Candida effects people in different ways and it takes a long time before any signs of it may actually surface. From January this year I started to have a little ezcema under my arms which I put down to a shower gel I got for christmas. I tried treating it with E45 cream, moisturizing immediately after showers but it didn't do much, then anti-cortisone cream which worked temporarily but it still came back. As summer approached it got worse in the heat. I put it down to the material of my clothes irritating it and it not being able to heal.  I've had a bit of a belly for as long as I can remember but I just thought that's where I store my fat: genetically. I also have been known to enjoy a pint (or ten) and during travelling I drank consistently for about 4 months! So it must be a beer belly right? But it's not wobbly and fatty it's taught just bloated, like a pregnancy! A cheese baby. Foggy head and inability to concentrate I put down to hangovers or not getting enough sleep and mood swings must be hormones, right? not so. 

Candida can grow inside you through eating too much sugar, yeast and other fungus forming foods; even innocent foods such as mushrooms and grapes and it can express itself in many ways including the following:

Bloating

Gas & Digestive issues

Skin conditions: rashes, unexplained itching, hives, acne, eczema, psoriasis and scalp itching.

Irritability

Constant fatigue 

Mood Swings

Inability to concentrate

Foggy brain

It makes so much sense now and those symptoms don't seem severe to the point where most people brush it off as a temporary feeling or put it down to weight gain. The thing is, candida can weigh up to three stone inside you! It's like a hungry little monster wanting sugar and beer to feed on so that it can grow. If you try to kill it, it will fight you.

So my diet is as follows: no lactose (sugar found in dairy), no beer or wine or anything fermented including marmite which is yeast extract, stock cubes, gravy, cheese, milk, sugar - which is in EVERYTHING, bread (contains yeast) processed meats, black tea, mushrooms, nuts, tomatoes and only two pieces of fruit a day maximum.

Amazingly, in the first three days I lost half a stone. I could not believe my eyes. I checked the scales again and again but they were correct. I've chosen to eat a lot of hummous on ryvita and oat cakes for comfort and have really enjoyed the food I've been making to eat so far, the only thing I am missing is beer but I am naturally craving that as candida thrives on it! 

Eating out is a nightmare - if you find a place which offers dairy free stuff, such as a vegan restaurant, you will no doubt come across mushrooms or tomatoes so I've been busy doing a lot of preparation and it's helped that I am on a strict budget this month so I've been savvy by buying reduced packs of meat and cooking it all for the week ahead or freezing it and therefore always having something in the house to go to for when I'm peckish so that I don't give in to the forbidden fruit (literally). 

I'm on day 19 of the diet now and I was told that from day 10 the candida would start to die off and my symptoms would worsen as it fights to stay in my body, cravings would increase - tormenting me to just quit and feed it to relieve my symptoms. I am strong and have not cheated at all because I feel so good. The initial weight loss after three days was a big motivating factor, I was thinking: wow are we looking at a potential loss of a stone a week?! but then of course weight loss plateaus, as anyone who's tried to lose some before knows. 

So here are some of the meals I have been eating with the foods I am allowed, which is way more than you think when you first hear about the restrictive diet. My woman also has permitted me to drink coffee (thank you) and I can have vodka (with lime soda) and gin but slimline tonic isn't allowed as it contains chemical sugars so I guess i'd have to have it with soda water but I haven't tried that yet because it sounds rank. Gin soda and lemon could work actually. Vodka lime soda after a while (like over pride weekend) just tastes like harsh water after the soda's gone flat and the limes have lost their flavour so with such limited options it's a deterrent to drink at all.  Other candida elimination diets you read about online are super restricted - absolutely no alcohol or coffee etc so you can choose your own level, really. 

Super clean eating! it feels so good and yet when before I thought my diet was so good, now I think of all the times when I've binged on cheese or pizza when drunk or given in to the relentless treats in the office - the biscuits, chocolate, sweets, cakes and then of course all the beer and wine and fruit.... it's amazing how it creeps up on you. The symptoms are your body expressing itself so listen when it's unhappy and feed it nature. My eczema has got worse since day ten and so I'm hoping it has to get worse before it gets better and I am feeling extremely tired and run down but I will post again on my progress and you can always email me or comment below to share your experience or if you have any questions. Stay well. 

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