HELP!! Candida & Water Fasting....

Hey,
I haven't posted here much, but I think it's about time that I got back into it because I need the support and to tap a few other like-minded people's brains...

I work at the Creative Health Institute in Michigan and love it, but am dismayed that after 5 1/2 months, when most have dropped sixty lbs, etc, that I am STILL heavy, having lost NOT MUCH AT ALL, and although I've made SOME health improvements, it is mild, and that I am still clearly suffering from candida (which I've even been told is in MY BRAIN) and now I find out I am suffering from LOW HCL as well (candida's evil counterpart).

These symptoms---the brain fuzz, the fugue state, the lethargy---have totally ruined my life and I am at my wits end, having quit my job to come here. I preach the lifestyle great and am very passionate, but am still totally suffering. The frustration causes me to still SMOKE on and off, which is just so shameful and demoralizing at this point: I am so much smarter than that.

This has been going on forever. I am less alarmed and more exhausted at this point in life, though, thanks to enlightenment and understanding. My early 20's (I'm 30 now) were a nightmare---I was diagnosed with ADD, depression, anxiety, body dysmorphic disorder, manic depression....put on a million pills, from depakote - a stabilizer - to dexedrine - PURE SPEED! - to everything in-between. Nothing worked, so they kept upping the doses. My self-esteem was so low I thought I couldn't even be mentally ill "right", since I reacted adversely or not at all to so many of the meds. It's amazing I managed to have any fun at all back then, but I did. But the misery...I want it gone. And I'm still suffering. :(

I disagree that just raw foods can end candida. Because I'm living proof. We use apple, we have bananas, we use some raisins....I don't know what else would aid Candida that we eat but my candida is still there. Granted, though, I had it AWFUL. So it's gonna take a serious cleanse. I've water-fasted before, but gone back to eating cooked processed crap afterwards. Not anymore, since going raw.

Okay, I'm researching good candida-fighting herbs and have a good source for them. Plus I have my coconut oil and apple cider vinegar and will have a good probiotic AND will be doing a BioRay Rife Machine for Candida for a few sessions, at least, in Chicago, soon enough. (Yay!) But what ELSE can I do to fight candida? Am I a total freak because my body has not just bounced back into shape and health from being raw this long? I hate that I'm still fat and have no energy. I've improved, but not much. I see people come through here and miracles occur. And yet here's my stubborn old body....UGGH!

I'm thinking about having bloodwork come January, plus having my B12 checked. And possibly getting a good oxygen supplement. And this water fast should really kick it into high gear. But if anyone has any other idea how to help me, or knows any good advice, trust me, I am ALL EARS. I normally don't post that often, but need to get back into it. And Alissa's site is the only one where I will do that.....the people here are respectable and kind, unlike on Nature's First Law's board, sorry to say.

I have so many great opportunities coming up to help open other raw institutes---my passion is so strong, for people AND health. I just can't handle being in my own private hell like this. It stifles my opportunities and prevents me from living my dream, which makes me not want to live at all, I hate to say. This is getting ridiculous! I feel so STUPID all the time---my brain doesn't even work. And all I keep thinking is how there is FUNGUS living in my brain. Oy! :eek:

Your kindness is much appreciated. Wish me luck on this fast. I am an experienced faster; getting started is never fun. And how cold and weak you get is not enviable, but the purification and healing is so ideal...I looked into the Master Cleanse a bit--maybe in Jan I'll experiment with that a bit. Either way, if you read through this post, you are golden. I think I am just at my wits end...

:o Erica

Hi Erica,
Sorry to hear about your suffering. How long have you been 100% raw? I would imagine that 3-6 months of raw, with an emphasis on greens, would have more of an impact? I've heard that staying away from all sugars, including fruit and dried fruit, is a big help in clearing candida. Does water fasting really make your symptoms flare up? I have fibromyalgia and know about getting through detox. It can be intense. I seem to lose weight very slowly so I'm trying to be patient and not make that the focus. If I read of anything helpful for candida, I'll try to pass it on. Good luck and hang in there. --Melissa

I had thought in the past that I had a candida problem and I treated it for a while. My symtoms would come and go, but they have almost completely dissapeared eating Raw.

I'm not sure that apple cider vinegar is good to have. I had to avoid vinegar. I took garlic, oil of oregano, I had nystatin prescribed, but I think the oil of oregano and garlic helped the most. Also you can take Acidophilus which is a good bacteria that helps keep the yeast in check. If you take these and feel worse, then that means you are having die-off and they are working. If you take them and nothing happens, then maybe candida isn't your problem. Have you had your thyroid checked? Sometimes that can be the culprit. Eating raw will also help that. I think sometimes it takes a lot longer for our bodies to heal than we would like them to.
good luck!
Karen

Hey-
Thanks for the ideas. I have been 100% raw since July 18th, eating greens and drinking wheatgrass at times. As far as the cider vinegar goes, it is controversial in terms of candida and is up to each body type. I've been muscle-tested and it's very good for me. Especially in terms of increasing HCL----which is HUGE in terms of digestion. Thanks for the garlic reminder. I might use that in my "master cleanse" formula, provided I do that. And if waterfasting does make it worse for a bit (it's usually up and down), it's due to die-off, as was pointed out. So I can deal with that. So far so good today. I'm on my way....
Thanks-
Erica

Hi Erica,

I have read of two ways to fight Candida (with the raw food diet). One way is Dr. Cousin's, where you avoid all fruits. You can do a search on him to learn about his way, or someone who knows about Dr. Cousin's will lists some links for you.

The other way, that I'm most familular with and know someone it worked on, is avoiding all FATS for 3 weeks. This would be your coconut oil, nuts, etc. This is Dr. Doug Grahams suggestion.

Candidiasis, A Serious Health Issue
by Brenda Cobb
http://www.livingfoodsinstitute.com/article5.htm

Posts on VegSource
Jacky
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/15769.html
Ribs
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/15771.html
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/15775.html
Lenny
http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/2424.html

Bryan – Dr. Bernarr
http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.p...94#reply_43931

http://www.rawfoodsupport.com/read.p...16#reply_45816

Candida can have more causes than just food. Chronic fatigue, adrenal exhaustion, pancreatic fatigue and other issues can all play a role in candida.
Still, the overriding factor is the overconsumption of fat.
I recommend that total fat in the diet be limited in order to consume sufficient carbohydrates.
Whether you focus on covert fats or overt fats is a fine tuning that can be dealt with later in the transition phase.
Certainly overt fats should not make up more than 10% of total calories consumed.
Dr D http://www.vegsource.com/talk/raw/messages/4073.html

Covert fats are the small amounts in all food that you generally might overlook because you don't think of it as a fatty fruit. Overt fats are the obvious ones such as nuts and avocado, the foods that're outright fatty.

I hope these links will help.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

That is a lot of information! Why does everything have to be so complicated???

Maybe it's not and I am complicating it? Reply 45816 was a bit much.... how does one navigate???

I may post this question on another thread, but how does one really do well eating only live foods, without it becoming so obsessive??

I would love to rid myself of a toenail infection, that could be candida based..... but I am not sure of that....
L.

Hi SwishTN,

Eating raw does seem to be obsessive at times, but I think only until it becomes habit. Then you'll just automatically pick up a banana and eat it, or sqeeze some oranges and drink it, or make a nice big salad; just like S.A.D. eaters, automatically drive into a drive through and buy a hamburger, french fries & coke, or pour cereal from a box and pour milk on it and sprinkle it with sugar. It's just whatever becomes habit. But when you're making the change, you do spend a lot of time trying to figure out what to eat, trying to get over what you're not going to eat any more.

As for Candida, if you do it Dr. Grahams way, just cut all fat out for 3 weeks, or if you do it Dr. Cousin's way, you'll avoid fruit for 3 months (I don't know what else he recommends). I think it's simple, just hard to do.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

Hey!

I have NEVER HEARD of the avoiding-fats approach...wild! I'll have to investigate. The pancreatic fatigue is definitely "me", though. For now, I'm GLAD I don't have to worry for at least the next few weeks since I am doing great on my WATER FAST. Day three and I feel better than I have in AGES, and that is with a cold and hacking up a lung. My eyes feel "normal" for once....and I feel balanced. About 2 weeks into it I'll do a BioRay Rife Machine 3 days in a row for Candida (and possibly pancreatic functioning, if they have that), which will also help. I am sure I could fall into the category of eating too many fats...but avocados cause candida-? I'd have to investigate that further. Possibly indirectly, I take it. Geez. Yes, it's overwhelming, but understandably so in the case of candida. I'm just feeling better, even emotionally, knowing I'm doing something about it. But there is no denial in the physical boost I feel. I love water-fasting, and thank you ALL for your help!
~Erica

Hi Erica,

Avocado doesn't cause Candida. :) But when you have Candida, Dr. Graham recommends that you avoid all fats for 3 weeks. He also mentioned other things that could cause Candida, which I posted above in another post (i.e. stress).

Again I've seen 2 approaches to ridding once self of the Candida. If I had Candida, I'd try both ways. I'd go with the no fats for 3 weeks, as it is only for 3 weeks. If that didn't work, I would try the no fruits for 3 months. Just my personal choices.

Water fasting would probably be the 3rd approach. I wonder how long you would have to water fast before getting on top of it? I know Roe Galleo had severe, death-threatening, Asthema, and she water fasted for 2 weeks before she took in her first breath without coughing.

<>< Helen of Tennessee

Oh, Dr. Graham even listed water fasting as a top choice for ridding oneself of candida in one of the wonderful links you sent. I must thank you from the bottom of my heart for those, by the way! I think 3 weeks with no fats, albeit not ideal ;-) is a great way to break my water fast. Speaking of which, a two week minimum is ideal, but I've gone as long as 34 days once. I'll play this by ear, with a 20-21 day minimum. Between that and the rife machine (a good one), I am off to a great start. Then I'll start with....oy! I guess fruits-?- which is scary, I must confess....and no fats....which are now scary. I think I'll try to do the 2 oz of fat, max, and like maybe just do a lot of coconut milk and E3 Alive for a week, THEN play it by ear. We like live on Energy Soup up here, so we'll see. I'm kind of afraid of fats AND sweets now, but I'll make it through and am on the right track. 3 weeks of neither isn't impossible. But this has opened up a whole new possibility for me. I could LIVE on banana ice cream :-) But raisins? They sound too good to be true. Prunes and Dates? Probably figs are okay (soaked). I'll have to look into those.....
Thanks again! Still feeling better, even with a head cold. That should say a lot... GROAN!
Erica

Hi Maka, I m glad you found this worked well for you. Alissa in her book fought candida also. SHe did it without meat. She promotes a raw vegan lifestyle. Hope this works for you.

Hi Tracey ... thanks sharing about Alissa ... will have to check it out. I agree, it is nice if you can do completely vegetarian or raw vegan. I do not eat chicken, beef or turkey but I still eat fish on occasion. You can do the doterra Candida Cleanse without meat as well. My goal is to eventually be Raw vegan but I am so skinny and when I tried to switch to raw right away, my body couldn't make the transition. I got really sick & fatigued so I am going to keep doing doterra's Candida cleanse w/ some lightly cooked food until I can make the transition to raw vegan. I really respect everyone's strength on here for being raw vegan already and hope I can learn more from you as I move around the forum. Maybe there will be some more ideas of ways I can make the transition and as I shared the doterra cleanse can be done with the vegan/vegetarian diet as well. If interested in ways to heal from Candida visit my blog: http://onlyyouknowhowtohealyourself.blogspot.com

Aloha,

Maka

Hey Erica,
There is an at-home test you can do to see if you have Candida: Add some clean water to a clear glass so that you may see the water clearly. Spit in the water and then look at the saliva immediately after you spit, then again in five minutes, then every 15 min after that for the next hour. You are looking for cloudy strings starting to fall from the saliva, kinda like little legs falling toward the bottom of the water. If this does not happen at all, you DO NOT have Candida. If it does happen, the intensity of your candida depends on how quickly you started seeing the cloudy strings.
I have had first-hand experience with Candida and how done a plethora amount of research. Many times the cause of Candida is from something underlying, something bigger. Many times from an auto-immune disorder. Being raw will be helping that already. As for diet, you should have no more than 2 servings of fruit per day (Max). 1 serving should be a kiwi, the other can be an apple, pear, or another kiwi. No other fruits should be consumed as they are very high in sugars. Also, no sugars such as honey or agave should be consumed ... Stevia is okay. No fruit juices, keep juices to a veggy base. Avoid root veggies (1 serving per day).
You should take a very high concentrated raw green powder twice a day. 1 tsp of hemp oil twice a day. A good probiotic. And get your hands on a WORMWOOD supplement, it is the absolute strongest method to rid candida. However, you will need to do this for approx 3 months depending on how severe your infection is.
In addition, if you want to go further there is this stuff called zell immunocomplex that targets auto-immune disorders, you can get it online. I suggest getting that or looking for other holistic supplements that focus on immunity as that is very likely the cause.

You may also want to get a colonoscopy to see if you have colitis as it has many of the same symptoms and in that case, you need supplements to help with inflammation.
I know it's a lot of information and probably feel overwhelming, I had to put a list on my fridge of do's and don'ts as well as supplement intake.
I hope this all helps. Let me know if you have more questions on the subject, I may be able to help further.

I would highly recommend following the protocol in the book "The One Minute Cure" (here's the link to it for free online http://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/ci...yweapons33.htm), which involves drinking heavily diluted food grade hydrogen peroxide - read the book for how to do it. Hydrogen peroxide creates an alkaline, oxygen-rich environment in the body, which kills ALL pathogenic bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc... even candida. I also think that you should be consuming as much green juice as you possibly can (real green juices like sunflower greens, buckwheat lettuce, pea shoots, wheatgrass, alfalfa, etc). Fresh green juices made from greens you grow yourself are by far the most powerful foods there are. For probiotics, you might want to think of making your own fermented foods as well as supplementing, because of how important they are in combating candida.Hope that helps :D