I Need Advice On A Few Things

[Clark Bent as Stupor-Man]

There

[NewB]

There

[Ursa Major]

Charlie, as you can see, I am intolerant to all lectins as well. I don't know if you have checked out the site I am linking to in my signature yet. It's a good one to read through.

Egg is one lectin you didn't list.

I believe that cashews belong to the legume family, and are therefore not okay for you (I definitely react to them).

If you can still eat most fruits, you can eat a lot more variety than me. I can only eat peeled pears and the occasional peeled golden delicious apple, all other fruits will cause terrible pain by the next day (I'll feel like I am on fire), due to high salicylate content.

Have you tried baking/making pancakes with buckwheat flour? I found that I reacted to the dark variety, plus I hated those little black pieces getting stuck in my teeth.

Coconut oil (non-hydrogenated, cold pressed) is extremely healthy as well as heat stable. It is a saturated fat, and will help in maintaining your weight. You can't use it for salads, as it won't be completely liquid unless it is very warm (as in being a scorcher).

I get most of my carbs from vegetables, as I don't tolerate any starches very well, and only bake for an occasional treat. I am afraid you will just have to keep cooking for every meal. I have to do the same thing. I know it is a pain, but that's just the way it is.

Two of my snacks are sesame snaps (I just see those are out for you) and hazelnuts. And I'm a sucker for dark chocolate, even though I know that I probably shouldn't eat it. Really, most of the time I cook a stir fry in the morning, and just graze on it all day, whenever I get hungry. And I eat a pear in between once a day. Once in a while I'll have a banana, but find that if I eat those more often than once or twice a week I'll have a reaction.

If I am too tired to cook, I will just eat a green salad with a can of tuna mixed in. That is my idea of 'fast food'. I have to make my own salad dressing, but it's quick and easy. I squeeze out the juice of one lime, mix it with cold-pressed sunflower oil (the only oil I can have), sea salt and maple syrup, and pour it over my salad.

I haven't lost any weight in a year (after losing initially 20 pounds), because I don't have the adrenal and thyroid problems solved yet. Burned out adrenals and low thyroid are both reasons for being unable to lose weight. So, I don't know what this diet will do to you. But as long as you get enough protein and fat you shouldn't lose weight. Vegetables really supply you with all the carbs you need.

[diamondheart]

1.) There were 8 foods I had purposely not eaten since early last year due to positive tests (cheese, cow

[Guest cassidy]

I went through the whole candida thing. I started on the diet and took an antifungal. I lost tons of weight to the point where everyone thought I was anorexic and I couldn't fit into any of my clothes. Around the same time my mother, who also has celiac, decided that she probably had a problem with candida as well. She ordered Threelac online and started taking that. She got better so much faster than I did. About 2 months later I stopped the antifungal (I had already stopped the diet) and started on the Threelac. A couple of weeks later I was feeling great and I have had a problem since.

I would highly recommend the Threelac if it doesn't contain anything that you are allergic to. I also took digestive enzymes and probiotics at the same time.

I did find a gum that doesn't have any artificial sweeteners or gluten in it. It is actually made to fight bad breath so I was thinking that it might be a good thing to chew on during the whole candida thing anyway. I found it in the toothpaste aisle of the grocery store. It is expensive but I chew 1/2 piece just whenever I want gum. It is called Therabreath. If you google it you can find the website.

At least you are getting some duplicate results on the testing. I don't have any other good advice other than to let you know that when I elilminated everything that I felt that I had a problem with - all my gi symptoms went away. I don't have any of my old problems including no gas ever, so if you are still having issues you may need to eliminate entire families until you feel much better.

[Clark Bent as Stupor-Man]

I would think that after a year of eliminating foods that you would no longer be producing antibodies to them. Therefore, I would be looking at cross contamination or hidden sources of these foods. You have leaky gut for sure.

I was somewhat surprised to see reactions to all those foods I had purposely been avoiding but I'm very careful in avoiding cross contamination and whatnot. I find it highly unlikely that I could have gotten enough cc or some hidden source of all those foods (eggs, dairy, and gluten) to produce enough antibodies to test reactive. There were other foods like mushrooms that I haven't eaten at all for a year either (I haven't eaten mushrooms for years outside of incidentally eating them in Chinese food, which I haven't eaten since going gluten-free), and yet I still tested +2 to them.

The only grain I saw that you were intolerant to besides the gluten grains is quinoa. Quinoa has a soap-like substance that coats it's grains. It might be that you are intolerant to that. I'm not sure about all the lectin information. It may work for some people, but I really don't think it's natural for people to be cutting out many different types of foods. I personally think it has more to do with leaky gut syndrome and intestinal pathogens.

I don't necessarily disagree with your assessment. The thing is, it's not much extra at all for me to cut out lectins for the next month or 2 as the only additional changes I think I would have to make are cutting out buckwheat and amaranth. Going by the Immunolabs regiment, they recommend cutting out all families in which you reacted to 2+ members to start the diet. I've already cut out gluten and dairy and will be cutting out nightshades and legumes due to a high # of reactions in those families. That leaves the grain/grass family as the only disputable one. I clearly reacted to a number of foods in those families but most of them are related to gluten (barley, oats, wheat, and rye). Quinoa was the exception (as was cane sugar though that could be tied into the candida). Rice and corn are in the grain/grass family and should probably be eliminated for now if I follow the Immunolabs regiment, and I'm likely going to cut them out for the next few weeks. Amaranth and buckwheat aren't part of the grain or grass family, but I'll likely cut them out anyway and can try adding them back in a few weeks.

Do you keep a food dairy?

I've kept food diaries (I wish I could keep my food dairy ) in the past but mostly to no avail. I'll probably keep one again when I start this diet.

I think you should be working with a trained health care practitioner instead of self-medicating, IMHO. You could have multiple things going on. I think with candida, you also need to rotate the anti-fungals, but not sure.

I was going to a nutritionist for a while last year. I might try and find another nutritionist or consult with her again.

At one point, I was not eating any of the gluten grains, quinoa, soy, dairy, corn, and most nuts and seeds. That was a hard diet to follow and I don't think it's natural. If I was intolerant to all lectins, why didn't I have problems as a kid? The first thing I was ever intolerant to was gluten, and it went downhill from there. I don't have celiac disease, but celiac disease can lead to leaky gut syndrome. I never totally cut out gluten when I first found out I was intolerant to it, I just cut down my consumption a lot. Perhaps that was a contributing factor to my problems, in addition to bacterial dysbiosis that I have. You might try finding an alternative doctor who specializes in leaky gut syndrome. Most mainstream doctors don't know what it is, and if they do know what it is, they don't know how to treat it. I'm working with an acupuncturist.

I'm also inclined to believe I'm not intolerant to most (or at least many) of the foods I've tested reactive to. I think there is some underlying systemic inbalance/damage that is causing the positive tests and symptoms. Either way, I am going to eliminate these foods for now and take it from there, hoping to restore my system and then add back foods as I find I am able to. I've tried 3 different nutritionist type doctors in the past but haven't had much success going through them. There is a well-respected doctor that is also into homeopathy (somewhat rare to be respected by those in the medical profession and still strongly believe in homeopathic treatments) that my sister has gone to in the past but I don't know if I can afford to go to her. I'll check into that again though.

[Nancym]

1.) Do I have to avoid all grains, specifically amaranth, due to lectins? I didn’t see amaranth listed in a few sources I looked at.

Lots of things called "grains" really aren't. They're only grains if they're from grass plants (rice, corn, wheat). Otherwise they're seeds. I think amaranth is a seed. Still, no idea about lectins.

2.) What can I eat for carbohydrates? Or is my diet for the foreseeable future going to consist of just meats, fish, vegetables, and fruits for the most part? I can have sweet potato, though I’m pretty sure that’s eliminated during the induction part of candida diets, which I am going to also concurrently go on (for the most part) during my elimination diet.

Fruits and vegetables contain carbohydrates. You don't need to eat starchy foods like grains to be perfectly healthy. If you're worried about weightloss I'd eat more fatty foods and things like dates, figs, etc.

3.) What can I eat that I don’t have to cook? I’ve been cooking nearly every day for the past year, making enough for multiple meals each time I cook, but I’d still be able to eat a can of chicken chili, tuna fish, or some premade, already cooked food like turkey/pork kielbasa or ham from Welshire farms in addition to snacks like organic food bars, almond butter, nuts and seeds, etc. I’ll lose nearly all of these options when I go on this diet for at least the next month or 2, and I could really use some ideas for foods, preferably somewhat substantial with protein as I'm also hypoglycemic.

I eat salads with canned salmon or frozen, precooked chicken breast and nuts. I bet if you cut out the starches you'll have better control of your hypglycemia.

4.) Should I still eat cashews if I tested reactive to almonds, peanuts, and walnuts? I believe all of these nuts are from different families, but I don’t know if there is some commonality among these nuts to which I may be reacting to.

You should test them, they're not nuts, they're "drupes".

6.) In relation to number 5, what can I eat/drink to help sustain or gain weight? I’ve heard coconut recommended (either coconut oil or coconut milk, I can’t remember). Any ideas?

Avocado, nuts, nut-butters, seeds, fruit, coconut would be good, the full fat coconut millk has lots of fat in it. After you're done with the candida diet add fruits like dates, figs, and ones with lots of sugar. I make curries out of coconut milk.

Lastly, any general ideas and/or advice from those of you who have gone down a road similar to this?

You might want to look into Loren Cordain's Paleo diet, it is very similar to what it looks like you can eat. And you can thank your stars you're not an Eskimo and have to live on things like raw whale blubber, seal liver and fish most of the year.

I think I have some mini-intolerances. Things that kind of gripe my intestines but only if I eat too much of them. So I keep them in the diet and just try to restrict the amount I use. Like sunflower seeds.

[Clark Bent as Stupor-Man]

I went through the whole candida thing. I started on the diet and took an antifungal. I lost tons of weight to the point where everyone thought I was anorexic and I couldn't fit into any of my clothes. Around the same time my mother, who also has celiac, decided that she probably had a problem with candida as well. She ordered Threelac online and started taking that. She got better so much faster than I did. About 2 months later I stopped the antifungal (I had already stopped the diet) and started on the Threelac. A couple of weeks later I was feeling great and I have had a problem since.

I would highly recommend the Threelac if it doesn't contain anything that you are allergic to. I also took digestive enzymes and probiotics at the same time.

I did find a gum that doesn't have any artificial sweeteners or gluten in it. It is actually made to fight bad breath so I was thinking that it might be a good thing to chew on during the whole candida thing anyway. I found it in the toothpaste aisle of the grocery store. It is expensive but I chew 1/2 piece just whenever I want gum. It is called Therabreath. If you google it you can find the website.

At least you are getting some duplicate results on the testing. I don't have any other good advice other than to let you know that when I elilminated everything that I felt that I had a problem with - all my gi symptoms went away. I don't have any of my old problems including no gas ever, so if you are still having issues you may need to eliminate entire families until you feel much better.

I've heard good things in the past about threelac from a few people on this board (you probably being one)... I am going to try caprylic acid first as it is a milder antifungal and one my mother had success with years ago when she went on a candida diet... after my experiences with SF722, I'm hesitant to try any antifungal (stronger than caprylic acid) like threelac but I might try it after the caprylic acid depending on how things go

I checked out some website with all this info about therabreath.. extensive amount of information just for a pack of gum, huh? you didn't change your toothpaste and whatnot, you just chew the gum sometimes, right? I came across something while skimming a FAQ about chewing the gum with certain toothpastes but I'm assuming it's just a recommended/marketing angle

[Guest cassidy]

I've heard good things in the past about threelac from a few people on this board (you probably being one)... I am going to try caprylic acid first as it is a milder antifungal and one my mother had success with years ago when she went on a candida diet... after my experiences with SF722, I'm hesitant to try any antifungal (stronger than caprylic acid) like threelac but I might try it after the caprylic acid depending on how things go

I checked out some website with all this info about therabreath.. extensive amount of information just for a pack of gum, huh? you didn't change your toothpaste and whatnot, you just chew the gum sometimes, right? I came across something while skimming a FAQ about chewing the gum with certain toothpastes but I'm assuming it's just a recommended/marketing angle

I just found the gum website yesterday when I was trying to think of the name of the gum. I haven't actually looked at it. I just found the gum in the store and was happy that it met my requirements. I do think I had thrush a little bit and the gum did help with that, but I really just use it as a safe gum to chew. If you like the gum I guess you could try their other products, but I'm sure it is a bunch of marketing.

Threelac is a probiotic not an antifungal. It is just made up of a ton of good bacteria. I'm sure you have done your research and you should do what you think is best, but I didn't consider the Threelac strong. My mother can't tolerate much of anything including most medicines and she was able to take several packs a day of it and it only made her feel good. At least you have a back up plan if the other thing doesn't work. I would recommend being on some sort of probiotic regardless of what else you are doing for the candida. I know you can't have dairy but I drink kefir everyday and I have been doing great. I also take digestive enzymes which have a little probiotics in them. If I get a stomach ache or have any gi issues, they really help as well.

Good luck kicking this thing! I just wonder how many other people who think they are healthy or wonder why they have random symptoms have this stuff. Especially with the widespread use of antibiotics, I think a lot of people probably have it and have no clue.

[Clark Bent as Stupor-Man]

Threelac is a probiotic not an antifungal. It is just made up of a ton of good bacteria. I'm sure you have done your research and you should do what you think is best, but I didn't consider the Threelac strong. My mother can't tolerate much of anything including most medicines and she was able to take several packs a day of it and it only made her feel good. At least you have a back up plan if the other thing doesn't work. I would recommend being on some sort of probiotic regardless of what else you are doing for the candida. I know you can't have dairy but I drink kefir everyday and I have been doing great. I also take digestive enzymes which have a little probiotics in them. If I get a stomach ache or have any gi issues, they really help as well.

Good luck kicking this thing! I just wonder how many other people who think they are healthy or wonder why they have random symptoms have this stuff. Especially with the widespread use of antibiotics, I think a lot of people probably have it and have no clue.

Threelac is just a probiotic? Guess I'll have to check out some info on it because I was under the impression it was an antifungal... surprised it really helps that much simply being a probiotic but that eases my concerns about it as I don't want to take any strong antifungals...

as for taking probiotics/dig. enzymes, etc. I started taking a probiotic and vitamins again this week... I've cycled on and off them at times throughout the past year as I couldn't pinpoint everything I was reacting to and was weary of just about everything at different times... I'm still not sure how my body handles vitamins and supplements but I'm giving them another try and plan to keep taking my probiotic when I start taking caprylic acid... I have digestive enzymes I took in the past as well and might consider taking them again..

a lot of people probably do have some level of candida (for better or worse, I think one of my doctors mentioned that having candida is normal or that nothing's wrong with having candida)... I went away from focusing on candida after taking the antifungal last summer but after seeing the strong reactions to the 2 yeasts and fungus foods on my test results, I've shifted my attention back to it... just hoping my efforts this time will be more successful.. figuring out this whole food thing is lots of fun, huh... it's funny cause when I went on an elimination diet in Dec. of 2005, the nutritionist I was going to at the time was saying how it's just a week and then you can start adding foods back in... I knew my body better than that and sure enough, over a year later, I'm still on an elimination diet...