My Journey to Wellness - Candida....Not Candy! (Part 1)

When I chat about Candida with most people they have no idea what it is and actually believe it is related to Candy.....not quite.

I am always asked how and when I was introduced to my “wellness” way of living and I am always happy to share my story to people who are interested! My goal is to provide my story and passion and help as many people that want to participate and listen.

Seven years ago at the age of 21 I decided I was tired of being lethargic, sick, unmotivated and living with a stomach ache 24/7! Of course at the time I was not eating the best as I had just moved out of my family’s house and was living on KD and chocolate bars. This was my first time breaking away from the homemade meals my mom was making for us all the time. I thought it was fine if I wanted to live off of premade / packaged items. Even through my teens I lived off pop, chips and chocolate and I wondered why I always felt under the weather!? Surprisingly I was not that overweight for as bad as my lifestyle and eating habits were, but I did have a few areas of concern that we will get to later.

A family member told me she went and saw a blood analyst and told me I should go. I made the appointment right away and I could feel this is what was going to start the road to my wellness and health.

My very first appointment at the blood analyst was eye so opening! She let me know that I was a type A blood type and the reason I was feeling so sick and lethargic was because my blood cells were all shriveled, weak and moving slugishly through my body. She put the drop of blood she took from my finger under the microscope and showed me on a screen. It was amazing to see how sad my cells looked! She asked if I craved sugar often and I told her the truth….."I could eat mars bars for breakfast" I said. She told me I had a Candida problem and I needed to clear it up fast! The parasites that had formed from the Candida were the ones that were craving the sugar and they needed it to live. I was so grossed out I told her “Tell me what I need to do and I will do it now!”

For those of you who are wondering what Candida is you can find the full explanation here. Candida albicans basically is a yeast overgrowth or fungus that lives in the intestines when the good bacteria or flora in the gut has been lost. The fungus or parasites reproduce and they crave the sugar to live! You can loose the good bacteria in your gut easily by taking antibiotics! For me growing up I was a sicko and was always on some form of medication and antibiotics.

Just and FYI – if you must take antibiotics please take your Probiotics with or right after the antibiotics are completed as the Probiotics will restore the healthy bacteria and keep your insides thanking you!

How do you know if you have a Candida issue? You can do this at home test first thing in the morning! It will let you know if you have a Candida Infection - http://www.candidasite.com/saliva-test.php

Once you have Candida albicans it really can cause some havoc on your system! Symptoms of Candida are (there are many more but I didn’t want my list to be super long!):

abdominal gas
headaches
migraines
excessive fatigue
cravings for alcohol
anxiety
cravings for sweets
inability to think clearly or concentrate
hyperactivity
mood swings
diarrhea
constipation
acne
eczema
depression
sinus inflammation
pre-menstrual syndrome
dizziness
muscle weakness

I was placed on a 3 week strict diet to treat my Candida issue. I ran out and got the Eat Right 4 Your Type book and followed exactly what the book said for a Type A diet.

For these 3 weeks I HAD to eliminate all sugars completely and this also meant fruit. The first couple days were extremely hard as I found everything I had been eating had some form of sugar in it. I learned how to read ingredients very quickly!

It is crazy how much sugar the average person consumes daily without knowing it! Most people think that just because they did not eat a chocolate bar today that they didn’t have any sugar. Do you know how much sugar you intake daily? Read the box of cereal you eat in the morning, or any packaged crackers and protein bars. It is interesting!

We will talk all about sugar on a later post! Back to getting rid of the parasites – Day 2 of my diet I felt amazing and I decided I would go for a walk to the grocery store which was about 20 minutes away from my apartment (I never exercised so this was a big deal to me!) I loved it so much and had so much energy I walked there and to work everyday! Until I did this changed my lifestyle and diet I started feeling motivated and ready to excersise. My body felt great and the diet change eliminated the strange fat “pockets” that lived on my thighs and waist. I am so thankful for changing my diet and sticking to it because this is what changed my body, health, eating habits and my thinking.

I went back to the blood analyst after the 3 weeks and she showed me my cells again. They were plump and happy looking moving at high speeds! The reason she said that I lost the fat “pockets” was because I was eating exactly what my body needed. When people eat the packaged foods or a diet for a different blood type than you are you store toxins which are just the parts of the food your body can’t digest! SICK, I know!

My 3 Week Candida Cleanse Diet:

Breakfast: Oatmeal with cinnamon, or 2 pieces of gluten free bread (I made almond bread) with almond butter. Warm Lemon Water.

Snack: Celery with almond butter, carrots or cucumbers, Pinto bean hummus.

Lunch: Salad with salmon or beans.

Dinner: Veggie stir fry with Brown Rice, Salmon & veggies, Quinoa and Veggies, Pinto Beans with Brown Rice and Veggies.

Snack: Natural tortilla chips, Rice Cakes with Almond Butter, Amaranth Chips

I found so many wonderful recipes for the blood type diet here

I would love to hear from others how they got started on their wellness journey or if you have any other Candida tips and suggestions.

Warmest Wishes,

Kris

image courtesy of google images