I have candida.  That explains why i have been craving soo much junk lately!.  

Has any O's conquered candida just by doing the BTD?.  Per Dr. D, we should only have to follow the BTD to conquer illnesses etc...

click here:
http://www.dadamo.com/forum/convert1/config.pl?read=967

I posted a thread about candida alittle while back, i think it's gone now.  Most people suggested that i follow a specific candida diet.  Well i feel that the O-nonnie diet is already restrictive enough and if i have to get more restrictive i don't know if i can swing it.  It doesn't help that i'm having these bad cravings either!.  I'm taking L-Glutamine, but it's not really helping too much.

Thanks!
Mickey

what if you can t 'swing it' ?
does that mean you d be better off eating the way you did before BTD??

don t think so........

I have had great success by completing Dr. D's Yeast/Fungus Protocol.  While doing this protocol you might consider following the candida diet temporarily - I just cut out fruit and grains for the 6 weeks.  Then add back fruit slowly, but try to continue to avoid grains as much as you can as per the O-non diet.  

You should incorporate a good probiotic into your life permanently - I've looked at many, but I still think that Polyflora O is the best.  I don't have tons of money for supplements, but this is one I won't skimp on.

Finally, you should have a strategy for when/if you do eat avoids after getting the candida under control.  Deflect is great before and after an avoid meal.  Caprylic acid (New Roots makes a good combo with garlic and cloves as well) also works great for preventing a flare-up after avoids (which for me are usually sugar or too many grains).

Mickey, I've had carbohydrate/sugar/junk food cravings for a long time and I just tested positive according to the spit test yesterday.  This is day two of doing the Candida suggestions in LR4YT and I've not had cravings.  I'm using stinging nettle root, olive oil, friendly bacteria, and those three herbs--oregano, thyme, and rosemary.  I make oregano tea, which I've been drinking pretty much all day.  I notice an effect right away when I drink two mugs of this.  Oh, and also I make this garlic and flaxseed mix that I soak in water overnight and drink the next morning.  And so far no grains, but I have still eaten bananas.  Maybe I'll cut the fruit out totally for six weeks like Kate suggests.  I do take glutamine as needed.  When I need a really quick fix I bite down on the capsule, but careful not to inhale the fine powder.  So Mickey let's give ourselves a chance.  I felt the same way at first, but my attitude now is that if I hit Candida with the stuff I mentioned above and maybe even some of the supplements in the Yeast/Fungus Protocol then let's see what those cravings are like.  So far they've been nonexistent.  And thanks Kate, for the suggestions.

Hi Mickey,

very involved in the candida question is the implication of sugars, but for 0's in particular there is another consequence to this - one that causes depression.  L-glutamine helps, not only re-build the walls of the intestine but also because it is a precursor for GABA, a major neurotransmitter.  The dopamine system, is as well very involved in the sugar metabolism, and it has been found that chromium picolinate at 600mcg/day for 8 weeks alleviates most of these cravings.  The effect was so good that they think of it as replacing mood-altering SSRI's (selective seratonin reuptake inhibitors). ref - alive magazine #284, pp 78-77

The dopamine system, in particular seems to be an 0-thing: from a hair-trigger anger to .........
It therefore may be very helpful to supplement with chromium (picolinate?) as well.

there is a product called dida that may be of particular benefit to you .... its Canadian (English) distributor is 'True North Nutrition' ph: 1-800-261-4223 .............. ref: alive #284 p.27


hope these ideas help ........................

John

Hi again Mickey,

after posting about dida, I did a typebase search and found that cinnamon oil (its main ingredient) is an 0-nonnie avoid.  [As well nonnies do not seem to process oils too well!]  I think we can modify this formulation somewhat and still get a very powerful anti-candida herbal remedy.

dida's listed ingredients are:
cinnamon oil
cardamon, cloves, oregano, garlic + other herb extracts

If O-nonnies use extra virgin olive oil blended with (olive leaf + cardamon + cloves + oregano powdered together in a herb-mill) + garlic cloves + 4Tbsp ground flax seed + 1Tbsp lecithin + 8oz. water and allow to sit overnight, you should have a premium candida fighter .... taste ????????????

John

I just don't have the time to read through the more than 300 posts on the candida mega-thread.  And I didn't want to hijack Mickey's because that was asking for type O's successes.  So here I am with another candida thread!  

I haven't really known if I had a candida overgrowth, since I never have the classic vaginal yeast symptoms.  However, I have been struggling with fatigue, major sleep disturbances, hair loss and some minor skin thing going on with tiny, itchy bumps.  Also, I find that I am super-sensitive to allergic substances.

So I decided to take a moderate approach in case it was yeast related.  I have been taking the Enzymedica enzyme therapy for candida, three times daily on an empty stomach.  And daily I take at least one anti-yeast herbal tincture, such as rosemary or oregano oil.  I eat 1 Tb of Larch extract daily, plus I switched to the NAP brand of probiotic, which I take on an empty stomach.

I have been feeling a lot better, with more energy during the day, and more sound sleep at night, so something is helping.  But on KK's recommendation, I did a saliva test yesterday morning.  What a surprise to see tiny flakes of what looked like cotton candy floating around and slowly sinking.  It gradually settled onto the bottom in a pile that was about as big as a dime.  So I guess it's official.  Also there was one small thread, about 1/4 inch long.

There's a lot I don't know, and would love to hear from you guys.

What are some other symptoms that would let a person know they had candida overgrowth?

Is there a way to tell from the spit test whether the situation is bad, moderate, improving, or what?

What kinds of things have worked for you?

How absolutely strict does your diet have to be.  For example, would 1/4 tsp. blackstrap molasses be enough to keep the whole kit 'n kaboodle kicking in there?
Would a small amount of fresh fruit cancel out all efforts?

Some websites promote a strong attack with enzymes and herbs, and say that diet (as long as you're not eating sugar and a lot of starches) is not as important.  Other websites advocate a very strict regime of eating only vegetables, meat and fish.

Victoria,

perhaps it is not a question of either - or, but of timing.... in the summer when all systems peak ... perhaps the probiotics, appropriate herbs etc ... should help here.  In winter, there is a die-off of normal flora so stricter eating habits ... and away from fruit and/or sugars should help in this circumstance.

John

In the book "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" Phyllis Balch says, "Resistant strains of candida develop rapidly due to genetic mutation.  Rotating treatment programs is beneficial"(265).

Do you people feel that this is true?  If it is how long do I say on one herb and then when do I switch do the next herb.  What combinations of herbs do I use?  Which combinations are safe and which ones are not?  How do I find this information?  I have read a lot about herbs and I know which ones are angifungal but I don't know what their safe dosages are and safe combinations are.  Are you all fimilar with DaDamo's books on treating specific conditions?  Well I think that DaDamo should write a book on how to treat Candida using the blood type diet.  This world is full of people who are taking antibiotics and then develop candida.  There is a huge need for his expert opinion in this out of control condition.  One last question: Is it ok to eat fruit if it is on the diet?    

Quoted Text

Dr D:
Type A with Candida and Giardia
are best served by the diet correct for your
type, even if it conflicts with
the "conventional wisdom" as regards to a
particular disease. It optimizes
your immunity, which is how one should best
deal with a succeptibility issue.
You can use some of the classic immune
enhancing herbs, such as echinacea or
astragalus to help tune up your immune system.
Another herb which can be
beneficial is Chinese Wormwood (Artemesia
annua) which can help flush the
organisms out of the system.

Quoted from John_McDonell_O+

Victoria,

perhaps it is not a question of either - or, but of timing.... in the summer when all systems peak ... perhaps the probiotics, appropriate herbs etc ... should help here.  In winter, there is a die-off of normal flora so stricter eating habits ... and away from fruit and/or sugars should help in this circumstance.

John

Hi John, Thanks for replying.  I want to understand more clearly what you are saying.  Are you saying that in the summer, the more strict eating habits would not be as necessary as they would be in the winter?

Hi Victoria,

both seasons demand a very large amount of discipline ... like no grains or root vegetables for summer ... and usually fresh fruit only if it is 'normally' grown locally and when this fruit ripens at that time... so fruits like bananas and pineapple are out .... for me in northern Ontario.

Summers are seasons for expansion and growth - accenting those features with good probiotics, good chlorophyll; etc. helps to cut overgrowth - similar to growing grass so thick, that weeds do not have a place to grow from.

Winters are seasons of die-back and minimal use ... so accent the seasonal features that would minimize fungal growth at this time-of-year ... dried herbal teas ((summer herbs are fresh)) and some oxygen therapies + negative magnetic energy can do much to lessen overgrowth.  

these are just ideas and I use them to survive well .... part of the effect seems that it severely limits over-growths too.  This is a side-effect and does not 'attack' any overgrowth directly.  The view is to live as healthily-as-possible .... this does not allow room for overgrows ...............

much easier said than done, eh?  I suspect that phytoplankton also have strong anti-candida properties ... http://www.umac-core.com (in Canada) and http://www.marinecure.com (in the USA).

John

Thanks for all your great suggestions!!!!

I got some stinging nettle, a yeast defense formula (with caprylic acid, grapefruit seed extract, pau d'arco, garlic) and zinc.  Hopefully this will work, if not i'll start putting more of your ideas to use.

Lola,
I've been following the BTD for 6 years now.  I'm not saying i can't swing the BTD, i just don't know if i can swing the candida diet.


John,
Where can i get olive leaf from?.  I'd like to try your concoction, i think i could find the other ingredients easily.  BTW, what does the flaxseed do for candida?.

Mickey!

Hi Mickey,

re. the flaxseed ... I don't think it'll do anything to yeast spores but it is an excellent source of fiber ... to help keep the colon clean.  It should do wonders with ARA6 and Intrinsa from NAP.

re. the olive leaf .... google its whereabouts - on its own some find it very strong - too strong!  It can be included here, but is not mandatory ... the formula is experimental!

John

I also tested 'positive' for Candida on the spit test -- long 3 inch strings after only 15 minutes!  I do crave carbs/sugar *all the time* -- it's like the sugar in stuff is actually communicating with the yeast in my body from across the room.

This is the protocol for type A, but "Betaine" is an avoid.  Wondering why it is in there if that is the case?

BLOOD GROUP A

Stinging Nettle root (Urtica dioica), “UDA Plus”: 1-2 capsules, twice daily
Elecampane (Inula helenium), 500 mg: 1 capsule with meals 1-2X daily
Caprylic acid, 350 mg: 1-2 capsules, twice daily away from food.
Betaine HCl, 250 mg: 1 capsule with large meals
Oregon Grape (Berberis aquifolium), 250-500 mg: 1-2 capsules, twice daily
Polyflora A (ABO Specific Probiotic): 2 capsule daily

I'm pretty savvy as far as natural foods, supplements, etc....but I have to admit I have not seen or used Elecampane or Caprylic Acid.  What exactly are they?

thanks!

Diana

Quoted from dkite

...I have not seen or used Elecampane or Caprylic Acid.  What exactly are they?  thanks!  Diana

Caprylic Acid is the stuff in coconut that is so good for ya.  Witness:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caprylic_acid

I started taking 600 mcg of chromium picolinate per day.  It seems to help so far.  I mean I've noticed in the past that I've gotten depressed going without sugars/starches.  Eventually, I've always gone back to them because I was so miserable.  So thanks John for the lead, but I'm wondering if it's safe and all.  I thought I read somewhere that chromium can be toxic if you have too much.  

Hi Chris B,

Apparently this is the form of chromium used in the experiment.  The picolinate is 'banned' in Canada because of the toxicity of the picolinate.  The author thought that another form of chromium would work as well.  

Chromium is a trace mineral, so it does have its limitations re. being supplemented.  Often advice using trace supplements of minerals is very helpful.  But guidance from a professional in nutrition is imperative ... in many, many cases.  You can really screw-up your health if these are overdone!

John

Thanks Again John,

I can't afford to buy anymore supplements, but i am taking/using ghee daily.  Referring to your suggestion of using ARA and intrinsia.

Mickey

Hi,

I thought i read somewhere in my researching that your not suppose to have herbal teas for candida.  Does anyone know if this is true or not?.  I've been drinking green tea, but want to add in some other herbal teas for variety.

Thanks!
Mickey  

I believe those are ok to have.......unsweetened ofcourse.

As long as they are compliant for your type, I would think they'd be okay. I'm drinking dandelion root tea for my liver and peppermint cause I like the taste in my daily water consumption (1 tea bag of each in a 40 oz container of room temp water helps for flavor and helps me to drink more water, too). The jury is still out on whether I have knocked back my candida problem. I took the spit test this morning, but need a few more days of testing to be sure...

The issue is mold that has developed in the tealeaves, that is why many often say to avoid herbs as well

I almost forgot about this, but a massage is GREAT if you want to be one step closer to getting rid of pesky candida. I only speak from experience, but after massages (only had about 2) i noticed i felt kinda drunk. I heard this is sympton of candida and that candida can get into your tissues and hang around for a long time.

I think a deep tissue massage speeds up the detoxing process.

yup...yup...yup...here you are right and welcome and hope you'llgona feel good here
Whats about thyme-tea???against Candida....