Oh Candida don't you cry for me...

So tonight I feel so overwhelmed with the whole candida cleanse!  I am on day thirty something and my chocolate cravings are crazy.  The worst part though is that I am wondering if what I am doing is actually helping anything.  I just read that you almost always have parasites if you have candida and should do a parasite cleanse first or it will just come back.  I really want to end this diet at 60 days and at least eat some chocolate oh my gosh but ... I'm not so sure what I need to do.  :/. Feeling a little frustrated... oh and constipated... gonna go drink some senna tea.  

Oh and another thing.  i think there is so much that we need to learn and research about our bodies and our diets!  We are perishing for a lack of knowledge.  also, i think it is Godly to take care of your body as a temple of the Holy Spirit!  We should love our bodies and take care of them because we are loved sons and daughters who know our value and worth!  ok Bye.  

Candida!!!

Well I just read this article and it was very depressing!  :(. It looks like I still have a long way to go!  I did the saliva test and had the worst results strings within seconds!  

Still it was very informative and I know now I have an uphill climb.  Still haven't contacted my nutritionalist but planning to do that this week!  

Here ya go:::

If your suffering from a candida overgrowth and you have no idea what the heck is happening to your body this article below is a must read.  I hope this answers your questions and get’s you started in the right right direction.

Article written by: Robert Harrison

This article is based on what I’ve learned from helping people conquer candida. I’ve made it quite extensive because:

1. Candida can literally wipe out your life.
2. You may have many health problems that you didn’t know were caused by candida.
3. There are many different issues that must be dealt with to resolve tough cases of candida.

People have told me they’ve suffered from candida yeast infection symptoms for years and didn’t know they had it. They’d gone to doctors who looked at them like they were crazy. Who told them that there was nothing wrong and gave them some antibiotics - which only makes the candida worse.

Claims that you can get over your yeast infection in two weeks or a month just aren’t true. You can certainly improve the symptoms, but the candida is still present in parts of your body and will come back. If you have been fighting it for years and still have it, you know there is no easy and quick victory and that it will take many months to eliminate the overgrowth throughout the body. This is not a “take one pill for a week or two and it’s gone” issue. Candida is tough.

First, you need to truly find out if you’re suffering from a candida yeast overgrowth and not another problem. Then, we will talk about how candida gets a foothold in your body and what affects it has.

“How Do I Tell If I Have Candida?”
Take The Spit Test!

I’ve heard too often people telling me that the tests for candida their doctor had them take came back negative. Even though it was clear from their symptoms that they had candida overgrowth. A test that seems to be at least as accurate, plus its easy and free, is the following spit test.

First thing in the morning, rinse out your mouth. Get a clear glass of water, work up some saliva, and spit into the water. Keep an eye on the water for up to one hour - especially the first few minutes. If you have a candida yeast infection, you will see one or all three of the following:

1. Strings (legs) traveling down into the water from the saliva floating on top
2. Thick saliva at the bottom of the glass
3. Cloudy specks suspended in the water

The more you see going on and the faster you see it, the worse the overgrowth. If you spit and almost immediately you see stuff falling out of the saliva, you know you’ve got it bad. If 20 minutes after spitting you see just a little bit falling out of the saliva, you’ve got it, but not as extensive. If the saliva just floats on top and the water stays perfectly clear, you probably don’t have candida overgrowth.

Confirm this test by checking to see if you have several of the many candida symptoms listed below. If you have no symptoms and the test shows clear, you can assume that there is no candida overgrowth in your body.

If you are just starting to fight it, or have had it a long time, the test will be confirmation alongside the symptoms listed here.

Do you…

1. Bloat or form excess gas when you eat?
2. Have acid reflux?
3. Have brain fog?
4. Have a dry mouth, sinus or ear infections?
5. Suffer from fatigue for no reason?
6. Vision that gets blurry, then clear, then blurry?
7. Have hypoglycemia? (shaky if meal is missed, sleepy after a meal, sweat during sleep)
8. Have unexplained rashes?
9. Have nail fungus, vaginal yeast infections or jock itch?

It is estimated that 85% of Americans have or have had a candida yeast infection. While this number is high, most people haven’t a clue that yeast has grown out of control in their body triggering a plethora of health problems such as:

• Sexual dysfunction • Arthritis • Autism • Hives • Fatigue • Irritability • Digestive disorders • Muscle pain • Short attention span • Headaches • Memory loss • Vaginitis • Skin problems • Hyperactivity • Depression • Hypoglycemia • Menstrual problems • Urinary disorders • Respiratory problems • Allergies • Learning difficulties

Why Does Candida Overgrow?

About 85% of all organisms in the intestines should be friendly bacteria. The remaining 15% should be comprised primarily of not so friendly, but still useful in small amounts, bad bacteria and candida. Your body needs 85% friendly bacteria to keep the bad stuff in check.

Candida is much more powerful than friendly bacteria and as it cannot protect itself from bacteria with antibodies, candida produces deadly mycotoxins that kill friendly bacteria.
Cortisone, birth-control pills, antibiotics (which are also in non-organic meat and milk products), medications, and even drinking chlorinated water, all contribute to the partial or total destruction of your 4 to 8 pounds of friendly bacteria living in the lower gut. However, these bacteria killers do not harm the candida. More and more of the good bacteria so necessary for a healthy digestive system and therefore, a healthy body, are killed off and the candida is able to flourish.

What Happens Once Candida Overgrows In Your Intestinal Tract?

Once candida overgrows in the large intestine, where it should be in small numbers, it migrates into the small intestine where digestion and assimilation of nutrients takes place.

Since many of the beneficial bacteria in the small intestine that are needed for healthy digestion and for your immune system to function well are killed by the candida, your digestion is inhibited you become gaseous and experience the other indigestion symptoms mentioned earlier.

Next, candida upsets your bodies sugar system as it seeks it favorite food, sugar. Because your digestion is disrupted, you don’t get enough of the minerals you need to escort sugar and insulin into the cells and you become hypoglycemic. Your body is then signaled to eat more sweets and carbohydrates, candidas favorite foods.

Also, since you don’t have the minerals you need to get the sugar into your cells, you run low during the night. At this point, the brain signals your adrenal gland to produce more adrenal hormones to keep the body functioning during the night, which it does. One side effect of this is that you may have night sweats. And because the adrenal gland is now working 24 hours per day, it can eventually burn out leading to adrenal fatigue.

Another problem is that many women lack adequate amounts of progesterone because Candida devours it and changes it into the not so pleasant chemical prednisone. In fact, drug companies farm fungus colonies, feeding them progesterone to make the drug prednisone which they then sell to consumers as a remedy for a whole host of ill health conditions.

This is one reason why most women are estrogen dominant. They lack progesterone due to candida destroying it. This imbalance can cause the face to break out, breasts to lose firmness, hair problems, migraines and the most significant…. Depression. Aside from these problems a woman’s skin can become so sensitive she can’t stand to be touched. The skin can become so painful that intimacy becomes impossible. Estrogen dominance is believed to be connected with breast cancer and other hormonal cancers.

Candida Causes Leaky Gut Syndrome Which Causes Big Problems

Over time candida and parasites destroy the protective mucus coating on the intestinal wall. Once this happens, foods, chemicals, parasites, bacteria, yeast and viruses begin irritating the intestinal lining. When this happens, the immune system cells on the lining of the intestinal tract activate in order to fight back. This activation causes inflammation and further irritation of the intestinal wall which can result in intestinal pain, cramps and irritation.

Allergic reactions may start throughout the body. These allergic reactions begun in the intestinal tract trigger skin reactions such as itching, hives, rashes, etc. Over time, the intestinal lining becomes even more degraded and the candida can drill holes in the wall, causing a leaky gut. In addition, the intestinal villi, hair-like structures that help absorb vitamins, minerals, and different nutrients, become damaged so you become less able to absorb nutrients from your food.

Worse still, the leaky patches allow particles that should be in the intestinal tract to enter your bloodstream through the leaks.

As your immune system has to get rid of these particles, it develops sensitivity to the foods you commonly eat, and you end up with allergies to those foods.

If you suspect you have food allergies, get tested for them by a medical doctor or a naturopathic doctor. Once you know what you are allergic to, stay away from those foods for several months to reduce the allergic response to them and then, you can get to work fighting the candida.

Places to go from here:

Visit Robert’s website: GetHealthyAgain.com

Day 26!

I can't believe it!  I've managed to stay on my cleanse for 26 days!!!! My tummy is still healing though and I'm going to just continue until I know I'm all better!  

I have really had some highs and lows over the past week.... I have had some moments of crazy cravings for chocolate... Chocolate cake, cookies, chocolate ice cream, chocolate itself, and also coffee.  Those have been my temptations.  I do think fasting in a 3rd world nation is a little easier because you're not constantly surrounded by delicious foods you can't have.  The days I do go into town here to the supermarkets and restaurants are super tough though!  

One of the fun things I have liked about this cleanse is finding new really healthy recipes.  As I get further into my cleanse I'm planning to try some healthy desserts.  For now, I am enjoying trying other kinds of things!  I finally decided to try making a cauliflower pizza crust using a recipe I modified a little bit and turned into Mexican tostadas.  Here's what I did and can I just tell you it was delicious!!!!!!!! and nutritious! 

What I used: 

Cauliflower crust:

One medium head of cauliflower

2 eggs 

Guacamole::::

3 ripe avocados

2 small tomatoes 

2 small onions

1 cloves garlic

Salt

Lime juice 

Cilantro

1 small chile 

Taco meat

1/4 pound ground beef

Chopped onion

Garlic clove

Cumin

Salt

1. Wash the cauliflower then blend it in a blender or food processor until it has the consistency of rice. This should yield around 4 cups.  

2. Put 1/4 inch of water in a saucepan and boil.  Add the cauliflower and reduce heat.  Let it steam for 5 minutes.  

3. Strain the cauliflower and get rid of as much water as possible.  

4.  Add the cauliflower into a baking pan and add in 2 scrambled eggs.  As you are mixing add some salt, basil, and thyme.  You can mix it with your hands and then spread it flat in the bottom.  

5. Set your oven at 400f for 45 min and bake until the edges are brown and crispy! 

6. Let cool then remove slowly with a spatula or knife.  

You could make so many things with this crust but what I really love is that it tastes and seems like a carb but it isn't!  I chose to turn it into tostadas!  

While the crust is baking, put ground beef in a wok or frying pan and cook for 5 minutes until brown.  Add garlic onion and cilantro plus spices like salt and cumin.  Cook until the onion are browned .  

The crust will still be baking so whip up some guacamole.  I mashed 3 Avos, then added all the other ingredients to taste!!!  The recipe made 4 tostadas (I shared with one of our missionaries who just joined me on the cleanse) with a lot of leftover guacamole and a little meat too! 

Here was the final result!  It was so good!  

Happy Eating! 

Rebecca :)

Smoked salmon salad with lemon cilantro yogurt dressing :)

After washing my 3rd world veggies, I started on the salad dressing before cutting.  

For a nice dressing I used plain plain plain yogurt (no sugar plus lots of probiotics) then I added lemon juice, finely chopped cilantro, basil and salt.  It wasn't tangy enough so I added a tbsp of apple cider vinegar... Plus a little more salt and basil.  Yummy dressing! 

Then plain lettuce, chopped onion, and tomato were spiced up with some smoked salmon and my dressing and a handful of raw cashews!  

Delicious, safe, and healthy! 

Bon appetit!!!!!

Rebecca 

Fasting

So yesterday was a fasting day for our ministry.  I drank hot water with lemon and ginger in the AM (my fave) and then fasted the whole day with water.  I prepared a meal around 6pm of curry sauce with some chicken and added tons of veggies.  Unfortunately I had a bad reaction to it and ended up sleeping it off for 2 hours.  My physical health feels exactly like when I had food allergies in college.  I was allergic to everything under the sun.  Its bizarre and I don't know the relationship.  I'm planning to contact a nutritionalist I trust back in the states to talk through it.

Other than that...I'm doing well and fully confident I will stick to the cleanse diet!

Here's to my health.  All bad stuff has to die in Jesus name!  :)

Peace
Rebecca

Day what?

So I'm into this fast full force.  It has been another slightly hectic day.  I cancelled all my meetings this morning and slept in until an unheard of time in missionary life.  It was fantastic.  I felt horrific though ,most of the day.  After an omelette and ginger tea for breakfast, I had a salad with some chicken for lunch with sundries tomatoes, and then I decided to splurge and got a chicken curry which I made sure was dairy wheat sugar and everything else free.  Um delish.  I'm planning to toss some veggies into the leftover sauce tomorrow.  

Today I was so tired almost the whole day.  I even asked the server why he brought me a half empty bottle of water (that would be not cool) but actually he had just poured it into a glass sitting right in front of me.  Wow.  I'm a space cadet lately.  The die off symptoms are very real but I'm gonna get better slowly right?  Speaking of being tired I'm falling asleep typing this.  Good night!  Day 7. 

Sweet dreams.

Love

Rebecca 

Die-Off

Die candida die!  The die off has gotten worse!  :P. but I'm thankful it is dying!  

Yesterday was great and on some level I am really enjoying the cleanse/fast.  

For breakfast I had a small omelette and ginger tea. For lunch I had another delicious salad.  I added a little bit of chopped raw garlic for an extra kick and it was fab.  Dinner was delish.  I didn't know what to make but decided to make a tomato sauce with fried zucchini and purple eggplant chips (it was kinda heavenly). 

First I chopped up 3 garlic gloves an onion 2 tomatoes a couple pieces of cilantro and half of a green chile.  Then I sliced thin slices of eggplant and zucchini. 

I put the garlic onion chile and cilantro into the pan in a little olive oil then after cooking til golden I added the tomatoes and mashed them until they were saucy and added salt.  

For the squashes I used a crepe pan and put one layer into the pan added salt rosemary and basil with a tsp of olive oil.  I fried them both until golden brown and a little crispy on the edges!  Full of flavor!   

I also had a few olives and almonds in the evening as I was feeling hungry!  I also drank lots of water today.  

The die off:  

Oh man.  The cravings.  But the worse part of it has been the mornings.  Today I cancelled my morning appointments because I felt so bad.  

I used to be allergic to almost All foods and when I had an allergic reaction I would have heart palpitations where my heart beats extra hard and fast.  This has also been happening especially upon waking up and today was the worst.  

I'm super excited about this cleanse and I know it is going to have multiple beneficial effects on my body!!!  I am really pressing in to go the full course! (No pun intended hehe).  It is going to be really healthy for my body and I am also certain that at the end of it, my diet will have permanently changed in a lot of ways.  Here's to health strength and vitality! :). 

Love and health 

Rebecca 

Washing veggies!!!

I confess over the last few years here I have only used tap water to wash my veggies sometimes with a lot of luck and sometimes not!  I really love to eat fresh cool salads in these tropical temperatures and they are super yummy, full of minerals, and abnormally fresh. "Straight from the garden into the saucepan" is our motto around here!  However the veggies could also have bacteria and parasites so we need to wash them with a little more than tap water so here is a safe way to eat clean in the tropics!  

Stuff you need: 

1. Fresh veggies

2. Clean water!!!! You can boil filter or buy bottled water.  I usually just buy big bottles of mineral water for really cheap!  :) 

3. Hydrogen peroxide and apple cider vinegar 

4. A big sauce pan, bucket, or other bowl that can fit all your veggies to be covered in water.  

Step 1: 

Cut off any super dirty roots, peel onions, and cut off any bad parts of the vegetables! 

Step 2: 

Prepare your wash by filling your washing bowl with water!  Add 2 caps of hydrogen peroxide and 2 caps of vinegar.  You can also just use vinegar but I like the extra peroxide to really kill stuff. :P 

Step 3: 

Put your veggies in the wash and soak for 15-20 minutes!  :) 

Step 4: 

Pour out the veggie wash and fill the bowl with clean water.  Rinse the veggies in the clean water! 

Take them out and let them dry and refrigerate or eat em up!  ;). 

Hope this helps!  I did it today and had a very delicious salad!  

For a salad dressing, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt or Italian seasoning is delish and very healthy!  

Happy healthy eating,

Rebecca 

Day 5 of cleanse:  

Today I had an egg and avocado for breakfast with ginger tea.

A salad and part of a hamburger patty for lunch. 

I drank a detox drink of water vinegar lemon juice and cayenne pepper! Wowza! 

I stir fried garlic onion cilantro tomato and left over hamburger for a little Mexican stir fry for dinner!  

Today I enjoyed the cleanse and my meals a lot but I'm a little hungry at the end of the day.  Gonna munch on some almonds.  I think I need to pre plan my meals a little more!  :) 

__ Jeremiah 30:17a — “‘For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,’ says the Lord….”  (NKJV) 

3rd world living: candida cleansing #1

This blog is dedicated to third world missionaries sacrificing so much for the love and joy of the call!
I am not a doctor or a health professional but I just want to share the little I have learned and my experiences over the last 6 years working and living in East Africa.  The joys outweigh the sacrifices (on most days) but we have to learn in the throws of third world living to take care of ourselves and to stay strong and healthy so that we can continue the work!!!  A lot of what I will share will likely be a help to those not in third world nations as well! :)

My Journey

Over the last few years, my health has suffered tremendously on the mission field of Uganda.  Going into the deepest darkest slums, hospitals, and villages, we encounter the worlds most feared diseases, bacterias, and parasites etc.  no sweat for us we usually think!  Fearless bold and set on fire, but lets be realistic!  I don't think there is a missionary who has been on the ground for more than 2 years who hasn't been on at least a round of antibiotics for a nasty stomach bug! 

A year ago I was diagnosed with a high level of amoebas in my gut.  The docs pumped me full of strong antibiotics which triggered a shingles outbreak!  Oh my this was not fun.  My immune system was so compromised that the docs put me on bed rest and refused me to travel in writing!  A strong independent missionary who is a mom to 19 kids and an overseer to a school of 400 and boss to 25 staff, I was literally like a vegetable and for the first time in my life experienced fear concerning my health.  I was supposed to be heading back to the states to return to a ministry training school but instead I was forced to rest.  Lets be honest I needed it on every level but fought it on every level as well.

Six months later the amoebas resurfaced (they often go dormant) and another round of antibiotics did not kill them.  Two weeks later another round of antibiotics and I was not sure if they were gone or not because of a mixture of symptoms!  I went back to the states and tried to figure out what was happening!  Most western medicine doctors are not well versed in tropical medicine so luckily I found an international health clinic a few years back.  After tests they found..... Nothing.  Symptoms persisted.

I did a Chinese medicine herbal cleanse with a restricted diet which helped a lot but didn't fully kick out whatever it was! I confess I didn't stick to it very well though.  No sugar didn't last very long!  Chinese medicine is fascinating stuff though...

Candida ...yuck! 

A year after the first amoeba diagnosis, and voila!  Another diagnosis... Mass yeast overgrowth in my gut!   When I had been in the states, a friend told me she thought I should do a candida cleanse but I was just coming off the Chinese herbs cleanse and it was FALL in AMERICA!  It takes a soldier to fast through pumpkin pastries and pecan pies and chai lattes plus all the other foods I never see in Africa like sushi, decent hamburgers, Mexican food, etc. etc. etc. I was too weak.  ;-) 

So here I am in the middle of a 3rd world country and I am on day 4 of a candida cleanse.  After researching, the general guidelines of a candida cleanse look something like this:

1. A week of veggies, spices. and oils only fasting
2. A week of veggies plus a few proteins and oils
3. Continue the diet and add antifungals
4. Continue the diet another week.
5. Add probiotics
5. Continue the diet up to 60-90 days adding in a few grains like brown rice, quinoa, and barley until healed.

The reason for such a gradual lead up to the antifungals is to reduce the die off symptoms of fatigue, needing extra sleep, headaches, irritability, digestive problems, anger flares, etc.

My journey with candida:::

However because I was diagnosed with such a high level I started my antifungals right away as I began the cleanse.  I did a liquid fast day one and then went to two days of veggies only with one or 2 eggs per day.  However I found myself very hungry so decided to go ahead and add meat in. 

 I am now on day 4 of antifungals and day 5 of the cleanse.  I have definitely had die off symptoms such as light headaches, heart racing, very tired upon waking up, stomach discomfort, and some light sugar cravings.  I am drinking hot water with lots of ginger and a squeeze of lemon juice in the mornings in place of my usual sugary hot tea.  

I will be writing about the rest of my journey on the cleanse!  Here is my plan:  

Week 1: antifungals + candida safe non starchy veggies, water, eggs, minimal natural meats like chicken, beef, and fresh fish, olive oil and spices such as ginger, garlic, salt, cinnamon, basil, rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano, cilantro, and curry 

Week 2: continue the above diet. 

Week 3: continue the above diet.  Add probiotic capsules + probiotic rich foods such as plain no sugar yogurt and kimchee.  

Week 4: continue week 3. 

Week 5: continue week 3. Add brown rice and maybe quinoa and barley if I can find it here.  

Week 6-8: continue week 5 until finished!  

This blog is in part to share what I learn and also to help me in maintaining this fight.  

It's gonna be a long uphill journey!  I'll be sharing some missionary health tips, recipes, and natural remedies along the way.  Here we go!!!! Here's to getting strong and healthy again!  :) 

<3

Rebecca 

1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.