sorry about the link, my linking thingy is broken again.

[suzukiaustin]

Originally Posted by Leilalu

This is what I find so interesting... how one person can feel fine with a certain protocol and another-completely terrible.

It's crazy how affected we are by the microorganisms around and in us and so many people do not even know or understand it. It's fascinating.

I'm totally fascinated, too! Leilalu, I hope you're settling in well with the move...I'm in the same boat (sort of), nursing a wee one, chasing a toddler and just returning from a long vacation to the USA from our temporary home, Australia...too much going on right now - must breathe.

I just think all of this would be a little easier if we all lived in teepees, on the plains, while the men hunt for buffalo and we pray that no one gets hit with an arrow...the women shuck corn (the non-GMO kind) and the kids play in the dirt...diaperless...so I don't have to worry about potty training. But that's another story.