Qs re Candida and leaky gut-

[bunnycat74]

Hiya,
I am a newbie from London, UK, currently suffering from Candida overgrowth (all my life since age , Chronic Fatigue syndrome and electrosensitivity. I have better energy than I did a couple of years ago, due to retraining as a nutritionist, but am still struggling with low energy, fatigue, back pain and creaky joints, coated tongue, constipation, starch/sugar cravings and blood sugar problems. Am currently taking anti-fungal Chinese herbs, which I've been on for 13 years, prior to that orthodox antifungals, like Nystatin.

Read a lot about raw paleo recently and coming to the conclusion it may be the only way to help me. But I have some questions, which I haven't yet seen answered on the site or the Yahoo group.

I tend to react badly to raw veggies with a lot of wind- I think my gut ferments things v easily. Bearing this weak digestion in mind, should I still be consuming this?

I am a little worried about parasites in raw meat and fish, since although I've read AV's info (and here) on beneficial microflora, I know my own gut flora is seriously out of wack, hence the Candida, and I don't want to make this any worse. Will this not be a problem if all my meat and fish is wild/organic?

Also, no one seems to eat raw nuts and seeds here.. is that a matter of choice for the individual, or are they seen as problematic? Also, no root vegetables either...

Thanks and good health

Elizabeth

[goodsamaritan]

You don't need to eat veggies if they disagree with you.
"Everything we need is in raw fruits and raw meat." - Wai Diet
I don't eat veggies myself nowadays.
I also tried raw vegan for a while.

I eat raw pili nuts because that's what we got around here.
http://www.myhealthblog.org/2007/12/15/delicious-nutritious-raw-pili-nuts-from-palawan/

If you have back problems, they could be a primary cause of many problems, the nervous system must be in tip top shape.  A requirement in healing.  http://www.curemanual.com/detox-protocols/chiropractic-treatments-nervous-system-fixing

I, family members and friends have great success with virgin coconut oil detoxing.  It's very hard but it works.  It employs massive quantities of virgin coconut oil FAT and zero carbs as a fast for 3 days to stomp away candida / yeast / leaky gut super fast.  I have heard some people are allergic to vco, but if you are not, then you may find your candida / yeast / leaky gut cure in 3 days.  i used to have candida / yeast / leaky gut.  My brother used to have it worse candida / yeast / leaky gut.  http://tinyurl.com/vcodetox 

You may want to shift to a high fat diet.  I just recently did, the raw paleo members here convinced me.  Rami Nagel in his book how to cure tooth decay uses the Primal Diet (with raw dairy) and had great transition steps to strengthen digestion if you have leaky gut.  See http://www.curetoothdecay.com  One of our members here has experienced re-mineralizing of his teeth, I think it was Wodgina.

I have a general cure manual outlining steps to curing yourself at http://www.curemanual.com .  Of course when it comes to diet, I tell the folks there to visit the http://www.rawpaleoforum.com site because the experienced people are here.

[TylerDurden]

You don't have to eat raw veggies. Most rawpalaeos avoid them most of the time, even avoiding veggie-juice as well. I'm a case in point:- I eat maybe a bunch or two of raw carrots a year, a few bunches of radishes a year, the very occasional raw salad with raw apple-cider vinegar and raw extra virgin olive-oil, and a few bags of raw samphire during  1 to 3 of the summer months each year - other than that I avoid raw veggies totally.


So, listen to your body and avoid the veggies. You may, though, do OK with fermented raw vegetables like raw  sauerkraut.

Re parasites:- Most people go through an initial bacteriophobic etc. period in which they consume a lot of anti-parasitical herbs such as raw garlic, onion, wormwood tincture, cayenne-pepper etc. etc., and most find, in the long run, that such methods are unnecessary, and stop doing that.( I've never had a single parasiticial episode despite eating organ-meats from wild animals on a frequent basis for years).

Re nuts/seeds/mushrooms:- One tends to become more hypersensitive to things like antinutrients in foods when one goes rawpalaeo. The result is that while soaking nuts and seeds in water for 24 hours does reduce the levels of antinutrients, it doesn't work 100%, and therefore rawists tend to get digestive issues over time with such(though not always). 1 reason why they're not staple rawpalaeo foods.

[bunnycat74]

Thanks very much to both of you for your comprehensive answers. I am familiar with Coconut oil, and have so far used it to cook in, since it doesn't degrade so much as polyunsat oils at high temps; I have actually done the coconut oil detox, and got a lot of die-off initially, but then symptoms came back. I think I will be incorporating more of it raw however, just as a way to add calories!

Fruit I don't do so well on, though low-carb fruit such as berries might be better. My system is so shot that even a little fruit can spark a massive rise in blood sugar and make me reach for the chocolate... I think one of the things I am struggling with a little on the raw paleo is the idea that so many of the things that make eating a pleasure (and here I'm even referring to raw veg) are sidelined... How exciting can it be to sit down to a meal of raw organ meat, fat and water? Or is it just a question of getting through that pain barrier and then these things becoming truly appealing??!!

Anyway, I had a totally raw breakfast this AM of avocado, slivers of squash and a raw egg. It was ok, but I can see myself getting hungry again soon :-)

Elizabeth

[TylerDurden]

Well, most rawpalaeos don't just eat raw meat, fat and water, they also eat fruit, eggs and seafood. Some even eat veg. And there's  plenty of variety within meats, as one can go in for different organs(eg:- heart/liver/kidney/tongue/brains), different types of meat such as bison/venison/wild mallard duck etc. instead of the standard, boring meats such as  beef, lamb, pork and chicken.

There is, of course, another contributing factor and that is that one's tastes are determined, to a large extent, by one's habits. Most of us have been eating cooked food for so long that we're totally used to it, so that it takes c.8 to 12 months,(on average) to get used to and start enjoying the taste of raw meats. Eventually, you'll get to the stage where you'll be so used to raw foods that you will literally gag at the thought of eating some of the more highly processed foods you used to enjoy eating years before going raw.

 If you haven't already checked it out previously, I  would strongly recommend that you check this website out as it contains info about the various weekly  semi-organic farmers' markets in London under the LFM organisation:-

http://www.lfm.org.uk/

Not all of the above markets are suitable(some are too small, some are only held midweek etc.) , but most provide very good rawpaleo-friendly foods if one is prepared to look around and ask a lot of questions re what the animals are fed on etc.

[Michael]

Hi Elizabeth and welcome to the group!

It's good to see another member on here from the UK in addition to Tyler and myself.

I just wanted to add to what the others have said by suggesting you check out the work of Bee Wilder with regard to your candida problems.  There is a fantastic Yahoo Group you can join here:  http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/candidasupport/   or she also has her own website here:   http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/index.php.

Bee's candida programme is the most consistently successful I know of and she has endless long-term successes.  She takes very much a Weston Price view with regards to diet but, personally, I think it can be adapted to incorporate raw paleo.  I'm only now committing to following her programme myself after also suffering lifelong candida problems which have not been solved on my 8 years of a RAF diet.  I genuinely think you'll find her information and group absolutely invaluable!

Good luck!

Michael

[bunnycat74]

Hi again,
this Candida site looks very helpful, thank you. I know quite a lot about candida, but it looks as if it could teach me some new things... especially interesting is what Bee says about the fungal form of yeast making cell membranes rigid... this also correlates to what happens in electrosensitivity, where EM signals force red blood cells to 'crenellate', literally fold on themselves, thereby reducing their ability to carry oxygen...

I know I have a long way to go with this, but I think raw paleo is going to offer me some new solutions, if only to decrease the stress on my body. I've already had a look at the London Farmers' network, and there are 3 near me, which I am planning to visit soon. The raw eggs from this morning went down ok- if it's good enough for Rocky!!

Elizabeth

[bunnycat74]

Hi again,
this Candida site looks very helpful, thank you. I know quite a lot about candida, but it looks as if it could teach me some new things... especially interesting is what Bee says about the fungal form of yeast making cell membranes rigid... this also correlates to what happens in electrosensitivity, where EM signals force red blood cells to 'crenellate', literally fold on themselves, thereby reducing their ability to carry oxygen...

I know I have a long way to go with this, but I think raw paleo is going to offer me some new solutions, if only to decrease the stress on my body. I've already had a look at the London Farmers' network, and there are 3 near me, which I am planning to visit soon. The raw eggs from this morning went down ok- if it's good enough for Rocky!!

Elizabeth

[bunnycat74]

Hi Michael
I'm interested (and perhaps a little dismayed) to hear that a raw animal diet hasn't cured your Candida (since this is the main reason I'm turning to raw); do you mind me asking what symptoms you have and why you think you have not improved as a result of going raw paleo?

Thanks again Tyler for the tips on markets in London. Went to one of the LFM ones this morning and picked up some grass-fed mutton, which I am marinating at the moment, to eat later- my first experiment in eating raw meat! Will let you know how I get on :-)

BTW. felt much calmer yesterday- had my first fully raw breakfast and largely raw lunch.

Cheers
Elizabeth

[Michael]

Hi Elizabeth,

I can understand your dismay.  However, do not let it impact upon your hopes for a raw animal food diet.  I haven't stayed with it for 8 years for no reason.  I do believe it has saved me from previously very poor health and has given me back my life to a very large extent.

I've been eating RAF since Sept 2001.  Probably the first 4 years of this I was following the Primal diet as advocated by Aajonus Vonderplanitz (as were many on this forum, at some point, I believe).  This included LOTS of raw dairy incl milk, cream & cheese in addition to lots of good raw honey, raw vegetable juices, fruit etc.  Forgive me if you're aware of this.  Of course, these are all 'candida-forbidden' foods which - depending on which theories one subscribes to - serve only to feed the fungus and complicate the disease.  Even since this time, I have never TOTALLY excluded these foods - merely reduced my consumption of them.

It's only over these last weeks that I've started to eradicate ALL candida conducive foods from my diet.  In fact, I am now well on my way to experimenting with zero-carb whereby I'd consume only a variety of meats and fats.  At this point, my symptoms are mild compared to how they used to be.  The brain fog has certainly not completely gone, my energy levels still require close attention, various skin fungus eruptions come and go (dandruff, athletes foot etc), chemical sensitivity, electro-sensitivity etc.  But, as I said, improved beyond recognition thanks purely to 8 years of RAF!  I just want to eliminate them completely!

I hope you enjoy your grass-fed mutton!  Funny enough, that is the exact same food I am largely existing on at the moment having found a wonderful source.  I am sure you will love it and will not look back!    Enjoy this forum too.  It's a wonderful gathering place of radical yet intelligent, informed individuals willing to share their experiences and knowledge whilst leaving their idealism and ego's at the door.

[Satya]

BTW. felt much calmer yesterday- had my first fully raw breakfast and largely raw lunch.

Elizabeth,

One of the instant benefits of a raf diet is that calmness.  It's a beautiful feeling. 

Good choice to purchase mutton.  It is difficult for me to find older sheep in the US, but their fat will be greater and probably more beneficial than the young lambs.

Keep it up and best wishes on improved health!  Andrew cured his candida on raw foods, I believe, but he went zero carb to do it, iirc.

[bunnycat74]

Thanks Michael,
I already feel as if I have stumbled on a really interesting and intelligent community here, with some very forward-thinking ideas about nutrition and its effects on the body. I have just recently qualified as a natural nutritionist, and I find the whole subject richly rewarding. However, I don't always agree with some of the course's principles, knowing from my own experience that dishes heavily-based on grains and pulses can be problematic for many people. As can fruit and dairy of course. I don't touch processed dairy, though luckily I have managed to enjoy organic butter up till now with no problems- I've not tried raw dairy but can imagine it is still going to cause problems with damp conditions such as Candida. I've had a look at Bee's website, and like you, will try and navigate a course between a programme along those lines and raw paleo. At the moment my liver is struggling to cope with the switch to a new regime, and blood sugar is suffering, but luckily my course has given me a whole set of tools to deal with that, including such things as coffee enemas, which really help when one is starting a detox programme and the cells are giving up enormous amounts of metabolic and acidic wastes....

The biggest surprise for me reading the stuff on this forum were the testimonials from people who'd had their saliva tested after months on raw paleo and registering v alkaline.... not what one might expect from a diet high in animal foods. But it just shows that if one is eating right for their metabolic type (I'm a fan also of William Wolcott's The Metabolic Typing Diet) and reducing the burden of toxins on our organs and cells, all the body's processes normalise... I'm hoping then that my body will simply stop producing the Candida, which as we know, produces toxic byproducts such as acetyldehyde and ammonia.

Good luck to you; I'd be really happy to hear about your progress. I've had candida since I was 8 (I'm now 34), and my whole family has it too. Have you also had it a long time?

Best
Elizabeth

[Michael]

Hey, Congratulations on your new qualification Elizabeth! 

I can appreciate both the rewards it provides you and the frustrations.  I've recently returned to University to study Biological Sciences with a view to taking a similar path eventually.  I see it as important to gain a full understanding of the technical science behind these complex subjects as an aid to enabling my own further research as well as providing me with the knowledge to challenge the conventional (and sometimes non-conventional!) thinking.

You sound as though you have the knowledge, awareness and open-mindedness required, in addition to the determination, to overcome your own health problems which, of course, will prove absolutely essential in helping others later.

I'll try to post updates occasionally with my candida progress and, likewise, look forward to hearing of your own triumphs. It's difficult to diagnose just how long I've had candida, obviously, but I suspect (based on symptoms) that I've had it since a young age too and am now 37.

Good luck!
Michael

[nurture]

I believe from everything that I've read that candida will keep growing if you still have heavy metals (mostly mercury) left in your system. If you do a full mercury chelation/detox regimen and really get rid of the mercury I think you will eliminate most of your problems.

Some other things that I've gone through that alleviate candida -

liver flushes

iodine supplementation

zinc supplementation

reduction of carbs/sugar

limiting meal size/not over-eating

[Michael]

I believe from everything that I've read that candida will keep growing if you still have heavy metals (mostly mercury) left in your system. If you do a full mercury chelation/detox regimen and really get rid of the mercury I think you will eliminate most of your problems.

Some other things that I've gone through that alleviate candida -

liver flushes
iodine supplementation
zinc supplementation
reduction of carbs/sugar
limiting meal size/not over-eating

Thanks for the suggestions nurture.  I think my RPD vlc/zc diet will remove candida from my body better than anything else I've tried (and I've done most things by now!)    Bee Wilder is a great source for information on dealing with Candida.

I agree with your suggestions re: mercury.  As I understand it, candida feeds on the mercury deposits and actually changes it to a non-toxic form.  The candida yeasts are actually doing us a favour!!  (as, I suspect, are most bacteria, viruses and parasites).  I believe it's a potentially dangerous thing to try dealing with the candida without dealing with the mercury and other issues.  I had all of my amalgam fillings removed about 15 years ago by a specialist in Dusseldorf, Germany.  It was unheard of in the UK at the time!  I had a full detox and it was a very professional and fully equipped operation.  I was at the clinic 9 'til 5pm for an entire week plus additional treatments at the dentists personal home.

[alphagruis]

An interesting discussion of the relationship between mercury poisoning and perturbed gut flora

http://www.karlloren.com/ultrasound/p24.htm

[Nation]

Michael, can you give us an update on how you're doing?

The reason i'm on this forum is candida, been battling it for 10 years, tried pretty much everything discussed on curezone, nothing helped except ZC. I've been ZC (mostly cooked) for 3 months and it has reduced my symptoms. I hope i will further improve on raw ZC but i'm still not a big fan of raw meat, i keep going back to cooking it but i'm starting to enjoy raw lamb.

[redfulcrum]

Nation,

That's great, I have the same problem.  You're right, the only way to deal with it is just don't feed it.  Don't eat neolithic.  I cheat every now and then, and candida comes right back.  I can always tell how bad my candida is by my face getting bad and the fishy smell from my genitals.  For some reason, carbs just knock down my immune system.  I resume paleo and symptoms go away on their own.  It's tough, especially in my 20's and I'm a social butterfly.  I love to party and go out, but it makes me sick if I keep it up.  I need to find a better way to socialize than the nightlife.   

[goodsamaritan]

I just made a book review:

I bought the book Yeast Infection No More with neutral expectations. I know I can get a quick refund if it was a scam or shabbily written. So what do you get with this book? What do I as an experienced healer get from this book? Is this book a scam or is this the real deal?

I paid via Paypal. I got the main book: Yeast Infection No More. Plus 4 other free books. I’ll be concentrating this review on the main book, which is what you really pay for.

My honest review of the book Yeast Infection No More: Scam or Real Deal?

Answer: This is the REAL DEAL.

http://www.curemanual.com/2011/02/yeast-infection-no-more-a-healers-review-scam-or-real-deal/

[King Salmon]

I posted this link earlier:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kk7eKWTdVQ

This doctor is a specialist in candida and has a 10 part video series.Hope it helps.

[moringa82]

You don't need to eat veggies if they disagree with you.
"Everything we need is in raw fruits and raw meat." - Wai Diet
I don't eat veggies myself nowadays.
I also tried raw vegan for a while.

I eat raw pili nuts because that's what we got around here.
http://www.myhealthblog.org/2007/12/15/delicious-nutritious-raw-pili-nuts-from-palawan/

If you have back problems, they could be a primary cause of many problems, the nervous system must be in tip top shape.  A requirement in healing.  http://www.curemanual.com/detox-protocols/chiropractic-treatments-nervous-system-fixing

I, family members and friends have great success with virgin coconut oil detoxing.  It's very hard but it works.  It employs massive quantities of virgin coconut oil FAT and zero carbs as a fast for 3 days to stomp away candida / yeast / leaky gut super fast.  I have heard some people are allergic to vco, but if you are not, then you may find your candida / yeast / leaky gut cure in 3 days.  i used to have candida / yeast / leaky gut.  My brother used to have it worse candida / yeast / leaky gut.  http://tinyurl.com/vcodetox

wow, one can heal leaky gut/yeast/candida in 3 days???

im sure it can eliminate candida/fungus/yeast because of its antimicrobial activity

but i just dont know how can coconut oil heal a leaky gut and heal it in 3 DAYS.

can you please elaborate about the mechanism through which it heals a leaky gut?

which brands do you recommend and/ or used?

what can you eat after this 3 day detox?

can celtic sea salt or himalayan salt be usied in place of ''rock salt''

thank you

[eveheart]

but i just dont know how can coconut oil heal a leaky gut and heal it in 3 DAYS.

The answer to your question was posted earlier in this thread:

You're right, the only way to deal with it [candida] is just don't feed it.

Three days on coconut oil (and often three days on anything else that doesn't feed the candida with sugar) will work, as long as nothing prevents the blood sugar level from lowering. Coconut oil has some other helpful elements, but the candida-sugar connection is the primary one in action here. Good coconut oil can be found in many health food stores, or online at http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/, http://virginoildecococreme.com/, and many more sites.

[moringa82]

just be careful with candida cleanse because candida is a symptom of heavy metal overload, candida actually binds itself to heavy metals preventing damage in the body...hen you cleanse the candida without chelating the metals, the metals will cause massive destruciton in the body... especially in the brain.

[TylerDurden]

just be careful with candida cleanse because candida is a symptom of heavy metal overload, candida actually binds itself to heavy metals preventing damage in the body...hen you cleanse the candida without chelating the metals, the metals will cause massive destruciton in the body... especially in the brain.

The whole heavy metal theory is nonsense. I am sure that one is fine after getting rid of all the candida.

[moringa82]

The whole heavy metal theory is nonsense.

Please elaborate on that.