Category: Natural Remedies

Vitamins for Celiacs

Celiac Disease causes  problems in the digestion which leads to malabsorption of essential vitamins and minerals. Celiacs usually suffer from a condition of inflammation in the bowel, which causes nutritional deficiencies, and this condition leads to celiacs being  malnourished:   Weight loss, anaemia, and depression are just some of the symptoms which may accompany the celiac disease.

Cancer and Osteoporoosies and Osteomalacia are conditions which celiac sufferers are inclined to get, because their bodies do not assimilate calcium and other vitamins and minerals  as well as other healthy people do.  It was found in recent research conducted with  celiac patients,  that assimilation of  nutrients increased when gluten was removed from the diet completely.  Removing gluten increased the absorption of  essential nutrients in food and in supplements,  and lowered the  risk of cancer, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, and other disease.  The celiac sufferers had the same incidence of cancer as the rest of the population once gluten was removed. This information comes from “The Natural Pharmacy’, whose address I have given below.

First and Foremost, to ensure that your vitmamin supplements are having the maximum effect,  it is important to eliminate the problematic foods from the diet.   These are wheat, rye and barley, which contain the gluten which is undigestible to celiac sufferers.   In research done recently, 95% of celiac sufferers improved  and became  symptom free, over a period of several months,   once they had removed the problematic gluten from their diets.  That means that all wheat, and products which include wheat, and  barley and rye ,  must be avoided completely. Being totally gluten free is essential in treating the condition of celiac disease.

You should check out your candida status with your doctor or health professional.  Candida needs a special diet devoid of wheat, barley, rye, dairy products, all sugars including fruit, fermented food, fruit juces, alcohol, vinegars,  and yeast products, until you have recovered.  If you have not been diagnosed with celiac disease, it might be that you have candida overgrowth.

So it is important to replace the nutrients which are deficient.

Calcium: It is essential to eat plenty of calcium-rich foods.  Calcium helps to protect the body against cancer, osteoporosis, osteomalacia,  and other disease, as well as keeping the teeth, bones and nails strong.  Diseases which are related to calcium deficiency, cancer, osteoporosis, and osteomalacia, are conditions which celiac sufferers are inclined to get, so it is very important to ensure that the diet has adequate calcium.

Most people  need about 1200mg of calcium a day, but people with the celiac condition need at least twice this amount.  Women need slightly more than this amount to account for the loss in menstruation, and growing children and teenagers also need slightly  more.   One handful of sesame seeds contains about 1200mg of calcium, and a teaspoon of dolomite powder contains about twice this.

Natural Sources of Calcium: Dolomite powder, Sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, sardines, bone broth, broccoli and the other brassicas which include cabbage and kale, coconut and coconut milk.   If your condition tolerates the use of dairy products and soy milk products, then of course these are excellent calcium sources too.  Look up merrilyn’s recipe for natural home-made calcium supplement under the post ‘Best Calcium Supplements’.

Make Home Made Calcium and Magnesium Tonic:  I have a post  entitled Best Calcium Supplement which tells you how to make an entirely natural calcium and magnesium tonic out of egg shells and cider vinegar.  With this calcium supplement, you do not need to take a commercially made supplement.

Vitamin B6 is especially recommended by health practitioners and doctors for the treatment of depression of celiac sufferers.   ‘The Natural Pharmacy’,  a Healthnotes Publication, Three Rivers Press, New York, 2006,  reports favourable results from people using vitamin B6 for depression.

As well as calcium and magnesium supplements, and vitamin B6, some other supplements which might be useful are

Vitamin A

Vitamin B complex (to compliment the B6 taken additionally)

Vitamin C:  Calcium Ascorbate powder, or Ester C, both forms of vitamin C which are non acidic.  You can take anywhere from between 1000mg to 3000mg a day, depending upon the severity of your condition. This is probably one of the most important supplements to take, as it makes the body alkaline rather than acid, helps the absorption of calcium and other nutrients, and works as an anti oxidant. It neutralizes toxins in the body and helps with their elimination.

Vitamin K

Digestive enzymes

Folic Acid

Iodine from eating  Kelp, Agar agar, Fish, or dabbing Iodine on the soles of the feet or the scalp once a week.

Lipase

Selenium

Zinc

Side Effects of Calcium Supplements

Are Calcium Supplements Safe?

Today is the 1st of August 2010.  We were warned on our news last night in New Zealand about the possible side effects of calcium supplements.  It is possible that taking calcium supplements can lead to heart disease, we were told. But we need calcium for a healthy heart, for healthy nerves, good sleep and a calm brain, and to prevent colon cancer. So now what?

Calcium build-ups can occur in the veins and arteries in people who have never touched a calcium supplement in their life. This doesn’t mean that they are eating too much calcium, but rather that they are not getting enough Vitamin C and Magnesium in the diet. We need Vitamin C and Magnesium, found in most fruit and vegetables, to assimilate calcium properly.

I hope this rather absurd revelation about calcium  isn’t a lead up to drug companies persuading our governments that vitamin and mineral supplements should be banned because ‘they are dangerous to the health of the public when mis-used’. Dolomite powder is a natural calcium supplement:  do the powers that be intend to remove this, too,  from our list of available supplements?

Perhaps this latest calcium debate is a back-lash from the chemical companies which make things like deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste and cosmetics with petrochemicals, aluminium, dioxin, and other dangerous chemicals in them:   we have had a run  of documentaries recently on these cosmetic products and the dangers their chemicals pose to health.  But they are all still for sale, and probably not much will change about the ingredients which are used in their making in the near future.

It is possible that calcium supplements taken too often, or in too large a dose, and without enough magnesium and vitamin C to accompany it,  do have a depository effect in the arteries and veins.  If you take magnesium and zinc, vitamin C,   and you eat plenty of fruit and vegetables, you should absorb some of the calcium in a tablet.  However, much of the calcium in a tablet will actually go straight through you,  unabsorbed, and should not pose a problem to your arteries at all.  No more than……….

Calcium in Dairy Products:  I wonder whether these research scientist took into account the quantity of  dairy products these people on their trials were consuming? it is  known that the calcium from dairy products can also build up into calcium deposits in the arteries.

Or did these research scientists give only calcium foods, without magnesium and vitamin C,  with no fresh  fruit and vegetables, to their research test-subjects? A little like giving pigs a steady diet of comfrey over a three month long trial, so that you can tell the world that comfrey  causes liver cancer? And then get comfrey banned in all the countries where pharmaceuticals are sold, with a commercially made preparation, which now you have to buy,  to take its place?

How dangerous, really, are calcium supplements to the health?  Not really dangerous, in my opinion.  My guess is that most people who get heart attacks have never touched a calcium supplement in their life.  They are more than likely to be on some other medication from their doctor,  and the side effects of these drugs are generally not divulged to the general public.  The doctor is instructed by the drug companies what drug should be given to people.  These remedies are not tried and tested by the doctor personally.  He accepts what the drug companies tell him about the medications.  He has no idea, really, except by watching his patients, what a drug is going to do. This drug-taking, drug-making culture of ours accepts newly invented drugs without much question as to their side-effects.

This  is just such a different scenario to traditional herbal medicine, or acupuncture, or ayurvedic medicine:  in these modalities, the remedies do not change by the week, and so the outcome of using the well-tried remedies is fairly well established.

The practice of orthodox medicine is such a contrast.  It lacks history.   The giving out of new medications, and sometimes many different  combinatons of medications are taken at a time,  goes on willy-nilly, unsupervised, undocumented and uncontested in the public arena.

So – even the well known Ayurvedic doctor  Vasant Lad mentions in his book’Ayurvedic Home Remedies’  that dairy products can cause a build-up of calcium in the arteries.  But do the research scientists make a comprehensive, intelligent  study of this fact and put it on the national news?

No, they do not, because the milk-producing companies do not want their sales to be affected.  They are powerful, wealthy  companies which can influence topics of research.  They can also influence our media into not publishing negative stuff about the effects of lots of milk drinking.  We had a very good article about two years ago on research into milk which told us quite a bit about the effects of milk-drinking, but nothing has followed it up, and, certainly, the type of milk which was thought to be more harmful was not taken off the market, nor were any warnings put on that milk as to its negative effects on health.

The manufacturers of vitamin and mineral supplements, however, are easier to target, because they are not multi-million dollar enterprises compared to the multi-national drug companies, or even the milk producing companies.  It does not take much to put a small competitor out of business, and announcing on national TV news that a product really is  potentially that harmful is a pretty effective  way to go about it.

Personally, I prefer to take calcium naturally. But I would hate to see herbal, vitamin, or mineral supplements made unavailable to the general public. I do not believe that a  calcium supplement such as dolomite powder could really pose a serious threat to people’s health.

You don’t need to worry at all about over-doing calcium if you take it via your food.  The best calcium and magnesium  supplement is  a home made calcium tonic – one which you make yourself out of egg shells and cider vinegar.  This is entirely safe, though not for people being treated for chronic candida.  See my post for Best Calcium Supplement.

Vegetarians, even those which do not use milk, are not generally deficient in calcium, because they eat a lot of fruit and vegetables which provide calcium. One good handful of sesame seeds provides you with about 1200mg of calcium and magnesium which won’t have a build up effect in the arteries. One handful of sesame seeds with 1200mg of calcium is about almost as  much calcium as you need for a day.   Sunflower seeds,  soy beans, and the brassica family which includes broccoli,  are other good sources  of calcium.


Qi Gong for Weight Loss

Simple Qi Gong can be effective in helping you to lose weight.  Anything which raises your qi levels, or your vital energy force, will help you to overcome health problems and addiction problems.

The art of Qi gong has developed from the ancient martial arts of China and other areas. It combines movement with meditation. This Qi gong exercise is from Professor Yu’s system for generating Qi in the body,  and promoting harmony in the mind. However, the exercise included here  is an adaptation of his original teachings.

Here is the simple Standing Qi gong exercise which will help to build up strength in your nervous system.  The more you practice the exercise, the better things will be, as your perseverance and determination will be strengthened as well as your physical body.

Although it appears as if you are ‘doing nothing’, the exertion from holding this posture  helps to remove toxins from the body.  You  will find that, with  extended periods of holding the posture, that you begin to sweat.  This  aids elimination of toxins from the body, invigorates the vital organs,  and cleanses the skin.

If you persist with this exercise and practice good eating habits:  eat brown rice with vegetables and protein;  resist all those problematic foods such as wheat products, bread,  dairy, and sugar;  then you should lose some weight.

So now – get ready to perform the exercise.

Step One: Make sure your bowels and bladder are empty, and the phone is off the hook. Eat something light before you begin, such as a bowl of porridge or rice,  or some fruit.

Step Two: Simply stand with your feet apart, so that the feet are level with the shoulders. The hands hang loosely at your sides at this point.

Step Three: Slowly bring the arms up in a fluid movement in front of you so that the palms face downwards to the floor.  The arms are fully stretched out in front of the chest now, palms down.  Your knees are still bent.  Make sure the posture is erect.  Your back should be nice and straight with your nose in line with your navel.

Step Four: Simply stay in this position whilst you breath normally, watching the breath flow.

Just do the exercise for as long as is comfortable.  Even  a couple of minutes will do to begin with.  Try to perform the exercise twice  day.  Do in the morning, and again in the evening before bed.  Build up the time you spend on the exercise, increasing gradually.

Finish the exercise by gently stroking the face, from the temples downward.  Then stroke the arms from the shoulders down to the fingers.

The next step is to getly massage the abdomen in a circular motion with the right hand.  Do this just three times.

Next, rub your back with your clenched knuckles. Just half a dozen rubs over the kidney and back area.

Now sit down ad massage the legs briefly, from the thigh area down to the calves to the ankles.

The Best Foods and Vitamins for Hair Growth

In Chinese Medicine, there are  foods which strengthen the digestive Qi, or Chi.  These same foods  are recommended for encouraging hair growth by  many other health professionals who use other modalities of healing.   Many of these same foods, used in Chinese medicine to enhance Chi and to  promote hair growth,  also appear in Ayurvedic medicinal texts, as being  some of the best foods  for hair growth. In Western medicine, we would term these foods as being alkaline, rather than acid-forming.

IMG_6820Photo by Merrilyn on Holly’s camera, 25th December, 2012.

Ayurvedic medicine attributes hair loss to over active Pitta:  this causes an excess of heat in the body. Excess heat in the body causes stress, and this stress can make the hair fall out. Alkaline foods help to produce Qi, or Chi in Chinese Medicine.  This is the vital life-giving force in the body, which helps the body stay strong  and cope with stress. A body which is deficient in Qi will warn you with early tell tale signs:  These signs are often  the falling, or thinning of the hair, and brittle nails which break easily.  This is the time you really need to improve your diet with all those foods which will help to nourish it back to health and strength.

Most of these foods listed below are classified as cooling, but it is best to get professional advice from your Ayurvedic practitioner on the  best foods and herbs for your body type and condition:  or seek advice from a  practitioner of acupuncture,  Traditional Tibetan Buddhist medicine, or naturopathy on what foods will best suit you.

Here is a list of some of the main  foods which are high in vitamin content, and which are recommended for improving digestive function and for encouraging hair growth.   In Ayurvedice medicine, most of these foods listed below are classified as cooling.  In Chinese medicine, they are generally regarded as benefitting  digestive qi and the nervous system. They are universally regarded as helpful for the growth of hair, teeth, bones and nails.

These foods are:

Alfalfa sprouts

Almonds

Aniseed

Apple:  Apple contains potassium, phosphorous,  iron, calcium, fructose, malic acid, tannic acid, pectin.  It promotes digestive Qi , which helps the spleen and stomach, and helps all functions, including hair growth.  Its high fiber content nourishes the digestive tract including the colon.

Apricots contain carotene, which is an excellent vitamin for the hair and the general health. It also contains vitamins B, C, and iron, calcium and phosphorous.

Avodaco is especially good for the hair. Avocado is high in essential fatty acids, antioxidants,  phytonutrients, and folate, potassium, and fiber.  It contains  the Vitamins A, B6, C, D and E.  and other minerals and vitamins which benefit hair growth, and also help to prevent cancer.  Note:  Avocado is not recommended for people  who are on medication.

Banana:  Banana contains potassium, phosphorous, iron, pectin, calcium, vitamins A, B, C, E.  It is high in fiber, good for the intestines, and helps lower blood pressure.

Broccoli

Banana

Brazil Nuts, which come mainly fromBolivia, actually, are an extremely good source of silenium, magnesium and thiamine, and are rich in essential fatty oils.   Silenium, especially  is recommended for improving the hair growth, as deficiencies are common.  Eating about four or five brazil nuts each day is supposed to provide you with enough silenium in the diet.

Brussels Sprouts

Brown Rice

Butter

Cabbage

Cardamon

Carrots

Cherries

Chicken

Cinnamon

Comfrey – This is especially high in silica and is wonderful for the health and the hair. Eating a leaf a day cooked with spinach improves the hair, and the general health in combination with other therapies. Unfortunately, because comfrey is such a wonderful healer, it has made drug companies very jealous of the profit they are missing out on, and so it has been banned in most parts of the western world.

Cornmeal Polenta

Dates

Duck

Evening Primrose Oil is good for hair growth – DO check with your health professional regarding dose before using evening primrose oil. Check also to see if  it might affect other medications which may make it unsuitable for you.

Fennel

Figs

Flaxseed, or Linseed – high in essential fatty acids and Vitamin E.

Ginger

Grapes, especially red grapes – Grapes promote Qi in the body.  They are high in iron, and are good for the blood.

Grapeseed Oil – essential fatty acids and Vitamin E.

Hazelnuts – these contain selenium, Vitamin E, calcium and essential fatty acids.

Kale

Leeks

Linseed – or flaxseed, is high in essential fatty acids and Vitamin E.

Mackerel

Millet Porridge

Nectarines

Nettles – the sort which grow around chicken yards – are rich in minerals, includig silica, which is one of the best vitamins for hair growth. You can safely eat nettles by adding a handful or two to your silver beet or spinach.  Cook them on their own with just a little water to make a silica-rich tonic to massage into the hair.

Oatmeal Porridge – High in silica which is needed for hair growth. It is best to eat your porridge without dairy milk, or even soy milk, which is highly processed. Use either a  knob of butter, or some olive oil or grapeseed oil instead, with dates added for sweetening instead of sugar.

Olive Oil is good for hair growth and for the health of the skin. It is high in essential fatty acids ad Vitamin E.

Olives, preferably black olives,  are very good for the hair.

Onions

Parsley

Parsnips

Peaches

Pears – These contain phosphorous, calcium, iron, and the vB1, B2, and A. They  contain the complex sugars fructose, sucrose, glucose, and also malic acid, and pectin.

Psyllium husks

Pumpkin

Pumpkin seeds

Rice  short grain

Salmon

Sardines

Sesame Seeds – These are rich in calcium – 1200mg per heaped tablespoon  They also  contain 60%  fatty acids, including the unsaturated fats  oleic acid, linoleic acid and arachidic acid.  These compounds  benefit the eyes, brain, and production of hair teeth and nails. Sesame seeds benefit the kidneys, the liver and are strengthening to the Qi.

Sunflower Seeds – These also have calcium and essential fatty acids, and Vitamin E.

Sweet Apples

Sweet Potatoes (Kumara)

Trout

Tuna

Vanilla

Walnuts

Watermelon:  Watermelon helps the heart, stomach and kidney and bladder functions.  Good kidneys usually mean a good head of hair. It  contains potassium, phosphorous, fiber, and vitamins A, B, and C.  It is high in glucose, fructose and sucrose – complex sugars. (not for diabetics).  It contains the proteins citrulline, alanine, glutamic acid and arginine. Watermelon is a very cooling food, and is thus good for treating acne.

Acid-forming Foods: It is best to avoid the heating foods, or acid producing foods.  These are, generally speaking, the red meats, wheat products, especially bread, dairy foods, and polyunsaturated fats.

Eat healthy fats such as olive oil, canola oil, and grapeseed oil, which are monounsaturated fats.  Butter is still a good fat to use, and it does not spoil as readily as oils do when it is heated. Many people who have food sensitivity to dairy products can eat butter and ghee to the benefit of their health.

Omega-3 fatty acids are great for hair growth and are essential for good health and brain function.  To get your daily requirement of this important compound, you can get a supplement with omega-3 fatty acids, or

  • You can eat linseed daily.  Eat a tablespoon of ground linseed daily. It is great blended into drinks, or added to your oatmeal porridge in the morning.
  • You can take a tablespoon of canola oil daily.  This is high in omega-3 fatty acids, and Vitamin E, which also nourishes hair.
  • Fish, especially the oily types of fish such as sardines and salmon, are high in omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Dark green leafy vegetables such as silver beet, spinach, and broccoli and the brassicas, also contain some of the omega-3 fatty acids.
  • Avodado is especially high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Vitamin Supplements could include extra calcium, taken in the form of Dolomite powder, or bone broth, or sardines eaten daily, or merrilyn’s special home made calcium/magnesium tonic. (see post for recipe)  A generous tablespoonful of sesame seeds will give you 1200mg of extra calcium and magnesium- eat some every day. The oil from sesame seeds is also nourishing for the hair.

Zinc is also necessary for good, healthy hair, bones, teeth and nails. Zinc is found in most foods, but is especially high in onions, leeks and garlic. Alfalfa sprouts and pumpkin seeds are also good sources of zinc.  Shell fish are a good souce of zinc and other minerals:  Oysters are especially high in zinc.  Shellfish, though, are heating foods, rather than cooling, to the Pitta condition.

Iodine is another necessity in strengthening the hair growth.  Again, shell fish are a good source.  Any sea food is rich in iodine, and that includes the sea weeds such as kelp.  If you are vegetarian, or you have an aversion to eating fish and shell fish, then you could take some kelp powder every day. Two teaspoonsful taken every day should give you your daily requirement of iodine, and other trace minerals which are needed for the hair and for good health.

Iodine Applied to the Scalp  This is another alternative for taking iodine into the system.  By painting iodine straight onto the scalp, you are giving the hair roots an immediate boost of this vital mineral.  By painting it on the scalp, say three or four dabs twice a week, then you are ensuring that your whole body gets the benefit, as iodine is absorbed through the scalp tissues. Iodine on the scalp will enter the blood vessels and thus be carried around the entire body.

Essential Oils for Hair Growth – Either Pimiento, Horseradish, or Clary sage essences or oils can be added to coconut oil, or grapeseed or soya oil  to use as a massage hair treatment.

A good combination for head massage is to use 4 teaspoons of oil, one teaspoon of rum, 6 drops of horseradish and 5 drops of clary sage essential oil. Massage into the hair and leave on overnight.

Homeopathy for Hair Loss:  It is best to get professional homeopathic advice before assessing your own needs, but some homeopathic remedies for the hair might  be:  (generally,  only one remedy is to be taken at a time. A practicing homeopath might combine remedies, but  this is not recommended without expert advice)

Homeopathic Fluoric ac.:  Use 6c every 12 hours for a month if hair is brittle and falls when brushing.  Another good remedy is Calc. fluoride, which comes in a homeopathic cell salt.

Homeopathic Lycopodium : Use 6c every 12 hours for a month to help restore hair after childbirth, for premature balness and greying.

Homeopathic Selenium:  Use 6c every 12 hours for a month if the scalp is sore and sensitive.

Homeopathic Sepia:  Use 6c every 12 hours for a month if hormonal changes are a factor in your hair loss.  This is a good ‘woman’s remedy’, as it  is often useful to restore hormonal function after childbirth, or during or after menopause, especially if the subject is inclined to be depressed or disinterested in life.

Candida Yeast Infection Treatment

Candida Yeast Infection can cause many problems with the health. The range of symptoms resulting from a candida infection is numerous.

Digestive disturbances usually accompany candida infection. These may  include gas problems, bloated stomach, reflux,  constipation and/or loose bowel motions; irritable bowel syndrome sometimes can be the result of  candida overgrowth. Even bleeding can occur if the walls of the intestines have been damaged because of the effect of candida overgrowth.

Other symptoms which may occur are  anaemia, inability to put on weight, eating disorders and cravings, being overweight, ear infections, sinus infection, infections of the urinary tract, vaginal infections, infections in the mouth, acne and eczema,  migraines, insomnia, depression, and addictions.

It is thought that the reason so many people become addicted to alcohol is because of a sugar-craving,  out-of-hand candida culture in the intestines.

Candida infection can be difficult to treat, especially when the infection has become well established. If candida albicans have been allowed to proliferate to the extent that they have colonised the intestines, to the detriment of the ‘good’ and beneficial organisms, and caused damage to the bowel, then the candida yeast is able to travel freely to other parts of the body. When the body is invaded by candida yeast, the condition is known as systemic candidiasis.

It takes time to reverse the train of events which have led to the undermining of health through candida infection. In my experience, allopathic medicine on its own is not effective in the long term, if at all. It really is a good idea to get the help of an acupuncturist, a naturopath or chinese herbalist, an ayurvedic specialist,  or another health professional, to assist you in speeding up your recovery.

It is important that your candida yeast infection treatment be one which is going to restore you to health. It is necessary  to take all those measures to ensure that the candida infection does not return. You must work at getting your health restored so that your body is strong and able to counteract infection, and you are feeling great again.

In my experience, environmental contaminants were the main reason that my immune system was  severely undermined. Chemical poisoning  led to a rampant candida infection, or systemic candidiasis, on more than one occasion. These chronic candida infections  took more than a year to cure.

However, most people, hopefully, have not been exposed to aerial spraying of 245T, or to asbestos and heavy metal poisoning, do not have cancer, or AIDS, and do not have the chronic type of candida known as systemic candidiasis which might accompany these conditions. Recovery, then, should be only a matter of weeks for mild candida infection, given the right treatment.

If you do systemic candidiasis, then it will take some time to become well. Even with the supplementation of  beneficial bacteria, such as acidophilus, it takes time for the immune system to recover from chemical, or radiation damage. You really have to pull out all stops and be vigilant in following your candida yeast infection treatment to fully recover.

If you have an on-going mild infection and you have not been exposed to chemical sprays, or radiation, and you do not work in a hazardous toxic environment, then your system should respond more quickly to anti-candida treatments.

Many people have candida yeast infection as a result from using antibiotics and other medications. Using probiotics such as L. acidophilus and B. bifidum will help to restore your intestinal flora if this is the case.

Even if you do not use antibiotics very often, chances are that you will be ingesting them through the animal products, or dairy foods and eggs, which you eat. Unless these foods are specified as certified organic, then these foods will be contaminated with hormones, cortizones and antibiotics which will affect the functioning of your body and its immune system.

Herbicides, insecticides, antibiotics, preservatives in food, and radiation all harm the cultures of healthy organisms which we have in our intestines.  Lactobacillus acidophilus is one of the main ones which is destroyed by harmful environmental pollutants, radiation,  overuse of antibiotics, and antibiotics in our food.  Bifidobacterium bifidum is the other main one which is affected similarly.

These  beneficial organisms, known as probiotics because they assist life, are very sensitive to unusual environmental influences. Chemicals affect them, but even living near high electromagnetic forces, such as cell phone towers, or electricity transformers, or high tension electricity wires, will upset these beneficial organisms in your intestinal flora. When these two beneficial organisms become depleted in the body, then candida albicans takes over. The candida albicans organism is found naturally in the intestines, but in only in small numbers in a healthy body.

Candida yeast infection really does cause so much harm: the ‘good’ bacteria on their own will help you to digest fats and proteins, will help lower your cholesterol level, and manufacture several vitamins and enzymes in the bowel, including B vitamins. When the ratio of organisms gets upset and candida is allowed to predominate, then you do not get all these wonderful benefits which the lactobacteria normally provide for you.

So – How To Get Well From Candida Yeast Infection:

The length of your recovery time really depends on how toxic your body is, and how damaged your immune system has become as a result of accumulated poisons.

A detoxification programme is important to begin your candida yeast infection treatment. It is essential to rid the body of all those acculmulated toxins as quickly as possible, if you want to get your health and vitality back soon. Unfortunately, all those lovely sweet  fruit fasts such as the apple diet, or the grape diet, or the carrot juice fast, are often not the best to use in the early stages, as the high sugar content in fruit feeds the candida. If your infection is not too severe and you have not been exposed to chemicals, then these could still be effective, but generally, it is best to avoid all foods high in sugar, and this includes all fruits.

Detox with a High Fiber Cleanse: Do this high fiber cleanse for three days in a row. Use as necessary after that. You might find benefit in continuing the treatment every morning. The recipe: Take a teaspoon of psyllium husks, a teaspoon of flaxseed, and a teaspoon of cranberry seed or pectin. Put into two cups of water. Stir.  Take in the morning on an empty stomach, 20 minutes before breakfast. Repeat  with one more dose 20 minutes before the evening meal.

Going for a colonic irrigation at a clinic is a good idea, as this will clear all the effecte matter out of your bowel, leaving it clean so that the candida can’t proliferate so readily. This will give you a jump start in combatting the infection, and improve your digestion immediately.

Home enemas can be effective also, and if you cannot afford the professional colonic irrigation, then a home enema is recommended.

Benefits of Castor Oil on Treating  Candida: However, the most effective home treatment for quickly cleaning the intestines, and reducing candida infection, is  that old remedy – castor oil. This works extremely well, as it not only rids the intestines of the pollutants, it attacks the candida as well. Candida albicans do not like oils in the diet, especially castor oil, which has an antimicrobial effect in the intestines.  At the same time, the castor oil does not seem to affect the beneficial bacteria adversely, as they can readily multiply after the rubbish has been eliminated from the bowel.

Incidentally, a specific anti-fungus agent called Undecylenic acid can be bought at some health food shops. So -can you guess what this is derived from? – Yes – Castor Oil. The dose for treating candida is, according to one source, 200 mg three times a day. But I still think you cannot go past the original, old-fashioned, Castor oil in treating serious illness, and in treating candida infections.

So – Now you are working on revitalising your immune system. Already, the infection will be dramatically  reduced after cleansing, so that you can better digest your food. While you have a rampant candida infection, those busy candida organisms will be taking the best out of your food. They will leave you malnourished, tired, and create a whole lot of candida toxins which further poison your system.

Taking supplements of probiotics such as L. acidophilus and B. bifidum can boost the intestinal flora which helps to keep the candida yeast in check. After the initial stages of cleansing, you might try using these in a sugar-free and allergen-free supplement. If you are not sensitive to dairy products, then using a yogurt with these supplements will help to allay another candida attack, once you have first cleansed the candida overgrowth from the intestines.

Lactobacillus acidophilus has been used successfully to treat cases of candida yeast infection in the urinary tract.  It has also been used successfully, both internally and externally, to treat yeast infection of the female parts. This is because the Lactobacillus acidophilus occurs naturally in the bladder and reproductive parts, where it helps maintain the health of these organs. When antibiotics, or some other chemical or environmental factor causes the probiotic organisms to get out of balance in the bowel, this also affects their growth in other parts of the body where they are needed.

What Can I Eat? The best diet whilst on the candida yeast infection treatment is on which implements the following strategies:

  • Eat more good quality protein in the diet. Beef, chicken, fish, eggs are just great. Almonds nuts and sunflower seeds are good too, but these are best left for a week or two until your condition has improved, as these foods sometimes have yeast on them which may not be helpful in combatting the candida.
  • Eating oily fish is very good. Of the tinned varieties, canned tuna fish in olive oil is helpful, I have found. Sardines in oil are also good, and provide extra calium in the bones, as well as iodine: both calcium and iodine are necessary supplements for the  recovery from candida infection
  • Make sure you eat good quality fats and oils in the diet. Candida thrives in diets which exclude these items, and protein. Olive oil, grapeseed oil, avocado oil and other cold pressed oils inhibit the growth of candida, and also give you Vitamin E and other nutrients which are helpful in restoring health and improving your immune system.
  • Eat plenty of green vegetables in the diet.
  • Plenty of fiber is essential. Not fruit, or carrots, initially, – but green vegetables.
  • Add garlic to everything. Garlic works well as an anti-fungal, anti-yeast, antimicrobial agent in the body.
  • Avoid all sugar. This means any kind of sugar, cane sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, honey, malt sugars and fruit sugars.
  • Avoid all fruit in the meantime, until you are better.
  • Avoid all alcohol completely. Beer, wines, cider, spirits – all of these help destroy the beneficial bacteria in the bowel.
  • Avoid wheat products for now. Wheat turns to sugar too quickly in the gut, and these sugars help to feed candida albicans. Avoid other processed grains.
  • Eat brown rice instead of wheat products. Use a little olive oil or some other good oil on your rice, to help slow down the absorption of sugars. Eat protein and green vegetables with your rice. Have some brown rice cooked each day and left in the fridge, so that you can eat this instead of going for that wheat pastry, cookie, or bread.
  • Avoid all products which have been fermented. This includes all alcohol, vinegars, and sauces such as soya sauce, tomato sauce because it contains vinegar, tempeh and tofu and miso – and breads.
  • Avoid dairy products for the meantime, until you are better. Then, you might experiment with acidophilus yogurt if you do not have a sensitivity to dairy products. Some people who are lactose intolerant find that they can use moderate amounts of probiotic yogurt once they have conquered the candida infection. Some people find that, after recovery, using probiotic yogurt actually helps them digest other dairy products. Some people cannot abide it at all.
  • Supplements which might be  helpful  are:    Caprylic acid. This is a fatty acid which has definite anti-candida properties. 1000mg of Caprylic acid can be taken daily; 1000mg morning and night can be taken over a brief period for people who have systemic candida infection. It is best not to take caprylic acid for long periods, though, as it can put a strain on the kidneys. If you have kidney weakness, then you might be best to avoid it, or use it for only several days.  Ask your doctor or naturopath about taking Caprylic Acid for candida.
  • Benefits of Probiotics:   L. acidophilus and B. bifidum taken half an hour before each meal may prove beneficial. These probiotics are available in a non-dairy, non-gluten form in some specific health products. If you are not lactose intolerant, then yogurt enhanced with these probiotics may work for you.
  • Non-acidic Vitamin C is an inhibitor of the candida yeast. This helps to detoxify the body as well, and will aid your sleep if you take a dose last thing at night. 1000mg of Ester C, or Calcium Ascorbate can be taken once, or up to four times a day in cases of chronic candidiasis. Reduce the dose once the toxins have been initially cleared.

Read merrilyn’s post entitled Probiotic Advantage for more information on the use of probiotics in treating candida and improving the immune system. Also see Foods to Eat On a Candida Cleanse Diet and Curing Candida/Chronic Poisoning.