“How to Beat Candida: Understanding the Real Issue”

by Frederic Patenaude

I often get questions about candida. Many people tell me that they want to get rid of their candida problems but are afraid to eat a lot of fruit. They want to know the best way to solve this issue naturally.

Here’s one letter I received: “I'm a 100% raw vegan, currently on Gabriel Cousen's Phase candida cure program, religiously. I've had no relief at all from my candida in over a year of trying: 30 days of this raw program, then that raw program, then another raw program...”

HERE’S WHAT I SAY: The way to beat candida is simple: you have to understand that candida is an issue that comes from eating too much fat, not too much sugar. When we eat too much fat, that excess fat in the bloodstream diminishes insulin sensitivity, so sugar isn’t carried out as fast as it should to the cells. It accumulates in the bloodstream, feeding the candida yeast that is naturally present there. The candida then proliferates to “eat up” the excess sugar. The answer isn’t to consume less sugar, or to try to kill the candida — but to go at the root of the problem, that is, to consume less fat.

Here’s useful information on the topic from Dr. Graham’s Questions (available at: http://www.foodnsport.com)

Please note that my book “The Raw Secrets” and my course “How to End Confusion About Nutrition” explore the problems related with excess fat consumption.

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Why shouldn’t I eat all the avocados, nuts, and seeds I want?
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Avocados, nuts and seeds are extremely high in fat content. When it comes to fat, it doesn’t matter so much its origin; fat is fat. Fat goes from the lymph system directly into the blood. Too much fat will thicken the blood, causing the red blood cells to clump together so they cannot deliver oxygen to the cells. Excess fat also blocks the action of insulin in bringing sugars to the cells, which leads to diabetes. It is better to eat small amounts of avocados, nuts and seeds, and not to eat them daily. There is more than adequate fat for the body from fruits, vegetables and leafy greens.

Eventually, it is best to get away from desiring to feel a heavy feeling after a meal, as this is an indicator that the digestive system is being overworked. In order to feel satisfied, it is best to eat large amounts of sweet fruit, which may pass through your stomach quickly, but will appease true hunger for hours. True hunger is a sensation primarily in the low throat, much like the feeling of thirst, but a bit lower, about where the "notch" is at the bottom of the neck. Hunger is not, as is commonly believed, felt in the stomach. The feeling is felt deep in the throat, a sensation that is similar to a dull ache. In health, when true hunger is felt, there is no urgency for food since the body knows it has reserves for its use in time of need. You should be at all times comfortable in your body. The sensation of the stomach is often the result of the muscular walls of the stomach shrinking after the digestive task of the last meal. If a perceived feeling of hunger is accompanied with feelings of faintness, stomach pangs, headaches or other discomforts of the body, it is a sign of withdrawal from harmful substances. A healthy person can skip a meal or two with no feelings of weakness or distress.

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I have candida or a yeast infection, and I’ve been told to avoid too much sugar. How can I eat so much sweet fruit when it’s full of sugar?
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Excess fat is the culprit in candida, not sugar, per se. When fat levels in the blood rise, so does blood sugar, because excess fat inhibits insulin from performing its function of escorting sugar out of the bloodstream. The excess fat lines the blood vessel walls, the cells’ insulin receptor sites, the sugar molecules themselves, and the insulin with a thin coating of fat, thus blocking and inhibiting normal metabolic activity. Too much sugar in the blood is as life threatening as too little and can result in serious illness or death. Yeast, or candida, is a constant presence in the blood; it serves as a life preservation mechanism, blooming when there is an excess of sugar in the blood stream to bring blood sugar down to a non-threatening level. When the sugar is distributed and used by the cells of the body, the yeast quickly dies off as it is supposed to. If fat levels stay chronically high due to a poor diet, sugar will remain in the bloodstream and feed the large candida colonies instead of feeding the 18 trillion cells of your body. Starved for fuel, these cells can no longer metabolize energy, and you become tired, and feel rundown. Because all carbohydrate, fat, and protein that we eat is converted to simple sugar (glucose) if it is to be used by the cells for fuel, the way out of this cycle is not to eat less sugar, but to consume less fat. When fat levels drop, the sugar starts to get processed and distributed again, and the yeast levels drop because there is no longer excess sugar available.

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FREDERIC: To conclude, the advice I give to people who ask me about candida is to go on a really low-fat diet for a while, avoiding all oil, nuts and avocado. The problem is generally solved within a few weeks, if not a few days. Often people have been battling with this for years and get instant relief from doing this low-fat diet. After that period, then small quantities of fatty foods can be reintroduced, as explained in my book, The Raw Secrets.

Personal testimony: a friend of mine came back from Cuba where she ate only raw fruits & vegetables, along with the water of several coconuts, without any fatty foods. She did that for 6 weeks and overcame a candida issue that, in her own words, “seemed to have been eternal.”

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