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I have done the candida diet moderate to somewhat strict for almost a year and a half. Its been very hard. I've slipped at times and done pizza, done a little sugar, eat fruits but I am at the point now where should I even continue? How long do I have to do no sugar, yeast, pizza, and countless other things. Life is miseerable enough. I can't say I feel great doing this diet, somewhat better but man comon. Sorry for being such a wimp. Maybe I should bite the bullet and go all the way again. Is using stevia acceptable in the candida diet? Thanks, Diane

Are you taking coconut oil? I recently started taking around 3 teaspoons a day of extra virgin coconut oil. I feel like it is helping greatly with the candida. Raw garlic and coconut oil are now my two favorite antifungal and antiparasitic supplements. I like the taste of coconut oil. I don't know why some say they don't like how it tates. Make sure to use only virgin or extra virgin oil. It is also supposed to be good to cook with. I haven't cooked with it yet.

I know exactly how you feel. I want to eat pasta. I used to think that I could eat pasta and get away with it if I drowned it in garlic powder. Pizza is even worse though, since it also usually has sugar(sometimes plenty of sugar). I have always loved eating nuts, but stayed away from much of my adult life due to being overweight. Now that I can't eat high carb foods, and my weight is where it should be, I need to eat plenty of nuts to avoid losing more weight.

Diane, I have no idea how long you have stuck to the diet with no cheats at all?. If you have stuck to the diet for many weeks, even a couple of months or so ( with NO cheats) and there is little to no improvements then yeast may not be such an issue for you and it may well be mainly mercury. Therefore, should you just indulge yourself sometimes? Depends on level of yeast and how well you handle those foods.....does it do more harm than good when you give in? Or do you really not notice much of a change?

If you have cheated intermittently, you'll be sabbotating progress. It takes sometime before the gut starts to heal and that can mean a few months, depending on how serious you have this condition. The fact you are miserable though and you notice cravings for these foods, indicates you probably do have yeast and all the more reason why you should probably stick it out and quit cheating.

The yeast beast causes you to feel miserable from excluding what it thrives on. If you keep giving up and giving in, you will never get things under control (including cravings). If you stick to it for long enough, strict enough, no cheats, eventually you do start to notice cravings lessen and can almost disappear.

It really is up to you Diane. I do know how you feel and the problem may well be mainly mercury. I've been there and had a bad candida problem with amalgams, which I battled with diet and did pretty well. Then later, amalgams came out, and my problems became mainly dealing with stored mercury. Diet didn't help as much at that stage, though I still needed it to some degree, but I cheated much more because I was so miserable with detoxing mercury and it didn't seem to make much difference how strict I was on the diet at that time....

It really does depend on what's going on with you. There are some stages when you will rely on this diet completely and without it, you can wind up being much worse of a mess. Other times where it really does not seem to make much difference ..... however, in order to know, you must be on the diet strictly for weeks/possibly a few months to be certain.

Diane, I think in our cases it is always best to ease into this new lifestyle. That is consistent with everything I've read. Drastic changes are least effective... Best to graduate to stricter by giving things up little by little or at least with a schedule because you are most likely to stick with it that way. I've been off track at least strictly speaking so, for right now I'm cutting out simple sugars, but am still eating brown rice. I've found, too, like after holiday indiscretions, graduating to things like artichokes (GREAT for O's) and perhaps sweet potatoes helps. I do eat Ezekial bread, too. Sometimes you want something "breadish" as I put it. I do use Stevia plus, too. Just had it in some ezekial cereal. I use that in tea, too, when I want something "sweet." I'll have to try licorice, again, too, like JK has brought up. One point, though.... I use to work for a Naturopath and her D.O. husband. I would be cleansing (nice place to work where thy muscle tested me and told me what my body needed at the time!) and once I messed it up with some chips. It set me back another 3 days on cleansing.....(Wasn't worth it! : )

Unfortunately, with the diet side of it, you either give these things up or you don't. Even small amounts here and there can be enough to keep yeast maintained at high levels. I thought that because I wasn't having "much" sugars, wheat/gluten, that my problem could not be candida and I ignored everybody who told me that it probably was.....simply because I felt I was already doing enough.

Finally I figured out I had to go cold turkey and continue it for long enough before things started to happen. Yeast will only die off when you totally restrict these foods and it can take a few days before they even START to die off. Or even longer. You eliminate sugars etc and wait until the body has been free of it for awhile before yeast start to get sick and die (excess yeast).

Then it can take a few weeks before some improvement maybe noted. You may of course get away with some non gluten grain, and a piece of fruit a day, if you're careful, but then again, you may not. Potatoes maybe "ok" but normally they are not.

However, sugar, wheat/gluten and yeast are usually terrible, even in not so large amounts and any high candida situation will remain unless these foods are eliminated. It is often not nearly enough to "restrict" these things. I found that out the hard way. Had i not done the diet properly, who knows where I may have wound up. I was extremely ill and could barely eat anything. Even the "health" bits of food I was eating were totally cancelled out by the other bits that were maintaining yeast at a dangerous level.

I had no idea of that and thank goodness I did the diet. At first I had a bit of non gluten grain and I think one green apple a day, which was ok intially, but later I had to give that up because my fungal problems are far worse due to lowered immunity from virus etc. Once upon a time I was able to still include natural sugars contained in fruits, and high carb foods, and only had to give up sugar and wheat/gluten and yeast. But I was stronger than, even though i was mercury toxic, I did not have much else going on to further depress immunity.

You're right Bex. I'm referring to the context of the blood type diet, more, though and at least adjusting more gradually to allow cravings to at least subside. I'm only eating whole complex carbs if any, no wheat (except there was some breading on the chicken I just had), and a much better diet than just a few weeks ago. Sometimes we need babysteps to get there is all. This forum's info (yours for sure!) have helped me a lot and I appreciate it. Most I already know but have needed reminded like Diane, but I may never completely give up brown rice....or artichokes in moderation. I'll see how it goes. But in principal you are completely right. Just sometimes when you go straight from a poor or less than ideal diet based on processed foods or whatever its better and puts less of a shock on the body initially to lead more gradually into it and allow for the stricter long haul.....

Thanks Bex and Jeanie and others,

I guess I'm gonna really pray about what to do. I believe I do really have a candida problem. And Bex, I have not been really strict on the diet. I have eaten fruit, and occasional yeast from maybe some hamburger bun although I do my best to tear off the bun and use the bun primarily as a napkin but by no means strict.But I did feel better! So no I have not been religious by any means but enough to notice my sugar cravings did subside. But never had I given up wheat and corn. I guess I just feel deprived that I have to give up so many things and can't really go out much at all. Im tired of always food preping in my kitchen. I feel like a full time cook. And how about stevia? Is thatOK for candida diet? And sweet potatoes? What do you eat for breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Same thing everyday? Can you give me some ideas of what you typically eat during your day? Protein drinks? I have to have options. Cant have eggs and chicken everyday for breakfast. I so appreciate your feedback and insight! Diane

The lady who wrote the Fat Flush Plan has a great recipe book... Its a very low carb plan.

I have been researching the issue of yeast and mercury - primarily because I felt so bad when doing this parasite cleanse. I found out that the yeast actually acts as a defense for us - yeast binds to the mercury so when you kill the yeast the mercury escapes and causes more symptoms. When I first started this cleanse I felt horrible - mainly I think because I was killing parasites (no doubt I have a problem there) and killing yeast which was causing mercury symptoms to be worse. I have decided that for me - I am now treating the parasite issue which will probably kill some yeast too but only using the tincture will help significant yeast die off - no garlic for me right now because it will kill more yeast (I know it kills parasites too but I get results from the tincture alone) then I will deal with the mercury - when you remove the mercury the yeast will subside significantly and then when mercury is controlled combat yeast in the end. If you are mercury poisoned you have yeast - if you keep killing the yeast but still have mercury you will keep getting yeast - diet or no diet, antifungals or no antifungals. I do agree to keep a very low sugar healthy diet - veggies and protein with little fruit. It is all in moderation and time. This is just my thought.

http://www.modernherbalist.com/heavymetal.html

I don't know how to make it blue so that you can click on it - Sorry!

Oh - it did it on its own:)

I urge everyone to check out this website about leaky gut/candida treatment as well as mercury and other illness. He describes the proper order in which to heal the body:

http://www.health-truth.com/

I just signed up and will post my progress. Today: I cannot eat any foods other than veggies, a few rice crackers and tiny bit of sunflower butter and am on a product called "Seacure" (white fish proteins) and DE (diatemaceous earth).

I'll be starting Mucien this weekend to begin healing the lining of my intestines/gut and HCI and bile salts and follow up with two other products to scrub off the first layers of candida. I'm taking an intestinal permeability test through . http://www.directlabs.com/ for $118 to determine the level of leaky gut and treatment will proceed from there.

I should also note that I am unable to take hardly any supplements as well. If you read the materials, there is a reason why we cannot tolerate supplements.

This website makes such sense to me. However, I'll post progress to prove/disprove it out for the claim that candida can be once and for all rid of IF the program is followed diligently (6-8 months sometimes longer).

My own testimony after switching to all veggies last week: Before last week I could not walk to the mail box, after going on an all veggie diet, 3 days later I could walk up a steep hill and have been able to do it every day since then, which means my digestive system has been compromised.

If can, I urge you to visit the website and see if this makes sense to you.

Be well,

Are you talking about home-made pizza or shop pizza as they are two completely different things. You can make a safe pizza.

Safer perhaps, although I haven't figured out how to make a pizza without using grain products. One could make one with spelt dough, and avoid both wheat and sugar.

Hi Diane, you're welcome. Well deprivation isn't really that big a deal, when you consider it's just food and how many people around the world are starving. It depends on where you put your priorities - health or food? I've been doing this for years and that's the only avenue I have for any control of symptoms. I consider it a blessing that I can gain any if I stay on the diet long enough and am strict enough.

It's annoying, but not too much of a big deal. Lots of people have to have special diets for certain conditions.

I would STEER clear of wheat/gluten Diane. Wheat is treated with mercury fungicide, plus contains gluten. One of the worst things you could possibly consume. This stuff actually poisoned me badly when I had mercury and would bring on severe mercury symptoms (crying/salivating). E ven if you don't have those, you may not recognise the long term impact of what wheat/gluten maybe doing to you. Corn may not be so great either, but at least it's not gluten. BUT, it's still a high carbohydrate food and can feed yeast.

Fruit feeds yeast. Some maybe able to handle reduced amount of fruit and non gluten grain (rice, corn, millet etc), but you may not be able to at all.

Any fruit, sugars/honey, yeast, wheat/gluten products, are usually the worst. But even all grains, high carbohydrates vegetables may also be problematic. Potatoes are bad (sweet potatoe too), they have potential to feed yeast. Depends how bad you have it. Carrots, corn, peas, beans, etc should be reduced/eliminated. Coffee should be eliminated, it is high in caffeine and apparently even cadmium (heavy metal) and seems to feed yeast also, plus strain adrenals.

The safe foods are eggs (organic/free range), chicken/meats, organ meats (e.g. liver), low carbohydrate vegetables (which is pretty much anything but the ones I mentioned) (which you can do anyway you wish, stir fried, steamed, salads etc), acidophilus sugar free yoghurt, raw almonds/brazil nuts, raw seeds (pumpkin/sunflower) (you maybe ok with roasted too).

Tea (herbal tea probably safest). Water etc, is fine. STay away from anything else like juice/fizzy drinks etc.

Cheating will ruin any progress you could potentially make. You will never know if it will truly work or not if you do not make the committment to give it a proper go, even for a couple of months. If it doesn't work? Then what have you actually lost? Apart from temporary pleasure via the taste buds, which disappears quickly and causes long term misery for many of us.

Sorry, I know part of our life is enjoyment of food, but sometimes sacrifice is necessary if a person wishes to help themselves.

My diet is restricting, but I survive and I eat simply. I just snack on the nuts and seeds when I need to. I have a hearty breakfast, which maybe onions/tomatoes and eggs mixed together and fried. I may have beef mince mixed with onions tomatoes. I may stir fry chicken and have a whole mixture of safe low carbohydrate vegetables (e.g. celery, broccoli, tomatoe, onion, silver beet, pepper etc). Whatever you like, so long as it's not high carb.

I eat the yoghurt and mix in the organic flaxseed oil when I want. I can have salads anytime I wish....

I don't see this is too big a deal if your health is bad enough to warrant making sacrifices like this, which compared to worsened suffering and quality of life, isn't a heck of a lot.

Good advice Bex, your right my health is worth it! I bet you've lost weight eatting this way! Any thoughts on stevia as a sweetener? What do you use for salad dressings? :)Diane

Diane:

If you get a chance, please check out the website I mentioned above. There is a LOT of good information on there about how you can't really get rid of candida until you remove the several layers inside your intestines. Candida grows like a root system and has to be (pardon my pun) rooted out. There are things (like chelation and vitamins/minerals) that actually hinder removing candida altogether. Dr. Biamonte has a step by step system on how to repairs ones health (including chelation) but in a order that IMO make more sense than trying to do everything at once.

Hi Diane, my weight is average. It evens out when you eat the right stuff and your body eiminates toxins. But it can take time before this happens. I'm neither too thin, nor too big (yet have been both in my life in the past).

I have been overweight and underweight before. Once, because of candida (and no doubt other problems) I lost weight and could no longer gain and this was because it destroyed my appetite. I could barely eat an entire apple over the course of a day, though I'd eat a bit more in the evening. I was very very slender to say the least. Once I went on the candida diet, my appetite returned and I was able to gain more weight.

Yet at onetime with candida, I was the opposite and was overweight and bloated. So yes it can go either way for anybody. It just depends what it does to you and what you may be suffering at the time. So that time the candida diet served to help me lose that weight.

I've not used Stevia, but have heard it mentioned on the candida forum I used to belong too (which is the really strict one) and yep, people do use it there. But I don't, because I don't want to keep my taste for sweetness hanging around. Eventually cravings do start to go after you stick to the diet long enough. They won't go though if a person keeps adding bits of this or that. They will continue. Cold turkey sounds cruel, but it's sometimes the only way. Though once I could eat a bit of fruit when I craved sweetness desperately and I got away with it then. I don't get away with it now. Again, that depends on how severe your problem is. I'd go really strict in order to find out if this diet is really going to help you.

You can always loosen up sometime later with natural high carb foods and see if symptoms return and if they don't, you maybe lucky and should be able to get away with eating them again. But steer clear of actual sugar and wheat/gluten/ and yeast. They are usually ALWAYS going to harm.

I don't use anything for salad dressings lol. I just cut up raw vegetables and eat them. But sometimes I used to use some olive oil and lemon juice You maybe able to find some good recipies on this website Diane, and other helpful tips - click on this link --> http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/ Though this website is even stricter than the diet I'm on, it's very similar and offers many great health tips!

They don't even allow nuts/seeds, yoghurt at first....but I do ok on those, so I left them in. They help me snack and I find it doesn't seem to do any harm.

Hi mercuryfreeme,

I tried to attack the candida full force with candida diet and taking Threelac to help kill the yeast. Boy was I in for a rude awakening! Because the Threelac and candida diet combination was
so powerful in killing the yeast, it caused an overload of mercury to release into my system and I felt really ill for about a 3 weeks after it. I have learned the hard way that slow is the way to go but it is quite a challenge when you are feeling like crap!

Angelbaby, interesting that you mentioned 3 weeks. That was the time that I took to feel better from starting the candida diet. I was very toxic during that time. However, I did not take any form of antifungal, so I don't think it was mercury related, as I didn't detect that side of it as such until I used an antifungal later on, which released a load of mercury/metals into my system poisoning me so badly I had to use DMSA to chelate them back out.

This did not occur on the diet alone, because the yeast cells die more slowly from starvation, rather than being blasted by an antifungal which seeks to split the cell walls open (and releases metals).

My die off from diet was not easy admittedly, but I felt it was more yeast toxin related. When yeast cells die, they release their alcohols/death toxins in bigger numbers, so it takes time for the body to eliminate that. And for me it was 3 weeks at that time.

Perhaps it was the threelac with you that did most of the damage? Die off is bad enough with yeast toxins alone, but mercury release on top of it can be devastating and even dangerous. In fact, the antifungal I used was so lethal to me, I was shaking, I tasted metals, I had fevers and chills, ended up with urinary tract infection and many other horrible symptoms from the acute metal exposure. It's apparently been proven in urine tests that antifungals can indeed cause such metal release from yeast. Better to reduce them via diet and simply starve them of what they need to thrive on. That way excess yeast is reduced gradually and in a much safer manner.

I have done the diet since Apr 05, and in that time i have realised that there is no going back to the foods i ate all my life up til then, if i do i get itchy all over, thush, etc.
Depending on your symptoms, you can have a few berries or granny smith apples now and then. I couldnt be happy without a bit of sweetness so i use stevia or agave nectar which tastes exactly like sugar.
There are recipes for pizza anti candida style, i have tried them and they are good.
www.wholeapproach.com is a great site for all sorts of recipes.
Cooking from scratch is time consuming but the candida diet is so healthy, it prevents fungus from forming in the body so it is also a anti cancer diet too. Also good for pre menopause symptoms.
I wouldnt go back to eating the junk i used to now

Hi Dawn, I can't go back either to previous foods (not unless I get rid of the underlying problem). There are times when I think I can cheat and at the time, I seem to be getting away with it, but the impact always hits and the recovery is always long and painful.

I do cheat on occassion, which is not good, but also as a test to see if there has been any permanent kind of improvement and unfortunately so far, no such luck. This time I had lasted many months with no cheats, which I was very happy with myself about. But I tried my luck a few weeks ago and of course, no sign of a problem during the cheat, until a bit later when it all kicks in.

So I'm once again back on track and recovering, which isn't fun. Had it not been for the diet and for sticking to it long term, I would not be able to get into any kind of course or work experience, which I'm now doing. That wasn't even an option. And in my condition with the viral/bacterial infection I have in my system permanently (at least so far it has been), that is pretty amazing.

So though it's not a cure for what I have, nor has anything else been that I've tried, it does provide at least a bit more stability and ability to do a bit more. I never feel well exactly, but to gain a bit more control of the worse of my condition is a plus regardless. So no, the yummy foods candida loves is not going to be something I can indulge in at all with what I have, unless a cure comes about.

Hi Bex, i too can take no chances with my diet,i work four days a week. I take one day at a time,i have only taken one day off sick in one year, its all down to commitment with the diet, i dont know where i would be without it to be honest.
Its good to hear about you doing work experience!
I must say that 2 yrs ago i wouldnt have even dreamed i'd be working.
Im still taking one day at a time though, its the only way.
Dawn

Hi Dawn, yeah it sounds like we may have a very similar ongoing condition that requires ongoing vigilence. This was not quite the case once with me, as the more mercury I had removed, the more cheats I was able to get away with and even then, when I wasn't "cheating", I could indulge easily in high carbohydrate foods like fruits/potatoes/non gluten grain etc and do just fine. Though even then, I had to watch myself if I had the blatant cheats, but recovery was pretty speedy and I felt quite well otherwise.

But with what I have now, that is not the case. So circumstances can change and so must the way I live and eat and I had to accept that and make the change. Nobody enjoys an ultra strict diet, but if it works at least to some extent and enables a person to gain a bit more quality out of life and do more, then it's worth it for sure.

I'm glad to hear that you're working though, that is not an easy thing for anybody who is suffering illness. Taking it day by day is what I do too. It's a bit of a shock to my system at the moment, but I'm hoping I'll adapt soon

But the diet is the only thing that honestly keeps me going, just like it does for you. Not a miracle by any means, but a help.