How to deal with overwhelm

Recently I attended a talk on managing stress and overwhelm in life, and I decided to share a few simple suggestions here.

1. Take things in segments.

Once upon a time I stumbled upon a technique for handling confusion. The author illustrated the point with the following demonstration. Take a few handfuls of little bits of paper. (Tear up an old newspaper that you were going to put in the recycling anyhow to save wasting trees.) Throw them up in the air and watch them all flutter to the ground. It probably looked like a confusing array of floating pieces of paper, didn’t it?

Then the author suggested the following. Pick up all the pieces of paper and repeat the exercise. But this time, as they start to fall, you eyeball one of them and follow its trajectory. As you follow the path of that single scrap of paper with your eye, you find you are able to follow it relatively easily while ignoring for now the rest of the fluttering pieces of paper.

Let’s turn our attention to how to apply that principle in the real world.

Have you ever had the feeling of just “not knowing where to start”? (For what it’s worth, I think that is a major reason why people procrastinate.) There is just too much to do, or too much to study, and the sheer volume of information or tasks is highly daunting.

The key thing is to start somewhere. Even if you are unsure right now what is the most urgent and important, and don’t really feel sure how to prioritise, let’s pick one thing and take positive action now. As the series of tasks starts to unfold, you may find you have a clearer picture of what needs to take priority.

2. Take significance down – less emotional investment.

It is too easy to invest too much energy in things that do not deserve that much emotional investment from you.

Panicking about deadlines, getting in a flap about the amount of things to be done, or getting unnecessarily upset or angry about the situations around you only sap your energy and distract you from the tasks at hand. They do not help you or the task, and reduce your productivity.

You may need to take a step back and ask yourself, “Is this worth getting so emotional about?”

An exercise that I always find helpful in such circumstances is to imagine for an instant that I am looking at the entire Earth from a distance. In the grand scheme of things, where does that thing that made me so angry really rate? It helps to put things in perspective.

3. Managing empathy.

I think one of the flaws (if you can call it that) of the gifted, or of HSP’s (highly sensitive persons) is that of caring TOO much.

It is very easy to hear of injustices in the world and get all riled up on other people’s behalf.

Social concern is one thing, but it can reach a tipping point where it is not healthy.

Sometimes it may do us all some good to take a break from the news media. Watch a nature documentary instead of the news one day. Or forgo your daily newspaper and buy yourself a small treat instead. No one is asking you to bury your head in the sand regarding what is happening in the world, but to acknowledge the fact that sometimes a bit of personal “information hygiene” is healthy.

4. Be aware of the technology trap.

What did we all do back in the days before mobile phones?

It can be very tempting to be constantly checking for texts, checking your emails, checking social media, or looking for news feed updates.

But think about this – how much of the information you checked on in the last 24 hours was actually important to you, and how much time did you spend randomly browsing instead of engaging in a productive task?

Not only do many people waste too much time with their head buried in their phone, but it crosses a line in their interpersonal relationships too. I have even heard reports of people attending a job interview, and the interviewer spent the entire time checking for messages instead of paying attention!

I rely on a certain amount of technology because I am building a business, and there is a minimal expectation that a trader or company will join the 21st century. I also find the Internet an invaluable resource in terms of online textbooks and courses and other study materials.

However, there are days when I just want to go out for a change of scenery and all I take with me are my house keys, my travelcard and enough cash for a snack or drink. It’s actually liberating to go “off the radar” for a few hours.

5. Find time for practices that promote mental and emotional balance and regeneration.

Even with a busy schedule, it is important to get some regeneration time. I’ve been doing biofeedback recently for relaxation.

Some suggestions are:

• Exercise
• Engage in a hobby
• Take a walk
• Listen to some music
• Go somewhere different
• Catch up with an old friend
• Spend some time with the family
• Find a green space to enjoy
• Learn something new
• Take a really long soak in the tub
• Meditate or pray
• Do something else that makes you happy

Whatever it is, just find something that recharges the batteries whenever you need to, and take time to do it!

Feel free to share your own stress-busting and productivity tips.

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The final detox

This article describes the last, but by no means least, detox program that my partner and I tried (at different times and places, and before we knew each other).

This program has been claimed as the property of, and is delivered mainly by, one particular organization under a proprietary name which, like everything else that organization’s legal department touches, is heavily trademarked, copyrighted and – who knows – they probably think they already have the book, movie and TV rights to the Second Coming. So I will refer to this program as the “Full Body Detox”.

The full body detox consists of sweating out toxins, impurities and drug residues that may have lodged themselves in the body tissues. These residues are “loosened” by taking measured quantities of niacin (Vitamin B3) and then taking about half an hour’s exercise, usually running, to get the circulation moving. The person then sits in the sauna, obviously making sure that plenty of fluids and tissue salts are taken, to sweat out the dislodged material. Other vitamins and minerals are also taken in balanced quantities, as well as other supplements, and a proper diet must be eaten during the program, with plenty of vegetables.

As with some of the detoxes I have described in previous posts, I found very little happened for me on this program, whereas my partner experienced a great deal of change. This could have been down to the fact that there could have been some variation in how the program was delivered to each of us, or the fact that we had very different lifestyles and/or medical histories, or some combination of factors.

Having compared notes on our respective experiences of this detox, it would seem that it is very easy for it to be misprogrammed. Particularly within the organization where I did the full body detox, it tended to be taken as read that every person would do this program at some stage, utterly regardless of their previous lifestyle.

As for myself, I had never taken anything stronger than prescription antibiotics, never drank alcohol, never smoked, and never been exposed to industrial chemicals or poisons. I wasn’t the sort of person to cover my skin or hair in “products”, go and roast in the mid-day sun or subject my skin to sunbed UV tubes, or bathe myself in perfumes and other revolting manufactured stink. I rarely ate junk food because I simply don’t have a sweet tooth. I was one of the cleanest-living people around.

On the full body detox, people would typically take “before and after” pencil-and-paper style personality tests. Case programmers would then use this information to pick from one of the following: (1) plotted traits show a low graph and the person has a heavy drug history; (2) medium graph and medium drug history; or (3) high graph and light to no drug history.

Surely I am not the only person to spot the problem with this?

Some of my personality traits were very low (and I now suspect this to be because of Asperger’s and not because I’ve got “issues” or had a body full of toxic muck). Despite my lack of indulgences in substances, not even alcohol, I was ordered onto the full body detox program on account of the overall shape of my personality test graph.

As a result of this dubious decision, my partner and I firmly believe that case programming data has been removed, or is for whatever reason not in use, in that particular organization.

Furthermore, we cannot prove it, but we believe it is possible that the program has been altered from the original, possibly substantially, by an unauthorized person or persons.

There is anecdotal evidence that people with very heavy drug histories or toxic exposure may still benefit, as it does “clean out the system”, and I have seen students who had likely pickled their brains in alcohol or other drugs and who couldn’t study at all until they completed the program.

For most people, however, I am not making any recommendations until detailed medical research is conducted into the program’s effectiveness, and overall effects upon the body chemistry.

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The Cleanse & Purify Thyself program

This post describes another detox my partner and I did in our quest for better health and energy, and more mental clarity. It is based on the book “Cleanse & Purify Thyself” by Dr. Richard Anderson. I ordered the kit with all the shakes etc. some time ago from a lady in Devon who was referred to me by a friend and doesn’t appear to have a website. However, I’ve checked and the kits do seem to be fairly readily available for sale online.

As is frustratingly the case with some of these complementary medicine and detox diet authors, Dr. Anderson pads his book with a fair amount of spiritual waffle, homilies about attitude and lifestyle, and other opinion pieces based on his personal worldview. Even so, the book is still worth a read, and usually if you order the kit full instructions will be included anyway.

The purpose of the cleanse is to rid the intestines of the mucoid plaque that can build up over a lifetime, together with all the toxins, bacteria and parasites that reside in it, causing various health problems.

The author describes four “phases” of cleansing: the mildest phase being for those who are already quite weak or ill and need the minimum physical stress, the gentle phase being the usual starting point for most people, the power phase being the intermediate level cleanse and the master phase being the most challenging.

The first step is to measure your body’s pH, using strips of Litmus paper (you can buy this from the pharmacy) and testing your spit. Dr. Anderson recommends that a certain level of body alkalinity needs to be established to start the cleanse. This can be a problem for people with certain health issues, particularly for those who suffer from candidiasis, which is known to cause acidic by-products in the body. That is why we decided to start with the very mildest level of cleanse.

Vegetable broths and juices keeps the body’s electrolytes balanced, while probiotics to replenish the friendly intestinal bacteria are also taken. Some people are surprised to find that their electrolytes are out of whack, and it may take a while to build up proper levels of electrolytes prior to starting the cleanse proper.

The cleanse involves the use of a formula to soften and break up the toxic waste material, which according to the label includes plantain, cascara sagrada, barberry, peppermint, sheep sorrel, fennel seed, ginger root, myrrh gum, red raspberry, rhubarb root, goldenseal, and lobelia. There is also a herbal nutrition formula, consisting of alfalfa, dandelion, shavegrass, chickweed, marshmallow root, yellowdock, rosehips, hawthorn, licorice root, Irish moss, kelp, and two digestive enzymes, amylase (digests carbohydrates) and cellulase (digests plant fiber). Then there is the Bentonite clay, which absorbs toxins and helps move them through the digestive system, and psyllium husk powder, which I tend to think of as a Brillo pad for your insides.

During the cleanse, you reduce the amount of food you would normally eat during the day. On the mildest phase, 2½ meals per day are eaten; typically, this would be a light breakfast consisting of fruit, and lunch and dinner as normal.

The kit came with a full schedule of when you’re supposed to take each shake of herbs, the psyllium husks, and the Bentonite clay.

One of the things I found most difficult about doing the cleanse, particularly while attempting to work and go about my normal day’s activities at the same time, was that the first shake was supposed to be taken at least 1-1½ hours before breakfast. Being more of a night owl, my usual inclination is to fall out of bed at the last possible moment and grab breakfast in between getting dressed and running up the road for the train. I don’t get up an hour and a half before breakfast, and would be too sleepy to make productive use of the time if I did!

So what we ended up doing was setting two alarms – one to take the shake, and one to get up for real. The thing is, I didn’t really get back to sleep in between, and resetting my body clock to accept an earlier overall sleep cycle would be worthy of front page news if it ever did happen! The ensuing lack of sleep probably made the cleanse more gruelling for me than it need have been. If I hadn’t been at work and could have done everything an hour and a half later, or if we’d known enough then to incorporate some flexibility into the schedule, it might have worked out a whole lot better.

Taking the psyllium husk shake was gross. My partner said I wasn’t mixing the shakes up thick enough to do their job, and so instead of the easy-to-swallow liquid mixes that I had been making, he made these shakes that had a consistency somewhere between jelly and cold porridge that tended to set further overnight, and he became irritated with how long I took to get them down.

The cleansing reactions were quite strong, even on the mildest phase of the cleanse: reduced appetite, mild nausea, cramping, cold extremities, muscle weakness and fatigue were things that both of us experienced. I think that this is where doing the cleanse with your partner or a friend definitely helps, because otherwise it is all too easy to get discouraged and give up.

I think the book probably overplays how much waste material you’re likely to see ejected, as despite following the instructions neither of us saw anything that resembled the plaque deposits described by Dr. Anderson and his testimonial writers. Having said that, the book mentions somewhere that several cleanses could be needed before the stuff starts to really shift.

We used up all the materials that came with the kit, and at something like £200 a pop for the entire thing, it wasn’t something we were going to do every 6-8 weeks, as is suggested in the book. Perhaps it is something we can try again if we ever get rich.

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The Next Detox: The Kidney Cleanse

It is recommended that after the liver cleanse has been completed, the kidney cleanse is performed. Do not try and do both cleanses simultaneously – the cleansing reactions will be too strong!

It consists of the following herbs and preparations:

• Dried Pellitory of the Wall (1 cup)
• Dried Uva Ursi (1 cup)
• Hydrangea Root (1 cup)
• Dried or fresh Gravel Root (1 cup)
• Dried or fresh Marshmallow Root (1 cup)
• Juniper Berries (1 tablespoon)
• Golden Rod Tincture (15-30 ml)

I managed to find the herbs already dried and mixed available and you shouldn’t have a problem finding these online.

The procedure is as follows:

• Soak three level tablespoons of the herbs in a pint of water overnight, and in the morning boil and simmer the mixture for 10 minutes.
• Add 10 drops of golden rod tincture to each cup of the mixture.
• Drink one cup of mixture in the morning and again at night. The mixture can be taken hot or cold, and it doesn’t taste unpleasant.
• Add 1 level tablespoon of fresh herbs to the pot of used herbs the next day and follow the same procedure as above. Discard the used herbs after two days and start again.

The cleanse can be made more effective by taking a small bunch of fresh parsley in ¾ cup of water boiled for three minutes, taken each day. The cleanse can also be made more effective by taking a capsule of ginger root powder before each meal. Dried ginger stirred into water also works just as well. It is recommended to follow a light Ayurvedic diet while doing the cleanse. You should obviously drink plenty of water.

The entire cleanse will usually take about three weeks, or up to six weeks for severe conditions. Usually the crystals just dissolve and are eliminated without any pain or discomfort.

The cleanse can be repeated twice a year.

I did not notice anything unusual happening on the cleanse, so obviously any stuff that got flushed out was too small to see.

What happened to my partner, however, was a whole other story.

My partner had had ultrasound treatment as a young man to treat a 2cm kidney stone, but the hospital had neglected to perform a follow-up scan to check that the stone had been broken up and eliminated. When he did the cleanse, the stone moved from where it had been lodged in the central waste duct of the kidney and started to move down the tube. This was obviously extremely painful! Unfortunately, the stone had moved too far down for it to be accessible with the ultrasound waves and surgery was the only option.

I should probably therefore include the following point of caution: if you have had problems with kidney stones in the past, or suspect that you may still be having trouble with stones, please see a doctor rather than attempting the cleanse without medical advice.

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Another detox procedure: The Liver Cleanse

It’s been a little difficult to find time to devote to composing any new articles recently due to various things at work, and the fact that I am pushing harder than ever to escape the corporate rat race and get into a meaningful career where I can actually help people. Anyway, before I write too much about what I’ve been doing on that front, I decided that while on the general theme of posts about health and diet, I would share another detoxing technique which my partner and I have tried.

This cleanse gets rid of a ton of rubbish from the liver, gall bladder and bile ducts, and you would have to actually see the detritus that gets eliminated to believe it.

The preparatory step is to drink  apple juice for two weeks straight, in addition to your normal water intake. This step is to soften the stones so that they can be eliminated without pain and without blocking the bile ducts. I find bulk produced apple juice in cartons far too sweet for my taste, so rather than pay £2.50 a bottle for Bramley (cooking apple) juice, I watered down the apple juice so that it was 50% juice and 50% water.

The sheet I was given with the procedure also recommended that you take 17½% food grade hydrogen peroxide in half a cup of water with each meal on the first day, two drops on the second and so on up to 10 drops on the 10th day. I couldn’t source the food grade hydrogen peroxide anywhere, only the type used for cleaning, which has phosphoric acid and other nasties added to it that you couldn’t take internally. However, the instructions said you could still do the cleanse without.

There was a bunch of stuff to do with biorhythms and lunar phases which I chose to ignore.

It is a really good idea to start doing the final steps of the cleanse on a Friday night when you don’t have to work the next day, because you will need to be conveniently near the bathroom once things are on the move! You can have a light breakfast and lunch, but do not eat anything else after 2pm. Drink only water after this time of day.

At 6pm, pour 3 cups of water into a jug and mix in 4 tablespoons of Epsom salts. This should make approximately 4 servings of about ¾ of a cup (185 ml) each. Drink one serving straight away. It will taste disgusting, so have extra water handy to wash away the taste.

Take the second serving at 8pm.

At 9.30pm, if nothing has moved through by now, do a small water enema. We have created our own apparatus for doing this – you unscrew the shower head and attach a long thin plastic tube with electrical insulation tape. The mixer taps can then be adjusted to the right temperature to produce a steady stream of water to repeat the procedure as many times as you wish.

At 9.45pm, squeeze 1 larger or 2 small pink grapefruits to produce approx. ¾ cup of juice in a container with a secure lid. Add ½ cup of olive oil, 10 drops of food grade hydrogen peroxide (if available) and 10 drops of black walnut tincture (available from health food shops). Place the lid on the container and shake the mixture vigorously.

At 10pm, drink the mixture all in one go and retire immediately. Keep perfectly still for at least 20 minutes, if you haven’t fallen asleep by this time.

When I did this I woke up at 4am and puked. I think enough of the mixture had still been absorbed though to do the cleanse. I’ve been told it’s not uncommon to feel nauseous in the early morning.

When you wake in the morning (not before 6am) drink the third portion of Epsom salts. Drink the final one two hours later.

A couple of hours after that you can drink more apple juice or other fruit juice, followed half an hour later by one or two pieces of fruit. I found that while doing this I wasn’t that hungry, but if you do want to eat something else have a light meal about an hour after that.

During this time there will be a lot of stuff eliminated. There will be green, tan and white stones ranging in size from tiny grains to half an inch or more. Most of these will be soft and puttylike due to the effect of the apple juice.

It is ideal to do a further enema or have colon hydrotherapy afterwards to clear out any stones that might have lodged in the intestines.

For one week after the cleanse it is suggested that you chew and eat 2-3 cloves after each meal to kill any parasite eggs that might leave the liver and move down into the intestines, and also take 10 drops of black walnut tincture in water before meals.

After this procedure has been completed, other stones residing at the rear of the liver will start to travel forward, and so it is recommended that the cleanse be done several times. With each cleanse, liver function will improve until it reaches peak health. You can do the procedure approx. every six months.

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Dietary supplements and the EU

This post has been adapted from an article in a vitamin and health supplies brochure I was sent in the mail. The EU is something I tend to keep an eye on, because of this body’s exorbitant cost to the taxpayer with its vast, wasteful bureaucracy, lack of accountability and excessive red tape. The continued availability of certain dietary supplements, and the quantities/strengths available in one purchase, has long been a concern of mine.

Note: I can’t comment on nootropics as I have never sought to purchase them for my own use, but if anyone knows of any UK/EU legislation affecting these, please feel free to comment!

There have been many changes over the last few years concerning vitamins, minerals and herbal products. These changes were brought about by legislation in the EU affecting all member states, with the stated purpose of increasing the safety of said supplements. There have been some scare stories in the press and some factual information, but generally a dearth of data for the consumer on what is happening and how it affects them, this article will hopefully enlighten and bring you up to date.

The EU authority for food supplements (as well as all foods) is EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority. It is an independent agency created in 2002, funded by the EU and is responsible for assessing the safety of all foodstuffs on sale within the EU. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) carries out enforcement locally in the UK.

EFSA have issued various Directives and subsequent Annexes which lay out specific rules and regulations regarding food supplements, including the setting of RDAs (Recommended Daily Allowances). The first one that caused a significant change came into force in 1009; this stated what vitamin and mineral compounds were permitted in supplements and what were not. For example, prior to 2009, certain mineral compounds could be used, like Chromium Polynicotinate, but after 2009 it was not approved and manufacturers had to switch to an approved source of Chromium, like Picolinate. The next step (Article 13.1) came into force mid-December 2012; this allows certain health claims on specific vitamins and minerals.

Thousands of claims were submitted to EFSA for consideration and many were rejected. The criteria for the submissions included a full dossier with supporting clinical evidence and trials for each individual vitamin or mineral. As you can imagine, this was a lengthy and costly process, one which only the “big guns” could realistically afford to undertake. Fortunately, the claims for generic vitamins and minerals are available to all manufacturers for use in promoting and selling their supplements.

What does this mean for the consumer? Its stated purpose is to protect the consumer from spurious and misleading claims, thus removing any ambiguity on what can and can’t be said and is intended to be a clear statement of its function. Which it is, sort of.

The problem that arises is, if you make a medical claim about a food supplement you are effectively saying it is a medicine and then you need a medicines licence in order to sell it. Further, you go beyond the remit of EFSA and the Food Standards Agency (FSA in the UK) and come into the domain of the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency). So, all claims that are permitted on supplements are “general function” and contributory type claims, rather than curative or preventative ones.

As an example, Folic acid (Folate) has been studied and is known to be beneficial to pregnant women, the NHS website states, “Folic acid is important for pregnancy as it can help prevent birth defects known as neural tube defects, which can cause conditions such as spina bifida. You should take a 400 microgram folic acid tablet every day while you are trying to get pregnant and until you are 12 weeks pregnant.” Food supplement manufacturers are restricted to the following permitted statement: “Folate contributes to maternal tissue growth during pregnancy” and inexplicably, the RDA for Folic acid is set at 200 micrograms. There are other permitted claims for Folic acid, but this is the only one relating to pregnancy.

All anecdotal evidence, folklore and “granny says” type statements are effectively forbidden.

A medicinal product is defined as one that “treats or prevents disease” and “otherwise preventing or interfering with the normal operation of a physiological function, whether permanently or temporarily, and whether by way of terminating, reducing or postponing, or increasing or accelerating the operation of that function or in any other way”, most nutritional deficiencies can cause disease therefore eating the right foods could prevent them, but a statement to that effect would be unacceptable. Centuries ago British sailors knew that eating limes prevented scurvy (hence the nickname Limeys for the British), this was down to the Vitamin C content. The proverb “an apple a day keeps the doctor away” may contain some truth, but would be seen as a borderline claim. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” So where does that leave us [the vitamin suppliers]?

Well, we have a list of permitted claims which consumers will see appearing on labels and in marketing, but do we even need them? Most consumers of food supplements are fairly well educated on health products and the unlimited resources of the internet mean that information, good or bad, is a click away. Ultimately it may not alter the purchasing habits of most consumers, what it should do is weed out the ineffectual “snake oil” salesmen who do make outrageous and unsupported claims about various products.

Recently the THMPD (Traditional Herbal Medicinal Products Directive) came into force which placed restrictions on the sale of certain herbal products, unless manufacturers apply to the MHRA for a THR (Traditional Herbal Registration), which is effectively a medicines licence for a herb. You will no doubt see fewer herbal products on the market as smaller companies cannot afford the costs of obtaining a THR for each individual herbal product they manufacture. Obviously it is aimed at the fly-by-night dodgy dealers and will ensure safer herbal products, but it may be a double-edged sword. Traditional Chinese Medicines and Ayurvedic Medicines will also be hit by this legislation, so although simple remedies will exist such as one ingredient Echinacea but multi ingredient herbal remedies might disappear.

What of the future? The next major change will be the “maximum permitted dose” legislation, which will set a maximum upper limit for each vitamin and mineral in a tablet or capsule. Currently though there is no agreement between member states and the legislation has been continually delayed. Countries like Holland and the UK who have traditionally had quite relaxed views on supplements are up against countries like France and Germany where supplements have always been sold in pharmacies and subject to more restriction. Who knows when it will ever come to fruition.

Regarding dosages, it is worth mentioning that the RDA (recommended daily allowance) of vitamins and minerals is the barest minimum amount considered to prevent disease, not the amount a person should be consuming each day for optimum health. Many supplements already contain such small amounts of each vitamin that, unless you ignore the warnings not to take more than one or two a day, you may be effectively wasting your money.

If you are still wondering why this is all a big deal for bureaucrats and big business, consider this: vitamins and other natural substances cannot of course be patented. Protectionism at its very best.

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Detoxing and the Anti-Candida Program

This post continues the recent theme about health, diet and supplements.

In the early 2000s, I had gone through a spell where I hadn’t had particularly good health overall, my weight had ballooned for no apparent reason, and my energy levels and sharpness, focus and mood were all at rock bottom.

My aunt suggested having my allergies tested and she put me in touch with a doctor she knew who did allergy testing.

At the consultation I got given a list of all the things that had shown up on the tests, and I was also told that I had a serious yeast overgrowth in my digestive system, which was giving rise to the severe bloating and weight gain.

I also got handed a typewritten sheet that looked like something out of the Ark containing information on how to treat candidiasis. I thought it would be worthwhile reproducing here, with its various typos corrected and punctuation marks inserted to make it easier to read.

(I have been unable to seek Dr. Allen’s permission as she was no longer living at the address I had; it is possible she may not still be alive as she was very elderly when I saw her in 2002.)

Anti Candida Diet – Some Hints on Candida Albicans

There are two major areas of consideration in the dietary pattern necessary to reduce the spread and activity of Candida. These are the elimination of all foods derived from or containing yeasts or fungi. The second is the reduction as far as possible of all carbohydrate rich foods in order to deprive Candida of its favourite nourishment, which as anyone who has made beer or wine will testify, is SUGAR.

Foods Derived or Containing Fungi and Yeast

The following list of foods and substances contain yeast or yeastlike substances and so should be avoided as much as possible during the initial stages of dealing with Candida infection. It is probably wise to maintain vigilance for these foods for at least three months, after which time a degree of relaxation can be exercised with the proviso that if such foods are reintroduced and symptoms which had become quiescent begin to become active again, a return to a stricter mode of eating for a time is called for.

The rationale behind such avoidance is that in practice these foods seem to aggravate a Candida induced condition, especially if allergic symptoms are part of the picture, as well as if there are symptoms such as bloating and intestinal gas.

Yeast Promoting Foods and Substances

The following foods contain yeast as an added ingredient in their preparations and are therefore undesirable, especially in the early stages of an anti-Candida program:

• Breads (non-yeasted whole wheat or corn bread is acceptable, i.e. Irish soda bread and gluten free bread)
• Cakes and cake mixes
• Enriched flour
• Buns, rolls and pastries
• Anything fried in breadcrumbs (fish fingers, etc.)

The following contain yeast or yeastlike substances because of the nature of their manufacture or of their own nature:

• Mushrooms
• Truffles
• Soy sauce
• Buttermilk and sour cream
• Black tea
• All cheeses including cottage cheese
• Citric acid (almost always a yeast derivative)
• Citrus drinks if canned or frozen (fresh citrus fruits are OK)
• All dried fruits
• All fermented beverages such as beer, spirits, wine, cider, ginger ale
• All malted products (cereals, sweets or dairy products which have been malted)
• All foods containing monosodium glutamate (commonly known as MSG, E621 or flavour enhancer)
• All vinegars whether grape, malt, cider or anything else – these are frequently used in sauces and relishes as well as salad dressings, sauerkraut, olives and pickled fruit

The following are either derived from yeast or contain elements that are:

• Antibiotics
• Multivitamin tablets (unless specifically stating that they are from a non-yeast source)
• B complex vitamins (unless specifically stating that they are from a non-yeast source)
• Selenium (as above)
• Individual B vitamins (as above)

Sugar Rich Foods

Sugar (sucrose) itself in whatever disguise is to be strictly avoided during the battle to control Candida. It means white sugar, black sugar and any other shades. It includes syrups, honey, fructose, maltose, glucose, sorbitol, date sugar, maple, sweets, chocolates and all soft drinks.

Other Foods to be Avoided

Smoked meats, smoked fish, sausages, corned beef, hot dogs, hamburgers because of substances added into them. Nuts other than freshly cracked ones should also be avoided.

Aloe Vera juice is very useful. It promotes a favourable balance of gastrointestinal bacteria. Take one or two teaspoonfuls twice a day.

Useful Hints

• Irish soda bread and gluten free bread.
• You may eat plain crisps (potato chips) that do not contain monosodium glutamate.
• Jacket potato with olive oil butter.
• Suggest garlic pill and spoonful of olive oil each day.
• Scrambled egg on rice cakes.
• Oatflake porridge.
• Bio live natural yoghurt.
• Heinz Weight Watcher tinned rice (no sugar).
• Sugar free jam.
• Eat fruit between meals.
• Eat often, e.g. 1 Ryvita every two hours.
• Patients having other allergies i.e. milk and wheat must avoid these too!

Supplement list for Anti-Candida

• Lactobacillus Acidophilus 2g one to three times daily between meals.
• Biotin (Vitamin H) 350 mcg with acidophilus three times a day.
• Garlic capsules (if fresh garlic is not being eaten prolifically). 3 capsules twice daily, morning and evening after meals.
• Olive oil, 2 teaspoonfuls three times daily with meals or separately.

To enhance immune system:

• Vitamin C, 1g once or twice a day.
• Arginine, 3g with water on an empty stomach before retiring. Take for one month only. (Do not take if you suffer with herpes.)
• Vitamin B6, 20-50mg daily.
• Vitamin B12, dosage as above.
• Folic Acid, dosage as above.
• Calcium pantothenate B5, 500mg daily, especially if allergy symptoms present.
• Selenium, 20-50mcg daily.
• Zinc, 50mg daily.
• Magnesium, 250-500mg daily.
• Vitamin E, 200 iu daily.
• Vitamin A, 5,000-10,000 iu daily.
• Vitamin F (Evening Primrose Oil), 1-2 500mg capsules daily.

Please note that it is very expensive if you buy vitamins individually. [Note: the original sheet contained a recommended supplier of high-strength multivitamins which contained most of the above supplements here. I can no longer trace this particular company. It is worth doing your own homework on vitamin suppliers.]

You will also need to take the following to help kill the bacteria: Mycropryl (Caprylic Acid), 680mcg twice a day for two months, and after 200mcg for a further two months. For mild cases 400mcg twice a day for two months and after that 200mcg for two months.

When you start on the Anti-Candida diet you may not feel very well to begin with. This is due to the die back of candida. If you wish to read more about candida, please buy the book Candida Albicans by Leon Chaitow.

[Dr. Allen also recommended at this point a brand of artificial sweetener specifically formulated for candida sufferers. I have examined the tubs of product and the ingredient is acesulphame potassium. It is very sweet – 200 times sweeter than sugar. I only use it in porridge as I can’t bear unsweetened porridge.]

Candida Albicans of the gut is a serious problem and it is necessary not only to treat the candida but the flora of your gut and stop the gut from leaking. Stress and psychological problems need to be treated as well. It is a long process but you will soon begin to feel the goodness. No cheating. It is not possible for you to treat yourself as there are many steps and various medications necessary as you progress. If you just treat yourself you could just be prolonging the process and keeping the candida just dormant. [N.B. An unsurprising disclaimer, since this was given me by a medical doctor.]

I put the following schedule together to keep track of what to take and when:

Candida Program Schedule

Breakfast:

1 tsp Aloe Vera
1 tsp olive oil

Mid Morning:

Acidophilus 2g
Biotin 350mcg
Evening Primrose 2x500mg
Caprylic acid 680mcg (see dosages above)

Mid Afternoon:

Acidophilus 2g
Biotin 350mcg
Olive oil 2tsp
Multivitamin

Evening:

Acidophilus 2g
Biotin 350mcg
Olive oil 2tsp
Aloe Vera 2tsp
Evening Primrose 2x500mg
Caprylic acid 680mcg

Before bed:

Arginine 3g

Please note this is for information only and does not constitute medical advice. However, if you find this program helpful, please post a comment and let us know! Thanks.

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