Candida Diet Update July 2013 & Festival Pics 😉

Sunbathing, Work outs & Fruit Smoothies – Back on track!

• All in all aimed for eating healthily and not burning myself out so much. Have worked out more (started doing “Boxercise” – high intensity workout, good to vent frustration, punch – fuwhaack ?

•  I have made the addition of fruit as a REGULAR staple in my daily smoothie now – which is a big step towards dietary normality (we’re talking small amounts here- maybe 1/3 of a frozen banana, a handful of a frozen pear, 1 small apple… you get the idea).

• I have had a handful of dark cherries and I actually made my first RAW pie (adapting this lovely chocolate cherry pie recipe from gluten free cat) – a cherry pie with a cashew sunflower seed crust – LOVELY! Ok, the pie crust turned out soggy and a little too sweet. Can you imagine, I actually added dried dates (9 of the sugar-laden things!!!)

Well, I felt ecstatic just thinking about it – me, eating cake with REALLY sweet stuff in it- wohoaaa, still feels so naughty and so odd!

Anyway, I ended up making 5 mini pies out of it and freezing 4 of it (that was the only way I would stop eating it – the boyfriend was not enamored with it – must have been the chia seeds he detected that put him off or something, puh- each to their own!)

Just to recap: This is what was going on last month: More stress, more symptoms…

• I didn’t live so healthily (by my standards that is ? Think tons of fruit smoothies, homemade snack bars, rich curries. Long nights in front of the computer. No fun & play. Arguments…
  

• As a consequence I slept worse, worked out less and was very stressed (read: some candida symptoms came back).

What I typically ate this month to get better: (bone broth, fish, less potatoes and tons of fruit smoothies)

Biggest change: Started having Bone broth again before every lunch and I had hardly any fermented foods.

Breakfast:

• Ground Rice Pudding with Apple Slices or Spelt & Onion Bread with Vegetable & Feta Sesame Spread

Lunch:

• Lentil Stew with Gluten free Bread, Veggy & Bacon stir fry or Scrambled Eggs with Spelt Bread

Dinner

• Spelt bread with tuna or feta spread

What I snacked on: Healthy Smoothies and gluten free pancakes

• Started putting sweet fruit into my green smoothies (1/3 banana, handful of strawberries, cherries, apricots or frozen blueberries smoothie like in the photo – and even once chocolate ice cream and dates!)

No direct flare up, except after that cherry, cashew & date pie with coconut cream – I guess, I was asking for it! As soon as I took a stronger probiotic (50 billion) the symptoms disappeared again. Experienced the same after the two nights of overindulgence at our local Indian Restaurant (my staple menu: poppadoms, onion bhajis, white rice! only 1 bite of naan veggy curry, sag aloo and a few king prawns). I’ll tell you a secret: I LOVE naan bread – I soooo gonna stuff myself on Naan bread once this candida is completely under control! .

• Spelt pancakes/ gluten free rice pancakes

• Drinks: water, dandelion tea, Pau d’arco tea, nettle/ mullein tea, yannoh (coffee sub)

Lifestyle/ Activities: Tested my health constitution with 5 days camping at a music festival! See pics below

• Spent a long weekend camping at a music festival where I got little sleep and ate ALL the wrong things. I just got tired of always asking for different foods, always avoiding to eat bread… From pot noodles to white rice dishes, white bread rolls with bacon to sugary jelly babies, chocolate ice cream, cereal bars and copious amounts of cider and cocktails – I had it all. All the whilst I took no antifungals.

And much to my surprise my body dealt with it well. No bloating or inflammation, not even itchy skin or flare ups. The only thing that occurred was a bit of thrush. But it’s not exactly that I didn’t get that even when I was eating semi sensible at home. So I was ok with that.

• The festival aside I really worked on getting Better Sleep, more relaxation, more exercise = less stress = big health improvement!

Health Issues this month: Ear Ache – Oil Swishing helped!

Hay Fever type symptoms, ear ache, ear wax build up, sore throat, bit of thrush – really bizarre the earache and sore throat stayed with me nearly a month! What really helped me get rid of it was that I started oil pulling again first thing in the morning. 

What Supplements I took:

• Rotating olive leaf capsules (twice daily), wormwood & clove drops (once a day), goldenseal capsules (1 a day) and oil of oregano drops (2 drops once a day).

• After eating curry and sweet fruit pie I took higher strength probiotics (50 billion organisms); on other days the soil based lower dosage ones.

• L-glutamin, Colostrum and Gelatin (my latest health craze luxury, yes from grass-fed cows, well – for that price they have had the grass flown in from Scandinavia!)

• And a shake made from almond milk vegan protein powder blend chlorella, spirulina, wheatgrass, as well as the three supplements above after high intense workouts in the evening, when it was too late for dinner.

• Magnesium (and the usual multi vit, linseed oil,evening primrose & fish oil)

To recap what I learned/ How this Applies to You:

There is hope people – fun without dietary restraints is possible!

• Going to bed earlier and being physically more active has a super positive impact on your health.

• If your candida levels are well managed (in stage 3) you can make a slight thrush flare up go away simply by taking a higher dose of probiotics (50 billion worked for me).
  

• Regardless of your lifestyle, if you carry on with the diet, then eventually you’ll be symptom free and you can actually enjoy ALL the foods that you used to enjoy! You can go to festivals and all sorts. No restraints – There is hope!

• If you are light-hearted and happy you get away with a few late nights and diet sins without any flare ups. Whereas if you’re tense and worried even if you follow a super clean diet you end up getting flare ups and health conditions. Take away here: Have more fun!!! Shift focus from “what to eat/ not to eat” to “what to do that makes you happy”.

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