Have you ever done a diet for healing?
It was almost exactly one year ago that I first embarked on the Donna Gates’ Body Ecology Diet. If you’re not familiar with it, it’s a set of seven dietary principles which are designed to help you combat a candida infection and heal your gut. I gave it a red hot go… and totally panned. Made myself quite sick actually! Not from anything wrong with the diet, but because I didn’t do first things first. One of her principles is ‘step by step’. Turns out, I wasn’t ready at the time to do that diet. But now I am.
Over the last year I’ve been on quite the gut healing journey. The proper next step for me was to see a naturopath. She helped me clear up the lymphatic congestion which was causing the toxins to stay trapped in my body and making me feel crap, and kill off the bacterial overgrowth in my intestine. Hallelujah!
Yesterday I went back for a check up and dem beasties are back, specifically, Candida albicans. All the work I’ve done to this point has made me now ready to tackle it, hopefully once and for good.
Anti-fungal diets are quite restrictive. Basically anything which yeast/fungus eat is off the menu – the idea is to starve them out. They looooove sugar, even natural sugar like in fruit and some veggies. And do you know what? The thing I’m most concerned about is having to give up my macadamia butter!! Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really healthy vice to have, but in terms of rebalancing my body to control the candida? Nuh uh, gotta go. It doesn’t even have to go forever, just a month or so (fingers crossed!) and it’s freaking me out.
I really am addicted to the stuff. I eat it out of the jar. Most days. Er… every day. Not just one spoonful either. It is just so delicious! It’s also my go to comfort food. My emotional eating crutch. Does this mean I have to actually face my emotions? Ouch.
Queue panic.
I don’t want to do the restrictive diet again! I’m afraid of feeling that crap again! I don’t want to give up macadamia butter! Nooo don’t make me face my demons!
Time to regroup. What I’ve discovered with these things is that it’s good to acknowledge those feelings of deprivation, fear, even grief, but don’t park yourself there. Feel it fully for a little bit then let it go and focus on putting your best foot forward. To do that we identify the positive reasons why we’re doing this, including the big picture. It also helps to put it in perspective. It’s only one month. I know how to not feel so crap this time. I have support for the demon-facing. I won’t be hungry, and I might even find some great new recipes!
So. I’m doing this because I want great skin (candida gives me rashes). I want boundless energy. I want a clear, focused mind. I want to learn to manage stress properly to get more joy out of life. I want to overcome my demons so that I can live the life of my dreams. I want to be radiantly and vibrantly healthy so that I have as much as possible to give to what I love. Ready. Set. Go.
Operation Radiance (candida control challenge) Day 1:
Breakfast: eggs with red cabbage and onion, parsley and kimchi
Lunch: stir fried mince and Asian greens with kimchi,
Plus a green juice, my go to guide, earth, sun and water
Dinner: sadly lacking colour but it tasted good – roasted broccoli, cauliflower and fennel with an almond pulp, onion, dulse and rosemary crumb
… And yes, I had some macadamia butter. There’s an open jar in the house and my will power is not that strong. The test will be not buying a replacement!
