By popular demand!
Most of you know me as yoga teacher and artist, but my secret side job is poop advisor. So I’m coming out the closet, er bathroom, to share this information that I’ve learned through trial and error over 10+ years.
I’ve had many health issues including arthritis and a heart condition, but the most elusive and frustrating is the bathroom stuff. At worst health conditions are debilitating, but at best, I consider them an opportunity to learn about myself and pass on this valuable information. Keep in mind that our bodies (like the earth we live on) are conditioned to thrive. No matter what circumstances or stress we object our bodies to, they constantly seek equilibrium and health. So we have that going for us!
Due to many factors including stress, processed food, sugar, alcohol, travel, antibiotics, birth control pills, untreated parasites, recreational drugs, and other environmental factors I believe a large protion of the population suffers from candida.
Candida Albicans is basically naturally occurring yeast in the body. It is fine when it is in balance with the other bacterias, but due to the above factors, it can grow to unhealthy levels and create problems in the GI tract (it can also create respiratory and skin problems and issues vaginally, but I am focusing on the GI because it will affect the other areas too). Helpful link for BV, Yeast infections, and UTI’s.
Doctors have trouble diagnosing these poop problems because there is such a wide range of cases and symptoms. So the overarching and often unsatisfying term is IBS. Symptoms include: abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, mental frustration or lack of clarity, chronic fatigue, cravings for sugar and carbohydrates, skin fungus, body odor and even auto immune diseases.
What to do?
First, go easy on yourself! We all strive in life to do our best and are really hard on ourselves. The following information are basic guidelines that have worked for me. Keep in mind that everybody is different and our bodies react differently to things and as they change over time. For example, I couldn’t eat fruit for a long time without getting candida symptoms. Now because I have maintained health for a while, I can handle the natural sugars in fruit. Just do your best and if you make a ‘mistake’ just move on. That goes for every area of your life! Learning how to nurture myself rather than deprive myself is a big factor in my health.
I could say a lot about practices such as meditation and yoga that help with training the unconscious mind… but that is life long work perhaps to be discussed in another blog. I want to talk about realistic options with more immediate results.
Food:
Fresh and organic in its simplest, unadulterated form! I don’t adhere to any one diet in particular. I personally feel that raw and vegan diets can be beneficial short term or to clear up major disease in the body, but are not appropriate for most people long term. Cooking vegetables can be best for people with candida because it makes food easier to digest. A lots of raw vegetable can be gas forming ! The Paleo diet is pretty close to the Candida diet.
I bring up food first because I think it is important to get what you need through your food as much as possible. There is a disconnect between eating crap and then trying to make up for it with supplements and vitamin pills. Rather than thinking about all the things you must avoid (sugar, processed food, beer, acidic food), I like to think about all the things I can add to my diet! There’s no getting around the fact that vegetables should make up the majority of you food intake.
Probiotic rich food:
Kombucha
Kimchi
Sauerkraut
Kefir (dairy or coconut)
Rejuvelac
Alkaline foods: Candida thrives in an acidic environment, so destroy its habitat with alkaline foods!
Lemons
Apple cider vinegar
Seaweed
Aloe
–just to name a few. There are many free charts online that show the pH of foods.
Water- if you are already purchasing water, it might as well be alkaline
Gluten free:
Grains really aren’t ideal for the body, especially brain health. Experiment limiting your grain and especially gluten intake.
Meat: Although meat has a more acidic effect on the body, it doesn’t promote candida growth. So go ahead and eat meat! Organic please.
Fat/oils:
Don’t be a stranger to fat! Fatty foods don’t make you fat. Eat butter or ghee– it has medicinal properties and your brain loves it. Oils are also a great source of fat. But if you cook with oil look into heat index. A lot of oils, when heated, very quickly turn acidic. So I suggest steaming vegetable (or cooking in butter!) and adding raw oil after. Sesame and coconut have higher heat tolerances if you must cook with oil.
Dairy:
It is recommended to avoid dairy in the beginning stages of dealing with candida. I recommend switching to goat dairy in general because it is much better and easier for the body to digest.
Supplements:
you can probably get these all at Whole Foods or order online–
-Probiotics- take a lot more than the bottle says if your trying to kick candida
-Pau d’acro- anti-parasitic
-Grapefruitseed extract- anti-parasitic
-Vitamin C- taking in excess, it will have a laxative effect and give you some relief
-Triphala- good for general digestive health
-MSM- natural sulphur that has benefits for the joints, but I also find it helpful with GI health
-Colloidal silver- always a good alternative to killing bacteria without taking antibiotics
MMS- THE MINERAL MIRACLE SOLUTION!!! IF YOU DISREGARD EVERYTHING ABOVE AND TAKE MMS YOU WILL BENEFIT. When I started taking this the results were immediate. Life changing. And it actually helped me transition into making better dietary choices. It kills off the candida without killing the beneficial bacteria in your gut. I order from www.keaveyscorner.com I’ve included information and instructions below.
Toxins are released when you go to the bathroom. If you are constipated for a long time, these toxins will be re-absorbed into the body and make you feel, well, toxic! Get that shit out!
Enemas- You can give yourself an enema. Soaking a piece of kombu seaweed overnight in about a liter of water is a really nice way to alkalanize your GI tract. Coffee enemas are also popular for their detoxifying effect.
Colonics- Find a professional in your area and consult them. This colon hydrotherapy goes a bit deeper than an enema and can remove old crap lodged in the intestines that could be causing you problems.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with me with any questions, comments, or necessary additions to this blog! contact@phoebeandrewsyoga.com
MINERAL MIRACLE SOLUTION INSTRUCTIONS:
WARNING:
NEVER USE FULL STRENGTH MMS.
Keep in safe place away from children.
Keep out of direct sunlight.
Wash spills with water or from skin or eyes.
Always use with 10% citric acid solution. Always 1 part MMS/5 parts Citric Acid ratio.
1) Prepare the 10% citric acid solution. a) Mix (one) 1 level tablespoon of citric acid crystal with (nine) 9 level tablespoons of distilled water. b) Mix them and add the content to the blue Citric Acid 10% Solution bottle. c) The blue bottle will be full if you have measured correctly.
2) Prepare the drink: In order to prepare the Miracle Mineral Solution for consumption you need to have a glass or porcelain cup and use it to combine 5 parts (5 drops) of 10% citric acid ( or lemon or lime juice) to 1 part (1 drop) of the 28% MMS sodium chlorite solution. Each time you prepare the mixture wait three minutes for the chemistry to fully work, then fill the cup with water and drink immediately. Around day 6 the taste gets very unpleasant so switch to a juice. a) 1 part MMS to 5 parts Citric Acid. Wait 5 minutes. b) Add water (or pineapple, grape or apple juice WITHOUT added vitamin C.) c) Water is best until you get to higher doses when juice masks the chlorine flavor.
3) Daily: each day you are going to increase the number of drops you take by one drop MMS per day until day 15. Then maintain 15 drops. On one of these days you might start to feel a little nauseous. That is because the pathogens are being killed and the detox is heavy. So, back off the next day decreasing the dose by one or two drops. This gives the immune system time to strengthen and handle the detox but KEEP TAKING THE MMS until you reach 15 drops per day. a) The first day take 1 drop with 5 drops of 10% citric acid solution. Swirl. Wait 3 minutes add water and drink. b) The second day you are going to take 2 drops and 10 drops of 10% citric acid solution. Swirl. Wait 3 minutes add water and drink. c) The third day you are going to take 3 drops and 15 drops of 10% citric acid solution. Swirl. Wait 3 minutes add water and drink. d) And so on till day 15. e) Take the dose at the same time each day before going to bed.
4) No Nausea = no more to detox. a) Mild nausea will occur within 10 minutes of taking. Sometimes slight dizziness. Back off one or two drops and slowly build up the dosage as in section 3 above. 5) In severe conditions: a) Take two doses per day 1 hour apart. The sodium chlorite is steadily released into the blood after you take a dose. But the concentration is effective during the first hour.
6) Maintenance: a) If the symptoms have disappeared then continue with a maintenance dose of 6 drops 3 times a week. b) Or, for older people with compromised immune system use 4 drops daily.
7) Children and pets a) Start with 1 drop MMS increased to max 3 drops MMS per 25 lb body weight.