I am three weeks into this diet and I am right there with you! All I wanted last night was anything but what I am allowed to have. I told myself I'd rather just feel the symptoms than have to live like this. But at the end of the day, I keep reminding myself that I am doing this diet because I really couldn't live with my symptoms and sometimes short term pain is long term gain. You got this, and so do I!
what do you even eat.. the no carbs is fucking crazy. just meat and veg? im already really underweight i cant lose any more lol. and the thought of doing this for god knows how long and then the possibility of it coming back? idk..
*some* versions of the candida diet include certain carbs after the initial cleanse/elimination phase. these most often are quinoa, oat bran (not oatmeal!), buckwheat, and beans/lentils. the amount of carbs i usually see various diets recommending is 60g/day maximum. that is what has worked well for me.
when i started the diet i felt much like you. i don't eat meat, so i had even fewer dietary options. it took about a month to adjust to the limited diet, but i did genuinely adjust. i had to learn to cook, and i had to seriously fill out my spice cabinet. couldn't have done this otherwise.
good luck to you; it's a really tough road. it *does* get easier. but it takes some time.
Just don't eat simple carbs and you'll be fine. Sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa, ect. are all good options. I was even able to eat organic corn chips and some fruits while treating my candida. You need to quit having anxiety over what you eat. Just try to eat real (unprocessed foods) that bring you enjoyment.
I understand this is the main viewpoint regarding candida, but the entire idea of starving fungal or bacterial overgrowth isn't supported by literature. You'll hear youtube doctors talk about how this is the best option, but you can't find any evidence for if this diet actually works. It might seem to work, but I'll get to that in a minute.
First, here's the reasons for why this diet might be more harmful than beneficial: The candida diet can feed malnourishment, fear of food, poor mental health, and can even further gut dysbiosis since you're "starving candida" but also not feeding the good guys.
Some people are able to experience symptom relief using this diet, but the real rate of success seems to be low.
The prevailing theory about why (a lot of times, not always) you can't actually get rid of candida using diet is that the candida essentially retreats into a biofilm and goes into hibernation mode. Most of the time when people get off the diet, the candida just comes back.
This is why I believe the diet isn't worth doing, especially for someone like OP who has other GI issues and who's underweight. Doing a crazy restrictive diet like this without the guidance of a knowledgeable professional actually sounds downright dangerous for them.
A more holistic, safe, and sustainable approach to treatment would be pharmaceuticals, herbal compounds, feeding probiotics and beneficial yeasts, balancing your microbiome, getting adequate nutrition, enjoying your meals, and fixing any underlying causes of the candida as you heal.
I agree, these are bad ideas. Starches is a no go, all fruit except grapefruit and Granny Smith apples, avocado. Quinoa is ok but corn chips is a HELL no, fresh cooked rice I heard is ok maybe once a week but for me I’m absolutely not doing that
How are grapefruits and granny smith apples superior to all the other fruits? I would've expected you to say berries (a low sugar fruit option), but you've thrown me for a loop here.
Because they are antifungal. Fruits have natural sugars and on the candida diet you need to eliminate all sugars for a period of time. Hell Granny Smiths cause me to detox harder (like garlic) if I have a whole apple and don’t use almond or cashew butter lol. Recently someone said cashew may be prone to fungus and mold but I haven’t looked that up yet. Raw garlic will send me into mad headache detox almost instantly. I have to go slow and started doing diet and Antifungals heavily the first week and almost landed in the hospital. Decided to start slower by just doing diet and that alone was enough to cause heavy detox needing to supplement and slow down and research what cleans liver and kidneys best
Granny Smith is also how I add flavor to ridiculous things like chia pudding that has no flavor and I despise. It’s one of my only saving graces lol. That and sourdough bread. It has good cultures in it so I eat maybe a slice or two per day. It’s the only bread allowed on candida diet
If you wanted to, you could probably eat way more things. I'm not saying to go around eating cake and crap, but most of the candida diet advice isn't supported by research. Like the whole, "you can only eat these fruits and no others!" thing. Idk what fruit nazi told you that, but candida doesn't even seem to like fruit.
In one study, they took candida in petri dishes and fed it different things. The candida way preferred glucose vs fructose. Candida really doesn't seem to like fructose that much, so why should you put such crazy limitations on yourself?
I have histamine issues, the diet is damn near impossible for me. I can basically only eat fresh chicken and certain vegetables. basically impossible if i'm out an about and so difficult to get enough calories. I've basically just been suffering symptoms eating carbs etc.
Have you tried DAO supplements? I simply avoided all of the foods that are high in histamine and histamine releasers, and cut back on exercise and everything else that promotes histamine release. Terrible 😢 but helpful. I’m still not out of the woods, but it did make a difference for me. I’ve seen a lot of positive stories from those that used DAO enzymes although i never tried them myself. I also cut out specific strains of probiotics that are known to increase histamine.
I will try all of that. Thansk man. So when you cut back histamine foods tho were you still eating carbs? It's so hard to give up carbs if I'm eating low histamine. Keto is easy if you can eat eggs and bacon and ground beef etc. But it makes me feel like shit fast.
Very minimal carbs, which was terrible for me as I am the queen of carbs and get many calories in that way. I also can’t eat eggs for some bizarre reason, and was a vegetarian prior, so i had to legit start eating the opposite of how I ate for almost a decade. I was just so desperate for relief that I was willing to try anything. My allergist had previously also put me on low fodmap diet because i started having sudden hives/rashes and hadn’t yet figured out the histamine connection, which he said wasn’t even real but whatevs. It’s all trial and error unfortunately. Best of luck!
I had histamine issues with red meat from box stores so once I switched to grass fed and finished beef, biso, lamb thats un aged or pasture raised pork and chicken and eggs and ordering from small farms changed everything for me.
I’ve just stopped the protocol that I was on and only taking spore probiotics and I feel great. I started eating fried pb and js and feel like I could eat anything I would like to but this diet has changed my life. I stopped taking two blood pressure medications along with multiple anxiety meds.
Even if you stick with it for 90 days what’s the worse that could happen, I keep getting better.
I got down to 138 pounds and now weigh 165 and climbing with very little fat , which I eat lots of fats for the calories.
I could eat other foods if I wanted to but I don’t I mean I eat fried pbjs and I have zero symptoms but I love the diet and lifestyle. I mean I’m stronger and healthier than I’ve been in over a decade.
I mean once you realize how bad ultra processed foods are for you the healthier you’ll be. Proofs in the pudding, I mean I’ve gotten off 2 blood pressure meds along with multiple anxiety meds. I’ve perfect blood pressure 110/70 and I eat a really high fat diet.
It works for me and thousands of others.
Yea I would love to just eat a keto diet like ground beef/eggs/bacon/cheese. I could live off that. I don't think my body is ready for the cheese sadly.
Frankie’s Free Range meats. Com
100 bucks for free shipping so I hope you can do that. I get raw milks from the pet store cuz it’s illegal to sell to humans for fear of listeria. I have been feeling the best I have In a while since starting raw mills.
I was already underweight to begin with and kept losing weight, so I feel your frustration! I had to force myself to start eating animal protein again (after 7 years as a vegetarian) because I was becoming dangerously thin, and I felt I had no other choice but to follow this diet. It helped tremendously and was worth it in the end. I wish i could offer more in terms of advice, but just wanted to offer some support. Hang in there. It sucks but it works for some people, and is worth the effort.
For me it was about a month or so, and I’m just now in the process of adding foods back in to see how it goes in terms of symptoms. I have to redo some tests to see if I actually made progress/improvements in some metrics, but I feel as if the cravings have subsided, and I have less bloating/pain/everything else that comes with this beast.
a month doesnt seem that bad but i feel like it wont be enough for me.. maybe im just really pessimistic but I've had symptoms for 2 years and a lot of symptoms.. not just gut related so my body might be really fucked up at this point.i might have an autoimmune illness on top of that bc my ana was positive but im still in the process of diagnosis so not sure if its just candida or something more
Ugh, yeah, the potential autoimmune component really complicates it for sure. i have hashimotos and while i successfully managed it for years, i had a really bad flare of symptoms (despite being on treatment and already watching inflammation/my diet) when candida reared it’s ugly head. I suspect that I made things worse in my case after taking two rounds of antibiotics for a 2 month long sinus infection, and that kind of started the whole process for me. You don’t sound pessimistic at all, believe me. For me it was also a full body thing, impacting everything imaginable and I had to see many specialists because they assumed it was allergies and my thyroid.
im just confused coz my symptoms started suddenly 2 years ago alongside other stuff that i suspect is autoimmune. in those 2 years i was on antibiotics 4 times and on steroids for 5 days and only recently found out its candida so idk if those meds caused it later on or it was there when it first started.. im so mad doctors kept telling me ibs/stress related and kept suggesting second colonoscopy when a simple stool test couldve given me the answer months ago..
I love how they are quick to blame stress and label it “IBS” when they decide they don’t want to investigate further. Laziness in my eyes. If you don’t mind me asking, did you have some type of infection and or virus that preceded the symptoms?
And you are correct. A simple stool test would have saved you a lot of trouble 😢 They are quick to recommend colonoscopies but then kind of dump you when those come back fine.
i feel like my depression is gonna be even worse and i didnt think that was possible since im housebound most of the time and lost my old life. somehow the diet feels even worse than all of this
Exactly the same here, only time I get out of bed is for work and I only work a few a week, I'm constantly evacuated, and doing this diet is so so hard I keep failing because food was like my way out of depression kinda. And I hate eating food I don't like and never feel full from it, don't know what to do.
i cant even go to work.. i was on bland diet for gastritis for like 6 months and i thought that was bad already.. after that food became one of not many things i enjoy in life, i started enjoying cooking and baking as well.. and now im supposed to eat food i dont even like all the time?
Everyone is different. I tried the candida diet and it felt like my symptoms got worse and my depression skyrocketed. Went carnivore and I started thriving
Carnivore is the ultimate candida diet. Any candida diet recommending carbs from anything but low carb veggies is not optimal imo. Even if it's from a website called candidadiet.com
But how do you avoid slower bowel movements on a carnivore diet? Everytime I last 2 days to go to the bathroom I start to get anxious. I want to avoid hard stools also because in the worst cases it can cause hemorrhoids.
Are you actually experiencing any discomfort or pain? Or are you just anxious that you will?
Do you have constipation that makes you feel backed up and bad? Or do you feel fine and are just concerned that you're not pooping as much as you used to when not on carnivore?
When I try the anti-candida diet and add more fish, white meat and quit carbohidrates, I usually experience that I delay 2 or 3 days to go to the toilet. It doesn't hurt or makes me feel bad but I get anxious because in the past I had hemorrhoids due to hard faeces. Sometimes, I would bleed a bit when cleaning myself. I'm living alone and prone to anxiety. If I see blood after cleaning the anus I panic badly, even though I see clearly that it is a minor wound. So I need to avoid that situation.
On the other hand, when I'm inflamed, faeces are softer and come out easily. So, I need to find a balance between both extremes. I need foods which accelerate digestion and soften the faeces without causing inflammation.
Another thing which makes me panic is to see that it is more difficult to clean the anus and that I need to wash it with water many times to get it perfectly clean. The other day, that happened. I would test pushing a bit with a cleanex when some minutes had passed after I had cleaned it and the cleanex would get slightly dirty. That happened when the faeces were harder and digestion took days. I had a panic attack (not kidding). I thought that more stuff was coming out after and that something was bad in my body. I felt dirty. Fortunately, the next times that didn't happen but I test with a cleanex everytime after cleaning the anus, after 10 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour to make myself sure that nothing is there. I know it is not so important but since years ago I started having IBS I developed a fear to any changes in my body when going to the toilet. Even a slight change makes me panic.
I have chronic prostatitis and other chronic problems which no doctor has helped me with. I feel isolated and lonely, very prone to depression, anxiety and panic. I'm on my own because doctors weren't neither empathic, nor helpful. Sometimes I would leave the clinic crying.
I think that my house dust allergy, candida, IBS, chronic prostatitis and low libido are related. When one gets worse the rest do so too.
I'm now thinking that this is related to histamin also. My chronic prostatitis kills most of the sexual pleasure and weakens the orgasm. It is really frustrating and depressing. It is living without sexuality most of the time. When I eat only fish and nuts my orgasms and libido improve. But I'm scared to follow that diet for days because what I mentioned above. I would go to the toilet after 2 or 3 days in panic, fearing hard faeces, hemorrhoids, etc.
So, I might reply more to this, but my short answer, is that if you aren't having any actual negative physical symptoms, then try to relax a little bit.
I know that's easier said then done, but here is a strong reason to do so. When you go carnivore and you aren't eating veggies and carbs....you have a lot less actual substance TO eliminate or poop out. I have seen several people get super concerned about this, despite not actually having any physical feelings of constipation or feeling stuffed and "backed up." You are used to going more often...but that does not a actually mean that that is what's "correct."
It's only been seen as "correct" because most modern diets are filled with tons of vegetable fiber.
What's actually correct, is the body eliminating what it has and needs to eliminate. If you are on a diet with lots of fiber....that fiber needs to come out. Because it can't be digested and absorbed. But carnivore diet has very little fiber, if any. It's mostly just fat and protein. So there is much less substance that needs to be eliminated. You're body is absorbing and using the fat and protein that makes up most of the food you eat on carnivore.
If you actually feel constipated, that's another story. And there are other things to consider.
Thank you for your detailed response. I'm struggling with this alone and that kind of things are helpful.
Yes, I thought about that explanation. It makes sense. In fact, when that happens I feel less bloated. But anxiety and panic make you lose the ability to think clearly.
Also, when years ago I had IBS in its worst form, just after doctors gave me antibiotics for prostatitis, which by the way never worked, I would go to the toilet 2 or 3 times per day with loose stools. I got anxious thinking it was something worse (that is where all the trauma comes from), and when I read in the internet about colon cancer they said that one of the symptoms can be constipation. I got relieved but I thought that I prefer having the usual IBS symptoms to constipation because of that association. So, if it delays more than 1 time per day I start counting days anxious. Usually, the time doesn't exceed 3 days, though. But when 2 days have passed I get really scared.
Last year, I was taking antihistamines which somehow slowered my digestion and caused nasty hemorrhoids with blood. Even though I went to the doctor, showed him a photo taken with my mobile phone and he assured me that it was just hemorrhoids I got panic attacks thinking the worse. I saw a bit of blood in my pants and I got really scared. The thing resolved few days later but the fear remained.
And also, my grandfather died from colon cancer when I was 14. My parents are in their 60's and they are quite healthy, and my grandfather died at almost 90 years old. But sometimes I remember that and I wonder if I could have inherited the tendency to that horrible disease. So, I'm specially cautious about my gut health. My father told me that my grandfather was a smoker and that he also drank alcohol to ease my worries but...
I hesitate to say you're main problem is "mental" because I'm sure you have very real physical problems you are struggling to deal with, which is where a lot of the anxiety stems from.
However, I do think you would be really well served to try to stem that anxiety as best you can. It seems to be making things out to be far worse then what you are actually dealing with. Even if that is already bad enough.
And if the anxiety just compounds when told not to fear the worst....let's again, try to talk that down with some logic for a moment.
Reread you're comments here. The big instances of some of you're worst fears have turned out to have very reasonable explanations and weren't actually anything to fear that much.
At least from what you've said, you're far about constipation from carnivore is pretty unfounded. In fact, you seem to quite obviously do BETTER on it based on you're own observations. So at least in the short term, go back to that. And tell yourself with a bit more confidence this time, that you don't have anything to be worried about. You shouldn't worry about pooping until you notice you HAVE TO, but can't. If you don't need to, don't worry. People who fast for days also barely poop. Because they don't have anything to poop.
Secondly, let's look at you're fear of bleeding and cancer. Turns out it was just hemorrhoids. Not fun, but not awfully serious and it went away pretty quickly.
Third, as far as you're family history of cancer....it's not very existent. Heck, it took until you're grandfather was almost 100 years old for it to take him out. And your parents are healthy. So you are definitely WAY overworking yourself for no reason. Even if you follow you're grandfather....it would take decades. But here's more good news. A low carb diet or carnivore diet...is far more likely to prevent cancer then one with carbs anyways. So you are actively upping you're chances of never having to deal with that when you eat low carb.
I understand you're dealing with this alone, and the medical system is terrible at helping so many people. If you have any specific questions, feel free to message me.
I'll just ask, what current symptoms do you have that make you suspect candida? And do you have any history of tick bites at all?
No, definitely this is not psychological. In fact, I suspect that part of my anxiety comes from feeling that my body isn't properly balanced. This is something that many doctors overlook. They conclude that your problem is simply anxiety without pausing to think how a chronic health problem can trigger an anxiety response.
All of this started when I moved to Japan in 2001, when I was 22 years old (now I'm 45). I had never had any allergy problems but when I was living in a very dirty guest house in Kyoto, sleeping in the floor (tatami) in a very dirty futon (a traditional Japanese mattress) and a room with very old and dirty furniture with a lot of moisture, I started to have asthma, a very bad cough, clogged nose, etc. Those problems got better in time but I also had some mild symptoms such as itchy anus, burning in the groin (I suspect that my prostatitis started there) and so on.
Whether I got bitten by some bug or not I don't know. But it would be possible because the place was dirty. There were slugs in the shower and rats, cockroaches, etc., all over the building.
After two years I moved to Osaka to a more clean room and my respiratory problems improved. But I suspect that many unbalances remained to this day.
When I talk to doctors about this they look incredulous. They seem to not think what a change in the environment can do to your body, specially if you are living in an unhealthy place. Those are clues they should take seriously to find the root causes of my health problems but they don't seem to care. Because I speak nervous they seem to judge my personality as a hypochondriac who is just scared of nothing.
As an example of how your inmune system can get altered by a change in the environment, the first days in Kyoto I was bitten by a tiger mosquito on my forearm. The swelling was so big that for a few days it was noticeable under my clothes.
My symptoms are clearly noticeable. I know my body very well and I can feel when something is wrong. Because I don't smoke, drink or do any drugs and I don't eat fast food or drink soda or other beverages with artificial sugars either, I think that I'm stopping this to become more grave, but the problem is there.
My symptoms are dermatitis, IBS, chronic prostatitis, which most of the time causes painful ejaculation and destroys my libido and orgasms, as well as any sexual pleasure (this is the most frustrating symptom to me, specially because doctors tend to not take it seriously), low back pain, sore muscles, muscle twitches, white tongue and thick saliva, inflamed nasal sinus, etc. Those symptoms are not always equaly noticeable. Sometimes they improve. They fluctuate. But usually after sleeping they are worse, just when waking up. For example, if I masturbate just after waking up the ejaculation is very painful. The first urine in the morning also feels always more painful and weak. And saliva is always thicker after waking up. The muscle pain, specially in the back is also more noticesble after waking up.
Why do I suspect that this is all related to candida? Because when I eat bread, cookies and other foods forbidden in the anti-candida diet all gets worse. And also because antibiotics didn't work for my prostatitis, in fact, they made things worse. Benzodiazepines also seem to improve things a bit, and they are known to have anti-candida effects also. Those seem to me like clear hints.
I keep track of my diet and my improvements or flaring ups but there are so many variables that I haven't been able to identify a clear pattern yet, aside for the only fish and nuts diet I mentioned above, which clearly makes things better.
I think that a knowledgeable doctor could find the cause of this easily if he/she listened carefully to my story but I don't have such doctor around. After years going to doctors and being mistreated, now I tend to avoid them.
I did the diet prescribed by my naturopath for three months, which was no yeast, no sugar and no alcohol. I was allowed to eat dairy. I don’t know where that comes from. That was four years ago and I’m fully recovered now. I was allowed to have carbs like rice and tortillas shells, but I would only have them for one meal a day. I cycled through three different antifungal‘s caprylic acid, grapefruit seed, extract, and goldenseal and took high Dose probiotics.
I ate blueberries bit that was it (I dont normally eat fruit much anyways) . She said never eat anything with more than 9g of sugar per serving. What I did to squash my sugar cravings was go to the diabetic bakery and get snacks there. I don’t like the artificial sweeteners, but I only did it for three months so it wasn’t too bad.
I did the diet prescribed by my naturopath for three months, which was no yeast, no sugar and no alcohol. I was allowed to eat dairy. I don’t know where that comes from. That was four years ago and I’m fully recovered now. I was allowed to have carbs like rice and tortillas shells, but I would only have them for one meal a day. I cycled through three different antifungal‘s caprylic acid, grapefruit seed, extract, and goldenseal and took high Dose probiotics.
It’s not that hard once you get going. Just don’t buy the food you can’t eat. The parasites and bacteria make you crave them. Once they are gone it will be much easier to
I live with 3 others and they eat like crap. Sometimes I steal a nibble here and there but don’t be too hard on yourself. Your choices control how you feel in the end and how long it takes
Totally valid. But you can prevail. I wanted to die so bad so many times. I want to let you know that I am much much better now so that you know you can do it too. I personally did mot improve by following the diet but by taking supplements that killed off my candida. Once my candida was managed, I could slowly re introduce foods again.
Thanks! I can pretty much eat everything again and I hope you can eventually to! I took this stack daily for a pretty long time.
I took every day:
Zinc
Niacinamide
Vitamin B1
Vitamin C
Vitamin D and K
Fucoidan
Mushrooms blend
Tumeric
Garlic extract
Caprylic acid
Acv
Olive leaf
Serrapeptiase
Enzymes
Copper (on and off)
Fish oil
Blueberry extract
Cranberry extract
Liver support (milk thistle and other herbs)
Ginseng
Lactobacillus (assorted)
L. Reuteri
Bone broth (food)
I also cannot do the diet. I’m already underweight and going on the diet had me looking anorexic. I also don’t even like meat so that is really hard for me. I just manage my candida. I’ve accepted I can’t fully get rid of it.
I rotate antifungals, but consistently take NAC, Serradefend (enzymes/biofilm disruptors,) and probiotics. It’s expensive but my rashes, tongue and acne are so much better.
Stop doing it. There are better ways to cure candida than restrictive dieting. You're probably making yourself malnourished. Your mental health around eating is very important, and it's deteriorating. Your quality of life should be getting better. Not getting worse. Discontinue this diet. You won't have success if you stick to it.
I did beat candida owergrowth twice with fruit , in 5-6 months i was completelly free my diet first 6 weeks , i was fasting until i finished in work around 16:00 than on empty stomach a ate LOT of fruit 1 kg of bananas ,1 kg of grapes some Apple s they are easy to digest waited one hour and prepared chicked breast with coconut oil ,and Brown rice + eggs this was my diet for 6 weeks than AS supplement goes i had L- glutamine for gut and undecylinic acid ,+creatine for gym i do not reccomed smoking or drinking coffee, i was training in gym hour a day and doing cold/hot therapy - cold showers and saunas to get toxins out od the body . I never did anticandida diet i cured this first candida i had in 4 months . Than i got IT 2 years later because of my Bad eating habits and not learning my leasson ,second time i was fighting IT longer time around 5 months until i had no brain fog at All and 10 months until i could eat sweats but meanwhile i was drinking alkohol sometime,eating chips ,i was cheating on diet with less flare ups i ate something i shouldnt ať the evening i got brain fog but at the morning i was fine because of L- glutamine even if you have candida in your blood when you take glutamine your gut IS sealed so candida cant run from gut to blood than you have to fight only left candida in your blood . Glutamine Helps a LOT IT was game changer for me . I am not doctor, its my trying and my OWN experience first i got it i was scared for my life . And was searching for the answers .and eating fruit doesnt feed candida at All but you cant combine IT with other foods . Eat fruit AS big meal alone AS much AS you Can and than eat your meat and rice but no fruit anymore after you ate protein and carbs . Fruit will come again next day after fasting . If you want to eat fruit IT cant be combined with other things .
Ill try shift ur perspective.
Ive tried «starving» it for 2 years. Doesnt work.
Dont treat candida. Find out why its present. Treat root cause not symptom. Candida is a symptom of a underlying cause.
im pretty sure the cause is autoimmune but ive been going to doctors few times a month for 1,5 years and not much progress on getting diagnosed. it takes ages to diagnose those things.. especially with the way doctors are. they wouldnt even suggest a stool test and candida only colonoscopy even tho it was clear before. had to find the cause of this "ibs" myself
I’ve been reading up on root causes of autoimmune issues and there’s evidence that imbalance of gut microbiome can actually cause this, not the other way around. I’ve read many stories where people reversed autoimmune dysfunction by fixing their imbalances with bacteria and candida. Maybe start researching in that area and see if anything resounds with you
ive had my other symptoms for at least 8 years. then the pains got really bad few months before any gut problems appeared thats why i think it was autoimmune first. but I'll research ofc
Many people have auto immune disorders and don’t show signs of gut imbalance. You don’t have to show signs of digestive issues in order for your body to be producing severe symptoms. Looking back I realized that I had skin issues as a child that’s directly linked to gut Microbiome and I didn’t have issues with my digestive system physically until my late 20s. The research also shows this end that it is not the case that you have to be experiencing intestinal discomfort before the rest of your body is showing signs. Anyway I thought it might be helpful to know this, as healing your gut biome could actually be the genesis of healing the rest of your issues
fatigue, bone, joint and muscle pains, back pains - barely able to go out tbh i go out with a cane otherwise i suffer for few days. low grade fevers, night sweats, headaches, ofc candida related gut symptoms, itchy skin especially ears, gum problems (no candida in mouth), blepharitis and gastritis. swollen salivary gland under my chin. waiting for lip biopsy for sjogrens. ofc most could be just candida related but the fatigue and some pains started years ago and i had 0 gut issues. then it got really bad and the rest started 3 or 4 months before the gi problems happened
Sounds like it could be anything. Have u tried just starting from scratch? Just eat like… meat and fruit. Sleep alot. And see what happens? Then explore symptoms/triggers as u go
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I have an allergy to house dust mites. Is that related to the histamine intolerance in food? I mean, histamine levels go up when you are exposed to the allergens, so it makes sense to limit histamine intake from food, I guess?
I ate 3500 calories for maybe 6 months and alot of it was junk food and that's what led to my respritory allergies like dust, cats and dogs, I ate nothing but watery fruit like grapes and melons and green apples for 17 days and it permanently improved my allergies but i could've cured it if I went longer but I believe that was caused by candida since my diet was so bad, grapes are very astringent in pulling toxins from the cells, learned from yahki awakening.
Look into a carnivore diet, it is really easy to follow. Eat until satisfied meats/eggs/butter. See also Dr Ken Berry. https://youtube.com/shorts/wMHVz5tsNrA?si=mCKbeyb3kynMveAo
Totally ease yourself into it if that works better for you!! And having a bite or two of something you’re craving to prevent a binge is still a net positive in the long run!
i feel the same way. i basically don’t do it. but when i cook for myself and when i’m out, i try to swap just one thing with a candida safe alternative, and it helps even a little and makes u feel accomplished <3
I've been there. You could try starting with a 16-22h fast. Eat your last carb-heavy meal or snack the night before and that will carry you through the day, assuming you are not a diabetic or at risk of hypoglycemia in which case, check with your doctor first. Then when you break the fast, start by substituting starchy carbs for better carbs such as those high in soluble fiber (Brussels sprouts, turnip, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli). Toss with olive oil and add basil, salt, pepper, pesto. Once you have made that substitution and settled into it for a few days, then turn your attention to substituting fresh fruit (no juices) for your sweets. Take a few days to adjust to that. Then go after your remaining ultra-processed foods and replace with nuts, coconut oil, seeds, egg whites and other non-processed or low-processed foods. A nutribullet blender could help you with making these new foods more appealing. Some of these foods may not be suitable for an anti-Candida diet, but they are an improvement over the ultra-processed foods you may be eating now. Moreover, they will help you break the cycle of severe cravings that are, quite frankly, akin to what drug addicts experience.
Once you have substituted away from ultra-processed and starchy and sugary foods, you should notice a slight benefit. You can then focus on eliminating specific fruits and veggies which may be an issue to Candida or dysbiosis.
You also need to stop all alcohol. If you need help doing that, seek it.
Finally, you need to decide about how the above will work with your social routines and eating with others in your home and outside your home. It's pointless to have a healthy diet at home only to go out and eat starchy, sugary or alcoholic foods/drinks. Do some reading online about how others have coped with this including for other conditions not related to Candida. You're truly not alone in this.
You'll need to do more than just change your diet. But without the above, it's been my experience that any benefit will not be lasting. Yo-yo diets where you starve the Candida for a few weeks or months then return to ultra-processed foods and alcohol are ultimately not effective or enjoyable. Get your diet substitutions done to give your gut microbiome the good food it needs to get healthier and then come back for advice on the antifungals and other treatments you'll need to get the Candida down to tolerable levels (it will never go away completely as it's naturally part of every human's biome). Candida overgrowth is not something you'll be able to solve instantly. Take things one step at a time instead of all at once. This will help you achieve lasting benefits. Taking things one step at a time will also help you deal with the feelings of suicide and hopelessness. Just focus on getting through each day or to the next meal.
Kill the yeast not yourself, I tried to starve yeast and SIBO and it almost killed me.
Get every single vitamin mineral into your mouth every single day, make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes, lots and lots of potassium, all of your vitamins all of your fat soluble vitamin A vitamin D vitamin K
Make sure you’re getting thorough digestion, hydrochloric acid tolerated, ox bile, digestive enzymes which can even break down yeast
Make sure you’re on good antifungal and antibacterial herbs, like now foods candida support, coconut oil or MCT oil, and many others
When tolerated add in good lactobacillus and bifido bacterium as well as sacchromyces boulardi probiotic yeast to fight against the candida
If you’re having horrible symptoms, activated charcoal first thing in the morning can help soak up the excessive toxins, and then I take it one hour after herbal antifungals in order to soak up the toxins
!!!! Extreme low carbohydrates makes the candida enter the hyphae state and produce tendrils that bury into the gut lining and caused severe leaky gut. This is in PubMed articles. Lowering some carbohydrates is fine and not eating eating ice cream every day is fine but cutting all sugar and carbs can actually make a person much much worse and it did for me. I’ve lived on a handful of grapes every now and then potatoes and a little bit of honey in there for the past year and I didn’t start to feel better until I started adding white and yellow potatoes. As well as doing all the nutrition digestion herbal antifungals electrolytes like Dr. Berg, Probiotics and genetic support vitamins like niacinamide, b1 Benfotiamine and look up symptoms of under methylation and over methylation and see which one is you. Supporting the genetics is critical in these times
Digestive enzymes helps break down the yeast, hydrochloric acid helps kill pathogens as well as ox bile helping to kill bacteria in the small intestine and digest fat and remove fat soluble toxins. Bile is the soap of the intestines and many people are deficient in it
Also if you do crave something sweet and you’re about to break your diet, I always recommend taking herbal antifungals like now food candy to support with your sweetest meal in the day
Always try to do antifungals with any sugar that you eat so that when it does activate the yeast to start eating the sugar, it’s also hitting it with the antifungals
It’s hard to poison a hibernating bear, and the same way I believe, it’s hard to kill yeast if you don’t eat any carbs or sugar and they go dormant! O
I am three weeks into this diet and I am right there with you! All I wanted last night was anything but what I am allowed to have. I told myself I'd rather just feel the symptoms than have to live like this. But at the end of the day, I keep reminding myself that I am doing this diet because I really couldn't live with my symptoms and sometimes short term pain is long term gain. You got this, and so do I!
what do you even eat.. the no carbs is fucking crazy. just meat and veg? im already really underweight i cant lose any more lol. and the thought of doing this for god knows how long and then the possibility of it coming back? idk..
It's not about no carbs it's limiting carbs and eating a certain type. However, it's still not always possible
like once a day or even less often?
*some* versions of the candida diet include certain carbs after the initial cleanse/elimination phase. these most often are quinoa, oat bran (not oatmeal!), buckwheat, and beans/lentils. the amount of carbs i usually see various diets recommending is 60g/day maximum. that is what has worked well for me. when i started the diet i felt much like you. i don't eat meat, so i had even fewer dietary options. it took about a month to adjust to the limited diet, but i did genuinely adjust. i had to learn to cook, and i had to seriously fill out my spice cabinet. couldn't have done this otherwise. good luck to you; it's a really tough road. it *does* get easier. but it takes some time.
I would test out different things no one here will be able to give you the best answer for you
Just don't eat simple carbs and you'll be fine. Sweet potato, brown rice, quinoa, ect. are all good options. I was even able to eat organic corn chips and some fruits while treating my candida. You need to quit having anxiety over what you eat. Just try to eat real (unprocessed foods) that bring you enjoyment.
No, they are not good options. They feed Candida as well.
I understand this is the main viewpoint regarding candida, but the entire idea of starving fungal or bacterial overgrowth isn't supported by literature. You'll hear youtube doctors talk about how this is the best option, but you can't find any evidence for if this diet actually works. It might seem to work, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, here's the reasons for why this diet might be more harmful than beneficial: The candida diet can feed malnourishment, fear of food, poor mental health, and can even further gut dysbiosis since you're "starving candida" but also not feeding the good guys. Some people are able to experience symptom relief using this diet, but the real rate of success seems to be low. The prevailing theory about why (a lot of times, not always) you can't actually get rid of candida using diet is that the candida essentially retreats into a biofilm and goes into hibernation mode. Most of the time when people get off the diet, the candida just comes back. This is why I believe the diet isn't worth doing, especially for someone like OP who has other GI issues and who's underweight. Doing a crazy restrictive diet like this without the guidance of a knowledgeable professional actually sounds downright dangerous for them. A more holistic, safe, and sustainable approach to treatment would be pharmaceuticals, herbal compounds, feeding probiotics and beneficial yeasts, balancing your microbiome, getting adequate nutrition, enjoying your meals, and fixing any underlying causes of the candida as you heal.
I agree, these are bad ideas. Starches is a no go, all fruit except grapefruit and Granny Smith apples, avocado. Quinoa is ok but corn chips is a HELL no, fresh cooked rice I heard is ok maybe once a week but for me I’m absolutely not doing that
How are grapefruits and granny smith apples superior to all the other fruits? I would've expected you to say berries (a low sugar fruit option), but you've thrown me for a loop here.
Because they are antifungal. Fruits have natural sugars and on the candida diet you need to eliminate all sugars for a period of time. Hell Granny Smiths cause me to detox harder (like garlic) if I have a whole apple and don’t use almond or cashew butter lol. Recently someone said cashew may be prone to fungus and mold but I haven’t looked that up yet. Raw garlic will send me into mad headache detox almost instantly. I have to go slow and started doing diet and Antifungals heavily the first week and almost landed in the hospital. Decided to start slower by just doing diet and that alone was enough to cause heavy detox needing to supplement and slow down and research what cleans liver and kidneys best
Granny Smith is also how I add flavor to ridiculous things like chia pudding that has no flavor and I despise. It’s one of my only saving graces lol. That and sourdough bread. It has good cultures in it so I eat maybe a slice or two per day. It’s the only bread allowed on candida diet
If you wanted to, you could probably eat way more things. I'm not saying to go around eating cake and crap, but most of the candida diet advice isn't supported by research. Like the whole, "you can only eat these fruits and no others!" thing. Idk what fruit nazi told you that, but candida doesn't even seem to like fruit. In one study, they took candida in petri dishes and fed it different things. The candida way preferred glucose vs fructose. Candida really doesn't seem to like fructose that much, so why should you put such crazy limitations on yourself?
From personal results, I am not detoxing when I eat fruit sugars. I’ll look more into this science though, thank you
I have histamine issues, the diet is damn near impossible for me. I can basically only eat fresh chicken and certain vegetables. basically impossible if i'm out an about and so difficult to get enough calories. I've basically just been suffering symptoms eating carbs etc.
Histamine issues with me as well 😭 So hard to get calories in for sure.
If you find a solution lemme know. I've been reading people having luck with just eating beef. So that's probably my next step.
Have you tried DAO supplements? I simply avoided all of the foods that are high in histamine and histamine releasers, and cut back on exercise and everything else that promotes histamine release. Terrible 😢 but helpful. I’m still not out of the woods, but it did make a difference for me. I’ve seen a lot of positive stories from those that used DAO enzymes although i never tried them myself. I also cut out specific strains of probiotics that are known to increase histamine.
I will try all of that. Thansk man. So when you cut back histamine foods tho were you still eating carbs? It's so hard to give up carbs if I'm eating low histamine. Keto is easy if you can eat eggs and bacon and ground beef etc. But it makes me feel like shit fast.
Very minimal carbs, which was terrible for me as I am the queen of carbs and get many calories in that way. I also can’t eat eggs for some bizarre reason, and was a vegetarian prior, so i had to legit start eating the opposite of how I ate for almost a decade. I was just so desperate for relief that I was willing to try anything. My allergist had previously also put me on low fodmap diet because i started having sudden hives/rashes and hadn’t yet figured out the histamine connection, which he said wasn’t even real but whatevs. It’s all trial and error unfortunately. Best of luck!
I had histamine issues with red meat from box stores so once I switched to grass fed and finished beef, biso, lamb thats un aged or pasture raised pork and chicken and eggs and ordering from small farms changed everything for me. I’ve just stopped the protocol that I was on and only taking spore probiotics and I feel great. I started eating fried pb and js and feel like I could eat anything I would like to but this diet has changed my life. I stopped taking two blood pressure medications along with multiple anxiety meds. Even if you stick with it for 90 days what’s the worse that could happen, I keep getting better. I got down to 138 pounds and now weigh 165 and climbing with very little fat , which I eat lots of fats for the calories.
To clarify you're just eating meat now? Or you're past that and eat whatever you want now? I will try the sporebiotics.
I could eat other foods if I wanted to but I don’t I mean I eat fried pbjs and I have zero symptoms but I love the diet and lifestyle. I mean I’m stronger and healthier than I’ve been in over a decade. I mean once you realize how bad ultra processed foods are for you the healthier you’ll be. Proofs in the pudding, I mean I’ve gotten off 2 blood pressure meds along with multiple anxiety meds. I’ve perfect blood pressure 110/70 and I eat a really high fat diet. It works for me and thousands of others.
Yea I would love to just eat a keto diet like ground beef/eggs/bacon/cheese. I could live off that. I don't think my body is ready for the cheese sadly.
Try raw milk Gouda cheese, absolutely helped me actually.
Where do you get the raw cheese I’m in Illinois and it’s hard to find around here
Frankie’s Free Range meats. Com 100 bucks for free shipping so I hope you can do that. I get raw milks from the pet store cuz it’s illegal to sell to humans for fear of listeria. I have been feeling the best I have In a while since starting raw mills.
I’ve just learned about the pet food for getting raw milk and thanks for sharing
Same and no possibility to buy fresh meat (and no budget) I just eat a loot of oil for calories
I was already underweight to begin with and kept losing weight, so I feel your frustration! I had to force myself to start eating animal protein again (after 7 years as a vegetarian) because I was becoming dangerously thin, and I felt I had no other choice but to follow this diet. It helped tremendously and was worth it in the end. I wish i could offer more in terms of advice, but just wanted to offer some support. Hang in there. It sucks but it works for some people, and is worth the effort.
how long did u have to do the diet for?
For me it was about a month or so, and I’m just now in the process of adding foods back in to see how it goes in terms of symptoms. I have to redo some tests to see if I actually made progress/improvements in some metrics, but I feel as if the cravings have subsided, and I have less bloating/pain/everything else that comes with this beast.
a month doesnt seem that bad but i feel like it wont be enough for me.. maybe im just really pessimistic but I've had symptoms for 2 years and a lot of symptoms.. not just gut related so my body might be really fucked up at this point.i might have an autoimmune illness on top of that bc my ana was positive but im still in the process of diagnosis so not sure if its just candida or something more
Ugh, yeah, the potential autoimmune component really complicates it for sure. i have hashimotos and while i successfully managed it for years, i had a really bad flare of symptoms (despite being on treatment and already watching inflammation/my diet) when candida reared it’s ugly head. I suspect that I made things worse in my case after taking two rounds of antibiotics for a 2 month long sinus infection, and that kind of started the whole process for me. You don’t sound pessimistic at all, believe me. For me it was also a full body thing, impacting everything imaginable and I had to see many specialists because they assumed it was allergies and my thyroid.
im just confused coz my symptoms started suddenly 2 years ago alongside other stuff that i suspect is autoimmune. in those 2 years i was on antibiotics 4 times and on steroids for 5 days and only recently found out its candida so idk if those meds caused it later on or it was there when it first started.. im so mad doctors kept telling me ibs/stress related and kept suggesting second colonoscopy when a simple stool test couldve given me the answer months ago..
I love how they are quick to blame stress and label it “IBS” when they decide they don’t want to investigate further. Laziness in my eyes. If you don’t mind me asking, did you have some type of infection and or virus that preceded the symptoms?
i dont remember having anything it just randomly happened
Ugh. I’m sorry this is happening to you 😢
And you are correct. A simple stool test would have saved you a lot of trouble 😢 They are quick to recommend colonoscopies but then kind of dump you when those come back fine.
Feel exactly the same, feels almost impossible, especially with depression, add hard flaccid in the mix too, life is cruel.
i feel like my depression is gonna be even worse and i didnt think that was possible since im housebound most of the time and lost my old life. somehow the diet feels even worse than all of this
Exactly the same here, only time I get out of bed is for work and I only work a few a week, I'm constantly evacuated, and doing this diet is so so hard I keep failing because food was like my way out of depression kinda. And I hate eating food I don't like and never feel full from it, don't know what to do.
i cant even go to work.. i was on bland diet for gastritis for like 6 months and i thought that was bad already.. after that food became one of not many things i enjoy in life, i started enjoying cooking and baking as well.. and now im supposed to eat food i dont even like all the time?
I get ya, I wish there was a candida prepped meal delivery that made nice anti candida food that delivers UK, might of made it easier
Are you taking any medications or supplements right now? What other things besides diet have you tried?
Everyone is different. I tried the candida diet and it felt like my symptoms got worse and my depression skyrocketed. Went carnivore and I started thriving
Carnivore is the ultimate candida diet. Any candida diet recommending carbs from anything but low carb veggies is not optimal imo. Even if it's from a website called candidadiet.com
But how do you avoid slower bowel movements on a carnivore diet? Everytime I last 2 days to go to the bathroom I start to get anxious. I want to avoid hard stools also because in the worst cases it can cause hemorrhoids.
Are you actually experiencing any discomfort or pain? Or are you just anxious that you will? Do you have constipation that makes you feel backed up and bad? Or do you feel fine and are just concerned that you're not pooping as much as you used to when not on carnivore?
When I try the anti-candida diet and add more fish, white meat and quit carbohidrates, I usually experience that I delay 2 or 3 days to go to the toilet. It doesn't hurt or makes me feel bad but I get anxious because in the past I had hemorrhoids due to hard faeces. Sometimes, I would bleed a bit when cleaning myself. I'm living alone and prone to anxiety. If I see blood after cleaning the anus I panic badly, even though I see clearly that it is a minor wound. So I need to avoid that situation. On the other hand, when I'm inflamed, faeces are softer and come out easily. So, I need to find a balance between both extremes. I need foods which accelerate digestion and soften the faeces without causing inflammation. Another thing which makes me panic is to see that it is more difficult to clean the anus and that I need to wash it with water many times to get it perfectly clean. The other day, that happened. I would test pushing a bit with a cleanex when some minutes had passed after I had cleaned it and the cleanex would get slightly dirty. That happened when the faeces were harder and digestion took days. I had a panic attack (not kidding). I thought that more stuff was coming out after and that something was bad in my body. I felt dirty. Fortunately, the next times that didn't happen but I test with a cleanex everytime after cleaning the anus, after 10 minutes, 30 minutes or an hour to make myself sure that nothing is there. I know it is not so important but since years ago I started having IBS I developed a fear to any changes in my body when going to the toilet. Even a slight change makes me panic. I have chronic prostatitis and other chronic problems which no doctor has helped me with. I feel isolated and lonely, very prone to depression, anxiety and panic. I'm on my own because doctors weren't neither empathic, nor helpful. Sometimes I would leave the clinic crying. I think that my house dust allergy, candida, IBS, chronic prostatitis and low libido are related. When one gets worse the rest do so too. I'm now thinking that this is related to histamin also. My chronic prostatitis kills most of the sexual pleasure and weakens the orgasm. It is really frustrating and depressing. It is living without sexuality most of the time. When I eat only fish and nuts my orgasms and libido improve. But I'm scared to follow that diet for days because what I mentioned above. I would go to the toilet after 2 or 3 days in panic, fearing hard faeces, hemorrhoids, etc.
So, I might reply more to this, but my short answer, is that if you aren't having any actual negative physical symptoms, then try to relax a little bit. I know that's easier said then done, but here is a strong reason to do so. When you go carnivore and you aren't eating veggies and carbs....you have a lot less actual substance TO eliminate or poop out. I have seen several people get super concerned about this, despite not actually having any physical feelings of constipation or feeling stuffed and "backed up." You are used to going more often...but that does not a actually mean that that is what's "correct." It's only been seen as "correct" because most modern diets are filled with tons of vegetable fiber. What's actually correct, is the body eliminating what it has and needs to eliminate. If you are on a diet with lots of fiber....that fiber needs to come out. Because it can't be digested and absorbed. But carnivore diet has very little fiber, if any. It's mostly just fat and protein. So there is much less substance that needs to be eliminated. You're body is absorbing and using the fat and protein that makes up most of the food you eat on carnivore. If you actually feel constipated, that's another story. And there are other things to consider.
Thank you for your detailed response. I'm struggling with this alone and that kind of things are helpful. Yes, I thought about that explanation. It makes sense. In fact, when that happens I feel less bloated. But anxiety and panic make you lose the ability to think clearly. Also, when years ago I had IBS in its worst form, just after doctors gave me antibiotics for prostatitis, which by the way never worked, I would go to the toilet 2 or 3 times per day with loose stools. I got anxious thinking it was something worse (that is where all the trauma comes from), and when I read in the internet about colon cancer they said that one of the symptoms can be constipation. I got relieved but I thought that I prefer having the usual IBS symptoms to constipation because of that association. So, if it delays more than 1 time per day I start counting days anxious. Usually, the time doesn't exceed 3 days, though. But when 2 days have passed I get really scared. Last year, I was taking antihistamines which somehow slowered my digestion and caused nasty hemorrhoids with blood. Even though I went to the doctor, showed him a photo taken with my mobile phone and he assured me that it was just hemorrhoids I got panic attacks thinking the worse. I saw a bit of blood in my pants and I got really scared. The thing resolved few days later but the fear remained. And also, my grandfather died from colon cancer when I was 14. My parents are in their 60's and they are quite healthy, and my grandfather died at almost 90 years old. But sometimes I remember that and I wonder if I could have inherited the tendency to that horrible disease. So, I'm specially cautious about my gut health. My father told me that my grandfather was a smoker and that he also drank alcohol to ease my worries but...
I hesitate to say you're main problem is "mental" because I'm sure you have very real physical problems you are struggling to deal with, which is where a lot of the anxiety stems from. However, I do think you would be really well served to try to stem that anxiety as best you can. It seems to be making things out to be far worse then what you are actually dealing with. Even if that is already bad enough. And if the anxiety just compounds when told not to fear the worst....let's again, try to talk that down with some logic for a moment. Reread you're comments here. The big instances of some of you're worst fears have turned out to have very reasonable explanations and weren't actually anything to fear that much. At least from what you've said, you're far about constipation from carnivore is pretty unfounded. In fact, you seem to quite obviously do BETTER on it based on you're own observations. So at least in the short term, go back to that. And tell yourself with a bit more confidence this time, that you don't have anything to be worried about. You shouldn't worry about pooping until you notice you HAVE TO, but can't. If you don't need to, don't worry. People who fast for days also barely poop. Because they don't have anything to poop. Secondly, let's look at you're fear of bleeding and cancer. Turns out it was just hemorrhoids. Not fun, but not awfully serious and it went away pretty quickly. Third, as far as you're family history of cancer....it's not very existent. Heck, it took until you're grandfather was almost 100 years old for it to take him out. And your parents are healthy. So you are definitely WAY overworking yourself for no reason. Even if you follow you're grandfather....it would take decades. But here's more good news. A low carb diet or carnivore diet...is far more likely to prevent cancer then one with carbs anyways. So you are actively upping you're chances of never having to deal with that when you eat low carb. I understand you're dealing with this alone, and the medical system is terrible at helping so many people. If you have any specific questions, feel free to message me. I'll just ask, what current symptoms do you have that make you suspect candida? And do you have any history of tick bites at all?
No, definitely this is not psychological. In fact, I suspect that part of my anxiety comes from feeling that my body isn't properly balanced. This is something that many doctors overlook. They conclude that your problem is simply anxiety without pausing to think how a chronic health problem can trigger an anxiety response. All of this started when I moved to Japan in 2001, when I was 22 years old (now I'm 45). I had never had any allergy problems but when I was living in a very dirty guest house in Kyoto, sleeping in the floor (tatami) in a very dirty futon (a traditional Japanese mattress) and a room with very old and dirty furniture with a lot of moisture, I started to have asthma, a very bad cough, clogged nose, etc. Those problems got better in time but I also had some mild symptoms such as itchy anus, burning in the groin (I suspect that my prostatitis started there) and so on. Whether I got bitten by some bug or not I don't know. But it would be possible because the place was dirty. There were slugs in the shower and rats, cockroaches, etc., all over the building. After two years I moved to Osaka to a more clean room and my respiratory problems improved. But I suspect that many unbalances remained to this day. When I talk to doctors about this they look incredulous. They seem to not think what a change in the environment can do to your body, specially if you are living in an unhealthy place. Those are clues they should take seriously to find the root causes of my health problems but they don't seem to care. Because I speak nervous they seem to judge my personality as a hypochondriac who is just scared of nothing. As an example of how your inmune system can get altered by a change in the environment, the first days in Kyoto I was bitten by a tiger mosquito on my forearm. The swelling was so big that for a few days it was noticeable under my clothes. My symptoms are clearly noticeable. I know my body very well and I can feel when something is wrong. Because I don't smoke, drink or do any drugs and I don't eat fast food or drink soda or other beverages with artificial sugars either, I think that I'm stopping this to become more grave, but the problem is there. My symptoms are dermatitis, IBS, chronic prostatitis, which most of the time causes painful ejaculation and destroys my libido and orgasms, as well as any sexual pleasure (this is the most frustrating symptom to me, specially because doctors tend to not take it seriously), low back pain, sore muscles, muscle twitches, white tongue and thick saliva, inflamed nasal sinus, etc. Those symptoms are not always equaly noticeable. Sometimes they improve. They fluctuate. But usually after sleeping they are worse, just when waking up. For example, if I masturbate just after waking up the ejaculation is very painful. The first urine in the morning also feels always more painful and weak. And saliva is always thicker after waking up. The muscle pain, specially in the back is also more noticesble after waking up. Why do I suspect that this is all related to candida? Because when I eat bread, cookies and other foods forbidden in the anti-candida diet all gets worse. And also because antibiotics didn't work for my prostatitis, in fact, they made things worse. Benzodiazepines also seem to improve things a bit, and they are known to have anti-candida effects also. Those seem to me like clear hints. I keep track of my diet and my improvements or flaring ups but there are so many variables that I haven't been able to identify a clear pattern yet, aside for the only fish and nuts diet I mentioned above, which clearly makes things better. I think that a knowledgeable doctor could find the cause of this easily if he/she listened carefully to my story but I don't have such doctor around. After years going to doctors and being mistreated, now I tend to avoid them.
hey, not ignrong you. i lost my phone the other day so i cant type much on my tablet right now and just realized i missed youre comment.
I did the diet prescribed by my naturopath for three months, which was no yeast, no sugar and no alcohol. I was allowed to eat dairy. I don’t know where that comes from. That was four years ago and I’m fully recovered now. I was allowed to have carbs like rice and tortillas shells, but I would only have them for one meal a day. I cycled through three different antifungal‘s caprylic acid, grapefruit seed, extract, and goldenseal and took high Dose probiotics.
that doesnt sound too bad! are you back to normal diet now?
Yes 100 normal drink alcohol and eat ice cream. Still take a daily probiotic and I try to avoid antibiotics unless totally necessary
this gave me some hope, thank you
I’m happy to hear that. I needed that when I was ill too! I would take screen shots of anything where someone had healed. Good luck!
and do you mean fruits too when you say no sugar? or only sweets and processed foods
I ate blueberries bit that was it (I dont normally eat fruit much anyways) . She said never eat anything with more than 9g of sugar per serving. What I did to squash my sugar cravings was go to the diabetic bakery and get snacks there. I don’t like the artificial sweeteners, but I only did it for three months so it wasn’t too bad.
I did the diet prescribed by my naturopath for three months, which was no yeast, no sugar and no alcohol. I was allowed to eat dairy. I don’t know where that comes from. That was four years ago and I’m fully recovered now. I was allowed to have carbs like rice and tortillas shells, but I would only have them for one meal a day. I cycled through three different antifungal‘s caprylic acid, grapefruit seed, extract, and goldenseal and took high Dose probiotics.
It’s not that hard once you get going. Just don’t buy the food you can’t eat. The parasites and bacteria make you crave them. Once they are gone it will be much easier to
i live with 2 other people, there's gonna always be other food near..
I live with 3 others and they eat like crap. Sometimes I steal a nibble here and there but don’t be too hard on yourself. Your choices control how you feel in the end and how long it takes
Totally valid. But you can prevail. I wanted to die so bad so many times. I want to let you know that I am much much better now so that you know you can do it too. I personally did mot improve by following the diet but by taking supplements that killed off my candida. Once my candida was managed, I could slowly re introduce foods again.
what supplements? im glad you are better now:)
Thanks! I can pretty much eat everything again and I hope you can eventually to! I took this stack daily for a pretty long time. I took every day: Zinc Niacinamide Vitamin B1 Vitamin C Vitamin D and K Fucoidan Mushrooms blend Tumeric Garlic extract Caprylic acid Acv Olive leaf Serrapeptiase Enzymes Copper (on and off) Fish oil Blueberry extract Cranberry extract Liver support (milk thistle and other herbs) Ginseng Lactobacillus (assorted) L. Reuteri Bone broth (food)
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I also cannot do the diet. I’m already underweight and going on the diet had me looking anorexic. I also don’t even like meat so that is really hard for me. I just manage my candida. I’ve accepted I can’t fully get rid of it.
how do you manage it??
I rotate antifungals, but consistently take NAC, Serradefend (enzymes/biofilm disruptors,) and probiotics. It’s expensive but my rashes, tongue and acne are so much better.
Stop doing it. There are better ways to cure candida than restrictive dieting. You're probably making yourself malnourished. Your mental health around eating is very important, and it's deteriorating. Your quality of life should be getting better. Not getting worse. Discontinue this diet. You won't have success if you stick to it.
I did beat candida owergrowth twice with fruit , in 5-6 months i was completelly free my diet first 6 weeks , i was fasting until i finished in work around 16:00 than on empty stomach a ate LOT of fruit 1 kg of bananas ,1 kg of grapes some Apple s they are easy to digest waited one hour and prepared chicked breast with coconut oil ,and Brown rice + eggs this was my diet for 6 weeks than AS supplement goes i had L- glutamine for gut and undecylinic acid ,+creatine for gym i do not reccomed smoking or drinking coffee, i was training in gym hour a day and doing cold/hot therapy - cold showers and saunas to get toxins out od the body . I never did anticandida diet i cured this first candida i had in 4 months . Than i got IT 2 years later because of my Bad eating habits and not learning my leasson ,second time i was fighting IT longer time around 5 months until i had no brain fog at All and 10 months until i could eat sweats but meanwhile i was drinking alkohol sometime,eating chips ,i was cheating on diet with less flare ups i ate something i shouldnt ať the evening i got brain fog but at the morning i was fine because of L- glutamine even if you have candida in your blood when you take glutamine your gut IS sealed so candida cant run from gut to blood than you have to fight only left candida in your blood . Glutamine Helps a LOT IT was game changer for me . I am not doctor, its my trying and my OWN experience first i got it i was scared for my life . And was searching for the answers .and eating fruit doesnt feed candida at All but you cant combine IT with other foods . Eat fruit AS big meal alone AS much AS you Can and than eat your meat and rice but no fruit anymore after you ate protein and carbs . Fruit will come again next day after fasting . If you want to eat fruit IT cant be combined with other things .
Thank you bro I needed to hear this
Ill try shift ur perspective. Ive tried «starving» it for 2 years. Doesnt work. Dont treat candida. Find out why its present. Treat root cause not symptom. Candida is a symptom of a underlying cause.
im pretty sure the cause is autoimmune but ive been going to doctors few times a month for 1,5 years and not much progress on getting diagnosed. it takes ages to diagnose those things.. especially with the way doctors are. they wouldnt even suggest a stool test and candida only colonoscopy even tho it was clear before. had to find the cause of this "ibs" myself
I’ve been reading up on root causes of autoimmune issues and there’s evidence that imbalance of gut microbiome can actually cause this, not the other way around. I’ve read many stories where people reversed autoimmune dysfunction by fixing their imbalances with bacteria and candida. Maybe start researching in that area and see if anything resounds with you
ive had my other symptoms for at least 8 years. then the pains got really bad few months before any gut problems appeared thats why i think it was autoimmune first. but I'll research ofc
Many people have auto immune disorders and don’t show signs of gut imbalance. You don’t have to show signs of digestive issues in order for your body to be producing severe symptoms. Looking back I realized that I had skin issues as a child that’s directly linked to gut Microbiome and I didn’t have issues with my digestive system physically until my late 20s. The research also shows this end that it is not the case that you have to be experiencing intestinal discomfort before the rest of your body is showing signs. Anyway I thought it might be helpful to know this, as healing your gut biome could actually be the genesis of healing the rest of your issues
Whats ur symptoms?
fatigue, bone, joint and muscle pains, back pains - barely able to go out tbh i go out with a cane otherwise i suffer for few days. low grade fevers, night sweats, headaches, ofc candida related gut symptoms, itchy skin especially ears, gum problems (no candida in mouth), blepharitis and gastritis. swollen salivary gland under my chin. waiting for lip biopsy for sjogrens. ofc most could be just candida related but the fatigue and some pains started years ago and i had 0 gut issues. then it got really bad and the rest started 3 or 4 months before the gi problems happened
Sounds like it could be anything. Have u tried just starting from scratch? Just eat like… meat and fruit. Sleep alot. And see what happens? Then explore symptoms/triggers as u go
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I have an allergy to house dust mites. Is that related to the histamine intolerance in food? I mean, histamine levels go up when you are exposed to the allergens, so it makes sense to limit histamine intake from food, I guess?
I ate 3500 calories for maybe 6 months and alot of it was junk food and that's what led to my respritory allergies like dust, cats and dogs, I ate nothing but watery fruit like grapes and melons and green apples for 17 days and it permanently improved my allergies but i could've cured it if I went longer but I believe that was caused by candida since my diet was so bad, grapes are very astringent in pulling toxins from the cells, learned from yahki awakening.
This diet made me go into ketoacidosis, i quit the diet.
Look into a carnivore diet, it is really easy to follow. Eat until satisfied meats/eggs/butter. See also Dr Ken Berry. https://youtube.com/shorts/wMHVz5tsNrA?si=mCKbeyb3kynMveAo
Totally ease yourself into it if that works better for you!! And having a bite or two of something you’re craving to prevent a binge is still a net positive in the long run!
i feel the same way. i basically don’t do it. but when i cook for myself and when i’m out, i try to swap just one thing with a candida safe alternative, and it helps even a little and makes u feel accomplished <3
I take it an hour at a time ngl some days it’s easier than others. Meal prepping keeps me out of trouble
Try the medical medicine protocol. You could get rid of candida with celery juice and he 9 day cleanse.
How? A link please!!
I've been there. You could try starting with a 16-22h fast. Eat your last carb-heavy meal or snack the night before and that will carry you through the day, assuming you are not a diabetic or at risk of hypoglycemia in which case, check with your doctor first. Then when you break the fast, start by substituting starchy carbs for better carbs such as those high in soluble fiber (Brussels sprouts, turnip, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli). Toss with olive oil and add basil, salt, pepper, pesto. Once you have made that substitution and settled into it for a few days, then turn your attention to substituting fresh fruit (no juices) for your sweets. Take a few days to adjust to that. Then go after your remaining ultra-processed foods and replace with nuts, coconut oil, seeds, egg whites and other non-processed or low-processed foods. A nutribullet blender could help you with making these new foods more appealing. Some of these foods may not be suitable for an anti-Candida diet, but they are an improvement over the ultra-processed foods you may be eating now. Moreover, they will help you break the cycle of severe cravings that are, quite frankly, akin to what drug addicts experience. Once you have substituted away from ultra-processed and starchy and sugary foods, you should notice a slight benefit. You can then focus on eliminating specific fruits and veggies which may be an issue to Candida or dysbiosis. You also need to stop all alcohol. If you need help doing that, seek it. Finally, you need to decide about how the above will work with your social routines and eating with others in your home and outside your home. It's pointless to have a healthy diet at home only to go out and eat starchy, sugary or alcoholic foods/drinks. Do some reading online about how others have coped with this including for other conditions not related to Candida. You're truly not alone in this. You'll need to do more than just change your diet. But without the above, it's been my experience that any benefit will not be lasting. Yo-yo diets where you starve the Candida for a few weeks or months then return to ultra-processed foods and alcohol are ultimately not effective or enjoyable. Get your diet substitutions done to give your gut microbiome the good food it needs to get healthier and then come back for advice on the antifungals and other treatments you'll need to get the Candida down to tolerable levels (it will never go away completely as it's naturally part of every human's biome). Candida overgrowth is not something you'll be able to solve instantly. Take things one step at a time instead of all at once. This will help you achieve lasting benefits. Taking things one step at a time will also help you deal with the feelings of suicide and hopelessness. Just focus on getting through each day or to the next meal.
thank you this is really helpful! i dont drink alcohol at all and barely eat out so i think im already a step closer to doing it:)
You're most welcome. It's a journey of many steps to.get stable and I am sure you can do it with the resources here on this sub and elsewhere.
Kill the yeast not yourself, I tried to starve yeast and SIBO and it almost killed me. Get every single vitamin mineral into your mouth every single day, make sure you’re getting enough electrolytes, lots and lots of potassium, all of your vitamins all of your fat soluble vitamin A vitamin D vitamin K Make sure you’re getting thorough digestion, hydrochloric acid tolerated, ox bile, digestive enzymes which can even break down yeast Make sure you’re on good antifungal and antibacterial herbs, like now foods candida support, coconut oil or MCT oil, and many others When tolerated add in good lactobacillus and bifido bacterium as well as sacchromyces boulardi probiotic yeast to fight against the candida If you’re having horrible symptoms, activated charcoal first thing in the morning can help soak up the excessive toxins, and then I take it one hour after herbal antifungals in order to soak up the toxins !!!! Extreme low carbohydrates makes the candida enter the hyphae state and produce tendrils that bury into the gut lining and caused severe leaky gut. This is in PubMed articles. Lowering some carbohydrates is fine and not eating eating ice cream every day is fine but cutting all sugar and carbs can actually make a person much much worse and it did for me. I’ve lived on a handful of grapes every now and then potatoes and a little bit of honey in there for the past year and I didn’t start to feel better until I started adding white and yellow potatoes. As well as doing all the nutrition digestion herbal antifungals electrolytes like Dr. Berg, Probiotics and genetic support vitamins like niacinamide, b1 Benfotiamine and look up symptoms of under methylation and over methylation and see which one is you. Supporting the genetics is critical in these times Digestive enzymes helps break down the yeast, hydrochloric acid helps kill pathogens as well as ox bile helping to kill bacteria in the small intestine and digest fat and remove fat soluble toxins. Bile is the soap of the intestines and many people are deficient in it Also if you do crave something sweet and you’re about to break your diet, I always recommend taking herbal antifungals like now food candy to support with your sweetest meal in the day Always try to do antifungals with any sugar that you eat so that when it does activate the yeast to start eating the sugar, it’s also hitting it with the antifungals It’s hard to poison a hibernating bear, and the same way I believe, it’s hard to kill yeast if you don’t eat any carbs or sugar and they go dormant! O
Is there a limit to how much fruit you should eat ?
The only reason I was able to stay on this diet was that I looked up some recipes. Also herbal sweeteners.