questions about candidia

January 3, 2007

Hello all Happy Raw Year to you all....

So I have been studying candidia as much as I can with the " yeast handbook " but

I have some questions that either I missed answers to in the book, or they wernt

there.

1. How can I tell for sure if I have candidia? Is there a medical test that

can be run? Blood, urine or what not? I would like to have a way to tell if I

am making progress in treating this.

2. Other than eliminating all sugars and yeasts etc from diet, and aside from

doing a cleanse, is there any way to help get rid of it? I see in the health

food stores, lots of candidia kits and herbal suplements that claim to help. One

health food person showed me a bottle of stuff that is supposed to break down

the walls of the yeast to kill it off. But I didnt buy anything yet, I wanted

to get everyone opinions first and see if there is any thing that the general

consensus suggests.

3. Once you do get rid of candidia is it easy for it to come back? Someone told

me if I dont get it under controll, and I get pregnant that I would pass it on

to the baby. So of coarse I want some answers on this.....

4. Thats about it for now..lol.

I appreciate everyones help on this. I really love this group and have learned

so much about the human body and how to take better care of myself. I wish I

could make this site required reading...lol!

Thanks!

January 4, 2007

1. Find a reputable natural doctor who does saliva and/or stool tests for it.

You can read more on it in the best book on the topic: SICK AND TIRED: RECLAIM

YOUR INNER TERRAIN by Dr. Robert Young -- I believe he has an office, too. Dr.

Davis (who I disagree with on diet) does it nationally (by mail) at

www.drdavisdcnmd.com and it's affordable. A doctor here in Eugene will do it

too, plus he does kinesiology to test you for how to treat it, etc. But they

say that symptoms are a good way of checking. A crude test is to spit when you

first wake up, FIRST THING, into a clear glass of distilled water. If trails

start coming down from your spit, you have an overload of bacteria. Dr. Davis

even said this was fairly accurate.

2. Cleansing, yes. I'm about to follow a raw vegan organic version of the body

ecology diet to finally knock it out. You have to switch the anti-fungals up as

candida shapeshifts. Basically, use oregano oil, THEN switch to olive leaf

extract, THEN grapefruit seed extract, etc (in lemon!) and so on. Make foods

like coconut oil and garlic your best friend. Eliminate sugars, eat low fats. I

drink fresh almond milk (enzymes always help) and raw chocolate (cacao) and

celery juice with superfood and TONS OF PROBIOTICS (kombuca tea, rejuvelac, raw

apple cider vinegar in water, raw veggie kraut, coconut kefir, supplements,

etc). There's a lot you CAN eat. Stevia and Xylitol are sweeteners like sugar

that are candida-safe. That is about it, though. Xylitol is made from birch

trees and is an ANTI-FUNGAL, actually. My friend makes anti-fungal rich

chocolate fudge with it and cacao and coconut oil. So, THERE IS HOPE on an

anti-candida diet! :-) Herbs like Cumanda by NutraMedix

(whom I like b/c of the quality) and Samento are excellent, too. I wouldn't

bother with most cleanses only because for really systemic candida, it takes

more than just doing a cleanse for a month or even 6 weeks. You have to change

your diet and it takes time. I have never abstained long enough - even raw, I

ate the fruits and stuff. THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT LATER ON, if you keep the

fermented foods and some other foods that keep it in check, you CAN eat a more

moderate diet, with some sugars, espscially fruit, totally. Just don't go back

to it too soon. The problem with most gut cleanses is that they treat THE GUT,

and systemic candida can be in your knees (arthritis), heart (tightness of

chest, weak limbs), and brain (ADD, bipolar, depression, etc). You have to

change the whole routine, not just add that in and hope it goes away. That is

what I've found. It will depend on the severity, though, too.

Pick up The Body Ecology Diet book too, maybe. I would also do a colon

cleanse, like Blessed Herbs ($90 but WORTH IT).

3. Yes, you can give it to your baby. That's how most of us get it. Then, we

do at least 1 round of antibiotics or eat tons of antibiotics daily in our

foods. We also eat no probiotics (that bit in commercial yogurt really doesn't

count). And we do other immuno-suppressive things, like eat a lot of sugar and

processed foods. So, yeah, it's a good thing to take care of.

SCARY AND TRUE: It has been documented medically that WHEN CANDIDA MEETS A

HUMAN CELL, IT OVERTAKES IT. When you feel out of control, you probably ARE.

Isn't that just frightening!?

Hope this helps!

Erica

January 5, 2007

Hi Erica,

Your regimen sounds great! I'm wondering about the Rejuvelac though. Do you

have a foolproof way to make it so that it doesn't get contaminated? A lot of

the Wigmore clients couldn't tolerate Rejuvelac and their candida got worse from

it, and some of the groups that evolved out of the Hippocrates experience no

longer use it for that reason. I'm wondering what the secret is for foolproof

Rejuvelac.

Thanks--

Sharrhan

January 6, 2007

Dobby the house elf wrote:

> 1. How can I tell for sure if I have candidia? Is there a

> medical test that can be run? Blood, urine or what not? I would

> like to have a way to tell if I am making progress in treating

> this.

There are allopathic medical tests, but most doctors don't want to

do them.

Dark field microscopy will show if you have candida.

The question is: do you want to do this on your own, or do you want

to consult with (and pay) professionals (most, if not all, of whom

will not be covered by medical insurance)

The best thing you can do, without hooking up with a naturopathic

doctor (ND, naturopath) who does this kind of work is notice how you

are feeling.

One of the things that tends to happen is that you feel better after

die-off and so you stop doing the program.

The book does cover this, in that: if you follow the program

faithfully for the prescribed amount of time, you will find yourself

candida free. That is the self-care route.

> 2. Other than eliminating all sugars and yeasts etc from diet,

> and aside from doing a cleanse, is there any way to help get rid

> of it?

I do believe that Yeast Connection Handbook lists a number

of " health food store-available " products that you can use.

I work with an older edition of the book (a new one has come out in

the past 4 or 5 years), and I find that using the " remedies "

mentioned remains worthwhile.

In the past 5 or 6 years, a number of products have come onto the

market. When people ask me about a product, I suggest that they

evaluate the product's usage instructions and decide, for

themselves, whether they are willing to use the product as indicated.

That is what most of the products are about now, as I see it: what

you are willing to do. Some people are willing to keep to a time

table, some people want a pill, some people want something

more " natural " , some people want something more traditional that has

been proven to work....

For example: the product that NOW makes (I think it is

called " Candida-something " works well.... *if* you follow the

instructions, along with a candida-elimination diet for the

prescribed time.

Unfortunately, there *is* no short-cut, i.e., no one has come up

with a pill that you can take for 15 days or 30 days and you will

have no more candidiasis.

Fortunately, if you are already following a raw food diet, it is

much easier to do a candida-elimination diet: all you need to do is

eliminate the high-glycemic vegetables and fruit, as per the

prescribed candida-elimination diet--- i.e., if you look at the

diet, and follow the different stages, simply by *not* eating what

is *not* on the list, you will have success.

The " nutritional supplements " help speed things along by causing die-

off more quickly (I have known people who have eliminated

candidiasis simply by *religiously* following the elimination diet,

but most people want more fireworks and faster awareness of results,

i.e., reduction of symptoms, which is where the supplements come in.

The most important things to do are a good thorough colon cleanse

(if you want to contact me privately, I will be more specific, but I

am not in the business of advertising), and, then, if you feel like

it, a candida cleanse (although, if you do a parasite cleanse, if

you check the ingredients carefully, you can get one that has the

same ingredients that kill candida -- a parasite)

Now, you do *not* have to go and buy those things -- you do know

that, don't you? I mean, you *can* do a serious

formal/traditional/no fooling around/the way it was written/no

additions/no changes/no modifications Master Cleanse for 10-14 days

(big elimination of anything in your system) and then continue with

the Phase 1 Elimination -- this is what I have done, and it works

really well for me. (sometimes I do continue on with grapefruit

seed extract afterwards, along with the diet) (yes, I have had to

repeat candidiasis elimination-- I don't know about you, but, if I

have surgery, I don't really want to risk infection, so I buy the

antibiotics, knowing that, as soon as the course of antibiotics is

over, I will start Phase 1 again... the good thing is that it takes

less time if you start right away)

> 3. Once you do get rid of candidia is it easy for it to come

> back?

Yep! You can get it back if you do things that will bring it on,

like all the things that are on your average candidiasis " do you

have it " questionnaire (such as the one in the Yeast Connection

Handbook, and others which you can find through Internet searches)

That is the fun of it.

I first became aware of candidiasis through a Reiki student. She

brought all of her own food, and, for whatever reason, felt it

necessary to explain to me why (probably because she was a newly

graduated ND, having studied naturopathy as a way to relieve herself

of the symptoms she was experiencing)

> Someone told me if I dont get it under controll, and I get

> pregnant that I would pass it on to the baby.

Oh, yes! Someone I know has just had twins (a boy and a girl), and

they are both infected -- I have become aware because another friend

noticed something while diapering the little girl and asked me. It

is so sad that a little 6 week old baby should suffer so.

Unfortunately, in this particular case, it is unlikely that the

children will receive more than symptom-relieving allopathic

medicine.

If you are VERY interested in the topic (and I sense you may be),

there is a place that you might want to look at:

www.herbalhealer.com

I am not connected with these people in any way, but I have found

that their products are generally right on, and, often, cheaper than

other options. (the proprietor is very opinionated, but it is a good

idea, still, to sign up for their email newsletter, as well as their

snail mail catalog, which is a fabulous resource in itself -- I

think it has an entire section on parasites and candidiasis)

Another fabulous site is

http://www.willner.com (I keyed in " candida " in their search, to

come up with everything they offer -- pretty much what Crooks

recommends)

They also have a snailmail catalog you can to

This is an all natural pharmacy which is located in New York City

(lucky me!) Their prices are extremely competitive (I'm always

surprised when I go there at the bargains).

They also send out a very cool catalog with all sorts of interesting

articles interspersed with the product listings. I'd recommend

signing up for it if only for constructive bathroom reading!

It would also be good to peruse the herbalhealer site, find out

whatever they say there, and then check the prices at willners.

(see! I am not connected to these people!) Then, when you find what

you want, you could check any other online site (I'd recommend

www.vitaminshoppe.com, which offers very good prices)

Candida elimination is a slow thing the first time out. You

actually do have to follow the ENTIRE protocol (even if you go the

allopathic route, if you can get a doctor to go with you -- usually

they will only do this with people who have been on chemotherapy--

and take the full course it takes 9 months -- and that way, you have

to be on constant liver monitoring!)

The way you know for sure that you are candida free is when you have

done the entire program and you feel good.

Then, you decide whether or not you want to stay on a maintenance

program for life (sort of, if you think of it, like the idea

presented in the Atkins diet... you will always be aware of what you

eat, you will always avoid things that are likely to make you sick

again, the minute you begin to feel sick again, you will go back

to " induction " or " phase 1 " ) I learned this from my Reiki student,

and I have seen its benefits in my own life.

I hope this helps.

Margaret

January 6, 2007

Sharrhanwrote:

>I'm wondering about the Rejuvelac though. Do you have a foolproof way

> to make it so that it doesn't get contaminated? A lot of the Wigmore

> clients couldn't tolerate Rejuvelac and their candida got worse from

> it, and some of the groups that evolved out of the Hippocrates

> experience no longer use it for that reason.

> I'm wondering what the secret is for foolproof Rejuvelac.

Now, this is interesting to me, since I do like rejuvelac.

and I am always " candida aware " (or paranoid)

You've made me think about how I do....

The first time I did candida elimination, I was not into rejuvelac, so

that was not an issue.

When I have been on candida elimination since then (blessedly, not

often!), I have followed the rules and eliminated any and all fermented

food products (yeah, bye bye apple cider vinegar, which is a mainstay

in my personal health program!) So that means that I have not used

rejuvelac when I have been on candida elimination....

I had never thought of it before.

I expect that, if someone is a die-hard rejuvelac fan, and they find

themselves in the throes of candidiasis, the best way to know would be

to put rejuvelac on the second phase and see what happens... by Phase

2, you are pretty aware of what is going on, and if you add in

something, you can notice what happens pretty quickly, and eliminate it

if you are having effects you would rather not have.

This goes along with " allergy rotation diets " in which you eliminate

just about everything and then slowly add in one by one different foods

to see what will happen.

Since candida tends to behave like " allergy " , or vice versa, this would

seem, to me, to be the best way to go.

I, personally, will probably never try it, but you might. You know

your body, and... you are on your own!

I think that the reason that a lot of the " established " raw

food " institutions " , i.e. places to which people " retire " to deal with

health issues " , may have abandoned rejuvelac is that, to deal with

health issues on a more wholesale basis, it is best to use foods which

are easily assimilated by the largest population. Using rejuvelac

would require more intimate monitoring of clients-- possibly more than

the institution might be willing to do -- no judgement here-- they do

what is best for the largest population they are targeting-- just

objective reasoning.

If you are working with your own self, you know what works well for

you. If you eliminate it, and then add it back in, you are the one

creating the regimen, and you are more conscious of what is going on,

and you know who you have to answer to. This is, as I see it, the

beauty of nutritional, and the awareness of allergy healing

(interestingly, candida elimination and allergy healing do tend to

dovetail)

I hope this helps.

Margaret

January 9, 2007

I would concur with what Margaret posted with the following notations.

For me, the Candida Diet or Cave Man Diet didn't work at all. But I

have discovered over time that a flair-up is often precipitated with not

drinking enough pure water and consuming too many refined sugar sweets.

So I really work hard at having MORE water than recommended and for each

bite of refined sugar I consume, I counter it with two really large

" gulps " of water (works as a nice I'm-too-full-to-eat-more diet). Do

also remember that oftentimes the " die off " of the candida will cause

headaches and lethargy until the body is able to rid itself of the

yeast.

Kendra

________________________________

rawfood [rawfood ] On Behalf

Of Margaret Gamez

Friday, January 05, 2007 9:48 PM

rawfood

[Raw Food] Re: questions about candidia