Candida Yeast Infection=Slow Loss

Well ladies and gentlemen, I have done made a discovery! Night before last my friend told me she heard how to test yourself for candida overgrowth by spitting into a cup. When you first wake up, you fill a glass full of water and spit into it before you do anything else (don't brush teeth, drink, etc). Some people will see it right away, but many will go away and come back and check it in 30 minutes. If your loogie sits on top in a nice little ball you are Candida free. If you see it stringing down into fingers, you have Candida. Apparently according to her doc this test is 95% accurate. Mine was immediately apparent...within seconds. Now, for YEARS I resisted the anti-yeast diet that many of my Atkins compadres followed. I reasoned it was just too drastic and how could a little yeast really cause a problem? Well, I spent a couple hours online researching it and taking other tests (250 was considered a definite positive for it and I scored over 400) and I found that all these nasty skin problems I've been fighting with all these years have likely been candida. (Am I the only one who hears a song "Candida Candida" going around in their heads when you see this?) I have a rash on my back that has been there for about 10 years, I have struggled with other unmentionable rashes that responded to nothing, I have incessant ear infections, scaley itchy skin around my ears and went through a period where my face was red as a beet from a stinking rash they diagnosed as rosacea....that didn't respond to any rosacea meds. I even currently have a rash under one armpit. So, knowing what I have learned over the years, I have to conclude that my weight loss efforts have been overshadowed by this problem that I refused to acknowledge. I don't regret having had the wls, but I do have to wonder if I would have gotten the weight off had I done anti-yeast. So there you go - if you are a slow loser, take the spit test. If you have it, apparently you can also take special combos of acidophilous (can't just be one strain) that can help it - along with the anti-yeast low-carb diet. ::sigh:: Here we go.......... Dina - who is NOT looking forward to giving up her cheese and other such things prohibited on anti-yeast.

Hi Dina: Very interesting post. 3 years ago I lost 70 pounds and deveolped a fungal/possibly yeast rash on my back. It improved but comes and goes - I control it with tinactin or other OTC meds. I've never heard about the diet you are talking about. Louise

Louise - Anti-yeast is basically Atkins with all the fun stuff taken out! I don't know all the details and will have to no doubt take an anti-yeast 101 class,but basically you do not eat milk products, or if so, only in limited quantities (depends on who you ask!), no sugar of any sort at all, no fermented products, no processed meats, no vinegar, etc. Now I've checked out a lady's website who's doctor had her on this slightly different diet that allowed her to have some of the things Atkins anti-yeast doesn't if you cook them (like vinegar and cheese). Basically you are starving the yeast of it's food source and the acidophilous helps eat or control the yeast. Between the two processes you can keep the yeast under control, or so it goes. ::sigh:: I just didn't want to have to do this... Dina

What the heck can you eat??? It sounds as if you are left with a macrobiotic way of eating -- eeeeewwwwww! Maureen

This is what I got off a website - it's a little different than the Atkins anti-yeast... Foods that are allowed: Vegetables: asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant, parsley, squash, avocado, brussel sprouts, celery, green pepper, peas, tomatoes, green beans, yellow beans, cabbage corn, okra, potatoes, beets, carrots, cucumber, onion, radishes, greens: beet, collard, kale, lettuce, mustard, spinach & turnip Meats: beef, duck, eggs, quail, chicken, fish, oyster, rabbit, clam, tuna, turkey, crab, shrimp, goose, pheasant, lobster, cornish hen, lamb, pork, veal Dairy: milk, butter, cream, plain yogurt; cheeses must be well heated and eaten hot (i.e. lasagne) * * * Listen... don't ABUSE dairy just because it's on the list. Don't drink milk by the glassful... this just means you can have cream in your coffee, or you can bake with it, or enjoy a sugarfree custard once in a while. But PLEASE do not write to me about dairy! I HATE the stuff and I DO NOT EAT IT. I am lactose intolerant and I am NOT promoting it!!!!! Beverages: milk, water, herb teas, tomato juice, decaf coffee, V8, diet pop with no fruit juice or caffeine Nuts, seeds, oils: almonds, pecans, walnuts, butter, brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, oils (almond, avocado, corn, linseed, olive, sesame, safflower, sunflower, canola, soy), cashews, sesame seeds., filberts, sunflower seeds. Whole grains; must be eaten hot: brown rice, barley, buckwheat, wheat, rye, oats, millet Misc: NutriSweet*, Equal*, NutriSweet Jello, rice cakes, sesame rice crackers, triscuits, Shredded Wheat, raw unpasteurized apple cider vinegar (available at health food stores), Stevia ** * Artificial sweeteners are allowed on the program but you may object to using them if you read about the dangers. If cooked and eaten hot: leftovers, mushrooms, vinegar-containing foods, cheese well melted, bread well toasted ** About Stevia - there is a product called Sweetvia... it is the pure extract so there are no undesirable additives such as maltodextrin that dilute the taste, quality, and health characteristics of the product. You can read about it and order it at www.sweetvia.com. I have not tried this product. I can buy pure concentrated powder and that's what my recipes are based on. Forbidden Foods Anything sweet (sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup, corn syrup, dextrose, sorbitol, Splenda), alcoholic beverages, buttermilk, cheeses, coffee & tea, cold cereal (read label), cottage cheese, crackers, dried & candied fruits, flour enriched with vitamins from yeast, fruit & fruit juices (except lemon or lime juice; only 1 gm per tablespoon), leftovers, malt products, mushrooms, packaged & processed foods, peanuts, pistachios, pretzels, processed & smoked meats, sorbitol, sprouts, sweet potatoes & yams, vinegar-containing foods (catsup, mustard, mayonnaise, salad dressings, pickles), vitamins/minerals from yeast source (read label), yeast, yeast breads & pastries

Definitely add some acidophilus bacillus to your regimin. Don't buy it unless it has been stored refrigerated. A round of diflucan will jump start your process, but don't keep feeding the yeast (sugar, bread, potatoes, fermented products like soy sauce, some would say cheese). Been there done that, probably need to check again! Joy

Joy - I was reading about the use of Diflucan and Nystatin. I also heard the die-off can cause even worse reaction for awhile. Horrid! But I'm curious about it - is Diflucan something you think we can swallow and process normally after wls? I could follow the diet the one woman said she followed easier than I could Atkins anti-yeast. At least hers allows for rice cakes and coffee! But I figure between the diet and all these regimens, maybe I'd be able to get rid of this problem. One can always hope! Dina

I have not had problems from the die-off. But I try not to let it get that bad. My dr allowed me to take diflucan post op, but you should ask yours (anyway, you need a prescription). I think that starving the yeast to death takes way to long and it can lie dormant for a long time. Better to zap it and try to control the regrowth of the survivors through diet (in my opinion). The acidophillus grows friendly bacteria that fights the yeast for living space. It is a natural defense mechanism. The diflucan kills off all of it(yeast and good stuff), so you need this afterward, especially if you go this route. Many doctors do not acknowledge that yeast (candidiasis) is a problem because its presence is normal--just not the overgrowth. Labs do not include it in testing unless specifically told to do so. Joy

Yanno - I was reading about this. It looks like there is a huge polarization between those who believe it exsists and those who blow it off. All I can say is I haven't started treatment yet, but I have enough evidence and it was as if the lightbulb went on for me. No wonder I have all these skin conditions - makes a lot of sense now. I had the thought in the back of my head it was yeast but I didn't think of it being internal. I always thought it was more of an outer skin problem than being unbalanced inside. Dina

I read that it could settle in your joints and make them ache, and sure enough, when I started treating for it, my "arthritis" got better. I know I do have some arthritis, but I think my sore joints were mostly yeast! I'm a believer! (By the way, losing weight has helped my arthritis tremendously! I'm off Celebrex, hopefully for a long time to come!) Joy