Hi there,

I was just wondering why (I had a large stomach before because of the bloating / candida) but when I started the diet it went away for a couple of days and now it is back large again. Also I have had a mild headache for the past 2 days. Does anyone know why this is please? This can't be 'die off' symptoms can it?

yes, it can be 'die-off'. Which diet are you following? can you tell us what you ate these last few days?
The symptoms could very well be die-off, or induction flu, or perhaps something you ate is causing a reaction.

Hi Starina,

I ate egg and gluten free toast, steamed cauliflower, broccoli, salmon in the frying pan although not really fried just cooked, rice dream and puffed rice and miso soup, raw celery, raw carrots, cashew nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds. Should my stomach theoretically be reducing in size now I am on this diet?

Also I just bought some coconut oil and took a tablespoon of it and my tummy felt a bit ill also I have been taking psyllium husk (fibre) to cleanse my colon for the past 2 weeks but for some reason it is not shifting and I am a bit constipated too - maybe this has something to do with the candida?

How about having a fennel seeds infusion? It always worked with me, having one every night and it's naturally sweet so no need to add anything.
Though be advised it has action on bloated stomach only, it is NOT a laxative.

Yes, I have also started drinking stacks of fennel tea!

How do you make fennel tea/infusions? Sounds interesting...

I'm not an expert, just speaking from my experience, and that of people I know. No grains at all, the fact that it's gluten free does not make it safe. So.. no rice, no toast. No products. Whole food. Raw carrots and celery; carrots are all sugar and celery is just plain irritating. Cashews are high in sugars, and all that roughage is too much. Stop cleansing, your intestinal lining as already 'torn up', it needs to heal.
Recommendations: at the beginning, be gentle with your digestive tract. Eat chicken(no breading!), eggs, well cooked not starchy veggies(and not too much), meat. A very healing addition is slippery elm. It is a powdered herb that you make into a gruel(sort of like thick tea). It coats, soothes and heals your intestinal lining, and your bowels will move naturally. This is a very simple way to heal your digestive system as well as starve out the candida.

Thanks Starina sounds good, did you mean no raw carrots and celery I thought they were ok to eat. I will definately buy some slippery elm. This is all terribly confusing. Are there any real guidelines out there.

I just looked at healingnaturallybee which seems very good and you are right NO CARROT AND RICE. Boy, I am just going to be eating veggies, eggs, coconut oil and omega 3,6,9 I am going to go to mad. I can't have my rice dream cereal with it's hidden sugar now what am I going to do, I want to cry!!!! But hey if it's going to shift this beer belly gut then I will do anything at all.

Just bought some probiotic bacteria with lots of strains and very high numbers so will start taking them today. What about any treats what is IVO

I know carrots are very glycemic, that's why they're not allowed for most LCers during weight loss. Add them back in slowly when you reach maintenance. I have no idea why no celery, but it is high in sodium??? May cause water retention.

They way the LC WOE works for me is, I eat something very close to paleo, i.e., no processed foods, sugars or grains, and almost no dairy. I have come to understand that the grains I used to eat, especially the high fiber wheat bran products, were causing bowel movements by both bulking up the stools and irritating the lining of my intestines; the natural response of the digestive tract was to eject it ASAP. Since I also used to do low fat with my high fiber, there was little natural lubricant in my food to ease it on through. All that extra fiber was the only way I could ensure regular BMs.

Now on the LC WOE my movements are smaller and fewer but I am not constipated. My intestines have had a chance to heal up from all those years of scraping and scratching with the bran, instead I help my food ease through with higher fat content. The coconut oil does help me a lot with that. I do get fiber from salads, but it doesn't have the irritating effect that bran did. Everything working smoothly and regularly now .

Oh geez I hope that's not TMI!! LOL

Hi girlbug2, what the hell is WOE? Do you take slippery elm?

WOE=Way Of Eating

I'm guessing celery has too much fiber.

Are you not a fan of poultry and red meat, choirs? They don't feed the candida and saturated fat actually helps fight it - that's why coconut oil is so good too.

Hi there capmikee, I LOVE poultry and meat but I thought for years I shouldn't eat them as I would get a large heart attack or cancer and keel over but now.... well I am just so glad that I can actually eat something which is going to taste like food rather than grass - a nice big t bone steak with lots of fat! And roast chicken with lots of garlic and rosemary and loads of fish with ..erm.. garlic and ...lemon! Wow!

I also read on bee's site to eat LARD which I have always thought was the worst thing in the world.

Yes, lard has had quite a rollercoaster ride in the past decades!

Some lard found in supermarkets may deserve the bad press - it is sometimes hydrogenated and has BHT added, a petroleum-based preservative which has been linked to cancer, if I remember correctly. But if you render it yourself or get it at the farmer's market, you're good to go.

Hi, Yep I am going to make my own then. What just drain off the fat from roast / cooked meat and put it in a cup with a cover? By the way do you know if I can eat red, yellow, green peppers or do they to have too much sugar in also what do you eat for breakfast? I just open the cupboard and have to shut it again as there is nothing I can EAT.

Sure, save all your fat. But for the best quality lard, get pork fat (ask the butcher for trim) and render it very slowly at low temperature - I use a crock pot on a low setting. Burned fat isn't good for you, just like rancid vegetable oil. You can even add a little water to keep the fat from burning at the begining; just make sure all the water boils off before you're done or it won't keep. Even better would be pasture-fed lard - you might even get some Vitamin D from that!

I think peppers are ok, as long as you don't have a problem with nightshades.

I'm afraid I don't eat breakfast at all! But if I did, I would have fried eggs and bacon. I also make a fresh breakfast sausage with ground pork, bacon fat, kimchi juice, lots of salt & pepper, and a little sage, chili flakes and ground cloves. I never found that breakfast boring, but if you do, try different meats - steak, hamburger, chicken, whatever you've got! I've also made gravlax recently - that would make a nice breakfast item. Old-fashioned breakfasts often involved soup.