What is Candida? (and How to Tell if You Have It)

Barleans Olive Leaf Complex Natural is a good product for aiding in the relief of Candida and its symptoms

I have struggled with Candida for many years but never knew what to do about it. If there was no processed sugar around, I would crave bread, milk and fruit. The cravings are incredibly strong and the symptoms so severe that I feel nearly schizophrenic sometimes. This diet is entirely opposite to the way that I eat now, I’m not even sure how to go about it. I want to try the Candida Protocol but right now I’m breastfeeding…This whole thing feels like Mount Everest. I don’t know if I can do this by myself.

In response to Laura thinking that this was hype for a $247 program: I just finished the six week
cleanse last tuesday and it has been LIFE CHANGING! If it is hype, then thank you God that I chose believe it, purchase Christa’s program and actually do the cleanse! I knew intuitively that
I had systemic yeast overgrowth bc of chronic acne among other symptoms. After I grew a huge ‘jellyfish’ leggy thing every single day for six days my suspicion’s were confirmed and I thought to myself well I won’t die trying this and it just might work! I pretty much followed everything to the letter figuring I it isn’t FOREVER and like Christa said if you do it right you only have to do it once! The recipes are so good that they are just part of my lifestyle now, particularly the cleansing cilantro and the turmeric ginger lemonade (love those!) Though weight loss wasn’t a goal, I have lost a vanity 6 pounds and my skin is continuing to clear. At the 4 week mark I still had ‘legs’ in the water but like Christa says I ‘corrected and continued’ and I thought can this really work in the 6-10 week time frame? Well it did! Though I have been on a nutritional journey for about 6 years, it was maybe easier for me since I am already gluten free, pretty much grain free, etc. The real bonus to the cleanse was the suggestion in one of her talks to get
the book The Healing Codes by Alex Loyd and Ben Johnson. I am cracking up that it took me 40 books on nutrition and being lead to the WONDERFUL Whole Journey/Christa Orrechio to finally get to the root of my health issues in the first place as being Heart Issues! Christa mentioned several times that you can’t ignore the emotional stuff and boy is she RIGHT! Thank you Katie & Christa and Alex and Ben!

have been there! I was never a vegetarian or vegan, but I have been unknowingly addicted to fruit (and milk) for years. I was told by my ob/gyn years ago that I was hypoglycemic and needed to increase my protein intake, so I have always made sure I ate plenty of protein (mostly meat and eggs), but it never seemed to help my hypoglycemia, which only seemed to worsen over the years. I was very sensitive to processed sugar, so I rarely ate it, and tried to avoid white flour as much as was reasonable on a basically standard american diet. I had no idea that eating loads of fruit (and in my case drinking lots of milk) throughout the day was probably the cause of my hypoglycemia.

When I signed up for the 40 Day Grain-Free Challenge (thank you Wellness Mama!), it was really just to help my husband lose weight. He did lose some, but the biggest thing to come out of it was a TOTAL CURE of the rather severe hypoglycemia that had plagued me for years. With this came a modest weight loss (I wasn’t really overweight to begin with), greater energy, emotional stability, and mental clarity. Not only did I cut out all grains and beans (a huge part of my former diet), all processed foods, canola, soy, and corn oils, and milk, but I cut WAY back on my fruit consumption. Following some of the paleo advice, I limited myself to mostly low GI fruits, mainly berries and citrus. I also cut way back on coffee and tea, but found myself substituting 90% dark chocolate to a degree.

There is no way to describe the change in me. Before I would get sick after drinking two cups of coffee on an empty stomach, but after about three weeks on the challenge, I could (and still can) drink several cups – I know, not good – without getting sick. I have only experienced low-blood sugar or hyperinsulinemia episodes on a few occasions around and after Easter when I was indulging in sugar and junk, kind of experimenting to see if all this was real. It is totally real.

What I have learned is that fruit is something that can definitely be abused. It gives you a big sugar high, but you don’t necessarily realize that until you go off of it. At first I had major problems with fatigue and sugar cravings. It took about a week and a half for the drugged out feeling to go away, but the sugar cravings still hit me. A bit of dark chocolate or some berries, avocado, or coconut milk helped me with the cravings, but I had to remember to cool it, and not go overboard. I had to up my fat intake quite a bit to compensate for the lost carb energy. I really believe that I was on my way to diabetes big time, burning out my beta cells with all that fructose and lactose. I had NO IDEA. On a side note, the weight I lost (remember I wasn’t overweight according to the scale, or clothing size) was ALL BELLY FAT. After seven children, I have my waist back! I still love fruit, I just don’t abuse it anymore. Good luck! And thanks again Wellness Mama!

In addition to the other great advice, especially regarding blood sugar issues, I would like to offer the suggestion to approach using fruit in your diet in a different way.
 
 First of all, be sure to acknowledge the amazing fruits coconut and olive which contribution such healthy fats in the diet…enjoy them regularly!  Mainly, though, it might help to generally limit your fruit consumption to items that are in season….you can truly appreciate them at their nutritional and taste peak this way…they are also much more affordable at this time…I love associating different times of year with the fruits that come in season then…it’s not that I won’t occasionally buy apples or bananas (mostly for their convenience) but throughout the year I look forward to the best tastes of each season this way!  This might also be a way of not overdoing it with fruit…the fresh blueberries we have coming in now are easy to gorge on at first, but soon I’m ready to back off and look forward to the watermelon crop.  There also may be interesting local crops that aren’t available in the regular grocery store…for example, we just finished with the wild plums and mulberries and the figs will be coming in soon.  
 
 Also, large quantities of in-season fruits lend themselves to processing in even more beneficial ways….to me, fermentation comes to mind…those blueberries would make a nice lactofermented syrup and the watermelon rinds are fun to pickle…providing you with fruits that are in a more beneficial form…..namely as probiotics!  Many fruits can be made into tasty fermented chutneys that would complement some healthy meat dishes. 
 
I would also like to add that cooking fruits or any plant material actually renders many more nutrients available as the plant cell walls are broken and the contents made more available…we are not true herbivores and are not well equipped to break those cell walls (think: the plant’s skeleton)…both cooking and fermentation do a great job of this…my understanding of all those enzymes in raw plant material is that many are inactivated as soon as they hit the stomach and it’s strong acid.  Most of what you do get from raw fruit is that yummy addictive fructose!
 
I found The Vegetarian Myth really helpful in illuminating the fallacies of the health of the vegetarian diet both for people and the planet…I see that you have found this resource as well as the amazing Nutrition and Physical Degeneration…keep exploring, and questioning and listening to the guidance that has gotten you to this place….I think you’re on the right track!!! 

I understand about the fruit.  Although I did not eat as much of it as you were (are) eating, the idea of living without fruit was unimaginable.  However, once I made the commitment to eat low carb, fruit had to go, and after a short while, I did not miss it.  The only fruit I have had in the past two years is berries, and that is rare. 

I know you have been reading books that are telling you that eating that much fruit is unhealthy.  I know, because I have read all the same books.  At some point, it comes down to you deciding what you are going to do, and then making the commitment to do it.

Can you be addicted to fruit?  I think so.  Your body can be so dependent on the sugar that you are eating that it cries out for it when it is not there.  The only thing to do about an addiction, in my opinion, is to break it.  Stop eating vast amounts of fruit.  Believe it or not, your body will adjust over the next week or so and the cravings will end.  Eating the amount of sugar you are eating is only leading you toward Type 2 Diabetes and other illnesses.  Just because it is “natural” does not mean it is healthy.  If you cannot give up fruit all together, I would suggest limiting yourself to 1/2 cup of some sort of berry per day.

I know that in your heart you know this is not healthy.  From what you have said, even your own body is trying to tell you to stop eating all that sugar.  You have cravings, sure, but so do people that are addicted to Coca-Cola or chocolate.  Just because you crave it does not mean you should eat it.  And the cravings will stop, believe me, when your body readjusts.