[jasonD2]

Has anyone done the Candida diet? i need to but my biggest concern is loosing weight....I am currently 5'11" and weigh 150 (I should be closer to 155-157) but if i start cutting out carbs & sugar im gonna drop down even lower and I dont like the way I look when Im too thin & everyone starts complaining that i look too thin. What kind of carbs am I allowed on this diet..can i do brown rice and quinoa?

thx

[chatycady]

jasonD2, on Aug 7 2009, 11:41 PM, said:

Has anyone done the Candida diet? i need to but my biggest concern is loosing weight....I am currently 5'11" and weigh 150 (I should be closer to 155-157) but if i start cutting out carbs & sugar im gonna drop down even lower and I dont like the way I look when Im too thin & everyone starts complaining that i look too thin. What kind of carbs am I allowed on this diet..can i do brown rice and quinoa?

thx

I believe you can do complex carbs, but no more than 15 grams at a meal.

[OptimisticMom42]

Have you tried taking Acidophilus? That worked for me, even without going low carb.

[jasonD2]

Acidophilus alone wont do the trick. im on a specific regimen now which includes multiple probiotics, S. boulardii, anti yeast supplements and a low carb/no sugar diet

[MissyJoy]

I went to a nutritionist in 2006 and she had me do the Candidia Diet - it was supposed to be an intense 3 week period, but ended up being 2 years, because I just got worse if I added foods back in. This was before I figured out that I was gluten intolerant.

My diet was meats, including eggs but not including lunchmeats or breakfast meats like sausage or bacon), high carb veggies (no cooked carrots, and limited amounts of corn, no potatoes of any kind), no fruit, no dairy, no grains - except Plain rice cakes, plain rice crackers, and 1/2 cup of brown rice a day. I was allowed to use coconut oil and coconut milk, wheat free soy sauce, and rice milk.

And I am 5'6 and ended up weighing 110 pounds. Energy was in short supply, but I knew that the diet was healing my body, because my symptoms went away.

I also took supplements to kill the yeast (Grapefruit seed extract drops) and cleanse my liver (Sillymarian). It worked for me - and as soon as the clease was over, I went back to a normal healthy weight. Yeah, people did look at me with concern, but I assured them that I was taking care of myself better than ever, and that seemed to calm them down.

Hope that helps!

[IChaseFrisbees]

Hi Jason, if you're a guy worrying about losing weight I assume you lift at least a little bit? I'm almost exactly your size, 5'11" 150-155, I've always had trouble gaining weight no matter how much I eat or how much I workout. I wouldn't worry about carbs too much as they won't really add the weight you'd like (if you're like me I mean.)

You're allowed plenty of protein in meats, beans I believe and also there are some supplements that you can take that are beneficial to the process in addition to having protein, so if you hit the gym regularly and have a good protein and calorie intake for your body then I can't imagine you'd have trouble with weight.

Check your diet with your doctor and make sure you're getting enough protein and calories and they'll be able to tell you the impact it will have on your weight. Good luck.

[jasonD2]

So I found out that I have significant intestinal candida & bacterial overgrowth and am on a non sugar/no carb diet and am about to start taking Symbion (which is comparable to ThreeLac); problem is whenever I take probiotics they really constipate me (im currently taking S.boulardi, l.sporogenes and Thera-Biotic Complete and they are constipating me pretty badly). If I need these bugs to get healthy but they keep messing up my bowels then what am i supposed to do?

I was taking Oxypowder for a week along with the supplemenst and everything was fine, but I stopped the oxypowder and am backed up again.

Any suggestions?

[burdee]

jasonD2, on Aug 22 2009, 09:20 AM, said:

So I found out that I have significant intestinal candida & bacterial overgrowth and am on a non sugar/no carb diet and am about to start taking Symbion (which is comparable to ThreeLac); problem is whenever I take probiotics they really constipate me (im currently taking S.boulardi, l.sporogenes and Thera-Biotic Complete and they are constipating me pretty badly). If I need these bugs to get healthy but they keep messing up my bowels then what am i supposed to do?

I was taking Oxypowder for a week along with the supplemenst and everything was fine, but I stopped the oxypowder and am backed up again.

Any suggestions?

Probiotics usually restore regularity. So they can either reduce diarrhea or improve motility to reduce constipation. So I suspect your constipation is more likely due to c-diff or candida. How did you learn you have candida and c-diff? I assumed from your signature that your 'bacterial overgrowth' is clostridium difficile. If a stool test definitely diagnosed candida and c-diff, you need to treat c-diff asap with a stronger antibacterial drug (like flagyl or vancomycin). The S.boulardi will decrease side effects of flagyl, but won't eliminate c-diff.

I had candida for several years, but finally eliminated that after taking nystatin for several months. A low carb/ low sugar diet is not as effective as taking antifungal drugs. However, taking either antifungals or antibacterial drugs (without taking enough probiotics after treatment) can allow small amounts of c-diff to proliferate. So I then got a bad c-diff infection (diagnosed by stool test), which I have fought for several months. Flagyl did not eliminate my c-diff. So I'm now on my second round of vancomycin.

C-diff symptoms can include either constipation or diarrhea, plus cramping abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, dizziness and passing mucous (instead of or along with stool). Untreated c-diff can cause fatal complications, like intestinal perforation which allow intestinal contents to leak into the peritoneum and cause sepsis. If your doctor diagnosed your c-diff, he/she can prescribe an antibacterial drug to treat that infection. Don't delay. The longer you have untreated c-diff, the more difficult it can be to eliminate.

SUE

[jasonD2]

Hi Sue-

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure that constipation is not a symptom of C.Difficle...usually its profuse watery diarrhea, so it may be more of a candida issue.

My doc has me on S. Boulardi to treat the C.difficile overgrowth for now. My fear of taking an antibiotic is that it will mess things up even more and allow the candida to proliferate out of control and make my symptoms worse. Im supposed to do a follow up stool test in 2 months so that will give an indication if the probiotics are working. If not may have to try something stronger like Nystatin, but my concern is that its very harsh on the liver

Jason

[burdee]

jasonD2, on Aug 22 2009, 10:15 AM, said:

Hi Sue-

Thanks for the info. I'm pretty sure that constipation is not a symptom of C.Difficle...usually its profuse watery diarrhea, so it may be more of a candida issue.

My doc has me on S. Boulardi to treat the C.difficile overgrowth for now. My fear of taking an antibiotic is that it will mess things up even more and allow the candida to proliferate out of control and make my symptoms worse. Im supposed to do a follow up stool test in 2 months so that will give an indication if the probiotics are working. If not may have to try something stronger like Nystatin, but my concern is that its very harsh on the liver

Jason

Hi Jason: I know constipation is a symptom of c-diff, because I had that symptom before stool test (DNA Microbial) diagnosed me with c-diff. Since treatment with flagyl and then vancomycin, I have had no constipation for months. Also many c-diff site list that as a symptom. However, candida more commonly causes constiption

I can understand your fear of treating c-diff with antibacterial drugs. However, taking a probiotic (or S Boulardi) while taking that drug can prevent overgrowth problems. I developed c-diff after treating for nystatin for over 5 months and not taking high dose probiotics during that treatment. I'm now taking probiotics while treating for c-diff and really high dose probiotics between treatment rounds.

Nystatin is NOT absorbed into the body. It only affects the intestines. So you won't have to worry about the liver, like you would with difulcan (another antifungal drug).

My doc would not use S. Boulardi (which is also a yeast, though beneficial) to treat my c-diff, because I had a long history with candida. I wish you luck treating c-diff with that yeast and probiotics. I've read reports from some people who eliminated their c-diff with those 2 supplements. My c-diff levels were too high by the time I was tested and diagnosed. I had really obvious c-diff symptoms and needed stronger drugs.

SUE

[AliB]

Jason, don't give up the diet.

Ok, so it may not be an overnight success in terms of treating the bugs, but it does work in the long term.

By changing your diet you are changing your gut environment and making it less hospitable for them. Yes it can take a while to dispense with the little darlings but it really is a far better way to go.

Perhaps the following might explain a bit better why Candida is such an issue for those with Gluten Intolerance -

http://www.denvernat...ews/celiac.html

I have been following the Specific Carbohydrate Diet for about 18 months and gradually the external signs of my systemic Candida infestation are abating and that gives me confidence that the internal ones are too.

This, for me, is a diet for life. I have wised-up to the damage that the 'normal' Western diet is doing to everyone - those with Celiac and gluten intolerance have just one type of manifestation of the damage. Candida is a big problem for a lot of people whether they realise it or not. Any external symptoms like Athlete's foot, jock-itch, dandruff, itchy scalp, fungal nail infections, thrush, etc., are just indications that people are a walking fungus-factory!

Treatments like Nystatin and Flagyl may work in the short-term, but the problem with those is that, like antibiotics, the bugs get resistant to them and eventually they cease to work - in effect, the drugs have made the little beggars even stronger!

Take their food away from them, however, and they have nowhere to go but down.

Apparently both Candida Albicans and Clostridium Difficile are normal inhabitants of the bowel - it is only when they get out of control that they become pathogenic. The high-carbohydrate, high-sugar 'Western' diet feeds them. Probiotics can help but only if the diet includes plenty of good wholesome vegetables and particularly raw ones.

After 18 months I rarely now get bloated and if my elimination gets a bit 'retarded' I make sure I am drinking enough and pop a magnesium tablet. I find coconut oil very good too - it helps 'lubricate' things and also contains caprylic and lauric acid, both of which are powerful antifungals.

[jasonD2]

Ok but still...what do i do about the constipation? Again These probiotics are essential for my recovery but they back me up pretty badly. Even if I take natural calm at the same time I dont have good BM's. If i take oxypowder then i'm fine, but i really dont know if its safe to take long term

[jasonD2]

if i eliminate this alleged candida problem will all my sensitivities and constipation disappear? maybe not the gluten and thats fine, but will i get any type of relief or am i just wasting my time?

[FMcGee]

jasonD2, on Aug 31 2009, 05:09 PM, said:

if i eliminate this alleged candida problem will all my sensitivities and constipation disappear? maybe not the gluten and thats fine, but will i get any type of relief or am i just wasting my time?

Well, according to medical science, you're wasting your time. Medicine has shown that there's no such thing as "leaky gut" and that "candida overgrowth" isn't really a problem that causes the symptoms some homeopathic practitioners have ascribed to it. I don't want to get tons of rocks thrown at me, but... I tend to side with medical science on this one. I'm a generally pro-science person.

[jasonD2]

Well medical science doesn't have all the answers unfortunately. Years ago MDs laughed at probiotics and now they are recommending them to their patients (the more knowledgeable & open docs anyway) so im sure someday the candida thing will float into the mainstream as well...to me it makes sense and everything else has failed, so I have to go with this for now. For a normal healthy person candida shouldnt be an issue, but if you are on antibiotics and had severe digestive trauma then it makes sense that the microbial ecology can be altered and allow the overgrowth of bad bugs. U know lotsa mainstream docs wont even test for celiac if you dont show the hallmark symptoms. bottom line, MDs are ignorant and prescribe the quick fix and collect their 6 figure paycheck and call it a day.