About 4 weeks ago I embarked on a new journey in my life.  Never having been on a diet before, my husband and I were looking for one that we could use to quickly shed a few pounds before walking in the Re-Vamp Fashion Show.  After a couple days of research we finally decided on the anti-candida diet.  If I was going to make this sacrifice and actually deny myself certain foods, I wanted it to be the most beneficial for our health at the same time.

I have done a lot of research on candida overgrowth over the past 4 weeks and it has been really enlightening.  It has sent me on a completely different path nutritionally and I have changed my family’s diet in many ways for life.  The best resource I have found for info is The Whole Approach .  I personally did not buy any of the supplements that they sell on the website, however, I am taking a high quality probiotic and rotating using oil of oregano, coconut oil, grapefruit seed extract, garlic and pau d’arco tea to fight the candida.  These are all available at natural food stores.

The gist of the diet is you want to re-balance your digestive flora (which takes time) by starving the candida (an opportunistic naturally occurring yeast that is normally a part of digestion).  Nearly 80% of the population suffer from an overgrowth due to widely prescribed antibiotics, birth controls and the Standard American Diet (SAD).  Within this population, range dozens of related health problems including allergies to environmental stimuli and food, behavioral disorders, learning disabilities, sinus and bronchial infections, skin conditions, digestive problems, brain fog, indecisiveness, joint pain etc.  In most cases doctors do not recognize candida overgrowth as the disorder and will attempt to treat symptoms only.  I really think that we are in the midst of an epidemic.  The rates of childhood illness, allergies and behavioral disorders is climbing at an alarming rate.  Most people have no idea that the majority of the food they consume is harmful and of little to no nutritional value, especially because of the way it is prepared.

Candida thrive on sugar and simple carbohydrates – so the first phase of the diet is eliminating those almost completely.  No sugars of any kind including fruit, honey and agave (we’ve still been eating a VERY small amount of green apple and berries from time to time), no refined flours or gluten – which means no bread, pasta, ect…  No milk (it has lactose, which is a sugar) and no alcohol.  The first phase is 3 – 4 months and then you move on to add more things back in in the 2nd phase.    The third phase is probably one that we will base more on The Weston Price Foundation and continue for life, after a couple months in this way of eating having some things that aren’t in the diet here or there don’t impact you as negatively as they do when you still have overgrowth, so it is ok at that point.

Another important factor in this new realm of nutrition is knowing where your food is coming from and how it is raised, treated and grown.  I  highly recommend watching Food Inc and Future of Food (this one is free on hulu).  The state of our nations food industry is absolutely appalling and it has really opened my eyes.  I now try to source as much of my food through organic and local sources as possible.  There are many excellent local farms in the area, many organic and even some that are biodynamic.

Chris and I have both lost more than 15lbs (and any trace of cellulite) in the past 4 weeks and it was not by starving ourselves.  It has been through consuming healthy, natural (responsibly produced) fats, such as grassfed raw milk, butter, meats and eggs, eating lots of veggies and preparing everything from scratch (no more packaged foods).  We’ve discovered lots of ways to create the tastes we used to love even within the somewhat strict boundaries of phase one.  In the process I have developed a new love for cooking and am really embracing domestic goddess-hood.

Beyond the weight loss, I have experienced a tremendous increase in energy and clarity, the dark circles under my eyes are diminishing and I’m more driven and optimistic.  I’m looking forward to seeing what other benefits the diet brings me in the future.

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