Candida is a Bitch!

I have completely changed how I eat over the last couple of years.  I went from eating the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.) to a vegetarian, to vegan, then to nutritarian.  Now I have to restrict my eating even more because of Candida overgrowth.  I have had this Candida problem for so long now that I also suffer from Adrenal Fatigue.  There are many symptoms that come with both of these conditions but the ones I suffer from are:

1. Fatigue 
1. I find it difficult to get out of bed in the morning even if I did have a good nights sleep, which is usually about 4-5 hours a night
2. I'm also usually tired throughout the day.  I feel like I could take a nap but never can.
2. Headache
3. Depression
4. Irritability
5. Dizziness
6. PMS
7. Joint and muscle pain
8. Nail fungus 
1. I've lost part of my big toenail and part of my middle fingernail
9. Fingers peeling
1. My thumbs peel every 2 weeks.  This can be very unsightly not to mention painful when the new skin is exposed and old skin is ripping off.
10. Intense sugar and salt cravings

So that's a lot of crap to deal with on a daily basis and has motivated me even more to not just lose weight, but to get healthy!  

I recently started a cleanse and ant-candida diet.  Let me just say it's not easy!  I have to give up some of my favorite foods now like peanut butter, sweet fruits, and starchy vegetables!  I know it won't last forever though and even after 4 days of this, I can actually tell a slight difference.  My muscle and joint pain actually has been tolerable the last two days.  Most of the time my back and feet hurt so bad that I can't concentrate on other things which also makes me extremely irritable.  Last couple of days though I have actually not noticed it as bad.  So I know there is light at the end of the tunnel!

I'm actually following the candida diet on this website .  I've been doing the detox drink which is just water, lemon, apple cider vinegar, and cayenne pepper.  I'm not going to lie, it's nasty and it burns going down!  But it only lasts a couple of minutes and if it will make me feel better, I'm going to do it!  

I also bought the Body Ecology Diet book and am excited to learn more about this.  I'm sure a book review will be in a future post! 

Since I can't have any sugar and am really craving sweet foods, I searched last night to find something that would be a good alternative.  Let me tell you this stuff is awesome and you should make it even if you don't suffer from Candida!  Sunbutter chocolate bars from Sketch-free Eating.  Very simple to make, coconut oil, sunflower seed butter, stevia, vanilla extract, and carob powder.  I topped mine with more raw sunflower seeds and unsweetened shredded coconut!  Yummy, balance has been restored! lol :)