Do you have candida? Let’s talk about it! I have had many questions coming into my Facebook page about it.
For those who don’t know, candida is a fungal infection with a wide-range of symptoms ranging from:
- Digestive issues (constipation, gas, bloating, abdominal pain, slow digestion, food allergies, etc.)
- Mood challenges (depression, irritability)
- Memory issues (poor memory, brain fog)
- Fatigue
- Skin symptoms (acne, rash, falling hair, itchy scalp)
Many people are asking what they can do. This is a delicate balance. For almost 8 years, I chased after “bugs” — candida yeast, bacteria, parasites — you name it, I tried it to heal my digestive system. While each step I took helped a bit, nothing really fully worked until I started balancing my vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
Chasing Bugs is Not the Answer
I have come to the conclusion that chasing “bugs” (bad bacteria and yeast) is not the answer. Instead, the answer is balance. Top of the list for what truly helped me is mineral balancing. Focusing on mineral balance and vitamin balance, particularly B vitamins, vitamin A and vitamin C.
The Easiest Place to Start?
Here are 4 Easy Steps For You to Take
1. Remove sugar and processed foods
If this is difficult for you because you love food, please check out my recipes. You can use these to replace the foods you love with delicious options.
2. Choose a diet that works for YOUR body
As you change your diet, depending upon where you are in your health journey, you may not need to give up all sweet foods. I started by giving up all fruit and sweets (this is what you follow for diets like Body Ecology and The Yeast Connection Diet). That did not work as well for me personally as giving up all grains and starches (Paleo, GAPS/SCD diets and diets designed to resolve Small Intestine Bacterial Overgrowth, SIBO). Grains and starches are hard for the small intestine to digest. I found that giving these up gave me way more relief than giving up fruits and honey.
Listen to your body and your inner voice in choosing a diet and modifying it to fit YOUR needs. Your body will tell you more than anyone else can tell you. It will give you feedback. Keep a food journal as a way to listen to symptoms.
Follow your chosen diet while working on the root cause of imbalance.
3. Testing
One test to consider is the Hair Mineral Test (HTMA) to assess mineral balance (also gives clues on thyroid, adrenals, energy, moods). You can get the test and a 1-hour phone consultation with Morley Robbins here (as long as you don’t live in NY state) – this was one of the most helpful things I’ve ever done.
Organic Acids Test (OAT) – this is very helpful to assess vitamin and mineral deficiencies and how to adjust your diet and supplements to support your best health.
Methylation Pathways – Methylation is behind all of the flows in your body — hormones, moods, circulation, digestion, energy, detoxification, nervous system. This can show where you might have vitamin and mineral deficiencies, foods to stay away from, supplements to emphasize, etc. Learn more about methylation and testing.
4. Lifestyle
Where are you saying yes, when what you really want to say is NO? Where are your boundaries being overrun? What do you REALLY want in your life, that you are not giving yourself? I promise you that if you are ignoring big needs in your lifestyle, your body will start screaming until you give yourself what you need. Your body loves you and wants you to live your best life.
Work With Someone
It’s important to work with a knowledgeable professional or get into a great online or in person support group with people who love to research and are great health detectives (I bet a lot of you reading this are in that category!). Working with a doctor and/or naturopath can help you get the testing and other things you need. I also have professionals I can recommend who can help you with testing and test interpretations, so let me know if you need resources!
What other questions do you have? Let’s talk candida, SIBO or other digestive health challenges! I’m here to support you!
This article started from a conversation we had on Facebook!
Latest posts by Heather Dane (see all)
- Listening to Your Gut and Heart - April 24, 2019
- Breaking Through Resistance: Following Creative Energy - April 16, 2019
- Love Intuition: Follow the Energy to True Love - April 10, 2019