Don't be alarmed, now, the above pictured (my Birthday dinner) was perfectly safe. Those are gluten free buns, and those onion rings - baked, not fried - are breaded in corn flakes. Those hot dogs, weighing in at $5.99 a pack, are all natural, minimally processed, with no artificial ingredients. Even the ketchup is organic!
Looks good, right?
Hmmm...
There's a serious flaw in that kind of thinking. That we think we can substitute foods that look and feel (but we all know don't actually taste) like the things we're used to eating, is a testament to the reality that we really don't like change.
At the beginning of my journey into this amazing world of healthy eating, I experimented with an anti-candida diet, my sole purpose being to rid myself of a nasty case of ringworm. I soon realized that food was destroying my body - or, I should say, what I once thought of as "food". I've learned a lot since then, and I've gotten lazy, too. I still read ingredients - I have to, because there are certain things that will really hurt me. But, I have more than given in to my sweet tooth, and my body has finally said, enough is enough!
That is what this candida diet is all about - constantly craving sweets and sugary foods is a big huge sign of candida overgrowth in the body; the sugar feeds the yeast, it grows out of control, and bad things happen (think, Son of Blob, or Little Shop of Horrors). It's pretty extreme. The only way to tackle it is to get extreme right back. I know a bit about this, because I've done it before. I know what I am dealing with right now. And, this time, I'm inviting you to go along with me.
But, what if I don't have a problem with this candida stuff? Why should I do this crazy "crash diet" with some health food nut who doesn't even have her own book or TV talk show or powdered superfood drink mix?
Here's a thought - why not?
I just want to say here, that I am not selling anything, and I am not making any money at all by endorsing anything here. On that note, I can't say enough about what a huge fan I am of the Blood Type Diet. I love that it works for me, and I love that it makes sense of the fact that no one certain diet plan works the same for everybody. I love the fact that I already knew about my own food intolerances before I ever knew my blood type; this theory is credible to me. I love that it is not a weight loss plan, but a diet plan for health.
I especially love when doctors and some other people who are far more educated than I hear my story and then politely inform me, "You know, there's really not enough research to back that up." My response? That's okay - I'm doing my own research!
What no expert has been able to show me as of yet is the research that says that putting real food into your body, and eliminating the chemicals in "fake food" is in any way harmful. If I was in pain, and now I'm not, and I accomplished this without the use of any drugs, then why wouldn't I be happy about it and excited to share this information with others? The way I see it, EVERYBODY could stand to benefit from doing this "diet", because it's really nothing more than eating what was intended for you to eat.
If you do have health issues that could be related to diet, then the candida diet is a very good "elimination diet" - a plan that takes you back to basics by literally eliminating all possible "trigger foods" for a time, and then re-introducing them a little at a time to see which foods are causing you problems.
I made the decision to do this this month without looking at my calendar. I now see that Lent starts this week, so here is a great opportunity for all of you thinking about what you will "give up". Why not make the sacrifice for your health?
I will be posting my personal daily food choices, and you can choose to follow or get ideas for yourself. I will caution you that there is a ton of conflicting information out there about what foods are acceptable on a candida diet; since I'm not a scientist, I can't say which sources are accurate or why some differ. As a person who knows how to listen to my body and takes my health seriously, I can only tell you what I am doing - it is up to you to educate yourself and make informed choices for yourself.
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