Friday, October 29, 2010

Candida Yeast cleanse

Due to the overuse of antibiotics, many of us have an overgrowth of candida yeast in our system. This upset of the natural flora and fauna in our system releases toxins into our bloodstream, resulting in a myriad of symptoms.

Jeffrey S. McCombs claims to have the best plan to combat and cleanse from candida yeast, superior to other methods that have failed. However, the six steps must all be followed strictly, or don't even start he states. One of the steps is sweating 6 times a week, so this is going to take some dedication! Its a sixteen-week+ cleanse, too. He says its simple, though. It includes:

1. the diet
2. a sweating regimen
3. water consumption
4. anti-fungal supplement (Candida Force)
5. detox supplement (Detox Essentials, basically vitamin C), and
6. acidophilus supplement (Flora Prime 5 capsules 2 times a day 20-30 minutes before meals)

Above are his recommendations for supplements, which he gets no moneys from but are available through his web site.

It has performed miracles for people that felt hopeless and were labeled by doctors as "hypochondriacs." The saunas are not optional, and remove lots of symptoms and toxins from deep within the tissues. Can't wait to do that.

My question is, since he states we have over 500 naturally occuring symbiotic bacteria in our system, 300-400 living in the gut, how are we to restore all 500 after they're wiped out by antibiotics?

Update Nov 5, 2010:
Read the whole book, and while his cleanse is highly recommended by Kevin Trudeau, author of "Natural Cures They Don't Want You to Know About," McCombs has some pretty strange health philosophies and theories.

My doctor said the basic cleanse (if it doesn't contain the wormwood) from the RENEW plan would be okay during breastfeeding, as would the liver cleanse, and saunas. The heavy metal cleanse she recommended not doing, as when you're detoxing, the toxins can exit through the breast milk. So, why would I want to do any? Also, its okay to use probiotics and acidophilus supplements during breastfeeding, but not the pills that actively destroy the yeast overgrowth. I was a little concerned, as with all three children I will have been on antibiotics for strep B during labor, which upset the balance of bacteria in the gut and could lead to a yeast overgrowth.

RENEW


I had to go to the library to check out a whole bunch of books using the subject keyword "detox diet" to find out more about detoxing. I've learned we're all toxic, its deep in our tissues and especially our fat, and I wanted to know how to get rid of it; particularly heavy metals. The book "The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps" by Brenda Watson, C.N.C., with Leonard Smith, M.D., gives the most specific advise, and I felt like she knew what she was talking about.

Her five step plan to RENEW is to:
1. Reduce exposure to toxins in your environment. She explains a few ways we get toxins in our systems, from water systems, chemicals we clean with, and chemicals in our clothes and bedding. Once educated, we can try our best to avoid them.

2. Eliminate Toxins in your body. The body has natural toxin elimination processes, mainly through the liver, but also in six other channels of elimination: the lungs, the liver, the colon, kidneys, skin, blood, and lymph.

3. Nourish your cells and systems. She tells what to eat and drink.*

4. Energize your body, mind, and spirit. (Exercise)

5. Wellness-putting it all together.

On page 100 she tells of four specific cleanses that are recommended, using supplements found in health food stores.

Step One: Total-body basic cleanse (duration: two weeks) (always start with this, then move on to advanced if you want)

Step Two: Total-body advanced cleanse (duration: thirty days)

Step Three: Targeted liver cleanse (30 days, optional)

Step Four: Targeted heavy metal cleanse (30 days, optional)

To aid in the cleansing process she recommends other helps such as digestive enzymes, supplements, dry brushing, saunas, whatever you can do. Too bad I can't do any cleanses while I'm pregnant or breastfeeding. Can't wait. See also the candida yeast cleanse.

These cleanses, she claims, are now widely available. Look for these ingredients on your cleanse:

Total-body basic cleanse
morning formula ingredients:
artichoke
blessed thistle
burdock root
dandelion
echinacea
feugreek
garlic
green tea
hawthorn berry
horsetail
kelp
milk thistle
mullein
nettle
oatstraw
oregano
parsley
red clover
turmeric
wormwood
yarrow
yellow dock
Total-body basic cleanse evening formula ingredients:
buckthorn
flaxseed
marshmallow (Althaea officinalis)
rhubarb
slippery elm
triphala (An ayurvedic formula)

Total-body advanced cleanse
Morning formula:
artichoke
ashwagandha
beet
burdock root
bupleurum
celandine
chlorella
cornsilk
dandelion
hawthorn berry
larch
mullein
milk thistle
red clover
turmeric
Evening formula:
cape aloe
fennel
ginger
magnesium hydroxide
marshmallow
rhubarb
slippery elm
triphala

Liver Cleanse
Morning formula:
alpha-lipoic acid
artichoke
dandelion
green tea
methionine
taurine
milk thistle
N-acetylcycsteine
phosphatidylcholine
selenium
turmeric
Evening formula:
Andographis paniculata
Belleric myrobalan
Boerhavia diffusa
Eclipta alba
Picrorhiza kurroa
Tinospora cordifolia

Heavy metal cleanse ingredients:
Morning
biotin
boron
calcium
chromium
copper
folic acid
magnesium
manganese
molybdenum
selenium
vanadium
vitamin C
vitamin B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B12
zinc
Evening:
alpha-lipoic acid
bladderwrack
chlorella
cilantro
garlic
kelp
ceucine
N-acetylcysteine
sodium alginate

*antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids (EFAs), probiotics, enzymes, fiber supplements, lots of water, raw superfoods, green juicing, fruits and nonstarchy vegetables, whole foods vs. processed, wild fish, avoid dairy, avoid salt, limit coffee and tea, and eat 80 percent alkaline and 20 percent acid-forming foods.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Chia Seeds


I tried these the other day, sprinkled on my squash, and they really are tasteless. You could put these in anything. Its amazing how nutritious they are; for example, rich in calcium.