Q: everytime i try to do the candida diet cold turkey my blood sugar crashes – i feel light headed, dizzy, shaky and i have to eat and eat and eat. is this normal? will it go away?

A: If you’ve never had experience with even a less-restrictive low-carb diet, changing cold turkey probably isn’t the best idea. I can say though that when you do that and experience those symptoms, I’m betting it’s not actually blood sugar related even though it feels like it is. (I’ve had those symptoms myself at times, and I’ve checked my blood sugar, and it’s fine.)

When you’re first starting out on a plan where carbs are significantly restricted, it’s crucial that you pack in as much fat as you can! As soon as your glycogen stores run out, your body’s got to learn to derive energy from fat and protein, and there’s a transition there that’s not always pleasant. You can make it go a little smoother though by cramming in the fat!

I agree with most who advocate making slower dietary changes (in most cases), but there’s something to consider. High fat in the presence of high carbohydrate is NOT healthy, so you don’t want to get stuck in that situation for too awfully long.

It’s tough, but actually, I HAVE to do things the cold turkey way or I never make the switch. And you only feel real yucky like that for a couple days (if you choose to do it that way.)

Eggs are always quick, but they get boring.

Remember that you don’t have to eat “breakfast food” for breakfast. I’ll often have left-overs for breakfast.

A protein shake made with 1 egg, 1T butter, 1T coconut oil, 3/4c boiling water, and a pinch of stevia. (Blend it in your blender and enjoy!)

Q: If you have any suggestions on how to get started, feel free to let me know.
I am using coconut oil and butter and am trying real hard to be good on the candida diet. Sometimes I cheat, I’m not going to lie.

A: Very strict eating plans are hard for us all, my dear. I’m far from perfect right this moment myself because I’ve been having dairy off and on (heavy cream, cottage cheese, and cream cheese). These things clearly don’t agree with me, but for a number of reasons, I keep having them. The biggest factor for me right this moment is money, but I admit that if I had more money to get other good protein/fat foods, I’d still want a bit of cream cheese or heavy cream (even though I’d have a lot less of it than what I’ve been having recently.)

I find it harder to stay on the “straight and narrow” when I’m having even these small indulgences. I find that I’m most successful once I’ve gotten everything eliminated that affects me and feeds my candida. Then, I don’t need willpower because I’m not feeding those darned yeasties (and my food addiction) anymore.

This is something I hear a lot:
What would be your absolute basic recommendations for someone who is open to the concept of changing diet, but is single, on the go, doesn’t cook and lives out of suitcases in hotels.

Sound a bit extreme, but that will be common circumstance for many career people and was mine for quite some time.

To start, I’d bet a more liberal low-carb program (like Atkins) would work nicely. Then as you start to see results and start to feel better, you might be willing to brainstorm ways to eliminate the foods that feed yeast (dairy, fruit, nuts) to see even better results.

The only problem when you don’t cook for yourself much is that you end up getting a lot of food with unknown ingredients. For people with ANY kinds of sensitivities, this can be a real issue. The added salt, sugar, and MSG alone can cause real problems, but you may already be getting that now (depending on how you’re eating.)

Youc can keep several hard boiled eggs on hand all the time to grab, and also have a baked chicken in the fridge.

Maybe just have yourself rid of one thing at a time. Like if you are drinking sodas, start there. Try one meal at a time, like just eat a nice fat/protein breakfast and focus on that for a while.

The point is to build up slowly, so that not only does your body not get overwhelmed, but your mind adapts and forms it into a healthy habit. This will certainly get you on the right mindset, which is basically the whole story.

It’s very popular in Iceland (and some otehr nordic countries) to eat dried fish. They take Icelandic COD Fish or Haddock, and they hang it up to dry (usually on a clothes line outside) for many months. It’s very yummy (even though I know it sounds so gross). It’s like “Beef Jerky” but it’s fish jerky. No added ingredients at all.
Icelandic Dried fish is an old tradition in Iceland. The dried haddock bites are full of Omega 3 fatty acids and protein and are really healthy snack
In Iceland they eat these like beef jerky, except for we always spread the fish jerky with a thick coating of butter while eating them.
This product is fine for us to eat. Afterall, it’s just fish.
As long as it is meat and it isn’t smoked, etc. it is okay. You don’t need to worry about such foods if they don’t contain any chemicals, and are natually processed. There are some jerky recipes on the web too.

Here is some information on how to lose weight (if you need to) along with curing your candida.

- Calories should be 10-12 times your body weight. So for instance if you weigh 200 pounds your calories should be 2000-2400.

- Avoid eating 3 hours before bed time. If you get hungry before bed, have 1-2 tbsp plain coconut oil. Also you can always bring coconut oil with you to eat in emergencies.

- Eat your largest meal in the morning, and break your food down into 4-5 smaller meals (unless you have digestion issues).

- Drink at least half of your body weight in ounces of plain water.
So if you weigh 200 pounds, you would drink 100 ounces of water a day or more. Water is your friend and helps you detoxify and metabolize fat

- If you are stalled, make sure your calories are correct and your ratios. Do not go overboard with either protein or fat.

- Also if you are stalled, consider ditching stevia, dried spices, salt, lemon juice and butter along with your typical candida diet.

- Also consider doing a meat fast (just meat and oil) for a few days to kick start the process. Beware that this may give you die-off symptoms that are more severe.

If you are asking about the order in which to reintroduce foods (from a list of fruit, dairy, alcohol, and coffee.) It’s really hard to say because if you’ve already eliminated coffee, my philosophy is, “Why put back something that’s really not healthy for you?” Same with the alcohol.

One of my biggest beefs with coffee is that addicted people use it as their primary beverage. My husband probably drinks 40oz of coffee a day, and he’s following an anti-candida diet that’s not quite as strict, but it’s not quite as liberal as Atkins’ “Ongoing Weightloss” phase of the Atkins Nutritional Approach.
He still has serious problems with headaches, and a lot of it has to do with dehydration. Caffeine is VERY dehydrating, and it seems to me that it’s almost counter-productive to drink the stuff. That’s my main beef with coffee.

With fruit and dairy, it’s a little harder to say. When a person is HEALTHY, I’m not convinced that small amounts of fruit are bad, and I’m not convinced that the right kinds of dairy are all that bad for people who aren’t sensitive to it.

For me, even if dairy didn’t feed my candida, it’s one of the foods that triggers addictive eating for me. Just because it works that way for me though doesn’t mean that organic, raw dairy works that way for everyone.
I just hate to see people resorting primarily to cheese, cream, and yogurt for their protein/fat. I DON’T think that’s healthy. I really think people miss out on important nutrients when they do that.

And fruit… Well, again, if you’re not going overboard, I don’t really think fruit’s all that bad for HEALTHY people in moderation. The problem is, I’ve seen way too many people follow a restricted diet, then try and add foods back in, and by the end, they’re not eating anything resembling healthy at all because they’re only eating the foods that they reintroduced and NONE of the good foods they were eating before.