finally started on detox diet

[Mona]

)Apple cider vinegar is effective treatment for candida. (Jan.2009)

It often takes years for someone to realize candida is the mystery illness behind symptoms like fatigue, poor memory, sugar cravings and yeast infections. Fortunately, once you identify candida as the problem, it can often be treated swiftly without a prescription. Natural methods are actually far superior to any drug on the market. One of the simplest ways to treat candida at home is with apple cider vinegar.

Apple cider vinegar is rich in natural enzymes that can regulate the presence of candida in the body. It helps encourage the growth of healthy bacteria, which in turn minimizes the overgrowth of candida. Apple cider vinegar also balances your body's pH level. These properties not only clear up candida, though. Once you start using it, the benefits of apple cider vinegar will extend to all areas of your health.

Buying the right apple cider vinegar makes all the difference. Much of the apple cider vinegar you'll find in your local grocery store is simply white distilled vinegar with caramel coloring added to it. What you're looking for is raw, unpasteurized apple cider vinegar, preferably unfiltered and organic. This type of vinegar will contain the nutrients you need to combat candida.

The key to effectively using apple cider vinegar to cure yeast problems is to take it every day at a dose of 1-2 tablespoons. Apple cider vinegar can only balance pH levels if it is constantly present. One of the best ways to accomplish this is to sip all day on a tall glass of water mixed with one tablespoon of apple cider vinegar. Feel free to sweeten the drink with stevia for a refreshingly sweet and tangy flavor combination. Another relaxing way to enjoy apple cider vinegar is in a cup of hot tea lightly sweetened with honey.

Cooking with apple cider vinegar is another way to get your daily serving. Use it in place of white vinegar or even wine in your favorite recipes. It's also ideal for making vinaigrette salad dressings.

If you have external signs of candida, such as yeast or fungal infections, you can apply apple cider vinegar topically to help deal with this problem. Apply directly to the affected area or add a cup of apple cider vinegar to a warm bath.

Keep in mind your symptoms may get worse for the first few days when starting a regimen of apple cider vinegar. This is typical when treating candida and is caused by the yeast rapidly dying off. You may notice a headache and foggy thinking for a couple of days, but after that symptoms should clear quickly.

More Information:

Lawson, Cheryline. "Use Apple Cider Vinegar to Cure Yeast Infection." The American Chronicle. (2009)

Paul, Linda. "Apple Cider Vinegar." Bella Online. (2008)


I just wanted to say that I really wanted to really shoot myself in the leg for getting my mom started on apple cider vinegar . The above article I copied from the sott webside, although, this was not the first time I heard that apple cider vinegar was a good treatment for candida. My mother had a session done by an irridologist over a year ago, before she started the detox program with far infrared sauna, who also recomended this vinegar for candida. But I must say that the first thing that came to my mind after I read the blood results, is that the vinegar probably caused her white blood cells to increase. Her next blood test willl be done next month, so I will inform everyone of what is really going on. It's too bad that we have to learn from our own stupid mistakes, I just wish it did not have to be my mother, who has had enough of her health issues.

I do have one question, is it OK if she takes NAC 500mg with 1000mg of vitamin C twice a day? She has been complaining of ringing in her ears, probably as a result of the detoxification of mercury and other heavy metals in her body. She has not had any other side effects from taking NAC.

 

[Gaby]

I do have one question, is it OK if she takes NAC 500mg with 1000mg of vitamin C twice a day? She has been complaining of ringing in her ears, probably as a result of the detoxification of mercury and other heavy metals in her body. She has not had any other side effects from taking NAC.

Sounds like a reasonable dose. She could take more vitamin C if her bowels tolerate it. Here is more information about the doses: http://www.cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php?topic=13208.msg122399#msg122399

You can check the orthomolecular website for more information, it has very useful and interesting resources: http://orthomolecular.org/library/articles/index.shtml

Keep us updated.

 

[Mona]

Thanks Psyche,
I will definitely give you all updates on this situation. IT's a good thing that my mom's health can be monitored with regular blood tests. You know, if it is the vinegar that interfered with her detox program then it is good for everyone to know about it. I would have never thought in a million years that the vinegar would have such a negative effect on her health, and it could affect other people's health as well without people knowing about it. But when I saw the blood results, and my heart stopped pumping for more than a few moments, I thought to myself right away that the evil agent was the vinegar.

I will slowly introduce my mom to extra 500 mg of NAC and 1000mg of Vit C. I really want her body cleaned up. But I will be a little cautious about it this time, now that i have the fear in me that I might cause her more harm than good. I also take 500mg NAC daily. I hope that it can also get rid of DDT. I remember when I was a kid I used to hang around my grandfather who used DDT on his potato plants. I can smell the chemical right now as my memory still remembers it. So I definitely have a few nasty chemicals in me as well.

THanks and I will update you next month.

 

[abstract]

Okay so I will just put this here because i know now if i start a new topic it will be moved here anyways. :P

K, so I've been experiementing with all this different stuff lately, foodwise that is, and I feel like i'm getting closer to accomplishing what i want to accomplish.

See, as enthusiastic as I am about all this there are some things a lot of just can't afford to do all the time.

So i'm getting more into (when i go to the grocery store) getting a small variety but stocking up on those things. I figure that way I can just get used to something and then when

I am used to whatever that is, if it needs to change it won't be so confusing.

For example, it's recomended that you eat chicken (or whatever your favorite meat is) about 3 or 4 times a week. I buy some organic chicken breasts, 4 in a package, just have one for

dinner 4 nights a week. For snacks, I went with pumpkin seeds and buckwheat bread, y'know, finger food.

Vegetables are obviously included, mostly green stuff for me, asparagus, bok choy, green onion, etc. and those aren't terribly expensive.

I chose organic oatmeal as breakfast (again, not very expensive) because it seems to digest easy. And I of course have the recommended sea salt, olive oil, etc.

Also, doing these diet changes really forces you to look for condiment alternatives. I was lucky to find organic tomato sauce to go on my brown rice pasta.

So that's just a lil' update.

 

[dugdeep]

Also, doing these diet changes really forces you to look for condiment alternatives. I was lucky to find organic tomato sauce to go on my brown rice pasta.

Another good idea for condiments is to make your own. One good one I've been getting a lot of use out of lately is "cilantro pesto". Just take a bunch of cilantro, stems and all, and throw it in the food processor with a clove of garlic and blend it til it's fully chopped. Slow the speed down and pour in olive oil slowly - depending on what consistency you're going for, you're usually looking at under a cup. Add a healthy pinch of unrefined sea salt and voila - cilantro pesto!

Now you've got a versatile condiment that has heavy metal chelating power from the cilantro, anti-viral/anti-bacterial power from the garlic and healthy anti-inflammatory fats from the olive oil, and it only took 3 minutes to make! You can add it to soups, stews, throw it on rice or use it as a base for a rice pasta dish with lots of veggies. I also put it on top of a bowl of curry with brown rice, just to give it that finishing touch. :)

I'm also thinking about making some other condiments. I fermented my own sauerkraut the other day and it turned out pretty good (plus it still has all the enzymes and good bacteria intact, unlike the pasteurized stuff you get from the store). I'll be trying to make my own vinegar-free dijon mustard (type As don't do so well on vinegar) and tahini sauce in the near future. I'll let you know how it goes, if you're interested.

 

[theos]

I fermented my own sauerkraut the other day and it turned out pretty good (plus it still has all the enzymes and good bacteria intact, unlike the pasteurized stuff you get from the store).

This sounds good. Can you post the recipe?

 

[dugdeep]

This sounds good. Can you post the recipe?

Hi Odyssey. No problem. I used a method pretty similar to what you can find in this three part video by Donna Gates.
http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2009/09/17/how-to-make-cultured-vegetables-with-donna-gates/
http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2009/09/18/how-to-make-cultured-vegetables-with-donna-gates-part-2/
http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2009/09/21/how-to-pack-and-ferment-cultured-vegetables-with-donna-gates-part-3/
Gates is a big advocate of fermented foods; seeing them as far superior to probiotic supplements for colonizing the digestive tract with beneficial bacteria.

For my recipe I used cabbage and kale, like Gates, but I skipped all the nightshades she included like the peppers.

Take one head of cabbage and shred it in a food processor. You can use any type of cabbage, but I used a green cabbage. Set aside a couple of the outer leaves of the cabbage for later.
Take a bunch of kale (curly or flat), de-stem it and shred it with a knife or in the food processor. Hold on to the stems for later.
In a large bowl, combine shredded cabbage and kale and mix well.

Take a good handful of the mixture, a celery stalk, the kale stems and a healthy pinch of unrefined sea salt and put them in the blender. Add in some water (2 cups or so) and blend well.

Here's where my method differs a little from Gates'. At this stage you need to introduce the good bacteria and you have a few options. Gates sells fermented foods starter packs on her website for a reasonable price (_https://shop.bodyecology.com/products.asp?dept=1002). Or you can use Sally Fallon's method (author of Nourishing Traditions and President of the Weston A. Price Foundation). She filters yogurt with live culture through cheese cloth (I've found a coffee filter works better) and inoculates the fermentation using the liquid whey that strains off. The disadvantage of this method is that, for one thing you're using dairy which some people won't tolerate, and for another thing you're not really in control of the type of bacteria you're using. The fermentation will work fine, but Gates recommends getting the L. plantarum bacteria into your fermented foods as they're vital to the digestive tract and generally there's no way of knowing what bacterial cultures are in your yogurt. So I split open one of my probiotic capsules and used the bacteria in there. :D I saw on the ingredients list of the capsules that the probiotic blend included L. plantarum, so I figured I'd give it a go. Worked perfectly.

So, introduce your bacterial culture, whatever form it takes, to the liquid. Stir it in slowly. I wouldn't recommend blending them in because the agitation might kill them (not sure if that's the case, but thought I would play it safe).
Once the liquid has the bacteria mixed in, pour it over the cabbage and kale. Mix well.

Put the mixture into mason jars trying to put an even amount of the liquid in each jar (this made two 1L jars for me). I actually stuck a clove of garlic into the bottom of each jar as well, although this is optional. Push the mixture down using a wooden spoon or some other tool. Ideally the liquid should come above the cabbage mixture. You should have a couple of inches of space at the top of the jar, too since the fermentation is going to be giving off gas.

At this point, Gates takes one of the outer leaves of the cabbage she set aside at the beginning, folds it and crams it on the top of the mixture to keep the cabbage down below the level of the liquid. I'm not sure how important this step is. I've done it this way and done it without and the results seemed the same.

Tighten the lids and put them in a warmish place. The top of the fridge works nicely or a couple of feet from a radiator. You don't want them in direct sunlight, either. How long it takes to ferment will vary depending on the temperature, but it usually takes a week; give or take a day or two. I like to open my jars (over the sink!) every 3 days or so to release the pressure that builds up. Once a week is up, give it a taste test. It should be sour, have softened up a bit, but still crunchy. Once done, transfer them to the fridge.

Enjoy these fine fermented veggies on top of salads, stirfrys, rice bowls or curries. It's especially good with meats. This condiment is loaded with enzymes and probiotics so it will actually help you to digest your meal! But try not to cook it since heat will destroy the enzymes and bacteria. You can use this same method to ferment beets, carrots, daikon, or even sweet fruits like mango or papaya.

Good luck!

 

[Beau]

I'm also thinking about making some other condiments.

Any possible recipes for a barbecue sauce that doesn't include sugar? We have no organic BBQ sauce where I live.

 

[dugdeep]

Any possible recipes for a barbecue sauce that doesn't include sugar? We have no organic BBQ sauce where I live.

Actually...
This is a recipe found on the Weston A. Price website (http://www.westonaprice.org/2009-Conference-Recipes.html) that I believe is reprinted from the cookbook Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. It's a fermented ketchup recipe. According to Fallon, ketchup was traditionally a fermented condiment that was health promoting with its enzymes and probiotics. But with mass processing of the food supply, eventually ketchup became the high fructose corn syrup nightmare currently found in every home in the Western world. She claims that many of the condiments we use today were, at one time, fermented products.

Obviously you need to be OK with tomatoes to do this one. I've never tried it myself and since I'm fairly certain nightshades are not my thing, I probably won't be. :( Also, it calls for tomato paste, which I wouldn't recommend unless you can find one that comes in a BPA-free can. Apparently the acid from tomatoes leeches a significant amount of BPA from the internal coating of the can. Maybe it can be found in a jar? Barring that, there's a recipe for tomato paste here - http://localfoods.about.com/od/condiments/ss/tomatopaste.htm

Lacto-Fermented Ketchup by the Nourishing Traditional Cook
(Makes 1 quart)

* 3 cups canned tomato paste, preferably organic
* 1/4 cup whey [strained from yogurt, as described in my previous post]
* 1 tablespoon sea salt (Selina Naturally)
* 1/2 cup maple syrup
* 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 3 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed
* 1/2 cup homemade fish sauce or commercial fish sauce [watch for MSG here. Maybe anchovy paste would be a suitable alternative?]

Mix all ingredients until well blended. Place in a quart-sized, wide-mouth mason jar. The top of the ketchup should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. Leave at room temperature for about 2 days before transferring to refrigerator.

Note that the bacteria need to be able to feed on sugars of some kind, which may be why the maple syrup is in there. You might want to halve it or omit it. Xylitol will probably kill the bacteria, so I wouldn't recommend that as a substitute.

This recipe, from the same site, is for barbecue sauce and uses this ketchup recipe (I clipped it from the Easy Barbecued Beef recipe here http://www.westonaprice.org/The-Slow-Cooker-Rules.html)

*1 1/2 cups ketchup (preferably homemade and fermented) and/or tomato paste mixture (depends on how sweet you want the dish)
* 2 tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
* 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
* 2 tablespoons MSG-free Worcestershire sauce or fish sauce
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 1 clove fresh garlic, crushed

The recipe instructions on the site include a lot about the preparation of the beef, but essentially you just mix all the ingredients together and voila - barbecue sauce. This really just seems like the ketchup recipe again but with dijon and vinegar added.

Looking at these recipes, I'm not sure they would be similar in flavour to what we typically think of as "ketchup" or "barbecue sauce" since commercial sauces tend to be really really sweet. But none the less, they might be pretty tasty.

If you do decide to give any of these a go, let me know how it turns out. :)

 

[theos]

Thanks a lot dugdeep. I already have the jars and the probiotics. I'll try it this weekend.

 

[Pierre]

I chose organic oatmeal as breakfast (again, not very expensive) because it seems to digest easy.

Hi Abstract,

You might want to be cautious with oatmeal because it contains gluten:
http://www.healthboards.com/boards/archive/index.php/t-179237.html

We use buckwheat flakes or pops as a substitue to usual breakfast cereals.

 

[3DStudent]

There's also gluten free oatmeal made by Bob's Red Mill. They test them for cross contamination at their facility. Here's the website link: http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free/index2.html. The oats are in the middle of the page.

 

[abstract]

There's also gluten free oatmeal made by Bob's Red Mill

I like this company, actually. I get their gluten free pizza crust mix.

I know that oatmeal contains gluten, however, it has never seemed to bother me at all and it's always been a favorite food of mine.

But i will read up, nonetheless.

 

[abstract]

a bit of an update, i started using a candida cleanser and taking probiotics with that, am being very careful with sugar intake, almost none.

We'll see how it goes.

 

[Mona]

So, we started the detox on October the 20th. My mother did the FIR sauna 7 times a week for 45 to 60 minutes (minus a few days out of the whole two months when she had a little enjoyment of alcohol). I did the sauna 5 to 6 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes (I have to use the sauna at my mom's place, I don't have my own, besides I do not have any major illnesses so far, she is the one in need of it). The detox coctail included the following: 300mg of Magnesium citrate, 200 mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid, 1000mg of C Vitamin, 400 IU of Vit E, and 125 mg of Glutathione (with some real red beet juice). I wish she could take higher dosages of Glutathione and Alpha Lipoic Acit, but as I said it is very expensive. But anyway, let me continue. I also took the same coctail right after we finished the sauna. Then in the morning we took a multivitamin with all kinds of minerals, 300 mg of Calcium, Vit B complex, 1000 UI Vit D3, Lutein and 300 mg of Magnesium Citrate. I also tried to exercise 15-20 minutes on a stepper right before doing the sauna, this helped me sweat a little better. I should mention that we did not sweat a lot in the sauna, maybe if the temperature was higher (we used the highest setting) like in the more expensive saunas we would have sweat more. One day I will buy the better quality sauna.

Here are the results from my mother's blood test which was taken April 28, 2009:
WBC (white blood cell count) was 30.5 (normal is between 4.0 and 11.0)
Lymphocytes was 23.2 (normal range is between 0.5 and 3.3)
Monocytes was 2.1 ((normal range is between 0.0 and 1.0)

You have to remember that her blood test results were getting worse everytime she had it done. We actually expected the WBC to be higher than 30.5

Her next blood test was done on Dec. 23, 2009, two months later after starting the detox/FIR:
WBC is 14.9 (normal range is between 4.0 and 11.00)
Lympocytes is 7.4 (normal range is 0.5 to 3.3)
Monocytes is still 2.0 (normal is 0.0 and 1.0)

Wow, I could not believe my eyes when I saw by how much the WBC count went down, even the doctor (this is the family physician not the blood specialist) could not believe it. This is truly exciting news. Although the monocytes counts is still quite high, so my mother will definitely have to continue doing this detox program (she is also excited) and after 2 months she is going to get another blood test. I got her 500 mg of NAC yesterday, so I will also get her started on that as well. I will definitely keep you posted about the next results that she will get next in February.

Hello everyone,

SO, here comes the really bad bad news. My mom has just had the blood test done today and the results are pretty bad. I have no idea what the hell happened.
Platelet count: 149 (normal is 150-400)
WBC or white blood cell count: 26.1 (normal between 4-11)
Lymphocytes: 14.6 (normal is 0.5-3.3)
Monocyte: 2.4 (normal is 0.0-1.0)
Basophil: 0.5 (normal is 0.0-0.2)

So, as you can see she is where she started before the detoxification with the far infrared sauna that has been combined with the amino acids, vitamins and minerals as I described last time.She has been doing this detox program for 4 months now. She did a few changes though, she added 500mg of NAC. So, I don’t know what to say. I would like to know where I screwed up, maybe I was too excited about her getting better and that excitement cancelled out the good results. Or, maybe it just does not work for her anymore. I should add that she has also started taking 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar diluted in a lot of water that she drinks during the day, for candida. She has been doing that for over a month. Maybe that has something to do with the last blood test result.
I don’t know what else to say, except that I feel as if I just hit a wall and am numb all over. I am not sure what else to say or do.

Hello everyone,

So, I am forcing myself to do this as I promised that I was going to update everyone on how my mom’s health is doing with the detox. The news is not positive so I did not feel like writing about it. Here are the results:
Platelet count: 161 (normal is between 150-400)
White Blood cell count: 38.3 (normal is 4.0 to 11.0)
Neutrophils: 2.3 (normal is 2.0 to 9.0)
Lymphocytes: 35.2 (normal is 0.5 to 3.3)
Monocytes: 0.8 (normal is 0.0 to 1.0)

As you can see the WBC and lymphocytes are very high and that is making me depressed, but for some reason I cannot seem to give up. What is so depressing is that I am not sitting on my butt waiting for the heaven to perform a miracle on my mom’s health, I have done the research, I have consulted with you guys, because you are so amazing with your knowledge, and I even used a lot of positive thinking in the process, but still that is not enough. I cannot give up and I do need to find another way to improve my mom’s health. She is not ready to die and I won’t let her. There is no way in hell she is going to miss all that excitement that we will experience in a few years; she will be riding the wave with me whether she likes it or not.

She has been doing everything the same including the far infrared sauna (6 times a week), and she also eliminated gluten completely from her diet. The only think she is doing differently is the gluten part, she just eliminated it completely. What I think is ruining her health, because at some point her blood test was indicating that she was getting better, is the ingestion of fluoridated water. What I noticed is that at the time when she was getting better, while doing the detox, she was drinking bottled water which was treated through reverse osmosis, so the water did not contain any fluoride at all. Then I told her that the bottled water was even worse so she switched to tap water which she only filtrated through a regular filter that does not get rid of fluoride. She is unable to have the reverse osmosis filter installed at her place because she is renting an apartment at a senior’s complex and she is not allowed to drill any holes under or above the sink.

I mentioned before that before she was diagnosed with lympho proliferative disorder, she underwent a test with a radioactive fluoride, 18F Fluorodeoxygluscose. I feel that test created cancer in her body. I also feel that she must completely get rid of fluoride in her body,but then I could be wrong, I have been wrong way too many times before. She started taking 400mg of Goldenseal root; I remember in one of Laura’s books that CC’s recommended taking this herb for the elimination of Fluoride. For now she is drinking bottled water, I know it is also poisonous, but she is doing the far infrared sauna so her body will get rid of the plastic chemicals that way. For some reason the far infrared sauna does not get rid of fluoride. Also I was wondering if she should also start taking DMSA, but I am not sure if it also helps eliminate fluoride; I am aware DMSA is good for a heavy metal detox. I read on the internet that Borax is also good for fluoride elimination, but for some reason borax sounds to me a little too toxic, and I don’t want to poison my mom even more. I read that one eighth of a teaspoon in 1L of water should be consumed per day.
Your suggestions will be very much appreciated. I will do anything.
:/