I will be writing a greatly-anticipated post on the GAPS diet tomorrow. For now, enjoy today’s video on rethinking candida. Starving yourself of sugar certainly isn’t a wise or sustainble route to health improvement.?P.S. – Check out my recent?interview on’the new show Homegrown Health with Joni Cox.
No more stop-gap measures after tomorrow!
ba-dum-ching!
Nice UHF reference! “Ahh, red snapper!”
Go Gators!!
I feel the same way about cocaine! Why give it up? It just leads to withdrawal and cravings. So finally I just gave into those cravings and snort as much as I want everyday. Makes me feel great!
Oh “Kim.” I know you love me. Why don’t we be like Tony Orlando and Candida. Ooh Candida. We can make it together. I know that life can be sweeter, cuz I saw it in my dreams. http://youtu.be/WROdwlk9_h8
ugh…the gator!!!! *thud* This is another interview we’ll do for Homegrown Health. Thanks so much for sharing the show :)!! You’re a great interview!
There is certainly more to it when it comes to pathogens and sugar. In an attempt to starve whatever infection I had, I went through a long period of very low carb eating, which seems to eventually put the symptoms to about non existant, of course new health problems manifested from the lack of carbs like hypothyroidism and super low energy. Once I ditched the low carb and started eating tons of carbs, it was pure awesome at first, but it soon became very evident that what had been dormant infection loved it too, and symptoms returned. Being as this new diet strongly emphasized plenty of sugar, it returned strong. Overall my functioning is much better than the near zero carb, but the unknown (and curiously resistant to high metabolism / albendazole / praziquantel / anti-pathogenic herbs / raw carrots / nicotine / caffeine / coconut oil / salt / sulphur / about every other antipathogen ever known) infection is also much much worse.
btw this might seem kinda irrelevant but at least for the good beginning of that time I thought that my problem was mostly likely candida, since it fit all the symptoms. now though I am sure its something different. id guess probably most of the people who symptom match with candida actually have another problem.
Have you tried oregano oil or Lactoferrin?
I was seriously thinking you (Matt) were going to show us some kind of amazing product for gobbling up candida. That was up until you brought out the gator’
In australia, we have gummy-pythons. They’re pretty sweet too!
“…a very large percentage of people I see who have been following dierts have actually worsened their health. I call this ‘Health Book Syndrome,’ because usually the worse the blood picture, the more health books the person has read.”
“…I had two patients within a week who had both been vegetarians for over twenty years, grew much of their own food organically, and practised a certain degree of food combining. One had cancer of the liver, the other hardening of the arteries requiring bypass surgery. It can be a bit intimidating when a patient has already been following the basis of your program, even if without your guidence, and has suffered from it. While they both showed sensitivities to some of the foods they were eating and both showed intestinal flora problems, the major weakness I could identify was an extreme ileocecal valve problem.”
“Since that time I have checked for ileocecal valve problems much more carefully, and find that nearly half of the people I see for the first time have problems with this important valve. The most common denominator is that almost all of them have actively attempted to improve their health. They have read widely about health and have tried to conscientiously apply what they have read to their day-to-day lifestyle. The other thing in common is that their blood pictures are generally worse than those of people who’ve never done a thing for their own health.”
“It would appear that health advocates have somehow led people off the road to health… The symptoms [of ileocecal valve problems] can be identical to those associated with yeast problems. I may find patients are taking large quantities of yeast killers with little improvement, as the malfunctioning ileocecal valve is the source of their toxicity.”
–Dr. Jonn Matsen N.D., EATING ALIVE: PREVENTION THRU GOOD DIGESTION (1987)
This was one of my Mom’s first diet books. XD
I was raised without sugar for the most part, and put on Anti-Candida diets regularly as a child and young teenager. They never really worked. >.< My mom was always like "you do so much better on them" and stuff, seeing as I always had problems afterwards. XD (Not that I didn't to begin with, but it's not as though the diet was a permanent solution.)
For some reason I tried more restricted versions (vegan version, low carb version) of the Anti-Candida diet as an adult. They were, of course, more damaging than the no-sweet-foods-and-no-dairy version. Now, after all that, my teeth are chipping, and my hormones are lacking. -.- Oh right LOL, I even did the RRARF version of the Anti-Candida diet. Hahaha. That was the best one by far. Helped me a lot more than anything I'd previously tried. Dunno if it really counts though, since I'm pretty sure I was eating dairy on it. :P
Is this doc saying the ileocecal valve problem is because of transit time? I know he is saying candida, but if we increase metabolism, that would increase transit time, which might reduce candida and not allow for ileocecal valve problems – but did he ever come up with low metabolism as a possibility?
Very much looking forward to understanding the candida stuff – I took in so much info the past few yrs. about how to kill it all off (you know, by eating nothing but meat, fats, and a few bites of zucchini or something to starve those babies lol). I thought I was doing right…
Tamara
Tamara,
Yeah, I didn’t realize how much the anti-candida information had influenced by dieting until watching Matt’s video. XD It’s quite convincing.
“Is this doc saying the ileocecal valve problem is because of transit time?”
I don’t believe so. He thinks the ileocecal valve is irritated by excessive amounts of fiber from raw vegetables and suchlike, as are encouraged by raw food and vegetarian diet books. So he recommends avoiding “scratchy” fiber.
“I know he is saying candida, but if we increase metabolism, that would increase transit time, which might reduce candida and not allow for ileocecal valve problems ? but did he ever come up with low metabolism as a possibility?”
Nope, he did not.
puddleduck,
I’ve heard quite a lot about this book. Is it worth reading?
Lars,
Well, I haven’t read it. XD I was just flipping through it a few days ago, and noticed the part I quoted.
But from my skim through it, the doctor’s recommendations seem complicated. He explains how the digestive tract, liver, lymphatic system, etc, operate, and then how to get everything working optimally through a certain amount of food combining, fasting, testing for food sensitivities, barley grass juice, fresh vegetable juicing, a whole foods diet (which includes dairy, meat, and carbohydrates), and various home remedies. If that interests you, then it might be worth reading. Personally, it doesn’t seem all too helpful. I experienced most of this stuff as kid. Haha.
Is this the chicken or the egg, though? Did they start seeking health books because of existing issues, or were the issues caused by the health books?
Most likely both. The health problems which drove me to diet books were usually exacerbated by the resulting food restriction.
Very interesting! I’m anxious to see today’s post. I did GAPS for about 9 months…and I’m struggling now as I’ve been “off” it since January. Kind of lost as to what to eat to get my body back on track. I’ve already been eating more and have gained 10 lbs. But my temps are still so low. It was 92.5 at one point this morning!! It usually does get to the 97’s during the day at least. But I don’t like the morning temps at all. Again, really looking forward to what you have to say…and how I can maybe stop taking probiotics and get back to being able to tolerate starch.
At last, getting to the gut of the matter! ! I’ve been hoping you’d get around to addressing these issues. Can’t wait for the updates and to hear a bit more about how the JJRs tackle it. More more more (please x)
Matt
So what’s your proposal for how to deal with yeast overgrowth/candida? You’ve upset the apple cart but you did not really provide any guidance on how to move forward. Thanks!
I’m intrigued, but not convinced – I personally began to have low metabolic problems after the birth of my second child (which coincided with a dose of antibiotics). As my weight went up and my fatigue increased, my baby developed thrush and ear infections. Unknowing mommy gave her two doses of antibiotics and she developed TERRIBLE eczema and food intolerances. After months on the GAPS diet, Baby’s eczema disappeared and the food intolerances vanished. I was not so lucky and my metabolism is worse then ever. I was recently tested (saliva) and found to have a candida overgrowth and high cortisol. Looking at my story, It really seems the candida caused the inflammation and low metabolism – not vice versa. Also, I really am curious what you consider wrong with the GAPS diet. I have seen too many incredible recoveries (including my own child’s) to doubt its efficacy. Now, I’m pregnant again and eat whatever I want under the guidelines of WAP including lots of carbs. I’ve ballooned weight wise, but I’m too pregnant to care. I really want to get my metabolism fixed after Baby comes, but my naturopath is saying I need to kill the candida to fix my cortisol levels and you’re saying that I should…eat sugar? I know which one would be funner, but I’m not sure which one would work. Confusing.
Not just any sugar…. Gummy alligators. That’s the cure for candida. Who knew? Love the science behind that.
My professor (had to drop out of school this past week though – too sick to go on) wanted me to go on the GAPS Diet. No way! Have a friend who put out a lot of money to study it – I consulted her to not do it – put her on a carb/veg diet similar to what you do – before I knew about your site – and she is feeling much better. She had a big seizure soon after (she’s had them for a long time). I told her to stop the water intake, get the minerals, eat the food! lol
REALLY looking forward to GAPS diet info you will give – so many people want this thing. I think it’s backwards; I think the intestinal bacteria comes from low metabolism / body temps, not the other way around. I think “they” think “get the bacteria under control and then things like leaky gut will get fixed.”
Tamara Slack
“I think the intestinal bacteria comes from low metabolism / body temps, not the other way around. I think ‘they? think ?get the bacteria under control and then things like leaky gut will get fixed.”
After reading/learning more, I agree with you on this. It’s so confusing though because I *have* seen improvements with my son when adding probiotics and yeast fighters (he’s borderline ASD and has gut issues/adrenal issues/ect). So I do personally believe they can help. But I think until the metabolism gets fixed, his yeast/bacteria will come back. BUT changing diet can help with adrenal issues, if there is a true allergy (my son has IGE cow milk and beef allergy that went unchecked for years, contributing to problems). Also taking gluten out has helped him, but taking gluten out made MY candida symptoms worse! I assume it slowed my metabolism, as I also restricted the crap out of my diet because my nursing baby was reacting to everything I ate.
Kari –
I think that is right on – definitely address the true allergies. They may go away too. I can’t handle dairy, gluten, the nightshade family, and onions, leeks, garlic (high thiolic foods), but I am thinking that as my temp goes up and metabolism is faster and faster, these things may heal.
I have studied at length these different diets and especially leaky gut. I was scared to death to try Matt’s way of eating, but getting an understanding of the mitochondrial activity (which I hear so little about in nutritional circles) and the butyric acid (WOW THAT hit me like a ton of bricks), it totally makes sense that a lot of these things will go away.
I set up a metabolic diet for a friend’s autistic son (was born with fetal alcohol syndrome too – poor guy) a few months ago. He went from having to be in the emergency room a LOT because he couldn’t breathe to only having to have 1 breathing treatment. I didn’t know about Matt or about RRARF or anything like that – I happened to be studying Metabolic Typing through three different doctors / researchers. This kid LOVES his food now – I moved him from a high protein / fat diet to more carbs / vegs diet, but removed high allergens (in case).
Maybe take out the main culprits for a while and see how it goes: gluten, dairy, eggs, NUTS (for sure), and soak grains overnight if you are going to do grains. You know, even the veggies that inhibit thyroid – cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and cauliflower – I don’t think fermentation takes out the goitrogenic aspect of those veggies – but I could be wrong (I think heavily cooking them would for the most part, but then what’s left but some fiber? Not sure) – this may be of help too.
Weird that taking gluten out of your diet messed you up though??
Tamara
He’s really pretty good now-just a bit quirky : ). I’m just working on increasing all of our metabolisms-I think taking gluten out messed me up because I replaced it with lower calorie things, but I’m not sure.
Oh and the reason I am in such a mess with my temps at 96 (they are pretty much staying in 96 / 97 range – can’t get them up unless total rest with no noise, no getting up, etc.) is not only because of the mercury poisoning but because I did the anti-Candida diet for SOOOOOOOOOOOOO stinkin’ long, I had zero carbs (well, super low carbs and all low glycemic) for years :(
Tamara
Could you provided a transcript or summary for your videos? Usually the only time I have to do much stuff on the web is, ironically, when I’m at work, and watching videos isn’t an option then. Plus I can read faster and more thoroughly than listening. I’m sure I’m not the only one with this request.
I second Derek’s request for transcript/summary. (And have said so before) Please and thank you.
Me too
yep me three
me too
hey all!
I’ve been eating the food and my temp is up to about 98.3 in the morning after I get out of bed an make it to the thermometer. My face has been breaking out for a month and that only usually happens during “that time of the month.” I figure this is an outward result of what is going on inside my body so I’m eating yogurt, kefir, coconut oil and probiotics daily (as well as all other food groups). do you think this will help?
V
I am one of those people that do horribly on ‘candida cleanses’ especially if it is very low in carbohydrates. Last time I tried one I was eating very high protein and every night I would wake up with a racing heart, thanks to you I now recognize that as a sugar crash. I can eat plenty of carbs and sugar and don’t get crashes, and feel like my hypoglycemia is much better. People that claim eating sugar stresses out our adrenals over time maybe have never experimented with it before, because I have seen my stress response get better eating the right ratios of food and getting enough nutrients. Thats always important when you increase metabolism.
I also believe that its dangerous to eliminate candida if one has amalgam fillings as it can help your body deal with the mercury.
I have becoming more conscious of the factors that affect the “strength” of my digestion recently, and as I’ve mentioned before, there is something about processed and palatable foods that increases my digestive fire. I’ve been experimenting with only eating foods that really make me salivate before I eat them. As I was googling some of my ideas I ran across this wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastric_acid
I found it fascinating that 30 percent of all the gastic secretions are produced before the food even reaches the stomach as an effect of the anticipation, smell, and taste of food! For someone with weak digestion who feels like they need to eat a bland diet to control candida or whatever, they could be secreting much less digestive juices than if they would eat some appetite-stimulating food.
—
There are three phases in the secretion of gastric acid:
The cephalic phase: Thirty percent of the total gastric acid secretions to be produced is stimulated by anticipation of eating and the smell or taste of food.
The gastric phase: Sixty percent of the acid secreted is stimulated by the distention of the stomach with food. Plus, digestion produces proteins, which causes even more gastrin production.
The intestinal phase: The remaining 10% of acid is secreted when chyme enters the small intestine, and is stimulated by small intestine distention.
Badass Luke. Thank you!
Right on Luke!
I have arsed up my health sooo bad on candida cleanses and later the Specific Carbohydrate Diet?, the precursor to GAPS. Both those diets worsened or introduced new symptoms they were supposed to allevitate. It’s a shame I can only appreciate your blog now its too late.
So I was on the verge of adding in potatoes and ricey goodness into my diet, but last week I did a trial of a DMSA heavy metal chelation round to see if I reacted… Well the yeast in my gut went bonkers crazy and I got itchy bits (And itchy bitch tits) from my toes to my scalp and a nice red rash around my eye.
Apparently DMSA lowers neutrophils, which I am told the body uses to control yeast. Oddly, blood tests of mine have often come back with slightly below range “Neutrophils(AV)”. Mercury, glutathione and a bunch of other cool stuff is involved too, but I really have no idea about that.
Anyway, I seem to do alright with orange juice not causing too much bloating; whereas milk, whole fruit and in the past starch gave me plenty, and acne too. I was wondering if fruit juices and something like glucose powder would be ideal for feeding my body without giving too much to the bugs? The difficulty being not washing myself out with fluids I guess.
I need to man up and eat some starch, but my acne is scarring like an absolute bugger right now. I think you guys aren’t so big on supplements, but I was planning to pound some vitamin A and D to get me over the face-melting transition into the land of carb. Like 20,000iu per day for a few weeks with some K2.
Also I’ve been forcing myself to pronounce it “kan-didd-uh” even though it never stops sounding awkward. Apparently saying it that way makes me sound more authoritatetive.
Well Carb Curious, after seeing your pronunciation of candida, I have to admit, you really sound like an authority on the subject!
You don’t have to do the starch thing if you don’t want to. Many experience worsening of acne for several weeks when they start putting in a bunch of things they aren’t accustomed to eating. Raising metabolism will raise them there neutrophils though. So whatever you do eat, go big. Make sure it’s yummy and feels “naughty.”
CURIOUS –
Where are you going to get your A, D, and K? I have a D I believe is the best – made from lanolin, but have no idea about A & K. I was using fermented cod liver oil, but that’s out now, so if you don’t mind posting where you are going to get your A and K from, I’d love to hear it :)
Also, I don’t *anything* about neutrophils – anything you can pass onto me, great! I have a lot of mercury and was doing DMSA (protocol was DMSA and ALA, but the DMSA made my gut go bonkers and the ALA made my head go bonkers). I am now not chelating at all and hoping that as I raise my metabolism and re-mineralized, my body will make the glutathione necessary (just a theory – have no idea, but since I believe this is from liver congestion, anything I do to go toward better metabolism, I think, should help — and maybe for you too?).
Oh and I had an expert on candida interrupt me and say, “it’s KAN-did-uh” so every time I said it wrong, he would roll his eyes. lol Just for that: can-DEE-duh!!
Tamara
Tamara,
I’m certainly no expert on supplements; I was hoping you guys would correct me heh. Here’s what I’m taking: For K I am taking K2 in menatetranone (MK4?) form, 5mg; my A is from fish liver, I used to use a soy oil based supplement but Carlson do one in a safflower base which I thought might be less allergenic. The reason I went with fish liver vitamin A is because synthetic forms seem to make me depressed.
I’m going to try ALA next week hopefully, most probably I will have a similar reaction and be done with chelation as well in a couple more weeks!
For glutathione have you looked into treatments to help with methylation? On a chronic fatigue forum there are two chaps named richvank and Freddd who have developed protocols around the theory that without enough B12 and folate the body’s methylation cycle becomes unable to recycle glutathione (Or something like that). Supposedly many of mercury’s symptoms are very similar and could arise from mercury destroying B12. It’s pretty extreme though and not to be treated lightly, especially the methyl-B12 which can lead to dangerously low potassium. The idea that fortification and supplementation with the synthetic forms cyano-B12 and folic acid could be screwing a whole lot of people up, is spookily fascinating though.
I don’t know how it all fits in with metabolism, but either way I want to Get It Up! My problem, and likely downfall, is that I’m too impatient not to try everything else on top of it.
Decided today is the day to freak out my friends (not sure how many I will have left). Blogged, called it “Doing the RRARF”
http://healthy-thoughts.com/healthythoughts/?p=194
Tamara
Very timely post, since a friend sent me a Mercola article full of terrifying info on the gut/autism link, no doubt to ‘encourage’ me in dealing with my oldest son who probably falls somewhere in the Autism Spectrum or ADD/ADHD. I’m not big on labels, and believe that public schools would like nothing better than to medicate the entire male population. Whatever. He’s actually one of those weird kids who seems to reach a state of zen after consuming sugary caffeinated beverages. Good to know that removing all sugar would actually do more harm than good.
Melissa,
My boyfriend is ADHD and hasn’t been on medication since he was in 9th grade or something (said it made him miserable…on ADHD meds, then on sleeping pills because he couldn’t sleep, then also on anti-depressants because he was in such a trance-state from the other meds!) Anyway…he says that caffeine/sugar actually calms him down and he loves drinking a monster in the morning (even though I protest that lol) because other wise he can’t “function right” or however he puts it. It’s interesting, wish I knew exactly what was going on with that. His mom actually told me that when he was diagnosed the doctor told her to go home and give him a Mountain Dew and if that calmed him down and didn’t make him bounce off the walls he was ADHD…
Matt,
Great video :) I actually bought Donna Gates’ book a while back and was really excited to read it because I’ve had my share of candida-ish symptoms but it just didn’t sit right with me and once I got to the food combining I put it down – now glad I did!
Thanks
Hey Matt
I have candida related symptoms; still can’t tolerate grains, react badly to them with flare. Under your influence tons of potato starch and some sugar and fruits are ok however.
So, personal observations:
-sugar in the morning and lunch is fine. Congruent with RBTI
-sugar for dinner = symptoms next day
-tried a couple of days on fruits only and sugar = no symptoms. In line with what fruitarian says about candida.
-candida seems to be linked to heavy metal toxicity. I am myself full of mercury and aluminum (got many allergy and vaccines jabs) and saw improvement since I chelate.
I think the fruitarian theory on candida is the right one. Those guys are like algae in a pond. Under some circumstance they multiply like crazy; the rest of the time they are just a normal part of our body. It’s not carbs/sugar as such the problem, but sugar once the gut flora has been damaged by heavy metal and the time of the day you eat the carbs, me think.
What do you reckon?
In digging deeper beyond candida, here is an interesting quote from Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, a German holistic dr. I am not taking sides here. Just putting the quote out there, and a comment on it by a Robert B Johnson See below.
Dietrich Klinghardt, MD
Mercury suffocates the intracellular respiratory mechanism and can cause cell death.
So, the immune system makes a deal: it cultivates fungi and bacteria that can bind large amounts of toxic metals.
The gain: the cells can breathe.
The cost: the system has to provide nutrition for the microorganisms and has to deal with their metabolic products.” (NOTE added by Olive Kaiser: these metabolic products are believed by some experts to be toxic when the microorganisms feed on toxins)
Comment by Robert B. Johnson, DMD, ND, MT
Many times when the heavy metals are removed and chelated from the body, yeast drops significantly. It is now understood that the body is able to use yeast to combine with heavy metals to render them inactive. Less damage to your health is done with high levels of yeast than heavy metals so it is thought that the body uses higher levels of yeast to protect itself from dangerous toxins.”
The source of this theory came from Dietrich Klinghardt, MD. He said that the body prefers candida to heavy metal and that the candida attaches to mercury.
If this is so, then too vigorous efforts to kill off candida might be a bad idea for persons with amalgam fillings. Better to remove the fillings and wait until symptoms of heavy metal poisoning are gone and then attack the candida.
******
Olive here again : I will also say on the flip side that I recently heard an autism dr say that in deciding the progression of treatment for some autistic kids, they cleaned up the candida FIRST and then removed the heavy metals, along with other simultaneous treatments. Confusing, but my take on this is that they were doing a whole approach and not just stopping with candida reduction. The ultimate goal was metal and other toxin removal, which should also increase nutrition by increasing the body’s ability to digest and assimilate.
Whilst one has to laugh at some candida stories out there – (one woman said it had got to her brain!), I have just a small concern from this video and other recent ones. I understand that being on a high carb diet certainly works for me and many other people here but I tend to stick mainly to fruit and milk. Surely ice cream, gatorade, marshmallows etc cannot be classified as healthy? From reading all the articles on Ray Peats website he hasn’t mentioned ice cream once. Nor gatorade. He advises a diet high in antioxidants (or chain breakers as he calls them). They are far more abundant in fruit than ice cream and gatorade I think……
Paul Jaminet has covered this.. the part of your immune system that kills fungus requires glucose, so low carb will make fungal infections worse.
Today I came across something interesting that might explain why some do well on LC GAPS and others better on more Carbs ‘battling Candida”.
It matters which type of Candida you have; Candida Albicans feeds on sugars and everything that converts to sugar. But apparently Candida Asperrigilus feeds on proteine.
However in my case there are way more other factors,parasites,molds…just not the typical Candida one,which always gets blamed when dealing with health&digestive issues. So,unfortunately it’s not just about what one can digest or raises bodytemp. :(
Hi Matt,
I have a few questions about where to begin (what ebook would be best to purchase first)? Can I contact you by email to give you some information about where I’m coming from in terms of health, symptoms, etc… I definitely think I have Candida overgrowth, and am coming from several experiments in various diets.
Thanks!
Hey Matt. I recently stumbled upon your blog after reading about RRARF on thelovevitamin.com / I have had really bad acne, allergies, sinisitus, etc. for over 10 years. I have been through heavy rounds of anti-biotics as well. Up until Jan. 2011, I constantly ate “garbage”, drank lots of alcohol, and lived a pretty unhealthy lifestyle. My symptoms would come and go mostly getting the worst in the winter. In Jan 2011 I got fed up with my ill healh and poor immune system…this was around the same time I found Dan “The Man” Mcdonald on yourtube . I was convinced that all I had to do to “cure myself” was buy a juicer, stop cooking my food, and pretty much live like a complete freak. I joined the 80/10/10 crowd, lost about 25 lbs (i wasnt even close to overweight mind you) and became extremely sickly. Constipation, bloating, cystic acne, etc. were just some of the “detox” symptoms that became a regular part of my life. I eventually eased up, started cooking my food and ate chocolate/drank alcohol once in awhile. I had a great summer (still chronically constipated and bloated) and actually started to look and feel somewhat healthy. Fast forward to November 2011, things came crashing down once again, i went through some stressful events, my digestion was getting worse, and i was still psychotic about eating “pure”, mostly nothing at all. I pretty much stopped eating all together, usually fruit for breakfast, salad for lunch, and a baked sweet potato for dinner.. By December I was feeling on the verge of death, I contacted Paul Chek and he referred me to one of his practitioners. I was diagnosed with a severe fungal infection, put on a strict anti-fungal diet, and became addicted to oregano oil. Some of the symptoms cleared up (although seriously constipated still) and I spent the last four months on a low-carb/paleolithic diet. The diet had its advantages, but my bloating in gas soon turned into severe upper left abdominal pain (possibly gall bladder). Last week I stumbled upon your blog and this video in particular. This week I ate a quart of ice cream, have been eating a lot of potatoes, and mostly have just been trying to not be so crazy about what i eat. My stomach instantly felt better unless I eat gluten and my energy levels/body/skin seem to be rapidly healing. I will continue on his path and keep you updated..but I really wanted to encourage you to dive more into the subject of Candida/fungal infections/eating disorders, these are the subjects that resonate so well with me, as well as thousands of other people caught in the world wide web of dieting/alternative health info. Thanks man. I lookforward to your future videos, blog posts, and books.
Definitely need more understanding in this area. I keep getting rashes under my arms (def suspect yeast issues). I have heard about how I need to starve it, kill it, and rebuild my gut health but now I am being told almost the exact opposite haha. This diet/health stuff is a trip, nothing but contradictions almost wish I never got into it all and just lived my life and ate whatever I ate. I am coming from a bias toward paleo/ancestral/WAP but now that paradigm is under questions just reading some of this blog. Don’t know what to do, everything I think is healthy is not healthy the next day.
Well, way to confuse the holy hell out of me. I was just prescribed a “yeast and mold free” diet (along with fish oil, probiotics and urva ursi) because I was allergy tested and found to have a strong allergy/sensitivity to both Baker’s and Brewer’s yeast and because a stool test found my “good” gut bacteria to be low. I “can’t” have any sweeteners, no dried fruits, no fermented foods — even my favorite, olives and mushrooms are off the table, pun intended. I was having what my practitioner called “classic” symptoms of yeast overgrowth — low energy, foggy brain, joint aches, weight retention. Before I went to get my problems “figured out,” I had recently lost 25 lbs post-partum through exercise (not extreme) and basic calorie restriction. I’m now wondering if my weight loss is actually causing my “yeast overgrowth” symptoms…. As well as my extra dry skin and thinning hair and generally tendency towards being cold! Should I tell my doc to go to hell?
Just bought Eat for Heat and I’m wondering, as a side note, what you would say about breastfeeding and fluid intake? They seriously want you to drink a lake every day if you’re a breastfeeding mom.
Hi Erin, I’m new to this website, but I do have three kids. What they tell you about drinking so much just isn’t true. That study they like to toute about ‘8 glasses a day’ isn’t what they think. It included the water content of food as well. Basically, in my 3 baby experience, drink when you feel thirsty. If you have a tendency not to feel thirsty, watch for signs of dehydration, and be more careful in hot weather. If your baby is nursing more because its hot out, you’ll probably need to drink a bit more to compensate too. Its really very simple, in my experience, and no stress required.
OMG!!!! I am horribly confused and all this talk on health is now messing with my head. I have been on the path of trying to eat really healthy for the last five years due to chronic health issues that don’t seem to disappear no matter what I do or who I see, mainly chronic digestive issues, cystic acne and constant tiredness and low energy. In order, I have tried WAP, Schwarzbein, Paleo for 18 months, GAPS for 2 months, detoxed with a Naturopath for 2 months, 180 degree health, the Perfect Health Diet whilst gluten and dairy free and now I am trying the Body Ecology diet. My temperatures are always on the low side. I wouldn’t even bother with all this crap if my health was OK. I am really struggling to stay on the Body Ecology diet as it is soooooo ridiculously strict, especially with the food combining. I am starting to think that all of this deprivation or strict rules for eating this way or that is psychologically damaging and your mental and emotional health affects your physical health anyway. And enjoyment of whatever food you eat I would have thought is essential. I am still a big believer in real whole food and a wide variety of foods and there is some wonderful healthy recipes on the internet, and I agree with what has been said above, that I don’t think we should be gobbling down marshmallows or crocs, but there seems to be such an unhealthy obsession with health and food and we need to just enjoy eating well without being obsessed with what our bodies are doing. So for all the searching I have been doing on the internet to try to improve my health, I could be meditating and/or out walking.
So that’s my rant.
I am still on the search for improving my health. Doctors, naturopaths and so called ‘experts’ on the internet all have completely different views. I will accept any sensible suggestions out there.
In the meantime, I will go back to meditation and walking!! Meditation is the best thing you can do for your health anyway, check the science on that one! Pity that’s not mentioned more on 180 degree health.
Thanks Matt for your site, I always go back to your site when confusion takes over with other information out there.
Body Ecology could be the worst diet ever devised.
Yay, thanks for responding Matt. Much appreciated. As I am tinkering on the edge of quitting and feeling like a failure for not persisting (bugger), would be really great if you could give an explanation for your view. I think in all the different ways I have eaten over the last five years, I have definitely felt the best, enjoyed myself and felt much more normal eating RRARF. And thank you from saving me from GAPS, it was bloody horrible and I felt much worse (and yay to giving up time consuming enemas just to poo!).
The only problem I had with eating RRARF though, was the weight gain. As I am only 4 foot 9 inches I was super anxious gaining weight and much too scared that I was going to stay that way, hence I stopped. So, your views on preventing that from happening would be greatly appreciated too.
Thanks again for your site and humour, its a fantastic resource in amongst the maze of information out there!!!
Its funny how people avoid carbs to “starve” candida, because fungi actually thrive on ketones…theyre more likely to starve bacteria that might keep the fungi in check.
So I’m wondering if this post is still going? I went on a ketogenic diet and lowered my protein to 40g a day and about 90% fat. I felt great at first for months I felt euphoric! Then the mornings became rough and I had to eat a full fat breakfast with no protein at all otherwise I would be tiered after eating. I wanted to up my carbs and protein but when I did the next day my vision would be blurry , my joints stiff and really inflamed . Then I would eat anything and get a huge emotional crash. I borrowed a blood sugar meter and my blood sugars were in the 200’s fasting until I ate then I would crash and cry a lot with the emotional instability. I knew this was due to physiological insulin resistance. I found out about the potato diet and thought maybe that could reverse it and I had massive adrenaline surges from eating the carbs . I went on to eat a low gi diet and felt horrible and fatigued after eating, I tried keto for a week and felt horrendous . I’m now eating a raw till 4 type diet and feeling good but when ever I have the smallest amount of fat I get a hot flush and fatigue and it feels like hypoglycemia. I had temporary hyperthyroidism but now my levels are normal when I first transitioned to eating carbs. I was wondering if maybe I have candida . I can’t eat any yeast , alcohol or any sort of protein or fat while eating a hclf diet ! I want to be normal again!! Any idea what is going on?
Hey Matt, Are you still putting videos out? If so, how do I find them? Also, how can I put on heavy weight (fat or muscle) quick, fast and in a hurry? I think I’ve got a yeasty, candida infested damaged gut so it’s hard for me to get the most out of my food… any tips of piling on heavy weight?
Hey Matt, Did you start posting Youtube videos again earlier this year? Can’t seem to find them. Can you link them?