I have just returned from our holiday in Phuket, Thailand with a new and exciting outlook on life. Mostly because it was a reminder of what I had been following 6 years ago when we Lived in Hong Kong.

Let me explain…

Good friends of ours who we met in Hong Kong, are now living in Phuket.  My friend Dave has been through an incredible transformation and I asked him if he would mind if I interviewed him for my blog.  He was more than happy to be ‘the poster boy’ on this subject.  

Last year when Dave came to visit us in Singapore I was quite shocked by Dave’s health.  He was suffering from anxiety, sweating profusely, overweight, and not a very happy person.  He was on anti-depressants, medication for high blood pressure, statins to lower cholesterol and medication for reflux.  Dave was drinking red wine, which his body was craving.

His Wife, Karen, hurt her back in Phuket towards the end of the year and she heard about an Australian kinesiologist, Ben, who came highly recommended.  Karen was really happy with the treatment she received from Ben and asked David if he would consider going to see him.  By this stage Dave was desperate and was willing to try anything to lose a bit of weight and feel better. 

Dave asked Ben if he could help him with the Keto diet for weight loss, but Ben said with the symptoms Dave had, he was wasting his time with Keto – it was not going to do anything for him as he had to get to the root cause of the problem.  Ben said that Dave had severe Candida and would need to follow a protocol to get results.  

The first step was to take medication to kill off the over growth of Candida and his doctor prescribed a course of flucanazole which he had to take daily for three weeks.  

Ben asked Dave to drink Apple cider vinegar in water before every meal and a tablespoon of coconut oil at night.  The ACV was to help with his reflux and to help stimulate the production of stomach acid so that he could digest his food properly and to kill off any pathogens. The coconut oil acts as an anti bacterial, anti fungal and anti parasitic.

The next step was to cut all sugar out of his diet, including fruit and alcohol.  He also had to cut out all carbs and processed food, in order to starve the Candida as it feeds off sugar.  Dave followed a very basic diet of pastured meat and vegetables, as well as eggs and he introduced Kefir into his diet, which was the only dairy allowed for the first 6 weeks.  Dave drank 3 x 200ml bottles of kefir per day, to saturate his gut with good bacteria.

It took 3 weeks on the meds and strict diet before Dave started losing weight.  This is due to the Candida being present.  Generally if you have an overgrowth of Candida and it becomes systemic, it turns into a toxic yeast which has tendrils that ‘drill’ into the gut lining, forming holes which allow protein and undigested food particles to enter into the blood system.  This creates havoc with ones immune system and can form allergies and intolerances to food and pathogens, as the body thinks the undigested food is an invader.  This is known as Leaky Gut.

Dave had a knee injury and was on crutches half way through his anti-candida protocol, which means he was not doing any exercise, but the weight continued to fall off him.  He lost a total of 22kg’s!  That is the size of a small child!  He has come off all his meds and when I saw him, I couldn’t believe the transformation.  He looks 10 years younger and so incredibly healthy and happy.  He was glowing!

Dave says besides the 6 weeks on the strict protocol, he doesn’t feel deprived in terms of the food he can eat and he can now drink white spirits – his choice is plenty of Skinny Bitches, which are Vodka, lime and soda!!  A cool and refreshing drink for Phuket!  He eats like a king and still cuts the carbs out of his meals, but doesn’t feel it’s been too hard to maintain.  5 months later and he still hasn’t put on any weight and is enjoying life!

I am so pleased Dave has allowed me to share his story and it truly has inspired me to go back to all the research and lessons learnt in Hong Kong when I personally did the anti-candida program and have never felt better in my life!  My allergies were under control and I had endless amounts of energy.  No brain fog, I gained mental clarity and my memory improved!  My clothes started to fit better and I had no bloating!  This experience in Hong Kong is what led me to do the IIN Health Coaching course, as well as a diploma as a Nutrition Consultant.

My Husband and I have decided to do the anti-candida program and I started on Monday, 29th April.  I am documenting my progress and Richard will be doing the same.  I have decided to use herbs and Richard will take the medical route of taking Flucanazole tablets daily for 3 weeks (and diet for 6 weeks) and at the end of the program we will compare our experience, which I will use to create a blog post!  

In the meantime, do you or your partner (or kids) suffer from any of the following?

Tiredness

Brain Fog

Memory Loss

Not being able to focus

Skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis, rosacea or psoriasis

Gas or Bloating

Bad Breath

Reflux or Heartburn

White tongue

Foul smelling stools

Diarrhoea 

Constipation

Irregular bowel movements

Oral thrush

Mouth Ulcers

Vaginal Thrush

White patches of skin which are itchy

Intolerance to perfume or chemicals

Sinusitis

Rhinitis

Inflammation

Sore joints or muscular pain (not associated with exercise)

Anxiety

Depression

Mental instability

Overly emotional

Hormonal Issues

Thyroid problems

Difficulty losing weight

If you suffer from a number of these symptoms, chances are you’re suffering from an overgrowth of Candida in your gut and perhaps it has become systemic!  The anti-candida protocol is recommended and these are some of the items you would have to remove from your diet if you want to get it under control:

No Sugar

No Dairy (except Kefir)

No Gluten

No Grains (wheat, corn, rice, etc.)

No Caffeine

No Starchy Vegetables (potatoes and sweet potatoes)

No Alcohol

You may be thinking, well, what can I eat then?  There are so many possibilities and you can take a look at the recipe section in the blog or follow a Keto or paleo diet for the duration of the anti-candida protocol.  You won’t need to starve yourself as there is so much information around this subject these days.  I’d be happy to steer you in the right direction!

All you really need though is a positive outlook and to be consistent in your efforts and you can be healthy and happy in no time (well, in 6 weeks)!  Here’s to new beginnings!