Saturday, February 20, 2010

Start of candida diet

Over the last couple of days, I've been planning out and buying extra necessities for my candida diet. My plan is to be on the diet AT LEAST 4 weeks. Official start date will be February 21st, 2010 and the minimum end date will be March 21st, 2010. Right off the bat, I can tell you right now that I will be drinking next weekend because I have two dear friend's birthdays (one is a 21!) and I cannot miss out on the opportunity. Reasons why I don't feel so horrible about "breaking my diet":
98% of my diet has already excluded refined sugars and dairy
It's early in the diet!

Since Thursday, I've been experimenting and eating most of my diet by the rules. Things I ate since Thursday that were definitely not okay: two slices of bread, half a bagel, one small cookie and two cups of coffee with honey.

What's this candida diet thing about? What am I trying to achieve?

Long story short: candidiasis is a condition in which the yeast in your intestinal tract grows in excess. Severe forms of candidiasis are often seen in immuno-compromised individuals and individuals with AIDS. No, I do not have HIV.
My theory on how I came to this condition may seem far fetched, but it makes perfect sense to me. For well over a year (possibly 2 years?), I was taking intense sulfa- drugs and other arthritis and pain medications on a daily basis. A year after I ended those, I was on antibiotics for a year for my acne. Both of these types of drugs, especially antibiotics, not only kill off all of the unhealthy bacteria and pests inside your body but also destroy the healthy flora of your intestinal tract. (This is where my rant begins). As with any western medicinal practice, my intestinal tract was not causing symptoms at the time so therefore did not matter. Even more so, there was no follow up or "rejuvenation" of my intestinal tract after I was done with the course. It's like stripping you of everything you need to protect yourself against the world with a simple "good luck!" and a shit of the door.
So here I am, years later with pretty severe allergy to sugar and dairy, constant breakouts, horrible stomach pains and other issues I rather not discuss publicly on this blog.

Ultimately, I'd love to achieve a state in which I don't feel bloated a majority of the day and where I can eat a slice of apple pie with a scoop of ice cream and I know it won't kill me. I realize my ideals are a little high for the reality though. Realistically, I'll be happy if the stomach pains and the bloatness goes away. And if my skin cleared up! This I believe, is possible. And that is what I will achieve in the coming months.

I'm using this space to write about my progress, the food I'm cooking and eating and probably to vent my frustrations. No (very very little) alcohol, bread, sugar, honey, COFFEE, black tea, mushrooms and lots and lots of other yummy foods for weeks to come.

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