Brace yourself!!

Have you watched Outlander?  Such a good show from a herbalists’ perspective.  Maggots and leaches were used in medicine in the past.  When each of us gets over how disgusting that is we can remember the role of the maggots was to eat diseased and deceased flesh, in effect taking out the garbage from wounds and other skin conditions.  Actually quite resourceful, observant and courageous.  Thank goodness we are not doing that anymore!  We’ve made some progress and have stopped putting creepy crawly things on our bodies, right?  Or have we?

Candida

Candida likes to feed on diseased or deceased flesh and tissues that are not oxygenated well.  Candida takes out the garbage.  Unfortunately the garbage collector has job security and tenure.  We can ask her to leave but there will always be a few Candida hanging about, waiting to fulfill their role in the holistic whole.

As long as we are on this planet we are in a relationship with Candida and other yeasty beasties.  Candida is essential for the proper functioning of our planet and the disposal and recycling of our own wastes.

Now.  Sometimes I like to pretend Candida is not a problem.  This is mostly because I am so tired of so many alternative practitioners telling folks they have Candida and they should go on a diet for a few months, sometimes without doing any real testing or trying to find the root cause.  Have you ever gone on a Candida diet?  Tell me was it the root of your problems?  Did the diet fix it?  My guess is your answers might be yes no no.

Candida overgrowths, if indeed that is what is going on, are cause of the problem but a solution of sorts.  There is no waste disposal without waste.

Candida is not the root of the problem but a bit of an invasive and opportunistic hitchhiker.  It is not the Candida but the GARBAGE that is the problem.  No garbage = no candida it’s as simple as that in theory.

Once these yeasts are established or overgrown we must do more than stop feeding them by going on a candida specific diet.

We can reduce the garbage by:  eating fresh whole foods that are high in minerals, drinking plenty of good water and experiencing exuberant no-holds-barred fun.  (You may be thinking… she’s completely lost it this time)

Fresh whole plants are high in fiber and will have a cleansing and detoxifying effect on the body.  If food is not sitting around waiting to be fermented but instead moving happily through we will have less garbage left behind to feed to the yeasts.  Fresh foods high in minerals will also be… high in minerals.  We need many minerals to move oxygen around the body, keeping our tissues healthy and alive.  One of the most important minerals is iron, for example.  With enough iron and B vitamins (folate, 6 and 12) our bodies are more able to make healthy red blood cells that can transport oxygen around our whole systems keeping us fresh and oxygenated.  Our bodies will be better able with adequate trace minerals, chromium, vanadium, magnesium and zinc, to maintain blood glucose homeostasis.

Trust me the candida are not going to like it when we maintain our own homeostasis without them.  But you will.  Just simply having healthy red blood cells can make you feel alive, energized and smarter.  Of course we need more than minerals for this, we need all the vitamins/minerals that we need.

Drinking plenty of fresh water.  That’s right!  When our bodies become dehydrated they pull water out of our blood to preserve the more sensitive tissues.  Less water in the blood means just a little less circulation and oxygenation.  Of course dehydration CAN be very serious.  I was reading a study this morning that claimed to have found that 80% of North Americans were chronically dehydrated.  And I believe it.  Did you know that you can tell the difference between chronic and acute dehydration by looking at certain blood markers from a functional diagnostic perspective?

What are your vulnerable places?  Can you have some spring water stashed at your desk?  In the car?  Replacing some of the water with fresh green or other juice would be even better, depending on what you can handle for blood sugars.  Then you are getting the water, the minerals, increased energy and a delicious juice.

Soon onto the fun.  First the un-fun.  Many studies have shown the effect of stress hormones on the body over prolonged periods of time.  Producing cortisol, the chronic stress hormone, steals precursors away from the sex hormones and the growth and repair hormones in something called the pregnenalone steal.  Increased cortisol over time can also contribute to insulin resistance, thyroid hormone resistance and arterial damage not to mention the cascading effect of loss of sleep and systemic inflammation (that’s a biggie).  Some studies have shown that chronic stress can affect the heart’s electrical rhythm.  Stress can definitely affect the behaviour of the digestive system and can create an environment friendly to hostile bacteria, yeasts and parasites to boot!

What is the opposite of anxiety?  Relaxation and fun.  If stress can lead to various conditions that affect circulation negatively then de-stressing may be helpful!  Being in a lively state of being, a state of life-liness helps keep Candida and other yeasts at bay.  They are waiting to decompose us.  Not yet, Candida, hold on.

One more thing about fun.  When we are laughing or when we are in a state of love our bodies actually produce more immune cells!  Our bodies have increased immunity when we are wearing that rosy glow.  This is good news for us.  We are going to need our immune systems to fight off the candida especially since we are not feeding them any more.

I would love to hear from you.  Please share your experiences, positive and negative about the Candida diet in the comments below 🙂