Hello!

My name is Karen and I just joined thekindlife this evening after purchasing Alicia's book 2 days ago. I literally just started the book tonight and am eager to learn more about what foods will help cure my candida issues. I've been suffering for what feels like an eternity. I am looking to find some friends here to maybe form a support group, or if there is already an existing group on thekindlife..perhaps somebody can let me know?  I need answers because I am starting to give up hope. My symptoms are getting more and more severe as time goes on. I am 32 years old now and remember starting to feel awful during my late 20s. I have all the symptoms of candida - yeast infections that never go away, itchy/dry skin, mood swings, depression, headaches, bloating, gas, water retention, awful pms, constipation - you name it, I pretty much have it. I live in NY, the land of great pizza, bagels, baked goods etc. and I can admit that from time to time, I do indulge in these nasty foods, but generally I am a person that takes great care of myself.

If you are suffering like I am or if you had severe candida and have advice on what it takes to cure this horrible condition, I'd love to be your friend! :)

Thanks for hearing me out!
- Karen

hi karen , so sorry to hear what a pain this has been in your life.  I had a form of candida after i had my son , it was a yeast overgrowth in my milk ducts in my breasts and because i was breastfeeding it was in my sons mouth too and caused problems because we kept passing it back and forth to each other. I have to say after childbirth , its the most painful thing i EVER experienced . My son didnt seem in pain but i was out of my mind when it flared up.  I had several courses of nystatin, never worked .  Then i gave up sugar and that did the trick. I was a huge sugar monster so it was hard but worth it.  I lost the ability to breastfeed on one side so for the next year had one tiny boob and one huge milky one for my son !!

hey karen - I first started eating this way over 20 years ago, after being diagnosed (finally!) with among other things, systemic candida.  It was affecting me physically and mentally and basically left me unable to function.  My doctor put me on a strict detox diet (typical anti-candida stuff, no processed food, no meat and also no sugar at all - not even fruit!), probiotics and for a while, anit-yeast drugs like nystatin and nizoral (sp).  I stuck to the protocol like you would not believe - and in a few months it all started to clear but it took a long time to totally get back on track.  For me, the thing that made the difference was doing the candida diet religiously - I had a friend who had a much more mild yeast problem and she never could get better because she would occasionally cheat and eat this or that.  If you suck it up and do it without a break it will be no fun now, but in a few months you will have your health back - good luck!  it is not easy but you can do it!  it's in your control - 

Hi Karen,
I recently self-diagnosed myself with Candida after getting no help for 3 years of recurring yeast infections from various doctors.  I just started the Candida diet this week and it's starting to get easier already.  I was really quite depressed at first to see the limited diet I will have to stick to, but I have been eating a lot of stir-fry (use Bragg's since it's gluten-free, not regular shoyu) and feeling a little better about it.  I would love a support group to check in with.  My main issue right now is that it's summer and we have something going on out of town almost every weekend.  How I wish I would have figured out I had this in the cold, hibernating winter months! 

I have a bachelorette party tonight and I just don't know what to do.  I know I am not supposed to have alcohol.  As Ann says above, you can't really cheat at all with this diet (I have read this on all the posts and websites, too).  I really want to kick this for good b/c we want to start trying to get pregnant in fall and I really don't want to have issues like Pamela described above.  Thanks for starting this post.  I will continue to check back.

Hi Karen, I have suffered with bad allergies my whole life.  My doctor told me she rarely has a patient with as many allergies as I have.  I have my environmental allergies (she told me to move to Colorado) and then the food.  I have a wheat and yeast allergy which eliminates a lot of food out there.  No more beer, no more sugar, no bread, no pasta, no blue cheese, etc.  I am Italian living in NY so it was rough, but the minute I cut these out of my diet, I felt better.  It was amazing. The important thing is to remember that the choices you make when you eat will effect your well- being! Trust me, there are many choices out there! I too just started reading Alicia's book and the diet sounds amazing.  It takes my new diet (I only was diagnosed 1 year ago) to a whole new level. I learned about alternatives like Tapioca Bread (found at your local health food store) and rice pasta (deelish). I love grains like barley as well.  I think that Alicia's diet will only benefit me more and it sounds like it will do the same for you as well. Good luck!!PS: The doctor said that really good wine is acceptable to drink and that's what I stick to without experiencing any symptoms.  

the Candida will clear with  the Kind diet recipes , stay away from yeast breads,  all dairy , and refine carbohydrate products.  there are some yeast free  breads ,  eat plenty of brown rice,,  lots  of green vegetables.   You will heal and feel so much better !!  Also, watch your medications as some antibiotics causes candida

Has anyone ever heard of or tried the anti candida product called Threelac? I recently was reading about it on the internet, I don't know if it works or not, just wondered if anyone else had any experience with it?

Hi.  I healed myself of Candida 25 yrs ago with a macrobiotic diet....minus anything yeasted, or fermented.  It is truly a drag of a diet, but nearly as much of a drag as Candida is.  Since then I have learned of a couple of things to expedite the clean out.  Some are so sick they may want to talk to their doc about prescribing nyastatin or diflucan temporarily.  I was given a big wedding shower back then and brought my own food and even made my own healthy wedding cake to enjoy.  Once you really get a grip on Candida you can definitely add foods back in, I would journal every day to find foods that don't agree with you.  The Superhero Plan is wonderful for curing Candida and this site is so encouraging and positive so check in often and participate.  Be prepared with your own foods when you go anywhere.  You can definitely be well on your your way come fall!  Also, search "Candida" on this site and you will see that you are not at all alone.  Yeast has crept up on me again and I need to become very rigid for a few months too.  Best Wishes!

Thanks ladies! wow, i'm so thrilled to see so many responses already!

I know a lot about the candida diet. I lived in Los Angeles when my symptoms really started to creep up on me. I did a ton of research online and by going to stores that sell supplements, etc. I did do the diet for 3 consecutive months and boy was it one of the hardest things I ever did in my life! but I did it and I didn't cheat once. I started to feel a bit better after 3 months and then got invited to a little outing with girlfriends at the 'Cheesecake Factory'. I ate a ridiculously delicious piece of pumpkin cheesecake which ended up setting me back all over again. Just that one piece of refined sugar loaded cheesecake messed me back up. What a learning experience that was. I have a major sugar tooth, I constantly crave sweets..especially around pms time. Now that i'm back in NY, I'm having a hard time being consistent with eating, taking supplements etc. I just need to get myself motivated like I did in LA, but I find that it's much harder here... in L.A, healthy foods, restaurants, stores are all around you unlike here on Long Island. It's tough, but I will do it!!

I would love to start a support group but I'm not sure how to do that, I'm so new to this site. Maybe we should just add eachother as friends to start?

Thanks!
Karen

Can anyone let me know more about candida, and how you get it? I feel like I'm suffering from this, but I don't want to jump the gun and self-diagnose myself.

Lulu, my sis in law has used Threelac with some success.  I will try to get her input on it.  Keri, maybe you could read The Yeast Connection?Karen, the sweet tooth is a monster in my book.  It's a weird, sick relationship because i hate it so much yet I have to have it like a drug and that is so not me.  I am a person of conviction and to be controlled by this monster is just ridiculous!  I feel your pain!  I think you are trying to get "locked on"?  So am i!

I just sent you a friend request Karen so we can get started with a support group. 

I think it would be a great idea to share recipes, too.  Most of the recipes in the Superhero section fit into the Candida diet (some just need a little variation) so I was glad to see that when I was planning meals for this week.  I think for me the biggest thing is to make sure I'm still getting a variety of different tastes so I don't get bored and slip. 

Does anyone who's done this diet before have a specific food that was a lifesaver?  I would love to have something on hand as a go to when I'm starving and need something quick that doesn't require cooking.

I just started the candida diet yesterday and so far so good. I did get a withdrawal headache this afternoon but it wasn't too bad. Of course I'm craving haagen dazs chocolate ice cream bars at this moment but instead I will eat raw cashews/walnuts. 2 days down, 2 months and 28 days to go! haha! I too am looking for some easy to grab snacks. The last time I did this diet, I snacked on veggies with hummus or rice chips and hummus from Trader Joe's..so yummy! You can also eat a variety of raw nuts.. but stay way from peanuts.

As far as Threelac goes, I did look into it but certain things about it made me feel weary. I think if you do a google search on it, you will find a lot of info on it. Some say it was a miraculous cure for candida and others said it didn't really work at all for them. Also, there is a strain of bacteria in it that is banned in Australia?! Like I said, just google it and find out more info.

I meant to say that Threelac is banned in Australia because of the specific bacterium that is in the product.

I find that lundberg rice cakes with almond butter are a great thing to fall back on.