Recently, I made a trip to the doctor and was diagnosed with Candida, an overgrowth of yeast throughout the body. Candida is something I became familiar with over 14 years ago after my youngest was diagnosed with autism and I began researching EVERYTHING! I found that many children with autism also suffer from Candida. I suspected that I did as well, but never realized how serious it was until the doctor looked at me and said, “You’re going to continue to decline if you don’t do something about your health.” Gotta love those wake up calls! So I refreshed my research on it, after all, 14 years was a long time ago, and I discovered that many people with autoimmune and digestive diseases suffer from Candida. I decided I needed to put on my big girl panties and gear up for the long haul! Yes, a very long haul. At the very least, this diet should be strictly adhered to for at least three months. Those with autoimmune and digestive diseases, for at least one year! Lucky me.
Now, that may not sound like a big deal to those who have had to adhere to a medical diet for many years or even their whole life, but it’s pretty daunting to me! I have definitely gained a huge amount of respect for those with lifelong dietary needs! I’ve only been on this diet for a little under two months, but I know that some of the elements of this diet will be forever. That was a really hard bite of reality for me to swallow. Especially during the first few days and weeks of the diet! It was agonizing! I swear I could feel every little Candida bad guy dying! It was also very challenging mentally.
A good friend of mine observed that I was having a very emotional time with this diet. I explained the irony of the situation...my years of having an eating disorder, restricting and starving myself, then coming to a place of healing from that and gaining a healthy relationship with food, even ENJOYING food for the first time in my life! Now back to what feels like restricting! Yes, it has been very emotional and difficult! As with many who have eating disorders, I began mine for control. Feeling as though my life was out of control, food was the one thing I could control.
My life is very crazy and out of my control right now! After a few weeks of pouting about not being able to eat whatever I wanted, I was able to identify that it was triggering those old issues of control. I didn’t realize that I was still taking comfort in controlling what I ate. Being thrown into a situation where I couldn’t do that anymore exposed residual anxiety that I still had about food. Once I made sense of all I was feeling, I was able to turn it around. Now I can see that, even though I will never again be able to eat whatever I want (which isn’t good for me anyway), I am taking control of my health! That feels pretty fantastic!
I am happy to report that almost immediately after starting this diet my heartburn went away and my allergies are so much better! While I am still struggling with feeling very run down, I am hopeful that my body will soon learn how to process the natural forms of energy I’m eating. The “shards of glass” feeling in my gut that I regularly experienced, has greatly improved. I am unsure at this point how much of that was due to the Candida, or a possible gluten intolerance? I eliminated gluten from my diet as well, and upon ingesting a small amount, the “shards of glass” came back. So it looks like I will remain gluten free. I can live with that.
All in all, I think this diet is doing it’s job! It has been enlightening and difficult, but worth it. The first week felt like a year, but now the time seems to be flying by. I realize it still hasn’t been that long, but I’m proud of myself for sticking to it so faithfully! I am glad that I had a fairly healthy diet to begin with and that I love eating healthy! I am so thankful to my mom who passed on to me her fabulous, creative cooking skills, without which this diet would be unbearable! I’m also so grateful to my wonderful husband, housemate, family, and friends who have eaten some weird stuff with me and have been so supportive!
I hope this encourages and inspires those who may be struggling with food issues to take control of their health and happiness!
