Jordan Rob

Timothy Markus wrote:I don't know anything about Candida Albicans, just FYI.  I do know that yeast can handle acidic environments much better than bacteria can.  If you want to kill off a lot of the bacteria in your yeast slurry for brewing, you acid wash the yeast.  This means creating an environment around pH5 by adding acid.  The bacteria can't handle it and die off while the yeast does fine.

So, if the bacteria that generally keep Candida manageable aren't present in large enough quantities, you need to give them an environment that favours them.  ACV will obviously make your stomach more acidic but it probably doesn't do much harm when diluted and it does introduce bacteria that are better adapted to acidic environs.  I've read that sugars and starches make your stomach more acidic and I've experienced this.  If you want to reduce the pH, I think the best way is through diet and allowing the change to occur naturally.  I don't have any experience with alkaline water, but I've heard of it and, if increasing pH is your goal, I could see it helping.

If it was me, I'd fast until I reached ketosis, about 4-5 days for me, and also drink baking soda in water.  I'd then stay on a keto diet for at least 2-4 weeks.  

Best of luck.

Also I have never read about Ketosis or know really anything about fasting at all. I will read more into it. In the mean time is it something you can feel or know is happening?

I know that I am going to get very sick going on this diet. I have been consuming more sugar than I ever have in my life to stay up for exams and such. However, I am done with all that right now. So I know that I am going to feel horrible the first couple days and probably even after that.

Additionally, is it okay to take any kind of pain relievers while fasting/dieting? For instance, is there anything in the Advil/Tylenol that will interfere with the diet or fasting process? Because I am almost certain I am going to need them.  

Timothy Markus wrote:I don't know anything about Candida Albicans, just FYI.  I do know that yeast can handle acidic environments much better than bacteria can.  If you want to kill off a lot of the bacteria in your yeast slurry for brewing, you acid wash the yeast.  This means creating an environment around pH5 by adding acid.  The bacteria can't handle it and die off while the yeast does fine.

So, if the bacteria that generally keep Candida manageable aren't present in large enough quantities, you need to give them an environment that favours them.  ACV will obviously make your stomach more acidic but it probably doesn't do much harm when diluted and it does introduce bacteria that are better adapted to acidic environs.  I've read that sugars and starches make your stomach more acidic and I've experienced this.  If you want to reduce the pH, I think the best way is through diet and allowing the change to occur naturally.  I don't have any experience with alkaline water, but I've heard of it and, if increasing pH is your goal, I could see it helping.

If it was me, I'd fast until I reached ketosis, about 4-5 days for me, and also drink baking soda in water.  I'd then stay on a keto diet for at least 2-4 weeks.  

Best of luck.

Okay so if I do decide to fast for more than a single day do you think taking the Fluconazole when I first start could be effective? Do you or anyone else have an opinion on that? Right now I really only have my own logic to go off of. It is a pill that is absorbed into your system and supposedly lasts for several weeks or something. So my logic is if I am only drinking water and fasting it may absorb into my body better?

So while fasting you can ONLY have water right? Nothing else, just plain old water?

Should I take probiotics or apple cider vinegar while fasting or only water?

Tj Jefferson wrote:I'm not an infectious disease doctor, but this sounds like an immune issue rather than a chemistry issue. Candida is everywhere. I don't buy into alkaline water for reasons I won't go into. Lets just say the amount of base required to change your entire body pH would kill you with sodium, and be buffered by acids.

I would concentrate on immune function. Get zinc and Vit D checked. Vitamin D is misnamed, its a fat compound and basically a hormone/signal not an enzyme or catalyst. Zinc is the basis of cellular immunity (this is based on my Biochemistry from 20 years ago so feel free to check my math). There is a whole family of proteins (nerd out here) used in DNA and RNA transciption. This is critical for high turnover cells like the pink cells lining your inaards and immune cells. Those are easy fixes.

Then concentrate on the diet that fits your genetics. There are some testing companies that are advertising this, but I am not sure the science is very good yet. I would trust your sensation. Brain fog? Don't eat that. Bloating/gas? Not a normal thing, we aren't ruminants. Listen to your body.

I'm a paleo-ish diet person, and it is NOT low carb necessarily. If messed up sugar metabolism is an issue, I don't think sweet potato is a fix. That said regular potato gives me sleepyness, which maybe is from the beladonna- type stuff in them. Not sure. So I grow other stuff. Corn and rice I feel fine. But that is me- you have to do your own sleuthing. Cabbage gives me gas,unless fermented. So I ferment stuff and feel awesome! Milk lights me up but kefir is a great, no gas at all. Keep a list, simplify your recipes/diet to figure it out. I do restriction then reinitiation- no symptoms off some food then back to symptoms means its not for me.  

The infectious disease physician said the same thing about the alkaline water. He said it is proven that having a higher PH content in the body is extremely healthy but probably not as simple as consuming alkaline water. I tried the alkaline water for a short time and it did seem smoother/easier to drink but I did not notice any real changes in my health.

Also I am not certain if I mentioned it before but I have been through many, many tests. I have been through multiple blood tests and I know that my Vitamin D did come back a little low once. The doctor said it was not a big deal at all, he said to try to get some more sun and maybe consider a tablet. However, I was just under what an average amount is. I have had the A1C1 (I believe) and all my doctors can talk about is how ridiculously healthy I am and have nothing to worry about. Which as many of you might be able to imagine is sort of bittersweet. I have had multiple urine tests, blood tests, prostate exams and plenty of other things I am sure I am not thinking of at the moment. Everything comes back perfectly healthy.

I appreciate all the feedback I have gotten this far. My main concern is how I am going to stay on this diet and not starve and there are some good recommendations here.

So this Saturday I am going to try fasting the entire day and only drinking water. I have a Fluconazole sealed in the packaging that expired January, 2019 that I hope is still going to be good. I plan to take that the same day that I am fasting in hopes that it will help me get a good head start on fighting the Candida as well as getting fully absorbed into my body. I believe the doctor told me it stays in your system for a couple weeks?

So I have Monday-Friday to try and get some food and prepare for this. I am going to try to find some organic eggs and some leafy greens as well as some other green vegetables. I am going to be off this entire week so all I have to do is try to concentrate on this diet and not starving to death. Let me know if anyone has any other pointers.

I am also going to try to take a tablespoon of Natural Raw Vinegar with Mother on a regular basis too.  

J Davis wrote:Bread and sugar are going to keep it alive. And yes, store bought spices will have sugar too.

My suggestion is two give yourself two weeks on a strict sugar free diet. Throw calorie counting and budget out the window for a bit. Buy organic grass fed eggs. Buy some grass fed butter and feel free to eat it by the spoonful when you are hungry. Add the best probiotic you can find, blister pack packaging not glass or plastic.

I hear your desperation, and it sounds like you are ready to be free. Educating yourself on food like substances will help you stay the course. Watch documentaries like magic pill, food Inc, for motivation.

Get excited, youre about to get your life back!

Yeah my doctor told me to watch out for many meats. As they have to be organic because depending on how the animals were fed and medicated the meat could feed the Candida as well.

So where do you even find stuff like this?

Also blister packs are like the Aluminum packs where you press the pill through the packaging correct? I have Align right now but I do not think many recommend it for a Candida free diet. Also it made me sick after taking it for an extended period of time which is a known symptom for some people.

stephen lowe wrote:A few things you might consider:

Avoid all sugar for as long as you can. Including simple carbohydrates like white flour products and beer.
Intermittent fasting (14+ hours without any food every day) is supposed to help your bodies natural digestive balance restore.
Consume inulin, this is considered a 'pre-biotic' fiber that feeds healthy gut biology. You can find all kind of lists of foods high in it but it tends to be in roots, especially raw. One way that I have enjoyed it is making oatmeal that includes a fair bit of slippery elm bark. Also raw carrots are supposed to be a good source and easy to snack on.
You could try a guy cleanse, I've had good success with Humaworm (it might be borderline debilitating if your parasite load is high) but I'm sure there's others out there as well.
The best probiotics that I've tried have been from a company called organic 3. I currently take their 'primal gut' as often as I can remember and definitely notice improved digestion when I remember to take it daily. Also notice some digestive distress the first day or two that I return to it after not taking it for a while, many people claim this is the result of detrimental gut biota (like candida) dying off.
Bone broth and fermented vegetables and kefir are all also good ways of providing support for your digestion.

Best of luck to you

So I read to not consume Inulin because regardless of what it says, it feeds all bacteria in the body including Candida. I am not sure whether or not this is true but I read in other places that it renders the Candida diet useless because you are trying to starve it but are feeding it with Inulin. My first choice for a Probiotic was Culturelle but then read it had Inulin. Again I am not arguing with you, just telling you what I read elsewhere.

I was using the following link as a source to select a Probiotic.

https://www.mygenefood.com/which-probiotic-strains-get-rid-of-candida/

Dustin Rhodes wrote:I know nothing of this topic, but ACV and coffee are both pretty acidic, so if you're supposed to be drinking alkaline water, these drinks are probably not helping you to get the full benefit from the water.

Yeah coffee and tea are generally suppose to be avoided anyway. They have caffeine in them which is also something else that feeds Candida. So you are not even suppose to have plain black coffee or unsweetened tea. Most of what I have read said you can have an occasional cup of tea or coffee. Therefore, I would like to have a cup of black coffee in the morning when I start the diet. However, I do not want it to reduce the effectiveness of the diet.

As I mentioned I tried heavily reducing my sugar intake, taking Align, taking a single Diflucan tablet, taking Apple Cider Vinegar and it did not make a difference. I was thinking that if I stayed on a healthier diet for a extended amount of time it would be successful. I did this for around six months to a year. I was still consuming bread, sugar and other things that are suppose to be avoided though. I cannot imagine me doing a diet as strict as this for more than a month. I am to the point where I will try anything to make my symptoms better though.

Joylynn Hardesty wrote:Welcome to Permies Jordan!

I can't address all your questions, but maybe this will be of help.

Jordan Rob wrote:Also anyone have any luck with those high priced Alkaline waters on the market?

I am supposed to be using Alkaline water too. I feel better when I do, it's just easier to turn on the tap and go. There is a much cheaper way to achieve alkaline water: baking soda. (Disclaimer: I have not researched sites I quoted, so I don't know if their other articles are accurate.) This site suggests a couple other methods to change alkalinity, but I have experience with this one.

...to make your water more alkaline:

   Baking soda: Researcher and author Dr. Robert O. Young has stressed the importance of pH balance for over two decades, and has considered ways to increase the alkaline levels in the diet by adding an alkaline ingredient to your purified water. Dr. Young recommends simply adding ½ a teaspoon of baking soda to a gallon of purified water and shaking it vigorously to ensure it mixes in completely. Because baking soda is highly alkaline, adding only a small amount to your purified water will result in a gallon of alkaline water.
https://www.gaiam.com/blogs/discover/how-to-increase-the-alkalinity-of-your-water

I like Kangen Water, it tastes good. The baking soda water doesn't taste bad exactly, but is unique. When I do things right, I include the baking soda in our ice teas.

As alkaline water does its work, some nasties, yeast in your case, will be dying off. Yeast does not like to die. As with all life, it wants to live. It will try to make you stop. Below is an explanation that relates to candida.

...unfortunately, you began feeling worse once you start. It is actually very common to experience “die off” symptoms when doing a bacterial or yeast cleanse, or even during a course of antibiotics. This is known as the Herxheimer Reaction, where symptoms get worse before they get better. This is due to the endotoxins released by microbes when they die off...
https://www.alimillerrd.com/coping-with-a-candida-cleanse/

This phenomena may be why you do not feel better yet after starting your medication.

Oh, and if you are on city water, you may want to set your water out on the counter, to off-gas some of that chlorine in it. This site explains why chlorine can bad. They recommend a whole house filtering system. That would be good, but expensive! I've read that you can put out a gallon, uncovered, overnight to off-gas it. Do your own research to be sure, I'm on well water.

Hey Joylynn,

Thanks for all the information. I too am on well water. Something that really sucked is that I never felt worse or better, just the same. However, like my doctor told me, I was probably getting enough sugar to keep the Candida alive. Having that said, I tried different things for about a year and was really only drinking water and occasional coffee with sugar. I also limited my diet as well. I heavily reduced anything that was high in sugar or yeast such as potatoes or pasta. Still from what this doctor is saying I was probably never strict enough.

So this time around I am most worried about the diet. It looks like you almost need to have a degree in this stuff. I was reading that many probiotics and other supplements are off limits when trying to get rid of Candida because they help all kinds of fungus, including Candida. So my main concern is how I am going to survive even a couple weeks on a strict diet.

I mean the diet looks like you are stuck with brown rice, organic meats, most leafy greens, some vegetables and a handful of other stuff. Also can you season your meat with products you find at the store? I figure a lot of those will have probably have additives like sugar in them or at least something you cannot have?

Anne Miller wrote:While I don't know if it would help ... I would try a tablespoon of real apple cider vinegar, the kind with the mother, in a glass of water first thing in the morning.

Also here is an article on 3 Ways to Make Alkaline water:  https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Alkaline-Water

I also tried this. I bought a well renowned brand off Amazon and remember reading to look out for a few things. I know one was mother and think the other was organic but cannot remember what the third was at this moment possibly raw? I would take about a tablespoon of it everyday.

Again I stayed on routines like this for weeks and sometimes months. However, I never completely removed sugar from my diet. For example, I would get up and have a cup of coffee with cream and sugar. Thanks for mentioning it though. I know this is a good stuff I will probably add to my diet.