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valgal123
Raw Newbie
What does everyone suggest for Candida? Naturopaths have always thought (since I was 10) that I had candida, but tests always came up negative. So I always thought I didn't have it. 7 months ago I went raw, still raw, I have drastically changed my diet a few weeks ago though. I only eat 1/2 avocado a day for fat, veggie juice, gr smoothies, salad, apples, oranges, and carrots. I will be eliminating bananas and probably oranges and apples. Before I was eating a lot of dates and coconut oil and I was feeling worse than ever. I did the saliva test for candida and it came positive, I also have a yeast infection. I kind of think its odd that this all happened AFTER going raw, when before when I was consuming cookies daily it didn't. What does everyone suggest I do? What supplements? What diet? Everyone is different so I might have to try a bit of everything. Last year I spent a thousand dollars on a naturopath and supplements. Again she thought I had candida so the diet, and supplements were specifically for that, it is weird that her help didn't do anything. I also don't want to keep up a strict diet of berries and veggies for 6 months, I would like it to be half of that. I looked up the glycemic index of fruit and it looks like melon is lower than berries? What about consuming beet, garlic, carrot, green, juice? I read where that juice is not good for candida. Would love what everyone has to say as I don't have the money right now to go to a doctor.
I am taking probiotics and I have GSE also if that would help?
Comments
Hmm... I take a different approach than some. I had IBS when I was 17 - it went away for a while and I developed IBD when I was 24. I went on a low carbohydrate diet (otherwise known as the Specific Carbohydrate Diet), and this improved things greatly for a few months. I was very strict and my symptoms still crept back. found that cutting out foods I was sensitive to essentially cured the IBD along with probiotics, enzymes, l-glutamine, DGL, and several anti-inflammatory supplements. By 27 though I had systemic lupus, interstitial cystitis, raynaud's phenomenon, and a bunch of other health problems. Ironically the IBD calmed down before I completely addressed the Candida problem - and addressing the candida improved my other chronic health problems.
I ended up taking Nystatin as a last ditch effort (a medication that does not pass the mucous membrane in the intestines, but is toxic to candida). Other things I have tried that have worked at least to some extent:
Oregano Oil (be sure to take plenty of probiotics and it tends to kill all bacteria - good or bad)
Whole Garlic
Cumin and Cinnamon
I would also recommend sticking to foods that are lower on the glycemic index. Jerusalem Artichoke has inulin - a prebiotic or food for probiotics. It is also available in a syrup that can be used as a sweetener. It's not a bad taste, but it does alter the taste of foods - so it's important to take that into consideration when preparing a dish. I'm also not sure if it's completely raw - but it might be worth substituting dates for the syrup if you have a candida problem.
I think I remember aloe vera may be helpful - but it's been a while and I may not be remembering that right.
IMHO green juices should be fine with candida, but fruit, carrots, and beets are something you'll want to think about as they may be higher on the glycemic index than you should go. You will need to maintain weight though, and my doctor encouragd me to incorporate more foods to maintain the calories I needed while supplementing and taking medication. Extremes are bad and if you lose too much weight or symptoms get too bad, I'd recommend consulting a natropath and spending a few $ now to avoid spending a lot of $$ on health issues down the road.
I'm not sure this post will be that helpful, but I hope you find help here :) Healing thoughts.
I think your low-fat approach is a great idea! I'm going to copy and paste my experience with candida from another post:
When I first switched to a raw diet I ate high-fat, raw gourmet (lot's of coconut oil, avocados, nuts and seeds, etc.). After a while I started getting candida symptoms. I had the symptoms for two months and was MISERABLE. I tried all the low-sugar, low-fruit (and only low-glycemic fruits), greens and veggies diets and found that it wasn't sustainable and my symptoms weren't getting better, but actually worse. I tried the garlic, the probiotics and prebiotics, herbs, enemas and all that CRAZY stuff that get's pushed by all the other raw food "gurus" and nothing worked. It felt so unnatural to give up fruit that I loved so much so one day I saw some posts about an all fruit, low-fat diet and decided to try it out because nothing else was working. After 2 days on all fruit I felt amazing! My candida symptoms disappeared during that first week on fruit. I felt better and better everyday. I couldn't believe that the symptoms I was struggling with for 2 months were gone after only a few days on fruit. I still eat this way because I love it so much. I've never felt and looked healthier than I do now. I'd also like to add that I was spending so much money on supplements, herbs, tonics, probiotics, etc. trying to find a "cure" for candida that didn't work and I spent about 75% less when buying all the fruit that gave my body all the nourishment it needed to heal itself.
Wish you the best on your journey :)
Thanks you two, yes I found your post about your experience kellyanne and was very surprised because all the information I had been reading up until that point said no fruit.
Hello
I had candida symptoms when I first went veg. I bought something called "candida clear" it's made with herbs and seems to be mostly oregano and black walnut. I took that and cut back on the sugary starchy things. I also took a probiotic. Within a few days I felt much better. I kept up with the treatment for about two weeks and have not had any troubles since. I think it's a matter of getting it under control and then gradually adding back regular foods.
Good luck wtih this!
I find GSE really helps with low-grade fungal infections--I take at least twice the recommended dosage, but I'm crazy that way. I also find that very low sugar works much, much better for me than does high fruit and very low fat, but plenty of others find the opposite to be true. Probiotics also help me when I've feeling fungus-y.
Have you tried a pharmaceutical anti-fungal? I usually (OK, pretty much always) avoid pharmaceuticals, but if a few pills can save you months of hardship on your body, I think it's definitely worth it. I had a period many years ago where my immunity was all haywire, and a single fluconazole tablet made me feel soooo much better within a few hours.
ditto on the grapefruit seed extract, and i recommend taking it in liquid form. it tastes super nasty, but i believe it to be more effective as a liquid and you get used to it. as an added bonus, you can use it to clean your shower too!
i also agree with camiheartsraw that extremes are bad. rather than cutting out the sweet fruit from your diet for a long time, i would suggest upping the greens. candida does not thrive in an alkaline environment. if you can manage to alkalize your blood and take probiotics, perhaps everything will balance.
maybe look into the body ecology diet by donna gates? i haven't read it myself, but when i was looking around for candida information, this book kept coming up.