Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Road Back to Health - Week 1 of Candida Cleanse



I didn't take a before picture, but here's one from today after completing 7 days on the cleanse. (sorry for the bad quality) 

Yesterday I wrote a post with an update on my health, if you read it you will know that I've been super anemic and without energy for several months now. Despite eating healthy, mostly raw/vegan diet. Last tuesday, my good friend, Mariah and I started a Candida Cleanse. Candida is yeast in our digestive tract, we all have it but it can grow out of control and cause many serious health issues. I'll post more on Candida another time. In 2006 when I first began this journey of healing through diet and nutrition, I did something similar. This time we are mostly following The Candida Diet. It is a great resource and has tons of information. In short, sugars and certain other foods feed the candida and cause it to grow out of control. To start, we did the Candida Cleanse, which is a detox drink made of water, bentonite clay and a fiber mix that you drink three times a day, vegetable broth (broth only) twice a day and a liver flush of water, garlic, ginger and olive oil at the end of the day. You do this for seven days. This is the more intense (harder) version of the cleanse. You can also eat raw vegetables with two detox drinks and the liver flush for seven to fourteen days. 

Yesterday we finished our seven days on the cleanse! I'm actually continuing for a little longer and incorporating some raw food into my diet (a mix of the two cleanses) for another week. I should probably mention that I HATE/DESPISE using the word diet, as it implies there is an expiration date. In addition, any time you exclude something from your diet or what you eat daily and re-introduce it, most people tend to re-gain the weight they've lost. To me it's a 'Life Style'! That being said, for lack of a better word I will use it until I find something better. 

I think the cleanse went well! It wasn't difficult and I experienced very little hunger. Some unpleasant part of the Candida Cleanse is Candida Die-Off, which include:

  • Nausea
  • Headache, fatigue, dizziness
  • Swollen glands
  • Bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea
  • Increased joint or muscle pain
  • Elevated heart rate
  • Chills, cold feeling in your extremities
  • Body itchiness, hives or rashes
  • Sweating
  • Fever
  • Skin breakouts
  • Recurring vaginal, prostate and sinus infections. 
My biggest symptoms were nausea, headaches and the last day a few rashes on my arms and couple other spots, however they're mostly gone today. 




SO here's the the inches lost this week:

Shoulders  - 1"
Chest  - 3.5"
Waist  - 2"
Hips  - 1"
Thigh  - 1"
Arms  - 0"

Total LOST = 8.5"

I should mention, while losing weight and inches is a bonus, my ONLY goal is regaining my health and healing my body, NOT losing weight! 

I looked back at measurements I took in September and couldn't believe I had gained 8 inches in my waist alone, needless to say I was disgusted! 

I don't have a scale at the moment so don't have that number. 



On the road to healing! 

~Christine

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