Hello all,
So, I was told by several people that symptoms I've been having like excessive breakouts on my forehead, headaches, super intense sugar and bread cravings and stomach and intestinal issues were indicative of candida. I decided at a young age to be a vegetarian, but I didn't know anything about nutrition so basically all I ate was bread until my mom made me eat something healthier - but, as much as I could get away with it, bread was my main food (ack!) I just started with hcrv one month ago and I've been feeling wonderful, except my skin is still freaking out and my bread and sugar cravings have become outrageous. I'm sure it will take some time for me to fully detox, but I had been vegan and gluten free for years prior to becoming hcrv, so I expected a smoother transition. My skin is now the absolute worst it has ever been and after being told again that I should do a candida cleanse, I finally decided to do it.
So I bought a candida cleanse kit suggested highly by a friend and I started using it today. WOW. I feel AWFUL. I haven't even finished a full day - is this normal? I feel stuff churning in my large intestine, for sure, and today in class I thought I might pass out because it felt like someone was scrubbing my descending colon with a brillo pad (really painful feeling). Before class I had a 15-date datorade for breakfast and 3 bananas, and 3 apples and about a pint of raspberries for lunch (I usually eat more for lunch but I just wasn't feeling well). I expect to experience detox and I know that's not always pleasant. The cleanse had said that mild symptoms like intestinal upset and headaches are normal, but this was quite painful.
I got home, had a BM and then ate a huge salad with pea shoots and romaine, a few tablespoons of sesame seeds, a tomato, cilantro and raw fermented cabbage and now I feel quite a bit better. I read the instructions that came with the kit so that's why I decided to implement some fermented food although I normally avoid it. I'm wondering if I'm feeling so crappy because I'm not following the kit's suggested diet.
Here are the key components of the cleanse kit:
The vegetable capsules have :uva ursi extract leaf, garlic bulb, caprylic acid, grapefruit extract seed, pad d'arco extract root and bark, undecylenic acid, barberry extract root, neem extract leaf, olive leaf, berberine sulfate. The tincture has: oregano leaf, orange peel, oregon grape root, pau d'arco root bark, cinnamon bark, clove bud, peppermint leaf.
Here are "good" food options it suggests:
-8-10 glasses purified water per day
-fresh veggies
-green veggie juices (can use a granny smith apple for sweetener if needed)
-all fish except shellfish
-free-range or organic chicken and turkey, eggs
-lemons, limes, fresh cranberries, granny smith apples
-well-cooked grains: brown or wild rice, millet, buckwheat, amaranth, quinoa, spelt, teff
-pasta made from any of the above recommended grains
-beans and lentils
-raw fermented foods
-essential fatty acids such as those in flax oil and olive oil
-plain unsweetened yogurt
-unsweetened soy, rice or almond milk
-raw almonds and seeds, raw almond butter
-herbal teas such as chamomile or peppermint
-natural sweetener such as stevia
Of course I'm not going to eat any meat, fish, dairy or glutinous grains as I'm gluten intolerant and vegan, so I was put off by some of these suggestions. (I wasn't able to see these suggestions until after I'd opened the package, otherwise I may not have bought it).
And here are "bad" food options it suggests I stay away from:
-sugar: sucrose, fructose, maltose, lactose, glucose, mannitol, sorbitol, galactose, maple syrup, brown, raw, and date sugar, honey and artificial sweeteners
-wheat and yeast
-alcohol, soda, coffee, ciders
-condiments, sauces and vinegar products
-dried or candied fruits such as raisins or dates
-processed fermented foods such as soy sauce
-fruit juices
-all fruits except those listed above
-dairy and cheese
-mushrooms
-peanuts
I'm wondering if anyone has done a candida cleanse such as this from a kit while on lfhcrv? It's telling me to avoid pretty much all of the foods that I normally eat and to ea, lots of vegetables (which I am happy to do), cooked foods, and other foods that I would never eat like meat, glutinous grains and dairy. I thought I might be able to get by just eating big veggie salads and make it sort of a fast, too, since I wouldn't be able to get enough calories from that, but I'm not sure if that is a good idea. I hate granny smith apples, otherwise I might think of that as an option too. Does this sound safe?
Does anyone have suggestions as to whether I should continue this cleanse kit and what I should be eating to accompany it if I do? I really don't want to go back to cooked foods like rice but I want to get rid of this candida problem and based on what I've felt already today it seems to be doing something. I'm not sure if it's good or bad or too early to tell.
Permalink Reply by PK on @Bridget,
This diet is the easiest diet in the world:
LOW FAT RAW FRUITS AND LEAFY GREENS LIKE ROMAIN LETTUCE!
That it no complications. No candida. No cooking. The fastest fast food on earth.
****
Candida in the bloodstream is a good thing and a life saving mechanism. What makes it go out of control? Eating fats. When fats are consumed, blood lipids and blood fats increase sludging up the blood and lymphatic system preventing cells from absorbing carbs, calories, and nutrients. This causes blood sugars to rise, and then candida blooms as a life saving mechanism to eat the blood sugar. Think of candida as pre pre diabetes.
The good news is that when you stop consuming fats, within 48 hours the blood stream clears up, and so does the candida. It may take a few weeks and or months for acne and other open wounds to heal, but usually within three months, our members have clear skin.
You can read more about this in the 80 10 10 book by Dr. Graham
http://foodnsport.com/shop/books/the-80-10-10-diet.php
You should also keep in mind that you may or may not have candida. Sometimes, a good salesperson will convince you you have a problem that you did not know you had and sell you the solution. They scare you into thinking you have candida and then sell you a tablet.
I also noticed that some of the recommendations for you to eat will keep a perpetual candida problem going so they make more money. Fish and nuts are high fat.
***
Now it is possible that your body is just toxic, perhaps from eating processed and cooked foods.
I challenge you to try this diet for a few months and see what happens. For optimum results, I recommend you read our Banana Welcome Wagon. This explains why we do not transition here, we just do it, and how cheating with cooked foods can make one feel sick.
http://www.30bananasaday.com/profiles/blogs/30bad-banana-wagon-tour
We also avoid things like teas, coffees, medications, drugs, alchohol, garlic, and spices. This website will take a few days to get through, but is very informative and worth the effort:
http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/sitemap.html
Good luck and Peace, PK
Permalink Reply by Bridgette on Thank you PK! I did do the banana welcome wagon a month ago when I started but I couldn't remember anything about kits such as this. I am totally high carb low fat raw vegan now and have been for a month - I didn't try to transition at all, I just went right into it. But, my acne problem exacerbated and my other symptoms did not seem to lessen much. I feel much more energy and have lost a bit of weight, but I still feel like something else is going on. I do expect a detox period and perhaps I am still just in that, but I'm not sure how to tell the difference.
As for the fat, are you saying that I should omit fat completely? I never consume more than 10% per day as instructed by 80/10/10, but do you think I should be having none, or just the little bit that comes from some greens naturally?
I haven't had a chance to finish the 80/10/10 book because I'm finishing up my master's degree as we speak, but I did not want that to stop me from becoming raw right away. I watched Freelee and DR's videos and did the tour and read into the book as much as I could and decided to go for it. In a week I will finally be free to read the book and do lots more research. Do you think I should have waited? I don't think I am doing it improperly (except for the past day with this weird cleanse kit I got) but I do think I could benefit from knowing a lot more about it.
Permalink Reply by PK on @Bridgette,
Thanks for sharing. I was not sure of your history and or how much of that candida advice you were following.
In that case, you probably are just detoxing, and many of us went through a few weeks of that at the beginning. For some people, it can take about three months for better skin.
Good luck on getting that master's degree.
If you own the 811 book, then I will give your the page number with the candida discussion:
pg. 37-39
***
BTW, when you get free time, and you are done with the 811 book, I think you will really enjoy the rawfood explained site too. Good summer read. It is a lot to digest though. I had to just read and ponder over one section a day. But a life changer.
***
Another thing I recommend is to avoid using soaps and cosmetics. These too can clog pores and delay the detox process. Neither can toxins get out of the skin, and things are actually being added to the mix.
***
Drink till you float. Up to a 3/4 to 1 gallon of water a day. My niece who is a SAD eater cleared up her acne just my reducing her salt and increasing her water. Lost some weight too.
***
10% fat is ok. Going overt fat free is your choice. I actually feel more mental clarity overt fat free, but people have to experiment with what works for them.
***
One more thought here...detox could take a few weeks or even months, but will happen. Now again, I am not sure of all of your goals and history, but for some people to reach complete healing, and to achieve all of their weight and fitness goals, it can take up to two years. For some of us, it took a lifetime and or decades of abuse, and one cannot expect to fix it in a few days or even a few weeks. But for most long termers, it will happen.
Keep looking and Freelee and doing what she is doing, and eventually, you will become that too.
Good luck and peace, PK
Permalink Reply by Bridgette on Thank you PK. I will definitely read those pages. I've just skipped around in it a bit and actually haven't picked it up in weeks because of all of my final projects going on. I've stopped using soap and I tried to stop using cosmetics, but I've become so self-conscious that I started using some light powder over the bad areas again. (I mentioned this in a comment below, but I think that my face also is getting used to not using those terrible chemicals I had been using on it before). I definitely need to drink more water. Thank you for emphasizing that. I'm pretty good when I'm at home but when I'm at school or work I tend to forget. I need to get better about that, no more excuses.
I guess I had wishful thinking that I would be one of those ones who only detoxed for a few weeks, but I was, admittedly, a serious junk-food vegan for years and I know I must have a lot of junk to get rid of. Thank you for the advice and the reassurance! I don't mean to sound like a sap, but I'm so grateful for this community!
Permalink Reply by PK on BTW, I meant to tell you stop the cleansing kit, and discard all previous instructions you have been given.
Peace, PK
Permalink Reply by Peter Csere on Get rid of the cleanse kit, throw it in the trash. The capsule contains many neurotoxins. I don't understand why iit is cleansing your colon; candida is in your blood. The brillo pad feeling is not good. It means your colon is being damaged. People call psyllium husk a "GI Broom" but it is really a "G.I. roll of barbed wire." The colon is really good at cleaning itself provided you eat fruit and greens and defecate in the squatting position.
Fermented food is rotten food, it will not help with your candida or anything else.
Notice how the kit says to avoid fruit?
There is a fundamental misunderstanding that many people have of Candida. Sometimes this misunderstanding is essential to their income, for instance, people who sell "candida cleanse kits." You do not need to do a "candida cleanse" to get rid of it. Candida is a beneficial bacteria. You NEED it. It is supposed to be in a symbiotic relationship with your body; its function is to feed on excessive blood sugar to control spikes. People who sustain a high-fat diet cause the candida to function as a parasite since blood sugar is artificially and chronically elevated by high blood lipid levels. Candida has a feast and multiplies. It is impossible to ever get rid of candida, it will always be there unless you take a lethal dose of antibiotics. The idea is to eat a low-fat diet and let it be a symbiote and not a parasite. The list of allowed and disallowed foods is really complicated and confusing. there are high-fat foods on the allowed list, and those are guaranteed to cause candida flare-ups.
Cut out all overt fats (seeds, nuts, avocados) for a month and all of your problems will go away. By the way, your cravings for sugar and bread are not symptoms of candida, they are symptoms of being undercarbed. Doesn't matter how many carbs you "think" you need - if you're having cravings, it's not enough. Please note that "candida diets" are by and large low-carb diets - the cravings are symptoms of the low-carb nature of the diet, not of the candida. You cannot "starve" candida away. Any time you are not getting enough carbs you will have cravings for calorie-dense foods.
Please note that many HCRVers experience acne breakouts as an initial detox symptom. I broke out for a month then it went away.
Read the "80/10/10 diet" book and the threads in the welcome wagon - especially the materials/ingredients list which includes the types of substances that are in the pill/tincture. See also http://www.rawfoodexplained.com/why-herbs-should-not-be-used/questi... and the following article. That is the generally philosophy taken here towards "cleanses," pills, powders, colonics, and coffee enemas, and other things that David Wolfe and Dr. David "I kill animals for glandular extracts" Morse have been known to sell.
Permalink Reply by Peter Csere on lolol. just do +10 next time and they'll carry over to the next posts
Permalink Reply by Yogaranka on Permalink Reply by PK on Thank you for your kind words yogaranka:D I definitely concur regarding Peter. He has a very eloquent way of saying things.
Peace, PK
Permalink Reply by Bridgette on Thank you so much! I asked my yoga instructor friend who is a "Holistic Health Counselor" about all of this and she is the one who recommended the kit. It's difficult being in this yoga community as many of the practitioners have very strong opinions about what to do to be healthy (ayurveda, etc) and she was adamant that I must do this cleanse. None of them believe that this hcrv is a healthy way to go, but I like it and I'm sticking with it and as I learn more I will be more prepared to answer their questions.
It definitely felt wrong when I had that brillo pad feeling, and I knew you guys on here would have information for me!
I definitely expected the breakouts, like I said, but I was already having them so I'm not sure how to tell if these are just my normal breakouts or if it's detox or something else. I also stopped using all of the chemical acne products I was previously using and now just use water on my face, so my face could be detoxing from that as well.
I will try cutting out all overt fats for sure. Maybe that is the key to what is going on. We will see!
Thank you so much.
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