As I speak with some patients and friends and I tell them that I am doing a candida (yeast) cleanse, many are interested and want to know how to do it and why.
Whether you are female or male candida can build up in your entire body causing a slew of problems. If you suffer from fatigue, foggy thinking, sugar cravings, alcohol cravings, bread cravings, skin problems (ie: acne, eczema, fungus, psoriasis), yeast infections, joint pain, gas, bloating, depression, constipation, diarrhea, weight gain, trouble losing weight, then this cleanse would be great for you. It is only for ten days and about half way through you really can start to feel the difference, especially with increased energy, mental clarity and focus. Your skin will look amazing. Most will lose 5-10 pounds if there is extra weight, which is a plus for some.
Once your ten days are up you can do some self research. Continue eating this way and every couple of days pick a food that you could not eat in the first ten days and eat it. Keep track of how the food affected you. After, go back to the diet for a few days then try another food. You want to be able to know exactly which food is doing what, so one at at time. Many will find that they have somewhat of an allergy or intolerance to things like dairy, wheat or gluten. You may even find this true for all of the above. With that knowledge, you can choose whether you want to continue eating those items, and if so, how often. I think most of you will find that you will change your eating habits and will feel great!
Below are the foods that you can eat and the ones you can not eat. There are many different ways to do this cleanse. I think this one works best. Let me know if you have any questions and if you try it, let me know how it went!
NOTE: You can eat as much of the foods that are allowed...and yes, you will still lose weight! Drink plenty of water so your body can easily out the toxins. Some may feel flu-like symptoms. I didn't, but if you do it is because as candida/yeast dies in your body, it lets off toxins. Health Oriented carries a dual formula that helps kill candida (taken for ten days) then another to help build probiotics in the body (taken for 20 days after) Call me if you need it shipped to you or you want to come in and get it. Receiving acupuncture a few times during the cleanse is very helpful to keep the body running at peak performance, plus it feels great.
FOODS YOU CAN EAT
- Lean Meat
- Poultry
- Seafood
- Eggs
- Nuts EXCEPT peanuts (they are high in mold and candida thrives on that) & Cashews (they are really part of the legume family)
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Spices
- Vegetables EXCEPT carrots (they are high in sugar) & starchy vegetables like zucchini, squash, eggplant
- Herbal Tea (ie: green tea) with NO fruit flavor
- Coffee occasionally (black only)
- Soy
FOODS YOU CAN NOT EAT
- Bread
- Grains (no rice, quinua, oats, wheat...no grains!)
- Pasta
- Vinegar
- Honey
- Beans
- Legumes
- Preservatives (try to stay away from them as much as possible)
- Mayo (it contains sugar and vinegar) unless you make it homemade
- Hot Sauce (it contains sugar and vinegar) use red pepper flakes
- Fruit
- Alcohol
TIPS:
- Read labels on everything!!! I was surprised how many things have vinegar and sugar in them.
- No prepared mayo, but if you make your own then you can have it. There are recipes on the internet. It is basically egg yolk, oil (use olive oil) and some lemon.
- With your homemade mayo, make chicken salad & seafood salad. Then put it on top of some field greens or baby spinach leaves or a mix of both and it is great! You don't even need dressing.
- If your health food store has the machine to freshly grind almond butter, it makes a great snack. Whole Foods has one. If not, try to get one that has only almonds listed on the ingredient list.
- Ever have an Elvis burger with peanut butter and banana? Sounds weird but it is good. Try making a lean burger, no bun or banana and instead of peanut butter, put a bunch of almond butter on it. Have a salad on the side and you will feel full for awhile.
- Smoked salmon, either by itself or on a salad. I like to cut up cucumbers and salmon into small pieces, mix together and eat.
- Ceviche, a basic recipe is raw fish from the store, cut into small pieces (I like tilapia) add some veggies like tomatoes, peppers, celery or whatever you like. Put in a bowl and fill halfway with lemon juice. Let it sit for a couple hours and stir every 15-20 minutes, then enjoy! Remember,Consuming raw or undercooked meats, poultry, seafood, shellfish or eggs may increase your risk of foodborne illness, especially if you have certain medical conditions.
- Buy a plain rotisserie chicken from the supermarket, I didn't eat the skin because the ingredients did list sugar for the glaze, but check the label.
- 3 over easy eggs with sun dried tomatoes.
- Veggie omelets, no cheese but you can cook it in olive oil.
- Try some raw food recipes that include allowed food.
- Be careful eating out, it can be tricky. I tried not to altogether. It becomes tempting to cheat and you do not have full control on what goes into the food. If you do eat out, do not be afraid to tell your server you can not have sugar or vinegar. It is hidden in many foods you wouldn't expect (I thought I was ok eating a big bowl of gazpacho soup. When I looked for a recipe on the web, they all have vinegar). Ask about what you might order, if they do not know, ask them to check with the chef. Remember you are paying to be served and to have the food cooked the way you like it. Most servers are happy to help you with this, especially if you tell them why.
Once the cleanse is over you can add all the food back in, especially fruit! I think most of you will find that you don't want a lot of foods that you used to eat. They start to taste different, not good. And you start to realize how poorly a lot of them affect you. GOOD LUCK!!
-Roxy