I’ve really been enjoying this relatively new found attitude of self-forgiving and low stress healing.  It feels as though my overall  health has improved greatly within the past month or so because of my shift to a desire of and effort towards more self acceptance rather than a forceful control of all the little details.  Although I believe my new attitude has helped me tremendously, I’ve become rather lax about my routine — even experimenting with adding in local, but pasteurized goat dairy and gluten containing products like deliciously addicting sourdough  from the Wednesday farmers market in Santa Monica, and late night snacking on rich honey and date sweetened raw desserts made with high quality organic ingredients– but which none the less promote the growth of Candida and contribute to gut disbiosis.

While my symptomatic health has improved greatly, and I am more than convinced of the integral role our attitude plays in our well-being, I’m still feeling brain fog, breakouts, occasional indigestion, bloating, and other Crohn’s disease related symptoms — which are all signs of Candidiasis according to Donna Gates and other health professionals. I attribute these symptoms to my increased consumption of improperly combined ingredients, pasteurized and gluten rich foods, and over eating natural sugar.  Luckily I picked up some kefir grains from Lauren yesterday, so I can re-introduce live, home-made probiotic rich kefir into my daily diet.

Here is the healing protocol I’m planning on implementing to take my health to the next level:

-Drink at least 8 cups of water daily (including herbal teas and vegetable juices)

-Take a tablespoon of L-glutamine between meals to heal stomach lining and decrease intestinal permeability

-Continue taking Bio-k probiotic supplement at least every three days

-Drink raw kefir, coconut water kefir, or kombucha daily

-Eliminate pasteurized dairy and gluten containing foods

-Eat primarily vegetables, green juices and green smoothies, probiotic rich foods, sprout-fed eggs from the farmers market,soaked nuts and seeds, squash/red potato/beets/root vegetables,wild-caught salmon, lentils, and grains in their whole form.  Limit grains and starches to no more than 20 percent of a meal. Limit sugar sources to low sugar fruits like grapefruit, berries, pomegranate, and try not to combine fruit with other ingredients.

-Continue taking enzymes and acidifiers like Betain or HCL with substantial meals.

-Continue taking New Chapters multi vitamin and iron supplement.

-Don’t worry, be happy/appreciate — if something makes me feel sick, I think of it as an experiment and learning journey rather than attaching guilt to my actions.

-Move everyday! Walk, run, hike, dance, yoga, sweat!