NZ top 20 = 10

USA top 20 = 10

Aus top 20 = 11

UK top 20 = 7

These are; Olivia, Ella, Isabella, Emma, Jessica, Hannah, Ava, Amelia, Maia, Mia, Sophia, Alyssa, Sarah, Sienna, Georgia.

Alternatives are they ever going to come back?

Alma, Augusta, Alfreda, Bertha, Bathsheba, Brenda, Candida, Edwina, Elvira, Frederica, Frieda, Glenda, Griselda, Gloria, Hilda, Leonora, Lucretia, Maida, Mona, Norma, Olga, Philomena, Prunella, Rhoda, Roberta, Sylvia, Thelma, Wilhelmina.

Cancer Candida and Fungus – natural cancer therapy by Dr. Simoncini.

read more

A fungus infection, that of the Candida species, could supply the explanation for why a tumor occurs, and it is in this direction that research should move in the attempt to solve the problem of cancer once and for all.read more

CANCER IS A FUNGUS

REVOLUTIONARY THERAPY

SODIUM BICARBONATE
DR. SIMONCINI’S CLEAR OPINION

WHY DO SO MANY PEOPLE STILL DIE OF CANCER

THE CAUSE OF CANCER

THE WILLINGNESS
TO CHANGE
CANCER
HEALTH THREAT NR. 1

CANDIDA RESPONSIBLE
FOR CANCER

CANDIDA AND CANCER
ALWAYS CONCURRENT

THE ADAPTABILITY MECHANISM OF CANDIDA

THE SOLUTION FOUND

MY FIRST CURED PATIENT

MY ONCOLOGICAL INFECTIONTHEORY

PORT-A-CATH

THE TREATMENT BY SODIUMBICARBONATE

SIDE-EFFECTS

LIES OF THE ORTHODOX ONCOLOGY

THE BOASTING OF
THE ONCOLOGIC STATISTICS

STATISTICS TRADITIONAL ONCOLOGY

75% OF THE PHYSICIANS REFUSES CHEMOTHERAPY THEMSELVES

CONCLUSION; UNITE AND COOPERATE

VOCABULARY

SCIENZA-MEDICINA-PRESENTE-FUTURO-2009
BICARBONATE INHIBITS SPONTANEOUS METASTASES
A NEW YEAR HAS COME
RELEASE CANCER EST UN CHAMPIGNON
THIS WEBSITE IN FRENCH (bèta)
DR. APSLEY ON RSBELL RADIO
CURE NATURALI PROMOTOOLS
THE GAG OF EXPERIMENTATION
THE NOISY RESEARCHES ON CANCER
AUSSIE ONCOLOGISTS CRITICIZE CHEMOTHERAPY
DEPENDING ON ADVERTISORS AND FINANCERS
A WORLD WITHOUT CANCER
WHY NOT TRUST HEALTH MARKET
EMAILS TO DR. SIMONCINI
ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS OF INDOOR MOULDS

El 6 de desembre a les 19.00 h al Fórum de la FNAC de l’Illa Diagonal Elisa Planagumà i Rocío Romero oferiran un petit concert acústic del repertori de la Càndida Pérez.  Amb motiu de presentar i promocionar aquest recull de cuplets que ja podeu adquirir a les estanteries de la FNAC.

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone and I have been loving some new recipes! First of all, I am happy to say I made it through the holiday without even sniffing gluten or sugar! Yay me I was a little lot worried that I would not be able to resist all the traditional food. So, I made sure to take my own and basically stayed away from the large table of food at my mom’s. I have been learning more about the anti-candida diet and really prayed hard that God would help me stick to it! He answered my prayer

My Thanksgiving day started off with a yummy HOT breakfast–southwestern style. I have realized that I do much better with a BIG HOT breakfast–not cold and raw (more about that later). Here are a few I have been enjoying.

1 egg + 2 whites, cooked peppers, onions and black beans over spinach

More eggs, peppers, onions and black beans over spaghetti sqaush

Coconut flour pancakes with Sweet Almond Sauce--OMG!!

Did I mention I have a new BFF? I don’t think she knows it yet, but Ricki at Diet, Dessert and Dogs is saving my life with this Anti-Candida thing!! Thanks a million Ricki! I still have SO many more recipes to explore! The recipe for the Sweet Almond Sauce is here and it is to die for!!

Lunch on Thanksgiving day was:

Kale Salad with Sweet Potato Fries

These recipes were also on Ricki’s blog I’m afraid sweet tators may be out for me for a while though–they make me crave sugar! UGH!

Dinner on Thanksgiving:

Anti-Candida Stew

Yet another wonderful recipe from Diet, Dessert and Dogs! I used quinoa instead of rice and I did put the sweet potato, but will probably leave it out next time. I took this with me to my mom’s and didn’t touch anything else. I KNEW if I took even ONE bite of the traditional food, my taste buds would go BONKERS and I would be in trouble!

Dessert on Thanksgiving:

Tofu Carob Pudding (sugar free:)

I’m still not sure that tofu works for me, but it was certainly better than eating sugar and gluten. Tofu doesn’t make my stomach hurt, but I have noticed some unpleasant reactions to it. I think it is worth eating occasionally, but I couldn’t eat it every day.

So, basically, Ricki saved my Thanksgiving. I LOVE the blogging world. We have never even met and yet blogs are SO helpful!

Just a quick note about the raw diet in my life. I went to the ND the other day and she and I both think it is best if I just concentrate on staying away from sugar and gluten. With my past eating history, too many rules was REALLY freaking me out! Food was VERY quickly becoming my enemy and I just can NOT go there again. So, I will eat raw when I want (like kale salad) and cooked when I want. I’m sure it will be more cooked than raw and that has to be okay–if for no other reason than to keep my sanity! Eating disorders are a powerful form of bondage that I don’t want any part of–EVER AGAIN!! I have to see food as fuel and as my friend,and I wasn’t seeing it that way when trying to follow so many rules. I am feeling MUCH better emotionally since coming to this place with my diet I know there are rules to follow on the anti-candida diet, but I think it is easier than trying to do mostly raw. I’m not much into raw eggs, but have been loving them scrambled for my breakfast!

Better run now. I think my daughter and I are going to try to go to a movie today and maybe do a little window shopping Hope you have a blessed weekend!

Sugar, in many of its forms, cannot be a part of my diet. This limitation  has lead to some interesting kitchen experimentation. Those with sugar allergies like mine, really shouldn’t have anything sweet at all, but dessert can be an inevitable part of a special occasion, special occasions like Thanksgiving for example. Pumpkin pie particularity was my favorite food growing up and I used to eat it ferociously every Thanksgiving (I have a clear memory of one Thanksgiving sneaking one slice too many and throwing up on my dad’s shoes).  What can I say? I love food, and sometime I let that love get a little out of hand. Making pies with my mom has been a tradition for a while. The good news for people with food allergies like mine is that there are low glycemic index sweeteners, and while they are not ideal, they are much better than good old fashioned sugar. Cafe Gratitude, the raw food restaurant, makes maybe the best desserts I’ve ever had, and their desserts are vegan, raw, and sweetened with any of the following- dates, agave nectar, and yacon syrup.

The question is- can I re-create these pies and be able to partake in Thanksgiving pie feasting? How will my family feel about these raw vegan pies? I decided the best thing to do would be to try and make them the week before and see how they turn out. The plan was to make a pecan and a pumpkin pie- whichever one turns out best I will make for my family and make a traditional version of the losing pie. Keeping the traditionalists happy.

Here’s how it went (for the full recipes, see the end of this post):

To make the crust for the pecan pie I blended 2  3/4 cups of macadamia nuts in my food processor. The recipe warned to not blend too much- the nuts would release an oil making a more liquid than dough-like consistency. Ignoring this warning I went ahead and blended too much, and made a mixture more like liquid and less like dough. To combat this, I added some quinoa flour to make this substance more doughy; this worked pretty well.  I pressed this nut dough into the pie tin. I’d recommend greasing your pie tin with some coconut oil first. Note: the blended macadamia nuts made an absolutely-delicious-way-better-than-butter spread. In and of itself, an amazingly delicious sugar free desert.

After the macadamia nut adventure I got to work on the filling. I followed the recipe and blended the ingredients including something called Irish moss. I poured the filling into the crust and stuck the pie in the fridge to chill. Done.

Apparently Irish Moss is a seaweed that is utilized to bind raw desserts. I tried to buy fresh Irish Moss at Rainbow Grocery but they were out, so I bought dry Irish Moss instead.

The pumpkin pie recipe called for butternut squash instead of pumpkin. I bought a pumpkin anyway, cut it in half, removed the seeds and stuck it in the oven for a good long while. Yes, this pie is no longer raw, but sugar is my main concern here not raw food living.

I made a crust, this time by blending pecans, dates, vanilla and salt. It was good, but the macadamia nut crust had set the bar much much higher.

Pumpkin pie is essentially pumpkin + sugar + milk + egg + cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and ginger. At least I can include all of the spices- and that’s a big part of where the taste comes from. Instead of milk, I used coconut milk (from a bottle, but I vowed to use an actual coconut if I made this pie again), lecithin is used instead of egg (a soy product that binds like egg and is available at Rainbow), and agave is added instead of sugar. Also thrown in is some coconut butter- I tried the mixture before and after, the coconut butter made a huge yumminess difference. (Coconut butter by itself makes a totally delicious low sugar dessert. I like to heat some up in the microwave every now and then.) The filling was quite tasty, and I ended up eating quite a bit of it before spooning the rest into the crust and sticking it in the fridge. Done.

Which dessert was better? Were either of them good? Taste got an A. Consistency- an F.

Roommate #1 checks out the pies

is consistency really that important?

The pies were pretty much soup. All three of my roommates agreed it was tasty soup, but soup none the less. Roommate #2 commented that “They are good as long as you change your definition of what constitutes a pie.” Could I serve this soup pie to my family? Well the interesting thing is that the pumpkin pie, left in the fridge over night firmed up to a reasonable level. And it’s also possible that fresh Irish moss really would make a big difference to the pecan pie (I’m pretty sure that the dry moss didn’t make any difference at all). The pecan pie was generally agreed upon to be the tastiest. (Although we all agreed that some whipped cream would greatly improve the pumpkin pie.) So this Thursday I’ll be making a raw pecan pie and a regular pumpkin pie. Roommate # 3 suggested I make the pecan pie in a square pan- presenting the dessert in a the different format would take away the suggestion of a pie, thereby lowering consistency expectations. The idea being that in a square tin everyone would think, oh what a delicious liquid  souffle thing, as opposed to, why is this pie all liquidity? I absolutely see the merit in this suggestion, but I think I’m going to be bold and try it again in a pie tin and hope the fresh Irish moss does its job. Check back to see how this goes.

Roommate #1 tries some pie

Happy Thanksgiving from Amyitis!!! (A true harvest holiday.)

The Recipes (From the Cafe Gratitude Cookbook):

Pecan Pie
Crust:
2 3/4 cup of macadamia nuts
1/8 teaspoon of salt

Filling:
1 1/2 ounces of Irish Moss
1/2 cup of water
3/4 cup agave nectar
1 cup of pecans
1 1/4 cups well-packed finely chopped dates
1 tablespoon yacon syrup
1/8 teaspoon of salt

Topping
1 cup of pecans

Crust:

Process the macadamia nuts and salt to a dough-like consistency. (Do not over-process or the macadamias will release too much oil.) Press into a 9-inch pie pan.

Filling:

Blend Irish moss with water and agave until smooth. Set aside. Food process pecans until a paste-like consistency is achieved. To this add your blended ingredients, as well as vanilla, yacon syrup, and salt; process again until smooth. While processing add the chopped dates in small amounts until smooth. Spoon mixture into crust. Top with pecans. Chill in fridge for 10-15 minutes.

Pumpkin Pie

Crust:
2 1/2 cups pecans
1/4 cup well-packed, finely chopped dates
1/4 teaspoon of vanilla
1/8 teaspoon of salt

Filling:
3 cups butternut squash (shredded and medium-packed)
1 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons agave nectar
1 teablespoon vanilla
2 pinches salt
2 teaspoons ginger powder
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon clove
pinch turmeric
2 tablespoons lecithin
1/2 + 2 tablespoons raw unscented coconut butter

Garnish:
1/2 cup pecans

Crust:

Process pecans, vanilla, and salt briefly. Continue processing while adding small amounts of date until crust sticks together. Press into a greased (with coconut oil) 9-inch pie pan.

Filling:

Blend all ingredients except lecithin and coconut butter until smooth. Then add lecithin and coconut butter, blending until well incorporated. Pour into prepared crust and set in fridge/freezer (about 30-40 minutes). Once set, decorate with pecans.

pregnancy remedy

Yeast infections during abundance are added accepted that best women realize. While a abundant woman may be afraid back she begins to acquaintance affection of a aggrandize infection analysis has apparent that pregnancy-especially the nd trimester-often creates a ancestry arena for Candida aggrandize problems aural a woman’s body.

To admit the affiliation amid aggrandize infections and pregnancy it is accessible to aboriginal accept candida-the affair causing aggrandize infections. Candida is absolutely a advantageous bacilli that is about benign to the body confined a purpose to actualize a counterbalanced abdominal flora. But back the altitude are aloof right the bacilli can overgrow developing into a fungal infection which affects clammy areas in the body such as the vagina.

The appropriate altitude for a candida overgrowth botheration accommodate bodies with anemic allowed systems and bodies demography antibiotics. The affair with antibiotics is that forth with killing the bad stuff they annihilate the acceptable bacilli as well. Back the acceptable bacilli is destroyed candida aggrandize can abound out of control. So a abundant woman who has had to booty antibiotics may be at an added accident for aggrandize infections.

However the best accepted acumen abundant women are added affected to aggrandize infection is due to desperate access in hormones the woman experiences. This hormonal change can affect the vaginal PH arch to an ailing ambiance that encourages advance of bacteria-specifically candida.

Another contributor to the aggrandize botheration is the addiction for some women to crave and allow in high-sugar or barmy foods during pregnancy. These foods absolutely augment the bacilli botheration and can accomplish the bearings worse.

While doctors may appoint medications and creams for aggrandize infection cures some abundant women adopt not to booty medications during their pregnancy. In such situations there are pregnancy remedy some natural home antidote blazon treatments to try in adjustment to annihilate the acid aggrandize infection symptoms

–Consuming plain sugar-free yogurt is a acceptable way to body up the advantageous bacilli in the system.

–Applying plain sugar-free yogurt central the vagina is a way to acquaintance immediate cooling abatement of affection and additionally fights the bad bacilli present there.

–Inserting a bald garlic abysm attached to a continued allotment of thread into the vagina can additionally advice to action ailing bacteria.

–Utilizing acceptable nutrition-low sugar aerial veggie accomplished grains and protein–can accumulate the bacilli at bay rather than agriculture it.

–Taking a probiotic supplement is additionally a way to abutment the advantageous bacilli in your system.

As always it is best to analysis with your medical able afore aggravating any remedies at home. However by actuality proactive and demography the appropriate steps it is accessible for a abundant woman to defeat aggrandize infections and adore a advantageous abundance to the fullest.

pregnancy cures

Pregnancy is too admirable a time pregnancy cures to be spent annoying over problems like aggrandize infection. Unfortunately women run a huge accident of aggrandize infection during pregnancy. It is able-bodied accepted actuality that a Pregnancy Remedy anemic allowed arrangement is one of the aloft causes of Candida overgrowth. While pregnant the allowed arrangement lowers to board the new fetus into the system. This opens up the achievability of Pregnancy Cures Candida aggrandize infection. Pregnancy Cures Also the hormonal changes during abundance Cure For Infertility increases the adventitious infection.

The vagina of women is a absolute ancestry arena for aggrandize as Candida Ablicans requires damp and amore to abound and multiply. It can additionally action in the added genitalia of the anatomy like Cure For Infertility armpits legs toe nails beneath the breast folds Cure For Infertility etc.

Most of the bodies would be Pregnancy Cures appropriately afraid to booty any medication during pregnancy. Whether you are abundant or not back the best able and safe treatments are accessible Cure For Infertility through nature. It would be brainless for anyone to accident demography the creams and medicines that alone action a acting abatement alone to acquisition the infection recur eventually than later.

Natural Cure for Aggrandize Infection

Some of the best accustomed Pregnancy Cures cures while abundant are below.

. Applying absinthian yoghurt in the afflicted breadth will accord a Pregnancy Remedy acceptable abatement from the aggrandize as the bacilli in the yoghurt fights Candida.

. Garlic is the best accustomed anesthetic accepted to man that has anti fungal properties. Garlic could be acclimated in the anatomy of garlic oil that can be activated in the afflicted breadth from time to time.

. Apple cider alkali could additionally be acclimated to amusement the aggrandize infections but Garlic and yoghurt accompany about abundant bigger abatement than alkali in best people.

The aloft treatments will advice you get rid of the aggrandize infection and the itches and burns acquired by Candida in about a few days. But as you already know the basis account of aggrandize infection is the overgrowth of Candida aggrandize in the body. Hence it is important to abode the basis Cure For Infertility account to stop the aggrandize infection from Pregnancy Remedy occurring forever.

Remember aggrandize infection can become abiding if larboard to be advised for a after time. It is important to get it advised anon so that you can adore your abundance and the admirable times to appear with the new pregnancy cures built-in with all bloom and happiness.

Struck off and convicted for fraud and involuntary manslaughter in Italy, under investigation in the Netherlands, yet baking soda salesman and cancer quack Tullio Simoncini is always on the lookout for more chickens to pluck. 

We know that he is co-owner of a television show in the USA that deals with alternative medicine and conspiracy theories.

Lately reports have come in about new patients, mainly from Mexico but also from Brazil, who are facing the long journey to Italy to be given the sodium bicarbonate that will cure them from their cancer – or so they think.

Our Italian friend WeWee has done some research and found out how this sudden influx of new clients has come about.

UFOs and Aliens

It turns out that Simoncini had himself interviewed on Mexican tv by Jaime Maussan, a UFO/paranormal sensationalist with his own tv show in Mexico. Maussan is a celebrity in South America. He is obsessed with UFOs, aliens and everything paranormal and is the author of hundreds of scoops on UFO sightings and personal meetings with extra terrestrials in all shapes and sizes (penguins turning into balloons and flying horses.) The odd thing is though that the UFOs and aliens are always only seen by him. No UFO group wants to be associated with Maussan; they all think he is a fake and he his “discoveries” been debunked by many skeptics as well. Maussan is also the man of the hoax regarding the “alien” that was found in a trap in Mexico. The alien turned out to be a monkey’s skeleton:

Simoncini: hero, genius, maverick

In his interview with Maussan, Simoncini paints a picture of himself as a hero, a  genius and a brave maverick, robbed of his title and forced to flee from one country to another by mainstream doctors and scientists who fear the consequences for their incomes of his great discovery.

In the interview, Simoncini claims that his treatment results in the disappearance of the cancer in only 3 to 4 days. In only 6 days, no trace of the cancer can be found. However, when you analyse his testimonials, his patients are either not cured or had conventional treatment before going to Simoncini.

He claims a success rate of 90%. For terminal cancers he claims a lower success rate, but this is because these patients have usually followed conventional therapy when they come to him and this compromises their health to such an extent that even for him it is difficult to bring about a complete recovery.

Simoncini stresses to bear in mind that there is no other way to cure cancer than with baking soda. This is what he says on his website:

At the moment, sodium bicarbonate (in a solution of 5% or 8.4%) is the only remedy capable of making the tumours disappear completely. In order to get the maximum of damaging effect, the sodium bicarbonate should be brought into direct contact with the tissue.

Of course there is the Quack Miranada Warning, the red flag which is so often overlooked by desparate patients:

[...] We make no claims concerning health & disease in relation to usage of this book. The information we provide is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Users assume all responsibility for the application of the content on themselves. The information and products which on this website are reproduced are not mend to replace and/or to ignore the advice of a practicing physician.

In an interview with Emma Holister he says:

“I have treated hundreds of patients. Most of them had extremely advanced cancer, especially after having been subjected to conventional therapies. Many of them made a complete recovery and are still alive and well years after the treatment.

In the cases of cancers caught early (lumps smaller than 3cm, with minimal incidence of metastasis) 90% of patients have made a recovery.”

Maussan asks Simoncini whether he has any doubts as to the efficacy of sodium bicarbonate against cancer and he says no, none whatsoever.

Simoncini’s miracle cure: Terminal cancer? Or just a benign cyst?

During the interview a video is shown of a miraculous breast cancer cure. In the video we see a woman, Amelia Parra,  telling us of her breast cancer of gargantuan proportions. We are shown the breast with the giant tumour (the “tumour” appears at 1:57 and again at 2:13 in the video) – which to me looks more like a cyst than cancer. You can click here for photos of untreated breast cancer.

I asked jli if he thought it could perhaps be a cyst and this is what he said: “…I agree. A big tumour that suddenly appears during breast feeding, and grows fast is the way a cyst would appear, and not the way a cancer behaves. And of course no genuine oncologist would behave as claimed…”

Anyway, when Amelia went to see a doctor, he immediately told her that she was done for. She went for a second opinion and received the same answer there. Very empathic, these mexican doctors.

Desperate, she turned to Jaime Maussan. Stands to reason of course; what else can a cancer patient do but consult a seer of aliens and UFOs? Mr Maussan in his infinite goodness referred her to Simoncini, who cured within a few days. When she is back in Mexico she has a scan done and there is no trace of cancer to be found. Wonderful, isn’t it?

Translation of the video:

While I was breast feeding, I discovered a ball in my left breast. The oncologist immediately prescribed chemotherapy and radiation (no mention is made of further exams or biopsy, which is extremely unusual – unbelievable actually). The tumour was too big to be operated. He doubted whether strong doses were possible because I was breast feeding. Hormonal therapy would also be too dangerous. 

Then they examined me and found this other ball, in the same breast but a little higher. We went to mexico city to do a pet scan and we went to see the oncologist. The doctor does a new analysis (doesn’t say what exams are performed, just “analysis”) and then he looks at me and says: Amelia, you are going to die. He said the same thing, he described chemo and radiation, said he could not operate at once. I would lose my hair which was horror to me. I would also become menopausal at once. A terrifying prospect.

It was then that I decided I would not follow that road. If I had to leave this world then it would be with dignity and joy, surrounded by my loved ones, doing what I loved doing best. I did not want to enter eternity through a hospital corridor.

But the lump kept growing, it was like a bomb, so very very fast it was growing! It was horrible, it even took up skin of my back. There was one starting to come out on the other breast and in the neck as well. I felt that I was beginning to die. I went to another oncologist, but when he saw me he said: but that is horrible, I can’t operate on that, the skin is coming apart.

Then a friend of mine called Jaime Maussan, who told me: you must try Simoncini, I have just finished his book. I could not sleep, I imagined a miracle, bought airplane tickets in the morning and in three days I was with Simoncini. He visited me, he said: this can be removed, I’ll see you tomorrow. 

Later we went with Simoncini to talk to my oncologist, who said: you stay out, I do not know yet, but after 5 minutes Simoncini had convinced him. He explained how the treatment worked and already they were discussing how to do the operation! The next day I did not go home but went straight to the hospital where I would spend the night before the operation. The operation seems to have been quite a thing. While I was under sedation, I was opened up, and washed with over 8 litres of sodium bicarbonate. Then they left catheters in strategic places, so that all residues of fungi in the area could be killed, in the breast, in the back and in the other breast. The operation was an immediate success. The terrible stain, of which they had told me in December that they would not be able to close the skin, was practically gone within a week. The wound had healed perfectly. It looks just perfect.

“And do you still have cancer?” We did tests. It has now been about 5 months. After 3 months we did the first scan. There was absolutely no cancer to be seen. A week ago I had a test done in Mexico City, the one you get to wear headphones and they scan all your organs, and it was perfect, there was absolutely no cancer. I am completely cured. My eternal gratitude goes out to Simoncini.

There are no documents shown to prove Amelia Parra really had cancer, no diagnosis, no biopsy result, no pathology report; nothing. We don’t even know if the woman with the tumour and Amelia Parra are the same person. We only have the word of the woman telling the story.

But desperate people are desperate to believe. The video makes a great impression and brings Simoncini a lot of new customers.

His mantra that he is ousted by the scientific community because they hate innovative science is so lame and annoying: innovative scientists are the life blood of the scientific community, they are not ousted but awarded Nobel prizes. We don’t believe Simoncini does not know that this video means nothing. He is not stupid; he is looking for customers.

Thus is his contempt for his patients that he does not even bother to render his testimonials the least bit credibility. It is no more than advertising, and of the most despicable kind at that.

About 4 weeks ago I accidentally ate sugar a few times (wasn’t using my brain) and broke out.  It took me a bit to realize what I had done.

Since then, I have had 2 weekends “off” (one nongluten-free and this past weekend I also allowed sugar on a trip).  My face has EXPLODED with adult acne.  Sigh.

I have come to accept that this is most likely a candida issue.  After the holidays, I will be going on an anti-candida diet.  Blerg.  Not looking forward to it.  I am reading The Yeast Connection and so much speaks to me.  Along with that diet I plan to also be gluten-free (his diet isn’t) since gluten can feed the yeasties.  After Thanksgiving I am going to start taking Candex (and after Christmas I will change my diet).

I really, really hope this works.  My face hurts.

The fact is 75% of women have had a vaginal yeast infection at some point in their adult lives. Those of us who have suffered with the un-itchable itch know just how disruptive and uncomfortable a yeast infection can be to daily life.

These tips help relieve symptoms and prevent the yeast infection from hanging on in there!

1. Yeast infections thrive in warm damp areas; prevent making yourself a yeast 5 star hotel by keeping dry. After washing, dry thoroughly. After working out or swimming, don’t hang around in those damp clothes, dry off and change.

2. Cotton is King! Wearing synthetic clothes results in hot sweaty yeast factories. Allow your body to breathe and wear cotton.

3. Skin tight clothes may look fantastic, but do you really want to attract yeast rather than men? Wear lose flowing clothes that allow your skin to breathe. Avoid pantyhose and tights; ditch those skinny jeans for a few days too.

4. Just say no! Scented products and chemicals can irritate an already sensitive area and may trigger another bout of infection. Avoid scented sanitary products, use unperfumed soaps and cleansers. Don’t douche or use feminine deodorants. Yes we know yeast infection has a smell, combat it with tip 5.

5. Keep clean. Wash regularly with unscented products, preferably just use water. Healing baths help, try one of the following
a) Fill your bath tub to aprox hip level with warm water. Add 8 tablespoons of vinegar and swirl round to distribute. Or:
b) Fill your bath tub to aprox hip level and add 8 tablespoons of salt (enough to make the waster taste salty)
Sit in the water with your knees apart, swish the water around a bit too. Stay until the water is cool. The salt or vinegar will do the cleaning.

6. Eat well. It’s known that high sugar diets contribute to the rise in yeast infections. I know it’s hard, step away from that chocolate and candy! Sugar is also hidden in many processed foods, prepare and cook from fresh food sources.

7. Fresh as a daisy panties. Yeast are reluctant to leave that 5 star hotel you have provided and can survive the normal wash, especially at todays low temperatures. If you don’t want to wash your panties on a boil wash, ironing them will kill off the Candida that dares to linger.

Candida can cause many symptoms that are not immediately obvious as a yeast infection. Banish yeast infections forever!

O QUE PODE ENFRAQUECER ? 

Inúmeros fatores podem influenciar e comprometer o sistema imunológico, desde stress, mudanças de temperatura, gripes até doenças sérias como diabetes, e também ironicamente antibióticos, os que tomamos para combater certas infecções e doenças, que por exemplo, funcionam no nosso corpo indo contra células “ruins”(bactérias e vírus) mas acabam matando também bactérias “boas” como os glóbulos brancos, tendo como efeito colateral “infecções fungicas”, (também chamadas cândida) entre outras.  

COMO FORTALECER?

Uma dieta balanceada e saudável pode fazer milagres pra o fortalecimento  de seu sistema imunológico. Os seguintes alimentos e nutrientes são fundamentais: 

1. Vitamina C (encontrado nas frutas cítricas e  brócolis)
2. Vitamina E (encontrado em amendoim,  óleos vegetais e grãos)
3. Alho (um antibiótico natural)
4. Zinco (encontrado em peru, feijão, ostra, caranguejo)
5. Bioflavenoides (encontrado em frutas e vegetais)
6. Selênio (encontrado em carne de frango, grãos, camarão, alho, gema de ovo, arroz integral)  
7. Omega-3 os ácidos gordos (encontrados nas nozes, salmão, atum, óleo de linhaça cavala)

Além disso, algumas mudanças de estilo de vida podem impulsionar o seu sistema imunológico, incluindo:

* Lavar as mãos para reduzir o número de organismos que entram no nosso corpo.
* Dormir oito horas por dia – sono profundo estimula e energiza o sistema imunológico.
*Manter um peso saudável – a obesidade pode enfraquecer o sistema imunológico.
* Se exercitar pelo menos 30 minutos 3x por semana.
* Comer menos açúcar – 100 gramas de açúcar, o montante em uma lata de refrigerante regular, pode reduzir a capacidade dos glóbulos brancos de matar germes em 40 por cento por até 5 horas
* Não fumar – o fumo causa câncer de pulmão e outros, e também enfraquece o sistema imunológico.
* Reduzir e controlar o estresse, longos períodos de estresse enfraquece a resposta imunológica.

COMO KEFIR PODE AJUDAR?

Para os indivíduos que estão sendo tratados com medicamentos, como antibióticos, o KEFIR pode ajudar a repor a flora intestinal protetora, que pode ter sido destruída durante o tratamento. Como mencionado anteriormente, os antibióticos tem como alvo as “más” bactérias no corpo, mas também pode matar as bactérias “boas” no intestino grosso no processo.

Um estudo recente publicado no American Family Physician,  um em cada cinco indivíduos que usam antibióticos param de tomar seus medicamentos antes de concluir o tratamento completo devido à diarréia. Mas, pesquisadores da Albert Einstein College of Medicine da Yeshiva University, disse, os médicos poderiam ajudar os pacientes à evitar este problema, com a  prescrição de pro bióticos.

Here are some things I am learning:)

1-I need to start a strict anti-candida diet! The ND is going to have me do a test that we send off that tells how bad it is and what strand of yeast I have. We can then proceed to treat accordingly with herbal/natural supplements. Main point-I have severe candida!!

2-I learned today that green monsters without ANY fruit are REALLY nasty!! ‘Nuff said! That also means I learned that breakfast on high raw, anti-candida is going to be tricky! Any ideas?

3- I learned that I like raw rutabaga blended with garlic, olive oil, salt etc. These were supposed to be patties, but didn’t quiet work the way they were supposed to. So, I learned that they make great croutons!

This is my salad I packed for lunch today. It had:

romaine, english cucumber, yellow pepper, cherry tomatoes, carrots, sprouts, sprouted black quinoa, and broken up rutabaga “patties”

4-I learned that raw broccoli is NOT my friend. I didn’t take a picture. For snack today, I had raw broccoli with some black bean dip.

5-I learned that I LOVE Gena’s BEST. SOUP. EVER.!!

I do not typically like raw soups at all, but this one, well it was a different story!

6-I then proceeded to learn that butternut is probably not good for candida. Not sure about that though. Raw foods have less sugar and carbs than cooked food. Any info. here?

7-I learned that chia pudding has a very weird texture that I’m not sure I like.

Raw cocoa chia pudding

I tasted this and stuck it back in the fridge. Will taste again later:)

8-I learned that this is my favorite raw meal so far:

Raw bread with tomato, sprouts and raw cheese with coleslaw

9-I learned that cheese is a no-no for anti-candida diet:( I rarely ever have it, but it’s nice every once in a while. So long cheese!

10-I learned that functioning on VERY little sleep is TORTURE when you have to go clean someone’s house!! I NEED SLEEP!!!

There– I learned at least TEN new things today!! Never too old to learn!:)

Have you learned anything new today? I also learned that I can’t spell or type very well today!LOL!

Most people are abusing their digestive system causing the body to react with digestive disorders, constipation, diarrhea, gas, and many other physical complaints. Intestinal colon cleansing using all natural herbs is a way to rid the body of accumulated harmful substances. A cleansed, detoxified body is able to heal itself of a variety of common ailments. Therefore, cleansing is expected to improve health. There are many health benefits when cleansing the colon. When the digestive system is not working properly, foods will not be absorbed.

Herbal blends are designed to draw old fecal matter off the walls of the colon and out of any bowel pockets. It will also draw out poisons, toxins, heavy metals such as mercury and lead, parasites and candida overgrowth. The natural ingredients will soften old fecal matter for proper elimination. Herbal blends will not only clean out the intestinal tract, but will also provide nutrients which will strengthen the inner lining of the intestines.
The intent of cleansing is to repair the body and restore health. At the beginning of the intestinal cleanse program, you may feel worse before feeling better. As toxins are released and parasites and candida overgrowth die off, waste products pour into the system. This is usually short-lived, and results are life changing. Herbal blends work to eliminate and restore balance to the metabolism and the digestion system. During the time of cleansing, liquid intake should increase. A minimum of eight – 8 oz. glasses of water and vegetable juices are preferred. It is important to replenish the healthy bacteria by consuming yogurt or a supplement with active bacteria – live cultures called lactobacilllus acidophilus. Once intestinal colon cleansing is completed, the results should be noticeable with improved digestion and elimination and more energy. In order to restore good health, a focus on nutrition, exercise and reducing stress is also recommended.

Kathy Kafka
Complete Natural Blends
www.completenaturalblends.com

The Complete Natural Intestinal Blend

… exhausted.

But first, a photo from the weekend:

Place des Ternes, 17th arrondissement, 14 November 2009

This is the post that I started yesterday, but am finishing today. If you recall from the previous post, I wrote that yesterday I had the BEST conversation with Karen, someone I have met in the city through this blog (!). We learned a lot more about one another’s Paris stories on the phone yesterday and tomorrow we have plans to go on an Adventure. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here is what I began yesterday and finished today.

I am on day 16 (17 now, as I post this) of NaNoWriMo after taking two days off this weekend. I have a ton I can write about, I got the grocery shopping completed by 1 pm this afternoon (a record for me, I think!) just so I could sit down and write and not be interrupted by thoughts of , “Oh, I have to do X!” or “OMG, I must do Y!” It is now 3 pm, I do not know where the past couple of hours has gone, but know that I now have to spin out about a thousand words an hour over the next three hours to keep up with my postings for the challenge. (This, of course, was pleasantly interrupted by Karen, and if she reads this part, I do not want her to feel the interruption was not wanted. As I told her on the phone, the whole reason I created this blog was to LIVE LIFE better, to potentially meet new people through it, and to go and have experiences about which to write! Her interruption is furthering the goals of this blog’s original premise and to not talk with her would have been an serious and flagrant act of jumping the shark. So I am most pleased I did not meet my word goals yesterday. I am still ahead of the game, I am sure I will more than make up for it today). [A little later: BOY HOWDY. Did I ever. LOL.]

All this, and I am reacting to foods again today, just as I was over the weekend.

An alternate title for this post: CODE WORD = CRAPPY

It has been a while since I have focused on the food-intolerance portion of my life. So while I want to write about the Saturday I spent with my friend Tess, and tell you what we did, and while I want to tell you about how I finished the novel Sarah’s Key by French writer Tatiana de Rosnay, or that I want to tell you about seeing the kid movie “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” (in French: «Tempête de boulettes géantes», “Storm of the giant meatballs”) and how it was only being shown in French and so I had to do the best I could to understand, or that I would love to tell you about the French language-learning and speaking I did over the weekend, I am not going to right this second. I might get into it by the end of this post, but right now I feel like merde and I want to write about the reasons why.

Just so’s you know, I go into some medical conditions and bodily functions here in this post. If that weirds you out, or grosses you out, this is not a post for you. Just sayin’. Skip ahead to the end (if there is one. Otherwise, just wait for tomorrow, okay?). Also, it is not so much related to me and My Paris Life as it is me and My Health Life, but my health absolutely impacts how I do and do not enjoy this city. I guess what I am getting at is that today’s read is not going to be for everyone. Try it, if you like, but I won’t be offended if you don’t stick around as it is not your cup of tea, or “ce n’est pas toi tasse de thé.” Moving right along…

Food Intolerances and Me

It is going to be really hard for me to write a super-coherent post about this right now because I am in a bit of a fuzz in my head (hint: symptom of food intolerance). Also, I cannot write this as a truly scientific, medical guide to food intolerance. I would like you to read this as an anecdotal account of what I have been learning, but I do not want you to use this as a basis for medical advice for yourself, if you are happening on this blog and reading what I have to say. You need to do your own research about it, and I am not saying that to be mean or anything, it is just that I am going to tell you my story here, it may or may not apply to your story as well, and it is just that: a story. It is not medical gospel truth that I am proselytizing and to which I am trying to get you to convert. But it may give you clues or insights into your own situation if you are reading and hearing bells go off in your head with stuff I write. Then you can do some of what I did which has been to read a ton online and in books about this, experiment with not eating certain foods, and crossing my fingers that some of what I am doing actually works!

So here we go: a bit of my story.

Childhood

I have known since I was a kid that the food I was eating made me feel physically and emotionally not good. When I was a kid, I can remember feeling draggy and foggy-headed and very crabby with two situations: when I would miss meals or when I would have meals really high in carbohydrates, like a plateful of pancakes with syrup.

I used to get canker sores like crazy when I was a kid — big, painful craters in my mouth and on my gums that made it super-painful to eat.

I know that I was viewed as a moody kid, one who would get withdrawn, or even have flares of a temper. Physically, I was thin for my height but not too skinny. When I was a really little kid, I remember being constipated a lot. It seemed to get better as I got older. I also remember being sick a lot with “throat stuff”: strep throat, pharyngitis, laryngitis. I went through a time where I had bladder infections, too, which were thought to be from too many Mr. Bubble bubble baths, so I had to stop using it.

I remember headaches and stomachaches being a frequent part of daily life.

But, I was not really sick — not in super-obvious pain or distress. I just remember feeling crappy a lot. And it made me crabby.

Young Adulthood

The crappy feelings, physically and emotionally, continued through adolescence and young adulthood. I remember reading a bit on hypoglycemia as a sixteen or seventeen-year-old and thinking that what I read matched my symptoms. I got tested and told my blood sugar levels were normal.

When I hit my early 20s I got acne really badly and did not feel well a lot of the time. I could distract myself from not feeling good by being active, but still would come the headaches and illnesses and canker sores that bothered me for years.

I went to China in 1990 when I was 22 years old to teach English. That experience stressed my body a lot. For example, I got pneumonia while there. I also had the worst sinus infection I have ever had. I got treated with both Western and Chinese medicine for these illnesses, but ever since getting that bad sinus infection, they became recurrent. I also got pregnant while living in China by the man who became my first husband, but after coming back to the States, I had a miscarriage at 17 weeks of pregnancy. Then my health and digestive problems kicked into high gear.

I began to have foul smelling gas, diarrhea, and stomach cramping. My bowel movements were acidic, and floated (gross! I know. But as a kind of foreshadowing, the quality of one’s poo can tell a lot about food intolerances). It became so bad that I could barely get through a day without a “digestive incident.” I was on the Pill during this time, too, and recall having yeast infections more, and oh! Hemorrhagic Cystitis — which means having a bladder infection so severe that I peed the color of Cherry Kool-Aid! That happened a couple of times that I can remember — once so badly that I went to the Emergency Room because I was in such pain. I was gaining a lot of weight, too, although I was not really eating more than usual. I just thought it was because I was turning 25 and growing up into a bigger, adult version of myself — hormones and all that.

I started taking lactase enzyme in the form of Lactaid caplets and that seemed to help me out some. The diarrhea and gas seemed better when I did, but I still had a lot of digestive upset. In spite of all this, I went off the Pill and got pregnant when I was a little over 27 years old. I made it through all the trimesters this time with little incident. I gained about 40 pounds and had a healthy baby boy in 1996.

I remember being shocked, though, that even though I was nursing, I had only lost 10 of the 40 pounds a few months after the birth. It was not a pleasant side effect of having a baby, but I accepted it, again, as encroaching “adulthood.” Adults just got fatter, right? Especially after they have babies, right?

I did not go back to taking the Pill because I nursed my son for a few months after having him. I remembered that the Pill had not made me feel great, though, and so I decided to stay off of it after he was weaned. I still got sinusitis and laryngitis a couple of times a year, I never really lost the pregnancy weight at all, and I basically threw my life into my son and my job as the marriage to my first husband, with all our mutual lack of maturity and cross-cultural differences, was failing.

By the time I was 31, I was separating from my first husband, became a single mother of a three-year-old boy, and experiencing yet another round of health problems.

My 30’s

The first thing that happened to me in my 30’s, post-baby and post-divorce is that my nice, normal 5-7 day periods arriving like clockwork on a 28-day basis turned into nightmares of Super Plus tampons needing to be changed every hour and doing so for two to three days in a period that stretched from 7 to more like 10 days in length. I got diagnosed with a fibroid tumor and was put on the Pill again. The annoying thing with it is it made me feel crappy. With my divorce, I ate less, I got out to do some walking to de-stress, and lost about 20 more of the 40 pregnancy pounds. I was still 10 pounds over where I had started before getting pregnant (and that was about 10-20 pounds heavier than what I had been for most of my 20’s). On the pill, I still felt crappy. I noticed around this time that other weird things were happening to me, such as I would have trouble gripping objects with my hands and I felt clumsier than usual. I also had heart palpitations, and light-headedness. I was still taking Lactaid caplets while eating dairy as my stomach seemed to react to dairy (although sometimes the caplets did not help very much). I cut way back on my caffeine intake and this seemed to help.

My periods got better, but I had noticed how much my hair had thinned and how I was cold so much of the time. I also could not lose the extra weight I still carried, even if I did not eat very much.

I felt pretty good in other areas as my job was going very well, I felt a true freedom and lightness — a new lease on life — from being divorced from my first husband, and I had met and started dating the man who was to become my second husband.

About a year after meeting, I was married to my second husband. The week after we got back from a few days in the Colorado mountains for a honeymoon, I was laid off from a job in web design in the great tech crash of 2001. My anxiety level kicked into high gear, I had insomnia badly, I felt unhealthy, and then, after my then-husband, my son and I relocated to NE Colorado, I had a terrible experience. I was still on the Pill for the heavy periods, but it had been causing breakthrough bleeding and short cycles — annoying stuff. With the stress of being a newlywed, having been laid off, and moving to a new location 120 miles out of the Denver area, something in my body snapped. I started a period that caused me to have to use a Super Plus tampon AND a heavy duty pad which had to be changed every half hour. This went on for three weeks.

Not having health insurance but needing to do something, I went to the local clinic. There, I saw a Physician’s Assistant who told me to double up on the Pill and that it should go away. She said something to me, though, that started my questioning into the role of food and my health. She clearly had some “natural medicine” (naturopathic) leanings for she explained that red meats and milk were full of hormones and that I might be sensitive to them. I wondered about this, but part of me also said to myself, “I think she’s kind of a quack.” and forgot about it.

Doubling up on the Pill did not help much. If I remember correctly, I went back to taking the Pill normally for a time, but then, I started to feel lumps begin to form in my breast tissue. Other weird things were going on with my health and reproductive organs. By now I had some very expensive health insurance for people who were self-employed, so I went to the doctor. I had a mammogram that came back clear. I stopped the Pill as I could not stop feeling bad while on it. I also got my thyroid levels tested. I was wondering if my symptoms of being cold, and losing hair, and heavy periods could be due to an underactive thyroid. Those symptoms can be due to hypothyroidism, but my thyroid levels were in “normal range.”

I started working as a public school teacher in 2002-2003. The job was stressful, and my life was so financially stressful as being the sole breadwinner for the family as the second husband continued to try to develop his own business, that I gained 20 pounds in just a few months and was actually at the weight I was just before my first baby was born, only not nine months pregnant. I felt horrible.

I was exhausted, I felt bloated, I still had very heavy periods, and then, in early 2003, I got pregnant and had another miscarriage, this time six weeks into it. I knew on some level it was going to happen. I was not healthy. I did not feel well at all.

I did not renew my teaching contract for the next school year. The second husband and I decided to open a small business of our own, a retail store, in the little NE Colorado town. I had been reading about the role of food and well-being, and happened on a couple of books that my then mother-in-law had. One that seemed to call out to me was the book Eat Right 4 Your Type by Peter D’Adamo (Wiki article here).

Whether or not the ideas of Dr. D’Adamo are completely accurate or not, I know that the health issues he described for Type O blood, which I have, fit the things I was experiencing. It recommended a higher-protein, lower-carb lifestyle, and this led me to read the famous low-carb book Dr. Atkins’ Diet Revolution by Dr. Robert Atkins (Wiki article here).

The long and the short of this part of my health life is that I went on a low-carb diet, I lost almost 40 pounds, was at my pre-pregnancy weight once again and I started to feel better than I had in years. It is not an easy diet to maintain, however. While I tried to stay as low-carb as possible, I still went back to eating wheat and dairy. The weight would creep back on until I would remove those foods for a time. But I was able to maintain a lower weight overall.

In early 2005, I got pregnant again. It was more difficult at age 37 to be pregnant than at age 28. I had some undiagnosed complications, too. In my 21st week, I started bleeding. I got checked out, and was not miscarrying, but had no explanation could be given as to why it started. I would spot on an off for the next ten weeks, after which it stopped. I had a little bit of high blood pressure, but everything else went fairly well, although it was thought from an ultrasound that our son might have a kidney defect. He was born on November 7, 2005. His birth was not easy. It was natural, but upon his birth he was in sufficient distress that his APGAR score was only a 2. He recovered at five minutes to an 8. He was monitored for the next several hours to be certain he was not going to have further distress. An ultrasound then revealed that his kidneys were just fine.

I nursed him. I woke with him each night. I felt like crap, I felt kind of depressed and isolated, but then most new moms do. Also, I knew I was an older mom and could not expect to feel like an energetic 20-something anymore.

I think back on this time as kind of the beginning of the end of the second marriage, though.

I know that my ex-spouse likely has a completely different story about everything that happened, but I do look on this motherhood/parenthood experience as the beginning of the amplification of the fault lines in the foundation of who he and I were together. And this which I am writing about is not really related to my health, and yet it is. It’s all kind of one complex system, what it is to be human, isn’t it.

After the baby’s birth I was given iron supplements because I was anemic. I had not had medical care in a while, so I don’t know if I tested with iron-deficiency anemia before his birth. I just know that I have tested anemic since then, too. I did not take the iron supplements because, by this time, I also had become very constipated. Taking the iron seemed to exacerbate the problem.

I got into yoga, eventually, started to try to eat a little healthier and stay low-carb, and, ironically, picked up smoking once the baby was weaned at 10 months. I quickly escalated to a pack a day. Also at this time, I started to get cyclical yeast infections, ones that were very itchy and painful, but not with a lot of other symptoms that usually come with those kinds of imbalancess. I was not even sure what I had, and it was not until a year later that I would be diagnosed with a yeast infection that was cyclic and recurring. Initial tests even came up negative for yeast, but subsequent ones were positive.

By this time, husband and I had separated, he taking our son with him. I was working full-time, once again teaching. I lost a lot of weight with stress, smoking, and malnourishment.

My Present Days in Paris, in my 40s

Skipping a lot of personal information here that is not relevant to this particular health story (although very relevant to my life overall — another time, though),  I visited PJ in Paris and my friend Janet in Antibes in March of 2008. I turned 40 in May of 2008, finished my teaching contract, and I came back to France in June of 2008, where I have stayed ever since, with the exception of taking a few trips back to the States in order to have a current visa.

PJ has had a fairly “bachelor lifestyle” the past few years. This has  included a diet of a lot of beer and wine, and fritesand carb and fat-laden foods. I fell into this lifestyle with him once I got here. Then, of course, there are the bakeries with delicious breads,  pastries, etc. I jumped off the low-carb wagon and onto the high-carb express, eating as much French bread and drinking as much French wine as I could tolerate. And also could not tolerate, as it turns out. Weight started creeping back on. What is interesting about this is that I realize now that I was at times in those early months here in Paris eating less than 1,000 calories per day. I would not eat breakfast and lunch most days. I would drink coffee all day, smoke, and then have dinner with PJ, which was often hamburgers and fries, or, what we dubbed our “trailer trash meal,” corned beef on fries. We would make up plates of it and watch Jerry Springer re-runs on French TV. I still gained weight on carbs, even with eating small amounts of food each day.

It was fun while it lasted, but last it could not.

In March of 2009, I had an “incident.” I do not feel comfortable going into too much detail here, but the night after St. Paddy’s Day I drank too much beer, it made me very drunk and sick, PJ and I had a “falling out,” to put it mildly, and I went to my friend Janet’s in the South to sort things out, and so that PJ could sort things out, too, by himself.

Janet had been talking to me about Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance, and food allergies for quite some time. But based on the state I was in when I visited her, I think it was she who really realized just how bad things had gotten with my health, she recognized some symptoms in me based on reading she had done on the subject, and she recommended I start eating gluten-free.

Here are some of the symptoms of gluten intolerance

Many checklists of symptoms of Celiac Disease/gluten intolerance can be found online.

Here are a couple of links and their list of symptoms:

Celiac-Disease.com

General Symptoms of Celiac Disease May Include One or More of the Following:

• Recurring bloating, gas, or abdominal pain
• Chronic diarrhea or constipation or both
• Unexplained weight loss or weight gain
• Pale, foul-smelling stool
• Unexplained anemia
• Bone or joint pain
• Behavior changes/depression/irritability
• Vitamin K Deficiency
• Fatigue, weakness or lack of energy
• Delayed growth or onset of puberty
• Failure to thrive (in infants)
• Missed menstrual periods
• Infertility male & female
• Spontaneous miscarriages
• Canker sores inside the mouth

Celiac Disease Foundation – symptoms list (same as above)

This is turning into a behemoth of a post that is becoming even unwieldy for me, but I need to keep going a little more.

I want to put in a nice, tidy nutshell what I have learned, but it just isn’t going to work that way. And I need the word count today, too, so on I  push. This is not going to be a polished piece of writing, but I need to keep going.

As you maybe can see from that checklist, there is a lot of concordance with lifelong symptoms I have had and the symptoms checklist for Celiac. I have experienced 10 of the 16 symptoms there throughout my life.

I started eating gluten-free based on seeing the symptoms list.

Now, it should be noted, going off gluten like I chose to IS A BAD IDEA!

I wanted to put that nice and big so that anyone reading this and saying, “Yeah! I see those symptoms in me, too!” won’t just up and stop eating gluten. Here is why:

How is Celiac Disease Diagnosed?

When working with a physician to diagnose and/or confirm Celiac Disease (CD), three major steps are taken.

1. A thorough physical examination is conducted, including a series of blood tests, sometimes referred to as a “Celiac Blood Panel”.
2. A duodenal biopsy is performed with multiple samples from multiple locations in the small intestine.
3. The gluten free diet is implemented. When the patient shows a positive response to the diet – symptoms subside and the small intestine returns to its normal, healthy state, confirming the diagnosis of Celiac Disease.

Note: To ensure the most accurate and timely diagnosis of Celiac Disease, the gluten free diet should be implemented only AFTER the first two steps have been completed.   Otherwise doctors may be unable to confirm you have Celiac Disease via the biopsy.

From CeliacDiagnosis.com Celiac Disease Diagnosis Information

If you think you might have Celiac Disease and have access to medical healthcare, then take the information at these links to your physician and ask for the Celiac Blood Panel. In order for the presence of gluten antibodies to be present in the blood and therefore viewed on the test, a person needs to be ingesting gluten.

I have not had access to non-emergency medical care for over a year. Throughout the past several years, I have not had access to regular healthcare through a consistent provider. Consistent medical care has been very sporadic since I graduated from high school. I don’t know that I will have regular healthcare in the very near future. I could, and I may be able to do something about testing later (i.e., go on something called a “gluten challenge” where I basically would eat gluten and wait a few weeks to see whether or not it messes up my body again). I just know I certainly did not have access to it last spring when my body was in a bit of a crisis. I *had* to take matters into my own hands. There was no waiting to try to see someone to have a whole panel of tests and biopsies. I decided for myself to go off gluten, but what this means is that I may never know for certain if Celiac Disease is what I have.

I do know this: from my experiences on the Atkins Diet (which in its early stage is a gluten-free diet) a few years back and based upon the past six months of not eating gluten, I am healthier when I do not eat it. There is a problem with gluten and me. I suspect it could be Celiac, but I may never know for sure.

Other Food Intolerances

I have since learned that I also have problems with eating dairy, yeasts, sugars, and several kinds of fruits and vegetables.

Why is this?

Here’s what I have pieced together.

When the intestinal lining is compromised, then it makes it possible for molecules in foods to cause problems with the immune system. In the case of Celiac Disease, the body’s own immune system, when encountering the protein chains present in wheat gluten, turns around and attacks the cells on the walls of the small intestine. This is why Celiac is of a special class of food intolerances: it is also an autoimmune disease.

The small intestine is essentially the gateway through which nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream and then sent to other organs of the body for use. It is the immune system’s first line of defense against foreign invaders getting into the bloodstream. If the walls of the intestine are compromised, either through Celiac, or through other problems, such as a yeast or bacterial overgrowth, then substances that normally do not make it into the bloodstream get in. When this happens, there are several parts of the immune system that come into play to “attack” the foreign invaders.

One of the best and simplest sites explaining some of this is here: Gluten and Other Food Intolerances

I found that my yeast infections were still going after stopping gluten, so I researched about yeast overgrowth in the body, discovered yeast overgrowth can happen easily to people with gluten intolerance and/or Celiac Disease, and to get the body back in balance, it is best to stay off of anything containing yeast, sugar (upon which the yeast feeds, so including the natural sugars in fruits), vinegar, anything fermented or with potential to have molds (peanuts, cheeses), and all grains, including non-gluten grains, but some which can be consumed in moderation (brown rice, for example).

I learned from several websites that there is a connection between something called “vulvodynia” (vulvar pain), chronic and cyclic yeast infections, and the consumption of oxalates, which are naturally occurring chemicals in foods such as buckwheat, quinoa, almonds, and figs. Women who have chronic and cyclic yeast infections and vaginal pain because of it are often helped by going on a low-oxalate diet.

Chronic Candida and the Oxalate Connection

Low Oxalate Diet

The New Harvard Guide to Women’s Health

YEAST INFECTIONS, CANDIDA ALLERGY, AND VULVODYNIA – OBGyn.net

I try my best to stay away from foods high in oxalates, and I managed to get some Fluconazole (Diflucan) capsules here and am on a regimen where I have taken 150 mg once every third day, I am now taking 150 mg once per week for two months, and then I will take it every other week for two months. This is based on a research and treatment I read about here: Vulvodynia and Vulvar Vestibulitis: Challenges in Diagnosis and Management. Just so you know about that previous link — it is at the American Academy of Family Physicians site, and it shows medical photos of hoo hoos. Like, you know, va jay jays. Vulvas. So proceed with caution, it is a NSFW site, maybe, unless you work at a doctor’s office, and NO, I DO NOT have it as bad as those chicks do on that site, thank god/dess.

I have learned, too, that once the immune system gets involved with having molecules from foods enter the bloodstream — also called “antigens” — then the adaptive part of the immune system goes into a kind of overdrive, sensitizing to those foods.

You can read more on this sensitization here: Allergies and here: Type III Pattern Food Allergy

What Happens to Me When I Eat Stuff to Which I Have Sensitized

Much like the earlier part of my life, mostly I feel crappy.

I get symptoms like with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (yes, that nebulous illness sometimes called the “Yuppie Flu,” but which is a part of what I have going on, I believe):

• fatigue
• muscle pain
• joint pain
• sore throat
• headache
• fever and chills (not often, but it has happened)
• tender lymph nodes
• trouble concentrating
• memory loss (for me, mostly as I can get so “spacey”)

I also can get stomach problems, like when I ate quinoa and had severe cramping and then diarrhea after eating it, even after soaking and washing it to get rid of something called saponins.

The other thing that happens and which is the most difficult to deal with is that I get severely depressed. Like, heavy-duty depressed.

I have had episodes of depression on and off through the years, but in the last five or so years, it has become really a problem. Until learning about food intolerances and their role in depression, I thought it was “just me” and that I was just “broken.” Mental problems are the hardest to handle because of their stigma, their incapacitating abilities, and the overall misery that something like depression brings to oneself and one’s family. It is my least favorite part of all of this. It’s why I have been trying to keep this blog — to keep my head above water and have some reasons to live.

What Do I Eat?

The list of things I am avoiding right now is so long and growing;  it is better to focus on what I eat instead of what I do not.

In the last few weeks, I have had reactions to the popcorn I had been eating at the movie theaters and the Ladurée macarons, too, which I just learned have additives in them. See the article, only in French, but maybe you will get the idea, here. I have discovered that the protein in dairy (casein) really sets off the CFS-type reaction.

The things that I find have not been making me react too hard, if at all, are:

• chicken
• rice
• tuna
• salad greens
• eggs, in moderation (with which I also have been making homemade mayonnaise)

In feeling kind of desperate and hungry, lately I have been eating brussels sprouts (oven roasted, yum), red and green grapes (which in France all have seeds but are the juciest, yummiest round globes of sweetness!), and these cocoa, pure cane sugar and palm oil-coated rice cakes. Also: tamari — wheat-free soy sauce.

I had been, up until Saturday,  been trying popcorn at the movie theaters, but based on my experiences on Sunday, I think I am now reacting hard to corn, which is a common allergen and an easy food to sensitize to.

I am thinking that the cocoa-covered rice cakes could be a problem, too, as I was eating them like crazy (another warning signal for me is if I crave or have the feeling of “can’t get enough” when I start to eat something and cannot stop). Cocoa is not only high in oxalates, but is another common allergen (chocolate).

The jury is still out on cabbage and roasted cauliflower, but if you remember this post a while back, I think I can say that it seems cabbage makes me react pretty hard, too.

Other than that, I have had problems with foods not on that list, from potatoes and tomatoes, to leeks and turnips (okay, turnips not so much as I have not eaten them so very often! I just do not care a ton for them, but then I used to think that about brussels sprouts, too).

I need to try some broccoli again.

The Hardest Part of It All Right Now

I think that the toughest part of it right now is what a downer this all is. I mean, I eat a food: it makes me feel sick, tired and depressed. But eating in such a limited way makes me feel kind of sick, tired and depressed, too, especially in a place like Paris, France.

I know I don’t have it so very bad. There is a chica named CoconutGal. You can read about her at this post on Elana’s Pantry - Chocolate Chip Cookies Again. Weird thing, though. CoconutGal’s blog is closed now. It makes me a mite bit worried, like, what happened to her? Here is a link to a Flickr photo with her in it. But her blog is definitely closed down. It worries me. I hope nothing bad has happened to her…

I have found a few of her comments, a couple on this post here by Meghan Telpner creator of Making Love in the Kitchen: How I Got Here. It’s a cool post. Kind of like what I have posted here, but a LOT shorter, and she already has come to a kind of light at the end of her tunnel and I am still in the tunnel. Anyway, it gives me some hope.

But now I am wondering why very little from CoconutGal appears online from beyond May of this year.

HOLY COW. I am so going to add Meghan’s blog to my Google Reader. Check out her post here: The Pill: Sex, Drugs, and Mood Swings, part 2 Wow.  A lot of what she writes there fits in with some of the things I have been writing about here in this post. It makes me realize how what we put inside our bodies does have an impact on our health, and sometimes, if we become super-sensitive people, drastically so.

Jeebus. I don’t know if you made it this far…

… but I just checked my word count and it is over 6,000. LOL. Yikes. I think I made up for yesterday and got today taken care of, too. This is WAY too long to be considered a blog post — more like a tome. But. I needed to write it. Maybe someone out there needs to read it and this is why it is here. I am okay with that.

Live long and prosper, kids.

Let’s talk about fungus, baby. Fungus grows everywhere. Molds, mildews, yeasts, and mushrooms are fungi. We constantly battle the overgrowth of fungi in our refrigerators, our fruit bowls, our showers, our gardens, and our toilets. Moisture + sugar = fungus.

Why would our bodies be any different?

Modern medicine has neglected to examine the role that fungus plays in causing disease. I believe that fungi and the mycotoxins that they release are the missing link in our current understanding of health.

Our health care providers are very good at treating traumas and broken bones, but not at treating diseases. Although risk factors can be identified, the cause of most diseases is considered unknown – Cancer, Autism, MS, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Asthma, allergies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s disease, Autism, Fibromyalgia…..the list goes on and on.

Here’s what I believe:

Candida yeast and other fungi are a significant factor and impedance to good health in nearly all chronic disease.

Here’s why I think so:
1. Many books have been written that make a strong case for Candida being pandemic in the U.S., as well as a causative factor to many people’s health issues. Here are two: The Candida Cure, by Ann Boroch and The Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook, by Jeanne Marie Martin and Zoltan Rona, MD.

2. Dr. Simoncini, an oncologist from Italy believes that Cancer is Candida. He is curing Cancer by washing the tumors and surrounding blood vessels with Sodium Bicarbonate, yup, baking soda water. The premise for this treatment is that Candida and other fungus cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Think about it…cancer metastasizes just like mold grows on bread. And…a fungus incorporates DNA and cellular material from its host…which would explain why researchers have thought that cancer is mutated cells from your own body. It is already well established in the medical literature that people with depressed immune systems are susceptible to Candidiasis. However, it is assumed that the Candida infection is concurrent, not the cause. Perhaps that assumption is false.

3. Antibiotics kill the bacteria that compete with Candida, and raise the acidity of the body. A healthy balance of bacteria and Candida is what is supposed to make your body-ecosystem thrive. Antibiotics are over prescribed and most animals destined for American grocery stores and restaurants are overloaded with antibiotics.

4. Candida flourishes in an acidic body. Most of us are too acidic. Your blood pH must stay at 7.3875, or you die, so if your diet is acidic, your body borrows the buffering minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium from wherever it has to (bones, joints, muscles, organs) in order to buffer the blood and maintain the pH of the blood. Because your bones, joints, and organs need those minerals, you get sick if your body is constantly borrowing minerals to balance the blood pH. This is an easy explanation for arthritis and osteoporosis.

5. Fungi, including Candida, release mycotoxins that promote the growth of more fungi – those toxins are acidic. This is one of the reasons that fungus is so persistent. Candida essentially feeds itself. Kids with autism and ADD have been shown to have higher toxin levels in their brains than kids who do not have the same diagnosis.

6. Candida roots into the gut lining, causes leaky gut syndrome, and increases the likelihood of food sensitivities. Candida is passed between sexual partners and from mother to child in the womb. If a child is born with too much Candida, it would be a very good explanation for colic.

7. Much of our food is full of fungus. Corn has high levels of fungus and its mycotoxins. What is fed to the chickens, cows, and pigs that most of us eat? Corn. The mycotoxins end up in the fat and milk of those animals. And, um….high fructose corn syrup? Mycotoxins, mycotoxins, mycotoxins.

Candida = yeast = fungus

Let’s talk about fungus, baby. Fungus grows everywhere. Molds, mildews, yeasts, and mushrooms are fungi. We constantly battle the overgrowth of fungi in our refrigerators, our fruit bowls, our showers, our gardens, and our toilets. Moisture + sugar = fungus.

Why would our bodies be any different?

Modern medicine has neglected to examine the role that fungus plays in causing disease. I believe that fungi and the mycotoxins that they release are the missing link in our current understanding of health.

Our health care providers are very good at treating traumas and broken bones, but not at treating diseases. Although risk factors can be identified, the cause of most diseases is considered unknown – Cancer, Autism, MS, Lupus, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, Asthma, allergies, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Crohn’s disease, Autism, Fibromyalgia…..the list goes on and on.

Here’s what I believe:

Candida yeast and other fungi are a significant factor and impedance to good health in nearly all chronic disease.

Here’s why I think so:
1. Many books have been written that make a strong case for Candida being pandemic in the U.S., as well as a causative factor to many people’s health issues. Here are two: The Fungus Link, by Doug Kaufmann, David Holland, MD, and Jami Clark, R.N. andThe Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook, by Jeanne Marie Martin and Zoltan Rona, MD.

2. Dr. Simoncini, an oncologist from Italy believes that Cancer is Candida. He is curing Cancer by washing the tumors and surrounding blood vessels with Sodium Bicarbonate, yup, baking soda water. The premise for this treatment is that Candida and other fungus cannot survive in an alkaline environment. Think about it…cancer metastasizes just like mold grows on bread. And…a fungus incorporates DNA and cellular material from its host…which would explain why researchers have thought that cancer is mutated cells from your own body. It is already well established in the medical literature that people with depressed immune systems are susceptible to Candidiasis. However, it is assumed that the Candida infection is concurrent, not the cause. Perhaps that assumption is false.

3. Antibiotics kill the bacteria that compete with Candida, and raise the acidity of the body. A healthy balance of bacteria and Candida is what is supposed to make your body-ecosystem thrive. Antibiotics are over prescribed and most animals destined for American grocery stores and restaurants are overloaded with antibiotics.

4. Candida flourishes in an acidic body. Most of us are too acidic. Your blood pH must stay at 7.3875, or you die, so if your diet is acidic, your body borrows the buffering minerals – calcium, magnesium, sodium, and potassium from wherever it has to (bones, joints, muscles, organs) in order to buffer the blood and maintain the pH of the blood. Because your bones, joints, and organs need those minerals, you get sick if your body is constantly borrowing minerals to balance the blood pH. This is an easy explanation for arthritis and osteoporosis.

5. Fungi, including Candida, release mycotoxins that promote the growth of more fungi – those toxins are acidic. This is one of the reasons that fungus is so persistent. Candida essentially feeds itself. Kids with autism and ADD have been shown to have higher toxin levels in their brains than kids who do not have the same diagnosis.

6. Candida roots into the gut lining, causes leaky gut syndrome, and increases the likelihood of food sensitivities. Candida is passed between sexual partners and from mother to child in the womb. If a child is born with too much Candida, it would be a very good explanation for colic.

7. Much of our food is full of fungus. Corn has high levels of fungus and its mycotoxins. What is fed to the chickens, cows, and pigs that most of us eat? Corn. The mycotoxins end up in the fat and milk of those animals. And, um….high fructose corn syrup? Mycotoxins, mycotoxins, mycotoxins.

There are four components to a successful candida cleanse: diet, natural remedies, repopulation of healthy digestive flora and diligence throughout treatment.  This last one is a component on its own simply because a candida cleanse is so challenging; since candida feeds off every food one cannot have throughout the cleanse, the cravings for these foods are often extremely strong!  A candida cleanse takes a lot of willpower and a strong desire to be rid of candida symptoms.

Part One: Diet

A candida diet alone, especially supplemented with a juice fast and/or colonic irrigation, is an essential starting point for clearing candida overgrowth from the system.  A candida diet is quite restrictive, especially if you’re used to eating a standard American diet, full of sugar, dairy, processed foods and alcohol.  All these foods must be completely cut out, as they either feed candida or lower the effectiveness of the immune system, making it more difficult to kill candida off.  Additionally, any foods that are fermented or containing gluten or mold must be cut out; this restriction encompasses some surprising foods such as peanuts, vinegar or any food containing vinegar, cheese, coffee and mushrooms.  For a full list of foods to avoid and reasons why, click here.

So what CAN one eat on a candida diet?  Fresh vegetables (excluding the starchy ones: potatoes, corn, carrots), fresh meats, foods containing live and active cultures such as yogurt made from goat’s milk or sauerkraut made without vinegar, non-glutenous grains like brown rice and millet and non-moldy nuts and seeds like almonds.  For a full list of foods to eat, click here.

Natural Remedies

Ingesting any natural remedies for candida too soon can cause some major Herxheimer or die-off reactions.  Therefore, it’s a good idea to stick to the diet for at least a week or two before beginning to take any remedies.  That being said, it’s amazing to learn about what kinds of foods and products contain ingredients that naturally kill of candida.  For example, caprylic acid, found in extra virgin coconut oil, is a natural candida killler, as is bromelain, an enzyme found in tropical fruits like pineapple.  Enzymes found in fresh fish are also very helpful in keeping candida at bay.  This explains why candida is not a problem for people who follow a native diet in tropical, humid places; an environment which would normally encourage candida overgrowth.

There are many natural remedies and products available to help treat Candida.  Read about more of them here.

Repopulate Digestive Flora

Repopulating the digestive tract with friendly flora like acidophilus is something that you should be doing all along; there’s no need to wait.  Taking probiotics to up the amount of friendly flora in the system is a key factor in winning the candida battle, and will additionally help every other system in the body to work better.

The amount of time it takes to get a handle on candidiasis is different for everyone and depends on how long you’ve been dealing with symptoms.  For some, it may take only a month or so to start feeling better, while for others it can take several.   To test whether you have candidiasis and for more resources on the topic, click here.

We have spent a lot of energy here to debunk Tullio Simoncini’s baking soda therapy as a cure for cancer.

I am afraid we may have been wrong…

There now is indisputable evidence for the powers of baking soda and it is shown in this video. It is about someone who had a terrible accident, which was completely resersed with baking soda. Now, if baking soda can bring about something as impressive as this, what reason is there to think that it cannot cure cancer either?

The video is in Italian, but the message is clear to anyone, so please watch and be amazed…

Howdy!

7km hilly jog this morning, 20kms on the bike.
About 4kg’s oranges, 600gms of dates and a kilo of tomatoes

Today I’m going to talk about my trip to banana island…

My trip to banana island actually started off with 7 days of only melons then I switched to bananas for another 10days or so, followed by melon and banana mono meals for another 5days and finally adding in lettuce and celery for the remaining days. In all it was a 30day adventure.

Ahh sweet juicy goodness!

What on earth motivated me to eat only bananas for several days?!?!
The idea slapped me in the face at my first rawfood picnic in Nov 06….
There was a beauty-full glowing lady at the raw picnic who was only eating mangoes and as I stuffed in my raw samosa’s and chocolate balls I quizzed her on what I thought was an unusual mango obsession. She explained that she was having a consult with Dr Doug Graham, author of the revolutionary health book ‘The 80-10-10 Diet’ and that she was only eating mangoes for two weeks! Well this just blew me away, I had never heard of such a thing!.. but this lady was obviously doing something right because she was glowing!

After the picnic I was feeling mega-inspired but I must say pain was my biggest motivator... I was suffering from bad candida outbreaks in the form of acne, also blurred vision, UTI’s, cracked mouth corners and severe digestive distress… I had already received minor improvements in these areas due to recently cutting out all animal products and grains but still I was suffering…Just the week before I had visited a Gastroenterologist regarding my digestive ‘condition’, he charged me about $250 for 15mins and after an endoscopy told me I had ‘inflamation of the gut’ but not to worry because there was a new drug hitting the market soon from the US that would ‘fix it up’…you can imagine my disappointment at this ‘diagnosis’.

4kg orange lunch

As soon as I could I booked a consult with Dr Doug and got started. I had access to a lot of rockmelons/cantaloupes so I decided to start on them… within a couple of days I was feeling great, within a week I was feeling amazing! I was finding it challenging to get enough calories from just melons so I switched to bananas and then the magic really began…

My mild but persistent acne (that I had for years) started to dissolve back into my skin, within the month my was skin cleared up completely (except a little scarring on my shoulders). Within the first week my digestion was perfect and odourless. I could finally focus on my tasks clearly for hours on end and my urinary tract infections and cracked mouth corners miraculously went! But was it that miraculous?

Not really, it’s just the body doing its thing. When we get out of the bodies way by eating our biologically designed diet then our true healthy self begins to emerge. Our bodies are self-healing organisms that are constantly cleaning up after us. When in a state of dis-ease, most peeps do not realize they have brought it upon themselves.

Why eat only one fruit for several days?
It is a very ‘freeing’ experience for the bodymind. The energy that would’ve once gone to digesting heavy foods and complicated combinations or even some fruit meals can now head towards the appropriate areas of need within the body, healing them at rapid speed. Digestion is the most energy-demanding task the body has to perform, ofcourse how much energy goes to your digestive system depends on many factors, the biggest being what you eat. Fruit is the ideal food, you can read all about the goodness of fruit here.

My Results…
This is part of an email I sent to Dr Doug at the end of our consult in Feb 07
* I have experienced more energy than ever in my life this past month
* My skin hasn’t been this clear since I was 10
* The whites of my eyes are actually white!
* My skin is sooo smooth!
* My body looks better than it ever has
* My digestion has improved out of site
* Stomach is almost washboard!!
* I’m more drawn to the sun these days and I love it!
* My nails are stronger

Things to consider before visiting mono-fruit island (MFI) paradise:

* How you are going to eat after MFI? – if you go back to unhealthy eating habits, all your old symptoms will return.
* Being stable on a Low fat raw vegan lifestyle before going on mono-fruit island will increase your chances of long term raw success because generally what peeps eat before the island will be what they eat after the island.
* I don’t advise you visit MFI just for weightloss reasons because if you go back to your old way of living that caused the weightgain then the fat will return, a sustainable LFRV plan is needed.
* Make sure you always have ripe fruit or else you will get ravenous and eat whatever is closest.
* Ensure you go to nutridiary.com and work out how many calories you need to maintain your current weight and aim for this with your favourite fruit.
* Keep your water intake up, make sure your pee is always clear, this will ensure optimal results from your trip to the island.
* Start a challenge with your raw friends, get a group together and support eachother throughout your stay.
* During your trip away educate yourself on basic physiology and make sure you are reading ‘ The 80-10-10 Diet’ because this lifestyle should be the goal for when you come off the island (that’s if you want to continue feeling vital)
* Avoid telling mainstream peeps about your holiday to the island until it’s over, others opinions may affect your determination
* Plan your trip in detail before starting, write a list of your goals for going to MFI, this will give your subconscious mind a clear objective goal to work towards, visualise how amazing you are going to feel, see yourself all happy and healthy in your mind’s eye.
* Factor in daily exercise, earn your meal but listen to your body if you need rest, take time out whenever needed.
* Prioritise nude sunbaking, this will speed up elimination and also sooth your soul

Typical ‘conditions’ that the body is able to overcome (or BEGIN to) on fruit island..

* Chronic fatigue/Adrenal fatigue
* Acne/skin problems
* Blood sugar conditions such as diabetes and candida
* Depression/mental disharmony
* Hormonal disturbances
* Weight problems (although focusing on this is not recommended)
* Digestive conditions
* Sinus and mucus problems
* Eating Disorders
& many more…

More about banana island here…

My personal mono-island adventures…

* 12 days on mangoes
* 10 days on bananas
* 30 days on mono meals of mango and watermelon only
* 8days on melons
* 5 or more days on banana smoothies (banana, celery and water)

I now mentor peeps on Mono-fruit island so if you are struggling to find the motivation or are confused about how to go about it then feel free to contact me on free@30bad.com.

Have a fruity day X

Celery-lova

Originally written by: Dr. Cass Ingram, DO

Many know Dr. Ingram as “Dr. Oregano”. The miraculous healing powers of this very sacred herb were virtually unknown in North America until the early 1990’s, even though our ancestors have used it as medicine for thousands of years, and Hippocrates wrote volumes on how to use this wonderful and sacred herb. Dr. Ingram has devoted his life to researching these healing foods and herbs and subjecting them to intensive research at traditional and prestigious institutions such as George Brown Medical University Center in Washington, D.C., Cornell University and others.

Respiratory illness is caused by many things: pneumococci, asbestosis, sarcoidosis; inhalation of lead and other heavy metals and pollution. Currently, there is an epidemic of respiratory illnesses in North America primarily due to germs, and there is one particular germ that is causing an awful lot of problems. This germ is a mould fungus. According to Webster’s dictionary, a fungus is a saprophyte, and a saprophyte is an organism that grows on dead and decaying material. Its presence in our body indicates the state of our health, so we don’t want something like that growing on us. The biggest source of moulds is contaminated air which damages and irritates the lungs and bronchial tubes, and then, to some degree, gets into the blood and the rest of the organs. Mould and fungus also contaminate grains.

SPICES – OIL OF OREGANO
I have discovered that spices are the most potent germicides in the world. I have to give credit to Judy Gray who found these spice extracts and brought them to my attention when I was sick. The most famous spice extract, of course, is oil of oregano. Judy found oil of oregano overseas and we were the first to import it into this country. Oil of oregano is the key to curing mould fungus infestation. It is valuable for a wide range of health problems such as allergies, hay fever, actinomycosis, asbestosis, blastomycosis, a big epidemic in southern Ontario, blood clots, bronchitis, cough, cystic fibrosis, emphysema, demolition lung (where people work around a lot of dust), histoplasmosis, nasal polyps, pneumonia, sarcoidosis, silicosis, sinusitis, tonsillitis, laryngitis, whatever kind of a throatitis you could have, and tuberculosis.

RESEARCH USING OREGANO AGAINST CANDIDA
In 2001, preliminary research at Georgetown University, Washington, D.C. showed that the fungus Candida albicans was destroyed by certain spice extracts. Our research team used the finest spice extracts (including extracts of wild oregano known as the P73 blend, wild sage and mountain-grown cumin), which are now components in a product called Oregacyn. We tested the fungus Candida albicans, which causes untold misery, disability and death in North America today. It is the cause of sepsis in the kidneys, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. It is a huge factor in colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, eosophagitis, hiatal hernia and gastritis. In the study, Candida albicans fungus was inserted into tissue. One part of the culture was treated with the wild oregano blend known as P73, and another part with the drug amphoteracin B which is the premier drug of last resort for people with Candida sepsis. This research was published in Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry in 2002, and it goes to every major research institution in the world. The research showed that these spices completely destroyed every trace of the fungus in the culture tissue and no Candida of any kind was found. The animals who took the oregano were healthier than they were before treatment according to the investigators. The amphoteracin B, a very powerful drug that causes kidney damage also destroyed the fungus. But here is an example of a spice which was effective as a powerful drug but without the side effects. You may request the article by calling 1-847-473-4700.

RESEARCH USING OREGANO AGAINST STAPH BACTERIA
Another study at Georgetown University showed that the wild oregano blend destroyed drug resistant staph bacteria. We compared the spice extracts against vancomycin. Vancomycin is pretty good. It is the drug of last resort for staph bacteria, and it allowed about 40% of the animals to survive. Staph is nasty. But 50% of the animals taking the oregano extracts (which you will find in both the Oreganol and the Oregacyn) survived. If you increased the dose, you could possibly get 100% survival. It still has to be studied. We could spend another $400,000 or more doing research, but these spices have been used over the centuries. Wild oregano and other spices have been used for 50,000 years of human history. The Babylonians, the ancient Pharaohs, the Islamic doctors, and the British in the 1600s used them. The British said that it cured the common cold, bronchitis, chronic coughing, ear problems and diarrhea. According to the Babylonians, it was the best cardiac tonic known to the human race.

RESEARCH BY THE USDA
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was investigating the antioxidant power of foods and confirmed that of all the foods and all the spice extracts, wild oregano was three to 20 times more powerful as a germicide than anything else tested. The result which was three times higher likely occurred because they were using farm-raised oregano. The result which was 20 times higher was obviously from wild mountainous material, which is much more powerful. So you must always use the wild.

PARASITES
Parasites can also cause lung problems. The parasites are worms, amoebas, protozoas, tapeworms, etc. There are in everything. If you travel overseas, if you drink the public water and if you eat at restaurants, there are risks, no matter how clean you are. Hulda Clark and many others proved it. If you have chronic lung disease, the second thing you must destroy is the parasites. They can live in the liver, the lung, the gut, and they can cause cancer, heart disease, liver disease, fibromyalgia and lupus. Whether your lung problem is caused by germs or parasites, spice extracts are the answer. If you who work around toxic agents, or if you would like to protect your lungs, wild oregano is the answer.

OREGACYN – THE POWER OF ANTIOXIDANTS IN SPICES
A recent study (2002) by the USDA found that of all natural antioxidants tested, spices were the best, and of all the spices, wild oregano was tops and had 40 times the antioxidant effect of apples and over five times the action of antioxidants in blueberries. If you have oxidative damage in your body, you will need something with power like Oregacyn which contains five spices, including wild high mountain oregano, wild mountain sage and high mountain cumin. Research has demonstrated that glutathione peroxidase and glutathione transferase are the key enzymes which protect the cells in the lungs from toxic or oxidative damage. Cumin has been found to have the ability to increase glutathione levels up to 700%. Here in Southern Ontario you do have your share of pollution, and some of you may have emphysema, or chronic obstructive lung disease. So a couple of capsules a day is a good way to go to protect the lungs from oxidative damage.

CASE HISTORIES
People who have used some of these spices have received enormous benefits. Spice extracts will destroy the germs and liberate the illness, whether it is a cough, congestion, sinus pressure, sinus headaches, rhinitis or post nasal drip. I was on the radio in Hamilton yesterday and a gentleman called and he said, ” I can’t get rid of the flu but when I take one to three capsules of Oregacyn a day I knock it out.” I talked to another person whose wife owns a very prominent nutrition company in New York. Their nutritional supplements were not able to heal her cough and they were afraid her asthma was going to kill her. She started taking the Oregacyn, this dried desiccated wild spice material in a capsule, just a couple of capsules twice a day and she got rid of it. And boy, were they impressed. As far as I know, they are buying the stuff like crazy. and their whole staff is taking it. There was another gentleman who had a terrible infection in the rectal area which he couldn’t get rid of. But he claims he cured it using this particular spice extract, the Oregacyn.

Question: Will oil of oregano or Oregacyn, the multiple spice extract, destroy the beneficial bacteria like acidophilus and lactobacillus in the colon.
Answer: Yes, if you take too much of any of these things, it can. For instance, if you eat three cloves of raw garlic, it will temporarily sterilize the colon. If you eat a raw onion you will sterilize the stomach for a short period of time. If you take a lot of oil of oregano, you can kill your lactobacillus. If you are taking a heavy dose of something like that, it is wise to take a friendly bacteria supplement.

To find out if you have a mould fungus infection, you can take a little self-test:

* If you have chronic joint pain that cannot be healed, give yourself a 2.
* Sinus attacks or chronic sinusitis, give yourself a 5.
* Watery eyes, give it 2.
* Itchy eyes, give it 2.
* Shortness of breath, give it a 3.
* Spastic muscles – 1.
* Neck stiffness. Give it a 1 or 2 if it is really bad.
* Spinal stiffness – give it a 5. Stiffness of the spine is now clearly associated with mould, fungus infections or mycotoxins causing damage.
* Chronic ear infections as an adult, give that a 3.
* Waking up at night; can’t sleep at night. Night time is a misery. Give it a 5 unless there is stress or another cause.
* Attention Deficit in kids give that a 10.
* Attacks of sneezing fits and runny nose, would be a 2.
* Chronic headaches – 2.
* Pain behind the eye, 1 or 2.
* Wheezing would have to be a 5.
* Dizziness – 1.
* Hives – 2.
* Dry cough – 5.
* Tendency to be allergic to everything. Sensitivity to chemicals, fibromyalgia, sensitive to everything, can’t concentrate, mental fog – 5.
* Spots on the lungs that no one can figure out – 10 unless it’s tuberculosis.
* Psychotic tendencies, anxiety, neurosis with no other cause, give it a 3.
* Itchy skin – 3.
* Itchy scalp has to be 5.
* Ringworm or Athlete’s Foot that is persistent – 5.

If you scored more than 10, this is evidence to believe that you have a chronic mould or fungus infection or sensitivity and that you have dead and decaying materials in your body.

Please refer to Dr. Ingram’s books for research references.
Dr. Ingram’s books The Longevity Solution, The Respiratory Solution, Lifesaving Cures and Royal Oil”, Royal Kick” and Oregacyn” are available at Consumer Health Organization. Please call 416-924-9800 or 1-877-389-0996.