Candida is the bacteria of the gut we call the “bad” bacteria, even though we need it. It easily falls out of balance with the good bacteria because of the typical diet most of us find convenient. If candida had a personality, I would call it persistent, stubborn, relentless, clever and opportunistic. It is all of those things.
Candida is always ready to take control of the gut. If you fall off your mission to stay balanced, it is waiting in the wings to take charge again. It can become resistant to probiotics that are used to fight it and will do whatever it must to flourish.
In my experience with candida there were many setbacks. I became tolerant of the symptoms and accepted the constant battle as part of life. It is not. What I was doing wrong was caused by being tolerant and believing that small steps would accomplish the goal. When I became clever, stubborn and persistent things changed.
First of all, cutting down on the bad foods like sugar, white flour, heat processed oils, glutenous grains and dairy was not good enough. I needed to stop them. My diet shifted to primarily meat and vegetables with limited, low sugar fruits. Rice and potatoes with skins (the flesh is acidic and the skins are alkaline) were limited and some off beat grains without gluten, like quinoa, worked well.
The next awakening was that my morning probiotic capsule was not enough to combat candida all day. Also, I had not realized that candida can become resistant to probiotics and that changing them regularly was important. In looking for true weaponry, I added fermented food to grow good bacteria throughout the day. That was the game changer.
When fermented foods were incorporated into the diet, all things changed. This meant some weird stuff was going to have to be part of life. Probiotic yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, kombucha and raw vinegar were added throughout the day. A salad dressing of miso and raw vinegar and oil became salad dressing while yogurt was the basis of smoothies and sauces.
The change in gut health and symptoms seemed miraculous. It was not. It was simply removing the food source that allowed candida to overgrow while feeding the good bacteria. The result: A gut that functions happily without bowel issues, stomach pain, nail fungus, yeast infections, lethargy, joint pain, headaches, brain fog, weight gain and many other symptoms.
In the end, my body became more agreeable to losing weight and moving without pain. I learned that if I want to eat something from the list of acidic foods I needed to balance it with probiotics and alkaline foods to stay in charge of my wellness.
Note: Probiotic recipes and a home test for candida can be found on this site.
Click here to download candida test