I have just finished ten days on a sugar-free diet.
I originally started the diet to see if I would experience any obvious “die-off” symptoms, which would indicate that I had an overgrowth of Candida Albicans in my gut. As I expect my body is not great at detoxifying itself, if I have a candida overgrowth the death of the yeast cells (no longer fed on the sugars I usually consume) would pollute my body while it struggled to deal with them and make me feel ill. So that was the theory. I also took two different probiotics, not specifically to combat the candida, but to combat the bad bacteria in general.
The week did not really see me change my diet radically. I cut out plain and flavoured soya yogurt and (chocolate flavoured – sob!) soya desserts. These soya products were a daily staple in my diet. Even the plain one has a bit of sugar so out it went. I also switched from sweetened soya milk to unsweetened (which did not make my morning gluten-free porridge the highlight of my day, as it was previously). These were the most difficult things. Also quite tough was no honey on my rice cakes and no milk chocolate covered rice cakes either. Also no crystallised ginger and no pears (the only fruit I eat regularly, again due to digestive issues). There are also other things that you should avoid on the anti-candida diet, so I tried to do that, although I got quite annoyed at the varying opinions about what was ok!
Due to my already restricted diet the things that replaced these foods were largely nuts and seeds. I (well, my partner) made coconut and almond macaroon-type things with Stevia (a natural, calorie-free sweetener), and just slapped lots of almond butter on rice cakes to finish my meals instead of my sweet fix. I also nibbled on nuts and seeds. All this is good, except I think it left the easy and not so easy to digest foods out of balance and my stomach has not been overly happy. It has not been awful, and despite a bit of over-activity my wind levels have been lower than usual. Whether that is due to the probiotics, or less soya products, or less sugar itself I have yet to discover. As this is a major source of discomfort and distress to me at times I am happy that something has improved it.
The week started when I had just had a busy weekend so I was expecting to feel not so great for a few days. As the week went on I felt worse than expected as I did not seem to be recovering and wondered if I did indeed have a candida issue, but as time passed I just could not see that I would ever really know what was going on and felt that my diet was just too limited and my stomach problems were getting me down. I had a lot of pain in the week (not trapped wind though!) and my stomach felt very sore. I had spoken to a couple of people online who have definite candida issues and their experiences were so different from mine. Despite the fact that I think I have Leaky Gut Syndrome or Gut Dysbiosis and everything about these conditions talks about candida overgrowth, I am not convinced it is a big issue for me. I do think I have issues of other bad bacteria (hence the wind issues and the smell is indicative of ill-health, shall we say).
I was originally going to do the diet for longer but have decided to continue with a slightly more moderate approach and include fruit, with occasional honey and even a bite of dark chocolate now and then! I am continuing to research types of sugar and sweetener and see if I can keep refined sugar to a minimum. I also want to keep working to make my diet lower GI (Glycemic Index) as I think this is an area where my current eating “habits” let me down and are bad for encouraging bad bacteria. I say habits, but really they have been necessity, not choice or habit; but still I want to see if I can do better. I have bought two new enzymes, one is Gastro by Enzymedica and I am hoping it will help me to digest things that are higher in fibre and really open up my diet (beans and peas, please!). The other is for gluten/dairy digestion. I have not tried it out yet as gluten is not allowed on the anti-candida diet, but I would really like to be able to eat some gluten, especially whole grain wheat and rye on occasion. I also hope that these enzymes will help me introduce oats more successfully as these are meant to be very good for gut health. I think I just need to start gently and see if the enzymes help and if I can get used to these more challenging foods over time.
The other issue this diet has exposed is the potential dangers of eating too much soya. I don’t not know how real these issues are but you can read a bit here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/371222-what-are-the-dangers-of-too-much-soy/ and a quite thorough article here http://www.holistic-wellness-basics.com/soy-foods.html. (There are probably better sources of info, I just had a quick google – also wordpress is not letting me do linking properly so sorry about the mess). I had read things about this before but had not really taken it in (or wanted to, as I feel I have little choice over my protein sources as a vegetarian) but there is quite a lot of evidence that it is not so great. I cannot radically change my diet overnight but I aim to find alternatives to some soya products as I am eating a lot. I can drink rice-based milk and use that for my breakfast, but I don’t think it is low GI or very nutritious. There are various nut and seed-based milks but they are really very expensive. I have seen recipes for making your own almond and other milks, which doesn’t look really hard but I would need help with that and it’s one more thing to ask for help with from my very busy partner. If you bought the nuts in bulk it might be more cost-effective though than buying ready-made.
I tried goat yogurt yesterday (and bravely had more today!) as it is meant to be the most digestible dairy source and I find that cow’s milk and yogurt upsets me. The taste was just too strong for me and although I will finish the tub I have (with stevia sprinkled in it was a bit better), I don’t think I could get used to it even if my stomach allows it. There is a brand called Lacto-free which make yogurt without lactose, so I am going to try them and see how that goes too.
One great thing about the sugar-free time was that I was not craving sugar in particular, only missing some favourite foods and finding it hard to find alternatives that my digestive system would agree with. Linked to this, I was not actually craving food in the same way as I usually do. Hunger felt less urgent and I was less bothered about snacking an hour or two after eating, so I think my blood sugar was much more stable. That has to be a good thing for the energy-challenged. I also really enjoy the tea made from grated fresh ginger so I will continue to drink that. I would like to preserve the good things from this experiment, even if I still don’t really have an answer about Candida…
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June 5, 2011 at 1:01 am
Lori Bei Durst
Hi Ashy, I found you thru XMRV Positive blog. I have read some of your posts and just wanted to say how sorry I am to hear of your health challenges. Although I am not as sick as others, I seem to have something going on……lyme’s and yeast/mold (not candida) are my diagnosis, but sometimes I don’t know. Anyway, I actually wanted to mention about getting Vit. D3. Are you taking that? You mentioned other supplements, but I don’t think I saw Vit. D3. Just a suggestion. I believe it has helped me in not getting sick as often as I used to. I also have tried the no sugar diet and it is no fun. I did find out last month that I have an overbalance of a bad bacteria and no growth of one of the good ones, so I am taking more probiotics(had been taking some others anyway) and a couple of other things my doc recommended. He does want me to take a round of antibiotics too, but I will wait another month to see where I stand before doing so. I wonder if not having any of the good bacteria was causing the bad? I hate to take any antibiotcs. Well take care of yourself and I’ll include you in my thoughts and prayers once in awhile.
) Fondly, Lori
June 5, 2011 at 7:18 pm
ashy
Thanks Lori, Yes I do take D3. Thanks also for your other comment, I won’t approve as I don’t want to advertise things, but I will read the site, it is stuff I am already aware of and I already take omega 3 and probiotics too. Best wishes with your health challenges.
June 7, 2011 at 11:19 am
Jo
An interesting experiment. I wish I had half your determination! If you decide to go on with soya yoghurt – I find it much cheaper to make my own out of unsweetened soya milk. Heat a jug of it in the microwave to just about boiling. Let it cool so you can dip a finger in it and keep it there. Then stir in a good spoonful of live yoghurt. I don’t have the dairy issues so can use a dairy starter, but soya yog works as a starter and so does homemade soya yog. So stir in a spoonful of starter and then put the jug in a warmish place. I leave it in the microwave overnight. Eh voila! Dirt cheap yoghurt. Wonder if it would work with rice milk? Hmmm.
June 7, 2011 at 11:33 am
ashy
Oh yes, thanks Jo I had not thought of a yogurt starter. I made my own with the soya yogurt starter a few times when there seemed to be none to buy anywhere. It would be practically sugar-free if made with unsweetened soya milk which would be good… I bet it would work with rice milk, or better coconut milk! Ooh I shall have a try at it. It might be nicer too. We don’t eat normal yogurt but my partner does like raita so we could use the rest for that maybe. I have mint in the garden
I am trying to make some (sprouted) almond yogurt today to see if it’s nice. An extortionately expensive thing to do but worth a try to see if it works but I think I will end up with a tiny jar’s worth! You can use the left over almond meal in baking or smoothies etc and someone told me I can just freeze it until I am ready so that is something. I have found recipes for making oat and rice milks too which would be cheaper than nut and seed milks. It all takes energy though. It’s hard work being healthy!! I wonder if you could make oat yogurt?! Would taste better than goat
June 8, 2011 at 4:36 pm
ashy
Just to say, using a soya yogurt starter in rice milk or coconut milk does not work! Was worth a try and I used the milk anyway so no wastage.
June 10, 2011 at 9:56 pm
Amy
Just one thing which occurs to me about your sugar-free experiment – obviously there are plenty of good reasons to give up sugar, but in terms of candida, in order to test whether you get die-off , my understanding is that you need to be taking active antifungals. I wouldn’t recommend the heavy pharmaceutical ones, which are toxic to the liver, But there are loads of herbal preparations, such as olive leaf extract etc. That said, I did all this under the supervision of A nutritional doctor several years ago, and the die-off made me so ill that I never recovered. So I’m not a great advert for it and wouldn’t recommend it lightly! But some people have better experiences than me…
June 11, 2011 at 10:57 am
ashy
hi Amy, Yes you are probably right. I read such varying things about them though, even the herbal ones and I was concerned I would not know what was die-off and what was the thing itself not agreeing with me. I also read that it was best to do it one stage at a time, probably to avoid totally overloading the body with toxins (which is what die-off is). From what I read it seemed like I would get some symptoms, then know if it was worth experiementing with antifungals to sort it out properly. Sounds like your doctor was not of the cautious variety and it was a big shock to your body. So sorry it set you back to permanently.
My acupuncturist said he would expect me to feel worse just from not having sugar, so again I think there was no evidence from the ten days that I have candida, but also I think that I may not have done it properly (taking antifungals may have helped a more definitive outcome!).
I am still keeping the sugars low and am pretty sure it is not a massive problem (as no external symptoms of yeast) so I am happy to just do what I can that way for now. Also low sugar is meant to be good for the good bacteria in the gut (I read some research!), which in turn must help the immune system, so it’s all good
Do you think Candida is an issue for you? I did not think that was why you are sugar-free.
June 26, 2011 at 5:05 pm
Signs
Ashy, I think I am on a similar diet journey – doing it with the help of a nutritional therapist. I don’t have dairy, apart from live yoghurt, which has to be whole milk, not low fat. My understanding is that yoghurt is highly beneficial on an anti-candida diet.
I am being eased relatively gently into it all, for the reasons you outline. Too hardcore and it would simply shock the system. My NT’s view is that candida causes sugar cravings.
How are you doing now?
June 28, 2011 at 9:58 am
ashy
Hi Signs. Yes I think live yogurt is meant to be very good. I have trouble digesting dairy. I expect we are thinking about similar issues though!
I have slipped a bit on the sugar – not massively in that I am eating mostly natural fruit sugars and a bit of honey but the occasional thing with added sugar has crept in, largely due to already having things in the house and not wasting them, and also we have been out for lunch a couple of times and it is nice to be able to eat a treat every now and again!
I have been focussing more on the wider issue of broadening out my diet, largely by testing out the enzymes I am taking. It is a bit hit and miss! As you say, you can’t do it all at once. I am making some progress, think I am eating more protein and less soya (which even if not unhealthy, nothing is good if eaten all day every day I suspect), and more fibre.
My diet is evolving and probably always will be! Good luck with yours, hope it makes you feel better and you can have a day off sometimes too
July 6, 2011 at 1:47 am
Chloe
Hi, not sure if you are aware or not, but soy is a very unhealthy product. It contains powerful phyto-estrogens which disrupt normal thyroid function and can cause a host of health issues. This would be especially bad for someone with CFS. I would suggest checking out the Weston A. Price foundation – it’s completely non-profit, you’ll notice there’s no advertising on their website. There you will find tons of information on how to eat healthy, natural and using traditional methods to enhance the digestibility and health of your food. There is an extensive Health topics section as well, which addresses many common ailments.
Soy is not a healthy food, and you should educate yourself on it’s dangers – it can cause irrepairable damage to your body and also to your fertility as well. Research it, please, it could really help you a lot! Soy requires a very long, slow fermentation period to neutralize these hormone disruptors and other enzyme inhibitors. Plus, most soy products like milks and yoghurts have so many additives and sweeteners that they are no better than junk food. I hope you find healing, but you’re not going to find it eating this type of food – you will continue to suffer if you consume soy – there is tons of information about this from legitimate scientific sources – seek them out, for your future health.
July 6, 2011 at 12:11 pm
ashy
Thank you Chloe, as I discuss in the blog post I am aware of these issues now, though I have not looked into their validity for myself in-depth. I have actually massively reduced the Soya in my diet since writing this post.
July 10, 2011 at 2:25 am
Carol F
Hi Ashy,
Thanks for sharing your experiences here. Very interesting. ☺
All the best to you from Carol xoxo
July 10, 2011 at 8:55 am
ashy
thanks Carol for popping by!