Candida Cleanse

I began these blog posts elsewhere, but I'd like them to have their own blog spot, so I'm copying them over:

I am one week in to my candida cleanse. Very briefly, candida is a naturally occurring yeast in the intestines. It can get out of balance and start overproducing yeast, which is officially called candidiasis. I have felt for many years that I've had this imbalance and, until now, was unwilling to take the steps to clear it out. The cleanse is very regimented and takes a considerable amount of time.

Week one: this week, for me, has been about getting most of the addictive substances out of my body.    This includes coffee, black tea, alcohol, tobacco, dairy, sugar, gluten, etc. Basically, I've been eating meat, nuts, green veggies and non-sugary fruits like avocado and cucumber. I've been drinking green tea, herbal tea and water with lemon or lime. Like I said, very regimented. The cleanse, depending on who you ask, should include almost nothing that breaks down into sugar. It should also exclude foods prone to mold, or fungi, or fermented things.

Why am I doing this? Like I mentioned, I feel I have had an imbalance for years. There are extensive symptoms lists out there if you want to find them. My symptoms are varied, but a couple of weeks before I chose to do the cleanse it seems they had gotten worse. My bowel movements became even more irregular and funky, as far as consistency and frequency. I started to have a white coat on my tongue in the morning. And I really wasn't feeling well. I had this sensation in my digestive system of gurgling and fermenting, and I was having gas all the time, regardless of what I ate, it seemed. Moreover, it felt like nothing I put in my body food-wise was the right thing. So, this was enough. I was ready to take the plunge.

I'm just trodding through right now, feeling along my path as I go. Some websites say it only takes a couple of weeks to clear this out. When I check in with myself, I believe it takes much longer. I've heard several times that three months is the best amount of time, and a friend I just spoke to recently said three months is the minimum and six months is optimal. We shall see. Time seems to go by so quickly, perhaps six months is like a drop in the hat.