On Easter Sunday I shared a meal with some friends, I had three glasses of wine, cakes made entirely from refined produce, normal chocolate and a very rich veggie lasagna (full of white pasta and dairy!) All delicious of course but the next two days I felt so tired and headachy…

It’s always fascinating to me how potently we are affected by food when we cut things out for certain periods of time. I do not want to be one of those people who are rigid about what they eat all the time (outwith allergies and philosophies of course). It makes for miserable or annoying social gatherings, I’m aiming to adhere to a healthy and clean way of eating most of the time. I’m also fairly certain that one of the reasons I was so tired was because there is obviously not just candida overgrowth still to clear but the process I’m undergoing has yet to go deeper. The next phase I will go on is to focus on the liver and when the weather warms up (in Scotland at the moment it is freezing – weird weather, this time last year it was lovely) I will begin to explore fasting. This is where I expect to really see results, if I’d started with this I think I may have been ill! I also would not like to fast in the middle of winter; apart from the discomfort (I get very cold when I’m hungry) it doesn’t feel right, spring is traditionally when cleansing is done – inner and outer.

Anti-fungals

But onto the other point of this post and that of supplements. When tackling candida overgrowth the two main supplements to take are some form of antifungal and a strong probiotic. In my case the anti-parasite herbs I’d been taking acted also as an anti-fungal. (Link to that post – https://wordpress.com/post/catherinestrang.com/1982 ) Some of the main natural antifungals are – caprylic acid, oregano essential oil, garlic, goldenseal, barberry, grapefruit seed extract, olive leaf extract, black walnut, cloves, ginger, turmeric and even apple cider vinegar. This list is by no means exhaustive and there are many formulations on the market that combine several of the above and more. The main advice I could give is do a little research and go for quality as much as possible.

Probiotics

Probiotics naturally occuring in the body are the good bacteria that keep our gut and digestive system in good working order. As outlined in the last post, when the balance between the bacteria and yeasts in our gut is disturbed then health problems will ensue. When this balance is disturbed many conditions can arise due to the incidence of leaky gut syndrome; as healthy yeasts keep the bacteria balanced then certain bacterial infections can arise as well as those conditions that are a result of the candida overgrowth. There is an extensive list of possible physical issues due to an unbalanced gut biome but some of the most common are frequent urinary infections, more prone to infections in general, IBS and intestinal issues in general, fatigue and brain fog, itchy skin, fungal infections, skin problems, bloating and also mood swings – anger and not coping with stress are the main ones.

The reason taking a probiotic supplement is recommended is to repopulate the bowel effectively, without them recovery could be long and slow. Probiotics are not meant to be taken long term, they are a short term supplement to heal an urgent problem.

The market is rich with probiotics and the recommendations are that a strong, multi strain one is used, I would mainly say do some research into the different manufacturers or sellers; how knowledgeable are they, how much personal experience do they have with what they are selling or making? There are many out there but one particular person I would recommend as he has had his own poor health to deal with, been in the health market for 3 decades and has amassed a wealth of knowledge is John Claydon, there is a lot of info on his site so is a good place to start – or stay! https://www.regenerativenutrition.com/

I’m not affiliated with anyone so anywhere I recommend is based on preference!

Other Supplementation

The above are specific to candida but as your immune system will need support to heal the proliferation of candida spores then I recommend extra vitamins and minerals, particularly immunity boosting ones such as Vitamins A, B12, C, D, E and folic acid, minerals zinc, iron and selenium. With these, again I recommend the best quality you can afford. I take a multi vitamin oral spray plus extra vitamin C, I also take Oxylift which is a an oxygen enhancing product containing minerals and enzymes in ionic form – this means they enter the cells of the body quickly and efficiently. I take extra zinc, selenium and occasional iron. I muscle test myself for amounts and how often to take. The three minerals specifically recommended for candida as it’s believed a deficiency of these may have contributed to candida are zinc, selenium and chromium picolinate. As far as I know no science backs this up as it’s channelled information. I muscle tested strong for taking this combo so will take them in the meantime!

I hope this has been helpful and again if anyone has anything to add please do so in the comments.