Hi, I don't think I have a severe case but I took the test and I got a 125 which means I have it a little. Well, I was wondering, will just following the Candida Diet get rid of the problem (recurrent yeast infections,...etc.) or do I have to tak pills too? I hope just following the diet will do it b/c I don't have any money to buy the supplements and pills. If any one has any advice I'd love to hear it!

Ok, here goes....Yes, it can be done without supplements or meds but it will take longer and you absolutely MUST NOT EAT ANY SUGAR OR STARCHES AT ALL!!! No cheese or pickles or vinegar either; no soy sauce too. For salad dressings you may use a little lemon juice in place of vinegar. I make my salad dressing with olive oil, a little lemon, water and greek seasoning. Eat as much meat/fowl/fish as you want. Butter and cream and natural cold pressed oils are fine. I'd stay away from any root veggies at all because even the low carb ones are higher in starch content. No fruit for now, not even tomatoes. Eat a lot of green veggies, especially cruciferous ones, and especially kale. Kale is very high in vitamin C. (I like kale fresh in with my salad greens, instead of shredded cabbage--red kale tastes best) Don't eat iceburg lettuce if you can avoid it as it has the highest sugar content of the lettuces. Leaf lettuces or Romaine/Cos are better. You may have some yogurt with live cultures, but sweeten it with sugar free sweetener and/or add sugar free fruit syrup to it for flavor. If you want a sour cream substitute get a carton of unflavored yogurt and let it sit in the 'fridge for a week, pouring off any liquids that seperate from it during that week. At the end of the week, you'll have a much thicker version of yogurt that substitutes just fine for sour cream.
Basically, you are not to eat anything that will encourage the little beggars to continue to live or multiply. The yogurt will help you replenish the beneficial bacteria in your gut which will compete with the candida for nutrients. Eating yogurt every day for at least the first two weeks will help a lot. If you need to lose weight, it'll probably drop off very nicely. If you don't need to lose, you probably won't as long as you eat plenty of food. Don't try to starve yourself, it'll only make the die-off symptoms worse. Be prepared for the die-off symptoms. Lethargy, headaches, muscle aches, cramps, flatulence, light headedness, funny smelling breath/armpits, embarrassing itching....
Pamper yourself during this time. Take luxurious baths for the odors and use zinc oxide powder for itching. Take lots of naps whenever you feel yucky or headachy. Give it at least 3 months for most of the symptoms to start easing up. It may take up to a year to kill it off entirely. Please don't let that discourage you because once they're gone, they're gone. Think of yourself as an exorcist getting rid of a demon!
They're quite stubborn and as they die off you will get the most INTENSE cravings for sugar/starch/fermented products. If it gets really bad, then just stuff yourself full of something fatty like steak smothered in butter until you couldn't possibly eat another thing. It'll get better as time goes by.
Keep us posted as to how you are doing with it and feel free to cry on our shoulders when you get discouraged. We've all been there done that and we can help you through this.

thank you sooo much KJ!! i really am feeling lousy today, it might be from PMS! I have been hiding from the brownies in the kitchen, but I think I'll go down there and make some yogurt w/ splenda in it. I think I'll try and get some grapefruitseed extract maybe that costs less then the ss72 or whatever it was called.
How ong have you had this? I;ve gotten freguent yeast infections and had a number of the other symptoms since I was 12. They got worse when I started BC pills. (I'm off BC pills now though)

I think I must've had candida symptoms for *years* (as well as signs of insulin resistance). I don't have the candida symptoms any more. I'm certain I'm candida free now. I've made major improvements in my health over the past few years mostly due to a self-directed plan of attack. It's cost me a lot of money due to the fact that my insurance won't cover supplements, or massage therapy or accupuncture. They don't cover much on chiropractic. I also have fibromyalgia and I'm sure I had IBS too. Now that the candida is gone as well as the IBS and most of the fibromyalgia symptoms all I'm left to battle is diabetes, but I'm making improvment in that area too. I do low-carb/high protein and will for the rest of my life. I go to a massage therapist weekly and my chiropractor/kineseologist every 3-4 weeks. I used to also go to an accupuncturist, but I don't feel I need that any more. I did the anti-candida program about 12 years ago and it took quite a while before I was certain it was completely gone, but I did it without any meds for candida and I only took caprylic acid and I drank some tea that was supposed to be good for ridding one of the candida, but I feel giving up all starches/sweets was the 'trick'. I starved it to death. Then built up my friendly gut bacteria so the candida no longer had a welcome environment in which to set up strongholds again. That helped the IBS too. I just wish I'd known more about insulin resistance back then, as I think I just might've been able to stave off the diabetes if I'd attacked it as vigorously as I did the candida. I *should* have continued eating low carb, but a few years after my anti-candida diet I gave in to all the 'hype' about eating high complex carb, low fat, no red meat thing. I ate that way for 14 months when I found I had become a diabetic. I think that eating "healthy" is what made me diabetic, but because I did eat that way (lots of carbs and fruit) for 14 months without a return of candida symptoms I knew I was totally candida free. The symptoms I *did* develop were all consistent with mounting insulin resistance.

Wow, I really admire you. You've really done a lot and fought off some pretty tuogh illnesses. thank you for all the motivation. I really need to stay away from cheese adn nuts. That's my biggest problem. I'm sorry about your diabetes. I think my friend is getting it. She's only 19
Thank god for Low Carb. It's funny how all the Low fat high carb stuff was so wrong! I remember in 8th grade I was a little overweight so I followed a low fat high carb plan and I gained weight!! I thought something was wrong and I was doomed to gain weight forever! My dad said that in the 50's when people needed to lose weight they would cut out bread and sugar and eat mostly steak and salads!!
Can you get the S7-22 or whatever it's called at GNC??

Congratualtions on everything you've accomplished. You really are inspiring!

Hi! I am battling this candida thing, as well. I never knew I had it until I started Atkins. I am not officially diagnosed, but I am 99.9% positive I have it, and probably have had it for at least 10 years.

I just wanted to let you know that you should stay away from ALL artificial sweeteners! No Splenda. I didn't know that, most anti-candida diets don't mention it. I have given up all things containing Splenda, and my candida is dying off again (hate those die-off symptoms!!! Plus, the splenda was stalling my weight loss, since giving it up, I am down three pounds this week!!!

I am also taking a product called Candistroy. It is really strong, but seems to be working. The caprylic acid worked only slightly. The Candistroy is a two part system. You can find it at any health food store, or order it online. I like iherb.com. It is also good to alternate your anti-yeast supps. Don't take any formula for more than two weeks, keep switching, it confuses the yeast. Sounds goofy, huh? I am confusing my yeast. But the yeast can build up a resistance to the products.

Some other supplements that are very important to take are molybdenum, and pantethine. If you are interested in long, lengthy explanations as to why those are good, just let me know!

Good luck!

-Jess