Candida Yeast, could you have it? PART 3

Oh my goodness, what a week! I am sorry it has taken me so long to get this post done but it is a very busy time. So today I am going to discuss how to treat candida. If you do it right, you should be able to keep the yeast under control in the future. Most people who have issues with yeast, treat it and end up in the same situation 6 months later. Treat it thoroughly and follow some easy maintenance steps and you should be able to keep it at bay. Candida treatment is a multi-faceted approach.

DIET
While you are doing a candida cleanse you need to eliminate certain foods from your diet. These specific foods feed the yeast and make them stronger, we want to make them weaker. The foods you should avoid are:

• Sugar in all its forms including honey, maple syrup, fructose, table sugar and artificial sweeteners.
• Foods with yeast such as bread and pastries.
• Alcohol, pop, coffee, fermented beverages and cider.
• Condiments and sauces containing sugar and/or vinegar such as ketchup, mayonnaise, pickles.
• All fruits, juices and dried fruits.
• Mushrooms and fermented foods such as tofu, sauerkraut (oh no what will you do!!) and soy sauce.
• Cheeses
• Roasted peanuts and other nuts that are not raw.
• Most grains, pastas, rice and starchy vegetables (potatoes, corn etc) since they all turn to sugar in our system.

You might be thinking WHAT CAN I EAT??? The answer is lots, it is just a touch boring. But remember, it is only for 15-30 days and chances are you will lose a few pounds from the diet alone. So here is what your diet should be made up of:

• WATER 8-10 glasses a day minimum.
• Fresh veggies, raw or steamed.
• Lemons, limes and cranberries. If you really miss fruit you can have ONE green apple per day.
• Fish (except shellfish)
• As close to organic or free range chicken, turkey, beef or lamb that you can get your hands on. Remember you don`t need huge portions of meat so buy the best quality you can afford.
• Free range eggs.
• Plain yogurt with live bacterial cultures.
• Raw almonds and seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, flax etc).
• Herbal teas.
• Good quality oils for dressings (flax or olive) remember no vinegar can be added so use lemon juice and garlic.

You should follow the candida diet for the duration of treatment and then I always encourage clients to continue for an additional 2 weeks after. It is best that you adopt some of these dietary rules for your everyday diet to help keep candida at bay. The most important thing is to keep away from sugar or white poison as I like to call it!

TREATMENT PROGRAM

Ok, so we have covered the diet to follow and now we will cover the program to follow. Now I am an account manager for Renew Life so I am biased towards their products and know a lot about them. That being said, I am going to mention the ones out there that I would feel comfortable recommending outside of our line and I encourage you to do your own research. Choose the product that you feel most drawn to or that you feel will work with your lifestyle the best. The first layer of treatment is using an anti-fungal formula to kill the yeast

• Renew Life Candigone: This is a 15 day program that contains all of the well researched anti-fungal agents in both tincture and pill format. It works especially well if you have used anti-yeast products before because chances are your body has developed a resistance to one or more of the anti-fungal herbs. In Candigone, they have covered all of the bases so that if your body is resistant to Caprylic Acid for example, there is something else in the formula to pick up the slack.
• Dida: Dida is a 45 day program that contains many anti-fungal herbs but in a lower concentration hence the longer course of treatment. The formula is good however it is not meant to hit things hard and heavy. It is a more relaxed approach to treatment and you continue to take the product daily after treatment to maintain results. Can be a bit expensive long term.
• Innovite Yeast Busters Kit: This is a kit of 4 different products that you take for 3-8 weeks. It contains Caproil liquid, bentonite clay, psyllium and probiotics. There is not doubt that this works, especially the first time you use it. The issue is that it is awful to take: you basically mix the clay, fiber and caproil in a jar and drink it. As it moves through your system it (in their words) scrubs candida away and soaks up the toxins to eliminate them through the colon.

Any of these 3 options are good, they will all have results just in differing time lines. If you are using any of these options I would also recommend you use a product called CandiZYME. In the States, virtually any candida program has an enzyme product included in the protocol. For some reason, there are very few of these in Canada. The reason it is so important is that Yeast Organisms have a very thick and strong cell wall, which makes them difficult to treat. Taking CandiZYME on an empty stomach before bed works to break down that cell wall so that the anti-fungal program you choose can work much more effectively. If you want to do the job fully and correctly the first time, include CandiZYME.

Also if you choose either Candigone or Dida, include a good fiber source to bind up the yeast and carry them out of your system. You can increase the fiber in your diet but without being able to have fruits and grains on the Candida diet it can be difficult to get enough. I would recommend supplementing with milled flax seed or a blend such as FibreSMART or FibreLEAN. You don`t need to add additional fiber to the Yeast Busters kit because of the psyllium.

MAINTENANCE

After you have completed treatment, you want to maintain the results and that is very easy. Every woman, let me repeat EVERY WOMAN, should be taking a daily probiotic supplement. Probiotics are good bacteria that help to maintain the balance of good to bad bacteria in the gut. This helps us to keep yeast at bay, produce b-vitamins, increases our immune system and maintains regularity (great if you are constipated). Make sure when buying a probiotic that you buy one that is protected from the Hydrochloric acid in the stomach and that it contains a blend of acidophilus strains and bifidus strains. Sounds confusing? Your health food store will be able to help you pick a great one. I recommend Florasmart, Probiotic pearls, or New Roots enteric coated probiotics. You only need to take one a day regardless of the label recommendations if it is protected, if you buy one without a protected capsule or tablet you will need to take 2-3 daily if not more.

When you cleanse Candida, you can expect to have some days where you feel pretty bad. Headaches are common as is a feeling of fatigue. This is due to the die-off of the yeast. Drink lots of water, eat lots of fiber and you should be able to persevere. Remember it is short term pain for long term gain. Feel free to pop me an email if you have any more questions.

Candida Yeast, could you have it? PART 2

Hopefully you have done the Candida self test in my last post. If not, go and do it now. We will wait for you :)

So what are the symptoms of yeast overgrowth? There are so many but I will list the most common and these can occur in varying degrees depending on the severity of your Candida.

• Severe cravings for sugar
• Vaginal yeast infections
• Toe and Fingernail funguses
• Feeling of sore and weak muscles
• Oral Thrush (White pasty coating on your tongue)
• Gas and bloating
• Disruption in bowel habits (either diarrhea or constipation or they alternate)
• Sudden mood swings
• A feeling of brain fog meaning your memory is poor and you are easily distracted
• Extreme sensitivity to chemical odours, cleaning supplies or perfumes
• Acne, facial rashes, inflammed hair follicles
• Dandruff, dermititis and athletes foot

This list is not exhaustive and you could have all or just some of the symptoms. A friend of mine has written a wonderful e-book on Candida and it's treatment. I will attach the link below. It is a great resource and actually taught me things I didn't know and I have been teaching and lecturing about Candida for 6 years now. Tomorrow I will share my recommendations for treating Candida effectively and I will actually be beginning my own Candida cleanse as well.

Ryan's e-book can be found at: www.howtocurecandida.com

Candida Yeast, could you have it? PART 1

For the next few days I am going to cover the who, what, when, where and why of Candida. For those of you that haven't heard of this before, you are not alone. While most of us have or have had yeast overgrowth in our systems in our lifetime, most cases go undiagnosed. Candida is an overgrowth of yeast in the the human body. Our digestive tract contains small amounts of yeast at all times, this is normal. However when a dysbiosis occurs with the good bacteria in the gut (that means an imbalance of bad to good bacteria), yeast organisms are able to overgrow. We run into real problems when the yeast is able to leave the digestive tract and enter the blood stream. This leads to a systemic problem which can affect the vagina, mouth, skin, urinary tract, organs, tissues, finger and toe nails. This is known as Candidiasis and is a considered a medical condition.

There are an alarming number of Canadians dealing with Candida due to the use of broad spectrum antibiotics. These over prescribed drugs disrupt the delicate bacteria balance in the body allowing yeast to proliferate. Other factors that can lead to an overgrowth of yeast in the body are:

• Steroids (such as asthma inhalers)
• Birth Control Pills
• Anti-inflammatory drugs
• A poor diet that is high in sugar and refined carbohydrates
• Stress
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Heavy metal toxicity or parasites

To find out if you may be dealing with Candida overgrowth, please do the attached quiz. At that link you will also find a quiz for children. You may have to cut and paste the link into your Internet window. Take some time to answer the questions, I will dive deeper into Candida in the coming days.

http://www.renewlife.ca/pdfs/condition/pdf2_condition_3_Self%20Test%20-%20Candida.pdf

If you cannot view the above link, please email me and I will email the quiz to you.

Busy Week!

Hi everyone, I am sorry that there hasn't been a post since Monday. Month end is always a very busy time. I am on a race to reach 2 goals: $4000 in sales Monday and Tuesday to reach my quota for September and then I need to get 4 pounds off by next Sunday (October 5th) to be down 30 pounds! Might be a challenge with a Girl's Weekend this weekend and two business lunches next week (Thai both days so it will be Mango Salad and Chicken Satay for me). But I have the goal in the forefront of my mind so I know I can achieve it.

Please remember that if you have any topics you want me to cover or questions you need answered, email me. Next week I am going to dive into the world of Candida overgrowth, some very cool stuff.

Have a wonderful weekend! :)

Happy Anniversary to me (and my hubby I suppose!)

Today is our one year wedding anniversary and we went away for a romantic weekend to Collingwood and Blue Mountain Village. We had an incredible time, it was great to get away just the two of us. We didn't follow our program this weekend but this morning we were both only up 1.5 pounds, not bad at all since I know it will be back off tomorrow. The food was awesome and something pretty awesome is happening to my stomach. I can't eat nearly as much as I used to be able to. When you drink a meal or two every day instead of eating it your stomach doesn't get stretched out so much. So now I am finding I am fuller much quicker. A plate of risotto would have never lasted in front of me a few months ago but on Saturday night at dinner, I could only eat 1/3 of what was on the plate. A wonderful feeling indeed!
I LOVE THIS WAY OF EATING!!

Choosing A Multivitamin

We have all seen the commercials about Multivitamins on TV: "Complete from A to Zinc" but is taking a daily multi really necessary? I think so but you have to choose carefully. I look at multivitamins to fill in gaps that might be missing in your diet. That being said, there is no substitute for good foods because they bring with them fiber, antioxidants, water and other benefits to our body. I also think that you need to look at your state of health and family history and supplement in addition to your multi. For example, if you are overweight with varicose veins and a family history of heart disease I would recommend a multi plus chromium, Vitamin E and Fish oil at a minimum. If you smoke, you need extra Vitamin C, E and B Vitamins. This is where seeing a Nutritionist (not a Dietitian, I will explain the difference in an upcoming blog) would be very beneficial.

So what multivitamin should you choose? Stay AWAY from the no-name and pharmacy brands such as Centrum and One A Day. Many of the vitamins in these supplements are synthetic form and your body cannot recognize them properly. In fact, some synthetic vitamins can actually harm the body (although you would have to take a lot). They use these forms to keep the product cheap but with multis, like anything in life, you get what you pay for. Also look at the list of "other" or "Non-medicinal" ingredients, it is longer than the list of nutrients in the product! This means there is a lot of crap (binders, fillers, artificial colours and preservatives) in amongst the vitamins which make it hard for your body to absorb.

For many people, a multivitamin is the only supplement they take so it is important to make sure it is of high quality, natural source, easy for the body to absorb and complete. Here are my recommendations for getting the best Multivitamin for you:

• Visit your local health food store or your natural health practitioner to get your multi, stay away from drugstores, grocery stores and Costco. In general the better products are at the health food store plus it is nice to support a small business.
• Try to ensure that your multi has a B 50 Complex in it, when you find this it is likely that all of the other vitamins and minerals are at a good level in the product. Ask for help and they will be able to show you the options with a B 50.
• Opt for capsules and softgels instead of tablets. Not all multivitamins in a tablet format are bad but with all of the binders to hold the tablet together, your body has to work harder to break them down. You may need to take 2-3 capsules but even if you only took one per day you would still be getting far more benefit than from taking one of the popular drug store brands.
• Take your multi after breakfast to avoid becoming nauseated. The B-vitamins can be hard on an empty stomach.
• You can buy multivitamins that are gender or age specific. I am not so concerned about gender specific vitamins, I just buy a good quality one that both my husband and I can take. However if you are a single woman or man, you might as well buy a good woman's or man's multi. As far as age goes, I do think that anyone over the age of 50 should buy an iron-free multi because excess iron can cause joint inflammation. All multis specific for this age group are iron free.

The ones I feel comfortable recommending when I am helping out at one of my health food stores are:

Platinum Naturals Super Multi (this is the one my husband and I take because it is in a soft gel, hemp oil base which helps with fat soluble vitamin absorption).

Progressive Nutrition MultiVitamins (these are age and gender specific however I think they do have a basic one as well).

Flora Multi

Other brands that are safe bets are Sisu, Natural Factors, New Chapter, Greens Multi and Now brand.

If you don't take one, go to your local health food store and buy a good multivitamin today. Look at it as a little bit of daily heath insurance.

Why Cleanse?? Part 2

So we know why we should cleanse right? Our bodies are not meant to deal with the burden that we place on them, cleansing helps to ease that burden.

So how do you cleanse? Well there are lots of different options actually but the 3 most common are: Fasting or Juicing, Nutritional Cleansing and Herbal Cleansing.

• Fasting or Juicing: Many cultures fast periodically for health or spiritual reasons. It is gaining popularity in western society and there are even retreats you can attend to fast in a controlled environment. How fasting works to cleanse is that it takes the burden of digestion off the body, allowing all of the bodies functions to perform better. Enzymes which are usually used for digesting food travel to the intestine and blood stream where they "clean" the system of dead and damaged cells, pollutants and unwanted bacterias. Fasting also gives the major organs a rest so that they can become rejuvenated. Sounds great right? Fasting is not for everyone, especially if you have a highly physically demanding job or blood sugar issues. Most people who fast do so for 3-10 days although there are people who do it for much longer. Please proceed with caution if you do decide to fast.
• Nutritional Cleansing: This is a wonderful way to cleanse the body by flooding it with minerals, vitamins and other nutrients. These nutrients help the fuel the body and nourish it so that it works optimally. When you support the body with the proper nutrition, your liver, kidneys, bowel etc all are able to release and eliminate toxins efficiently. Nutritional cleansing can and should be done on a regular basis.
• Herbal Cleansing: Currently this is likely the most popular way of cleansing the body. Herbal cleanses are usually sold as kits with products to cleanse the organs and support the bowel. It is very important that if you are going to cleanse your liver you make sure you are not constipated. If the toxins are dumped into the bowel and sit there, they will be reabsorbed. Either deal with the constipation first or buy a herbal cleanse that addresses that issue (2-3 bowel movements a day is ideal!). Herbal Cleanses use formulas of herbs, minerals and amino acids that help the organs of detoxification to increase their output. These kits usually last between 7 - 30 days (30 days is ideal to do the job fully although a 7 day cleanse done every month is also effective). You would do a 30 day cleanse 2-4 times per year.

As a general rule, these products we keep hearing about on the radio and TV infomercials are overpriced and under performing. To find a good cleanse, visit your local health food store or visit a Nutritionist. If you have any questions about cleansing, don't hesitate to email them to me.