CANDIDA

[maddiva]

DO YOU KNOW WHAT CANDIDA IS?

[MyOwnWoman]

CANDIDA

I'll tell you what candida is - it SUCKS. But it must be dealt with lest you feel like crap forever. It will take patience, will power to stick to the diet, and anti-fungal meds are very helpful. Oh, and you have to be off alcohol to make any progress with getting rid of it.

There is tons of info on the web and many books about candida.
Good luck!

[MyHeartIsDrenchedInWine]

CANDIDA

Candida is yeast

[maddiva]

CANDIDA

Yes, it is a disgusting overgrowth of yeasty fungus in the body. I have to follow that diet and you are so right. No coffee, sugar, tea, processed foods, not much fruit, water. Indeed, it is rather restrictive.

[maddiva]

CANDIDA

Trouble is Gia they say in this book I am reading that medications just make it worse and to kill the vile little fungus you have to eat this diet, not drink or smoke and take a natural supplement of herbs which I have bought. I think cos I drank and wine is yeast and sugar that it just made me a candida blob. I shall let you know how it goes. You try shopping for yeast and sugar free foods. Quite amazing.....

[MyOwnWoman]

CANDIDA

Maddiva - my naturopath prescribed me an anti-fungal called Nystatin. It seems quite safe, and when I took it I'm sure it was working because I had the typcial 'yeast die-off' symptoms very quickly, so I know it wasn't just the diet (especially since I did this while still drinking - duh).

Make sure you get your colon clean and that you take probiotics! but your book probably covered this, eh?

[MyOwnWoman]

CANDIDA

I just saw the other thread you started on candida -- I highly recommend you see a naturopath. They will test for it, while regular docs likely won't.

[Evie.Lou]

CANDIDA

I agree that a naturopath is the way to go.
There are lot of foods and drinks that you will be told to avoid. I had it years ago and read a book that had good suggestions in it...I think it was called..From fatigued to fabulous ..amazon should have it or other good self heal books to help you understand what it is and how to get it under control.

[Doggygirl]

CANDIDA

I agree with the naturopath suggestions. I would even be cautious and do your homework before trying something like Nystatin.

WholeApproach.com - Natural Candida Treatment - Systemic Yeast Infection and Candida Diet Recipes, Forums and Products I found to be very informative when I was fighting the yeast overgrowth battle. The sight is helpful for people with relatively mild cases, and is also helpful for people with very serious cases where auto-immune problems have developed as a result. And IBS and everything in between.

May excessive drinkers have yeast overgrowth issues that cause problems that a regular MD may not attribute to the source - the yeast. (excessive sugar consumption is a big contributor to yeast overgrowth, and alcohol = sugar once inside the body)

Best wishes - ain't no fun to fight.

DG

[veritas]

CANDIDA

I have started the diet to see if it helps my IBS problem. The only thing that I feel reluctant to give up is my morning coffee. I drink it rather weak with milk, no sugar. If some one can give me an understandable reason why my morning coffee will halt my progress, I will stop. Right now, I feel that it's my one little bit of "stimulant" pleasure that I have left.

[Doggygirl]

CANDIDA

Good luck Veritas! I know what you mean about the coffee - that's a tough one for me too. I gave it up for awhile, but started it back up again. Thankfully the yeast has not returned with it!

DG

[veritas]

CANDIDA

Well, this is after only one day on the diet. What a change.

Maybe it's candida, or maybe it's gluten intolerance that I have had, but I went to bed last night, for the first time in years without having had any cramps, bloating or pain.

I had one moment of weakness when I went shopping and I saw one of my favourite treats, chocolate eclairs. Managed to move on and buy myself a small pack of macadamian nuts instead. The first days results have been very encouraging. I think that the other benefit might be a slimmer waist line. It's only when you have to consciously cut something out that you realise how often a path is worn out between the couch and the refridgerator.

I am also very happy that my coffee intake has not made a difference. I have also not cut milk out of my diet. Because I have osteoporosis, I feel that it is essential.

[irish eyes]

CANDIDA

Natural Treatment of Candida
An effective, natural treatment of Candida is plain, natural yogurt. It is very important, however, to choose a brand that uses live acidphilus cultures and is not processed and does not contain sugar. A live culture yogurt can be used internally and externally and is generally considered safe. For vaginal thrush you can apply yogurt to vagina or via a tampon for a short time. Yogurt restores good bacteria so that it can fight the Candida Albicans and restore balance to the body.