Candida blues

So I suspect that I’ve been dealing with a yeast overgrowth (candida) for a while now … possibly even a long, long while. I actually bought a 60-day herbal candida cleanse program back when I was getting severe migraines, and I tried altering my diet for a while. That pretty much fell apart when we went on vacation to Colorado and consumed large amounts of beer and pizza.

In addition to the migraines, I had a few other symptoms that led me to suspect a candida overgrowth. Candida can cause a multitude of symptoms, including:

• headaches
• fatigue
• sinus problems
• difficulty focusing
• itching in the ear
• restless sleep
• sensitivity to fragrance

Perfume has given me headaches for years, and I have constant sinus issues even though I underwent comprehensive allergy testing and everything came back clean. I’ve been living with these things for so long I just figured it was the way I was. And then someone mentioned candida overgrowth to me and I read the list of symptoms, and it was like reading a description of my own personal health status.

Unfortunately, treatment for candida reads like a description of my own personal hell. Among the forbidden foods are sugar, coffee, fruit, chocolate, cheese, alcohol, and pasta. And though I try to maintain a healthy diet that’s high in vegetables and whole foods, every one of the above items is on my list of favorite foods. And coffee? Not just favorite … absolutely necessary to function in the morning.

But this morning I did a candida saliva test , and the results were pretty convincing: I need to start another probiotic cleansing program and get my digestive system back in balance, and that’s going to mean making some really un-fun changes to my diet again. I gave myself one last day to enjoy some of my favorite things: I had coffee and fruit with breakfast and a big bowl of macaroni and cheese for dinner, and tonight we made smores. Tomorrow, and for at least a couple of months, it’s going to be nothing but vegetables and protein and herbal supplements.

On the plus side, I wrote nine Demand Studios articles today about candida, so I got to take a topic I needed to research anyway and make some money out of it!

If you suspect you may have a candida overgrowth, the saliva test is an easy way to check it out. The following web sites have some great info about how to treat candida with diet and supplements:

The Candida Diet

Candida Facts

Holistic Health Solutions