Foods That Promote Candida Overgrowth and Lead To Leaky Gut Syndrome

Sugars

Any and all sugars feed yeast. On the other hand, all whole foods contain sugars, and every creature needs sugar to survive, including us. The trick is to eat the unrefined sugars in whole foods that have other nutrients bound to them, like fruit instead of fruit juices.

Most everyone is looking for a healthy sweetener. If you’re suffering from an overgrowth of Candida, no sugar is good sugar. Stevia can be used as a sweetener if the pancreas is working well, but stevia can cause problems to those who have blood sugar issues.

Believe it or not, these “healthy” sugars are not so healthy:

  • Agave nectar
  • Coconut sugar
  • Maple syrup
  • Brown rice syrup
  • Sugar cane juice
  • Sugar in the raw

That’s the short list. In order to heal the gut, sugars need to go.

Refined Foods

Breads, pastas, chips, flours, and other refined foods are out. Whole foods are in.

Juices

Sweet juices are just another form of refined sugar. Fresh pressed juice has lots of nutrition, but they don’t have fiber. All sweet juices feed yeast including beet and carrot juice. Vegetables that are not sweet, lemons, limes, and herbs like ginger and turmeric, make juices that do not feed yeast. Instead, they kill yeast.

Grains and Glutinous Foods

Gluten cannot be properly digested if you have an overabundance of Candida. Gluten sets up perfect conditions for parasites to thrive in the gut. Even worse, when the gut is permeated by Candida, gluten protein molecules can enter the bloodstream and cause an antihistamine, inflammation response.

When the gut is not healthy, any and all grains are more difficult to digest. This is why the Paleo diet that’s been so popular lately is known for healing the gut.

Fruits

Grapes, dates, figs, pineapple, and other very sweet fruits have lots of terrific health benefits, but they are so high in sugars they need to be avoided until the gut heals. With very bad Candida overgrowth, all sweet fruits should be avoided or severely limited for a week or two.

Processed Meats and Pork

Processed meats contain nitrates and other preservatives and artificial colors that kill beneficial flora, which allows Candida to flourish. They also typically contain dextrose or other sugars.

Pork contains retroviruses that survive cooking and may be harmful to those with a weakened digestive system. In addition, conventionally raised animals (non-organic) are typically feed genetically modified foods that should be avoided as well.

GMOs

GMOs kill beneficial flora, just like many of them destroy the gut in insects. But Candida doesn’t mind, and neither do other parasites or very opportunistic and dangerous viruses and bacteria. GMOs slowly destroy the whole digestive system.

Dairy products

Dairy is high in sugar and, therefore, should be avoided for Candida sufferers unless it has powerful probiotics that pass through stomach acid. Incidentally, when a baby has diaper rash, it is almost always Candida, due to formula or because the mother has Candida overgrowth, and the baby is drinking her milk. With healthy mother’s milk, the probiotics in the milk easily pass the baby’s weaker stomach acid and reach the intestinal tract. With adults, while raw milk from healthy animals or humans is better for us, is easier to digest, and does not feed infection to the same degree as pasteurized milk, it still feeds Candida in adults due to the fact that our stomach acid kills the weaker probiotics found in milk.

Alcohol

Alcohol destroys healthy gut flora and damages gut tissue, leaving behind the perfect home for Candida.

Chemicals

Chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners, and preservatives all at least hinder, if not destroy, healthy gut bacteria.

Peanuts, Pistachios, Cashews

Peanuts, pistachios, and cashews are often contaminated with fungi. It is best to avoid them while ridding your body of Candida.

Conclusion

Basically, your diet needs to be as healthy as possible while omitting sweet fruits and vegetables until your Candida overgrowth is gone. The healthiest diet is the 80% Raw Food Diet. Just withhold the foods listed above until your gut is healed.

And to learn more about natural means to kill Candida and heal your gut, readBest Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections  and Gluten Intolerance, Wheat Allergies, and Celiac Disease – It’s More Complicated Than You Think

Recommended Supplements:
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6 Antioxidant-rich Foods for Good Health

Antioxidants are natural substances that offer protection against cell damage. In addition, they help fight free radicals, highly reactive molecules that can damage your healthy cells, DNA, and protein. In fact, free radical damage can lead to cancer. Fruits and vegetables are good sources of antioxidants. Adding antioxidant-rich foods to your diet can be beneficial for your health.

Apples

Apples are a good source of antioxidant flavonoids. Flavonoids offer protection to plants against ultraviolet light and pathogens. In addition, these compounds impart color to flowers and fruits. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2002, flavonoid intake is associated with a lower risk of chronic diseases. There are many simple ways to include apples in your diet. Give a fruity appeal to your omelet by adding apples. Grate apples and add to waffles or pancakes. You can also toss a few slices on your oatmeal.

Onions

In addition to providing flavor, onions provide health-promoting nutrients such as calcium, vitamin C, iron, dietary fiber, and folic acid. Furthermore, onions contain the flavonoid quercetin. According to the National Onion Association, studies have demonstrated that eating onions may help reduce the risk of certain diseases. Consumption of onions may help prevent gastric ulcers by inhibiting the growth of Helicobacter pylori, a microorganism responsible for causing ulcers. To reap its benefits, add sauteed chopped onions to any vegetable dish. You can also top your plain rice with onions and sesame seeds.

Strawberries

Deliciously sweet strawberries possess a strong antioxidant capacity. A study published in the journal “Food Chemistry” found that eating strawberries regularly can boost blood antioxidant levels and prevent chronic diseases. Also, these soft red fruits help maintain healthy eyes and skin. Flavonoids present in strawberries help fight free radical formation, thereby reducing the risk of dementia, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. You can enjoy strawberries as an afternoon snack or toss a handful in your morning cereal.

Eggplant

Eggplant contains chlorogenic acid that exhibits very strong antioxidant activity. According to the researchers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, chlorogenic acid in eggplant not only helps fight free radicals, it also helps lower cholesterol. The compound can prevent cells from changing into cancer cells. To reap the benefits, add eggplant cubes to your curry sauce and serve over brown rice. Top your pizza with eggplant cubes.

Kiwi

Kiwi is packed with two vital antioxidants: vitamin A and vitamin E. Both of these vitamins help keep free radical damage at bay. Eating kiwis can help keep your blood pressure under control. By incorporating kiwis into your diet, you can give your immune system a boost. Fiber found in the fruit helps in the digestion of food. You can enjoy kiwi in many ways. Use it in fruit tarts. Make a chilled soup by blending cantaloupe and kiwifruit together. You can also add the fruit to tossed green salads.

Blackberries

According to The Berry Health Benefits Network, blackberries are rich in vitamin C, ellagic acid, and fiber. Studies have shown that these nutrients help in decreasing the risk of certain cancers. A phenolic compound, ellagic acid has antiviral, anticarcinogen, and antibacterial properties. Furthermore, blackberries have the highest antioxidant levels of all fruits. You can use blackberries in jellies and jams. Mix them into plain yogurts or make a blackberry milkshake by blending blackberries with low-fat vanilla ice cream.

Conclusion

Adding antioxidant-rich foods to your diet will enhance your ability to fight disease. Also, make sure to lead a healthy lifestyle by exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, avoiding smoking, and minimizing alcohol consumption. Unhealthy lifestyle habits can increase the formation of disease-causing free radicals.

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B Vitamin Food Sources – Because A Deficiency Can Drive You Insane

A teenage boy is admitted to a mental hospital. He screams in fear, begging to be saved from the thousands of spiders climbing up the wall – spiders no one else can see.

A middle-aged woman is anemic.

An elderly man is depressed.

A young woman dreads her monthly cycle, knowing she will become moody or angry – mood swings so severe they may jeopardize her relationship or her job.

What do all of these people have in common? They are all suffering from a B vitamin deficiency.

The B vitamins are a group of water-soluble vitamins crucial to many of the metabolic processes in the body. All eight B vitamins, or several of them, are often found together in a particular food- a helpful occurrence since many of the B vitamins work together.

The B vitamins are: B1 (thiamin), B2 (riboflavin), B3 (niacin), B5 (pantothenic acid), B6 (pyridoxine), B7 (biotin), B9 (folate or folic acid), and B12 (cyanocobalamin).

B vitamins help carbohydrates break down to glucose and they aid in the breakdown of fats and proteins. Without them, we would not have fuel for any tissues in the body. They are absolutely essential for neurotransmitters and nerve tissue. They help our bodies form red blood cells. B9 and B12 are required for normal fetal development during pregnancy.

B vitamin deficiencies run the gamut from decreased energy all the way through to acute psychosis or death. Every bodily function requires B vitamins or the glucose it provides.

The best source of any vitamins is food. B vitamins are found in the following foods.

Foods High in B1

Asparagus, Brussels sprouts, green peas, beet greens, spinach, sweet potatoes, navy beans, black beans, pinto beans, lima beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, unpolished rice, barley, oats, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seeds, watermelon, oranges, and liver.

Foods High in B2

Beet greens, spinach, asparagus, crimini mushrooms, collard greens, sweet potatoes, green peas, eggs, turkey, tempeh, sardines, and tuna.

Foods High in B3

Asparagus, crimini mushrooms, potatoes, sweet potatoes, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, salmon, lamb, beef, sardines, shrimp, peanuts, sunflower seeds, brown rice, and barley.

Foods High in B5

Avocado, crimini and shitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes, green peas.

Foods High in B6

Sweet potatoes, potatoes, spinach, cabbage, turnip greens, garlic, winter squash, bok choy, bell peppers, avocado, green peas, tuna, chicken, turkey, beef, salmon, lentils, lima beans, pinto beans, bananas, and sunflower seeds.

Foods High in B7

Sweet potatoes, onions tomatoes, carrots, oats, peanuts, almonds, walnuts, eggs, salmon, and bananas.

Foods High in B9

Asparagus, spinach, turnip greens, broccoli, Romaine lettuce, bok choy, cauliflower, green peas, avocados, leeks, fennel, summer squash, Brussels sprouts, lentils, pinto; garbanzo; black; navy; and kidney beans, papaya, and quinoa.

Foods High in B12

Sardines, salmon, tuna, cod, lamb, shrimp, scallops, beef, yogurt, and milk.

It can be difficult to meet the daily requirement of B12 if you are a vegetarian or vegan, or if you are elderly. It is also more difficult for anyone suffering from digestive diseases that inhibit absorption such as celiac disease.

Conclusion

If you do choose to supplement with B vitamins, it is important to take a full B complex. Taking one or more B vitamin over an extended period of time can cause deficiencies in other B vitamins.

Remember a healthy diet is one that consists of 80% raw, fresh, organic produce – more vegetables than fruits along with healthy omega 3 fats. To properly absorb and assimilate B vitamins, you must have balanced healthy fats in the body and a healthy gut that’s not overrun with Candida. Check out Balance Your Ecosystem.

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Foods, Vitamins, and Herbs That Kill Cancer

While everyone knows that prevention is the best defense against cancer, many people don’t know that studies have shown that certain foods, herbs, and various supplements can actually reduce and reverse cancer as well.

Raw Fruits and Veggies

A diet consisting of a variety of raw fresh vegetables is the best prevention and also a potential cure for cancer, depending on how far cancer has progressed and how easily the body can digest and properly assimilate nutrition. Berries, grapes, broccoli, leafy greens, sprouts, avocados, red and yellow peppers, red cabbage, dandelion, beets, and many more foods have been proven in numerous scientific studies to not only prevent but to also destroy cancer cells. If we did research on every single piece of produce we eat, we’d probably find that almost all of them, if not all of them, prevent and fight cancer in some way or another. This is what the modern diet is missing, fresh raw produce. Early humans ate pounds of it a day, all day, every day.

Related: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Do not underestimate the miraculous healing properties of whole, raw, fresh, organic, uncooked, unadulterated produce. Believe it or not, it’s the foundation of almost all of the best remedies for ailments, and it is the only path to true health. Eat a wide variety of raw produce every day. Cooked produce has benefits, but raw produce heals. Make big salads every day with lots of produce. Make sure that 80% of your diet is raw produce. I can’t stress it enough!

Related: Stop Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet

Mushrooms

Certain types of mushrooms, including, but not limited to, turkey tail, reishi, hen of the woods, and agaricus blazei have been shown in studies to benefit people fighting cancer and to improve the overall immune system. Reishi is a great source of anti-oxidants. It can inhibit some malignant tumor growth, and it has a massive amount of other, amazing health benefits. Agaricus also contains strong anti-tumor properties. Countries like Japan and Brazil use it in cancer treatment protocols. Current research of turkey tail mushrooms reveals their cancer-killing effects, while hen of the woods (also know as maitake), provides anti-viral support and reduces blood pressure and blood sugar.

Herbs and Spices

When taken with a small amount of black pepper, the curcumin levels skyrocket
Garlic, oregano, cloves, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and ginger have been shown in multiple studies to fight cancer. Spice up your meals, especially those big salads. Fresh raw produce works synergistically with herbs and spices. In other words, the combination of garlic, oregano, and a bunch of vegetables is more powerful than garlic and/or oregano alone.

Related:

Speaking of combinations, turmeric and black pepper make a powerful cancer-killing duo. Most of you have heard of the incredible benefits of turmeric and it’s cancer-killing properties. Turmeric is known to actually outperform many pharmaceutical drugs for various diseases. The only problem with turmeric is that the beneficial component to which all the hoopla is about, curcumin, is not easily absorbed by the body. Black pepper contains piperine, a chemical with powerful antioxidant properties. Pepper and turmeric together inhibit the growth of cancer cells without destroying healthy cells.

When people eat a considerable amount of turmeric, within an hour, there’s a slight increase of curcumin in the blood, but the liver actually tries to get rid of it. When taken with a small amount of black pepper, the curcumin levels skyrocket. Reports range from a 200% increase to over 2,000%! It’s no coincidence that two of the main ingredients in curry powder are black pepper and turmeric. Come to think of it, ginger and cinnamon, two other powerhouse herbs, are also almost always found in curry spice blends as well. It’s no wonder…

Just like produce, raw herbs and spices are best (as opposed to powdered and processed). Cook with them all you like, but before eating a cooked meal, try throwing in some more flavor with freshly grated, crushed, or ground spices. This practice will not only increase your health, it will radically improve the taste of your food as well.

It should be noted that while I am a fan of whole foods, there are extracts and other supplement forms of foods that can be much more powerful for certain conditions and ailments.

results in an herbal killing machine that killed 98% of the breast cancer cells

Herbal Supplements, Vitamins, and Minerals

Getting a wide range of vitamins and minerals should be easy when you’re eating lots of produce, but it’s not always that simple. Our soil is so degraded even organic produce doesn’t have the nutrition it used to have. If you cannot grow your own produce in the most optimum conditions with the best soil, we recommend a primarily food-based nutrition powder from a source you know and trust. Not “whole food sourced”, we mean actual food like rose hips, lemon peels, chlorella, etc. When these nutrition formulas are done right, the enzymes are left intact.

Related: Chemotherapy Detox

One mineral deficiency can lead to other minerals being out of balance, causing an array of problems, including an inability to assimilate vitamins. In most cases, this is why taking one or two specific minerals for a long period of time is not recommended, unless under the supervision of a well-informed naturopath. Incidentally, the same is true for many vitamins. Get the bulk of your nutrition from raw food, first and foremost. Let food be your foundation.

Vitamin C is one vitamin that you can take a large amount of for a short period of time without worrying about it offsetting other nutrients, but taking large doses of vitamin C and assimilating lots of vitamin C are two different things. We recommend Liposomal vitamin C. The best way for most people to take vitamin C as a daily supplement is within a good nutrition formula as previously mentioned and from a wide variety of produce such as red and yellow peppers, pineapple, citrus foods, and many others.

There are a ton of herbal tinctures, extracts, and other supplements that kill cancer cells. Echinacea, oil of oregano, clove oil, goldenseal, berberine, astragalus, pau d´arco, red clover, and skullcap are a few of the many plant-based herbal supplements that kill cancer cells. Study after study shows that many of the right plants and plant extracts have more power to kill off cancer cells than conventional treatments.

Wormwood is a very powerful herb that is often used to kill parasites and Candida. Wormwood, more specifically, artemisinin, the active ingredient in sweet wormwood extract, kills cancer cells.

Interesting Information On Wormwood

A new study has shown that a derivative of the wormwood plant, artemisinin, turns deadly in the presence of iron. Breast cancer cells have high levels of iron. When artemisinin senses these higher than usual levels of iron, it destroys the cancer cells with little damage to the surrounding healthy cells. This results in an herbal killing machine that killed 98% of the breast cancer cells present within 16 hours!

Although this study is in its first phase in a lab with Petri dishes, artemisinin tablets are “widely and successfully” used to fight malaria for the same reason, the parasite responsible for malaria uptakes a large amount of iron, just like the breast cancer cells. Artemisinin zeros in on the iron and destroys the parasite.

We don’t recommend taking iron with cancer. Iron feeds cancer, and the administration of iron in the study was carefully done by researchers in a very specific way. But wormwood is known to be one of the best herbs for killing a number of parasites, and it is anti-microbial and anti-fungal, making wormwood a great addition for people who need to heal their gut and heal from a variety of ailments.

Finally

Healing starts in the gut. Healing the body cannot happen without healing the gut. Check out How To Heal Your Gut. Also be sure to check out the recipes in Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting.

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Eliminate Body Odor With Diet

There are two things to ask yourself if you have a problem with body odor:

  • Am I healthy?
  • Am I using the right soap and skin care products?

You may have noticed “Do I shower often enough?” was left out. That’s because when the body is healthy, showering is about removing dirt and odors from sources other than our body. Objectionable body odor is a result of imbalanced PH, imbalanced hormones, a heavy toxic load, damaging skin care products, and/or imbalanced gut flora.

Health

First let’s talk about health. If you are not healthy or your body is toxic, it will affect your body odor. Vaginal infections can produce a foul odor and body fluids, including sweat, may give off a foul odor when you are ill, just as sinus infections or infections in the mouth can produce bad breath. If you are healthy, your sweat will not smell foul. It will actually smell good.

Clean up your body from the inside out. Eat a healthy diet that consists of 80% fresh, organic, raw fruits and vegetables. The fiber will cleanse your digestive system, sweeping out old rotting food and debris while working as a prebiotic that helps maintain a high level of beneficial bacteria in the gut. Detox twice a year. Get those chemicals, parasites, and the extra yeast out of your body. (For more information, see the links below.)

Bathing and Showering

This is such an individual decision that should be based on need, not someone else’s idea of cleanliness. In the U.S. our cultural norm is a daily bath or shower, those some shower morning and night. If you are healthy and you aren’t actually dirty, daily showers or baths are not necessary. Some may argue that even with toxin free skin care products, daily washing does more harm than good due to washing away healthy flora that develops on skin and controls body odor. Bathe or shower as often as necessary–not more.

Why You Should Use Organic Soap

There are two reasons you should use organic soap. First of all, our skin soaks up most of the chemicals we put on it. When we use conventional products, those chemicals are pulled into our bloodstream. Read the labels on soap scrubs and bar soap and ask yourself if you would want to eat those ingredients, because in a roundabout way, that’s exactly what you are doing every time you use them. Secondly, organic soaps are better for your skin and they stop the body odor cycle caused by conventional products.

Our skin is part of the body’s first line of defense against pathogens. Not only do we produce natural oils to keep our skin healthy, our skin is host to many beneficial bacterial, just like our gut. Conventional soaps, especially anti-bacterial soaps, are the greatest cause of body odor because they disrupt the body’s natural defense against bad bacteria. Conventional , anti-bacterial soaps strip the skin of natural oils and kill the bacteria. The problem is, they kill the beneficial bacteria that naturally keeps the bad bacteria (the smelly bacteria) in check. You bathe, you kill off the good bacteria. You sweat, the bad bacteria start to multiply and there aren’t enough good bacteria to keep them in check. You bathe, the cycle continues.

This is the same process we experience with deodorants. Any time we strip natural oils and kill off beneficial bacteria, we set up an unhealthy cycle that merely perpetuates the use of conventional products. We smell worse, we use more and more. This is how they make money.

Organic soaps maintain the natural balance of bacteria on your skin. As the days pass, you will notice that you have less body odor. You will no longer need to use deodorant. You just don’t smell bad anymore. You may find that you only need to bathe every other day, every three days, or maybe only once a week. Even if you maintain the habit of a daily bath or shower, your skin will be happier and healthier. If you’re ready to get rid of body odor without the chemical cover-ups that damage your health, it’s time to Balance Your Gut Flora and Balance Your Hormones.

Recommended Supplements:
Further Reading:

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Relieve PMS with these Foods, Herbs, Vitamins, Minerals, and Supplements

Suddenly you realize there’s a little black cloud over your head. Or maybe it’s a big one. Things that usually don’t bother you are getting on your very last nerve. You’re not sure if you want to pick a fight or cry. Before you tell your boss what you really think of him or confront your significant other about his shortcomings, stop and check the calendar. Is this PMS? Is “estrogen poisoning” ruining your day? If that’s the problem, there are supplement and herbs you can use to get back in control.

Herbs known to relieve symptoms of PMS

  • Black cohosh (Actaea racemosa)
  • Burdock
  • Chaste tree or chasteberry (Vitex agnus castus)
  • Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale)
  • Dong quai (Angelica sinensis), also known as Chinese Angelica
  • Evening primrose oil (Oenothera biennis)
  • Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba)
  • Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis)
  • Maca (Lepidium meyenii)
  • St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum)
  • Wild yam (Dioscorea villosa)

Vitamins, minerals, and supplements to relieve symptoms of PMS

Chocolate candy is not your best friend right now. You do not need to add unstable blood sugar to unbalanced hormones and underachieving neurotransmitters. If you are craving chocolate, your body is craving magnesium. But that is not the only supplement you need right now. Your first aid supplements should include the following:

  • B vitamin complex
  • Calcium
  • Vitamin D
  • Magnesium
  • Chromium
  • Omega 3s (either as a supplement or take a tablespoon of flaxseed oil, fish oil, or a blended omega 3.6.9. oil)

If you take a really good multi-vitamin with all of the above included, unless it is very high in B vitamins, it’s not a bad idea to include a B complex. B vitamins are nature’s Valium; many women feel considerable relief fifteen minutes or so after taking a large dose of Bs.

This is a day to be on your best behavior. Not only do you need to hold your tongue, you need to watch what you put in your mouth. This is a perfect day to snack on fresh organic veggies and fruits all day long. And all those things you’re not going to say? Write them down and see if those are issues you need to deal with next week, when you’re not feeling so intense. Chances are, you really do need to deal with those issues, just not right now.

Shillington’s Female Balance Formulas

Shillington offers three formulas that help balance female hormones.

Female Balance Formula

This formula is the 3 balancing herbs to balances the hormones. It’s good for alleviating cramps and anxiety. Ingredients include Chaste tree berry, wild yam root, and dong quai root in a base of grain alcohol and distilled water.

Female Formula

This formula is predominantly the 3 balancing herbs from the Female Formula along with a few others making it an overall female tonic for balancing hormones, relaxing,, as well as a cramping and anxiety handler. Ingredients include wild yam root, chaste tree berry, Dong Quai root, blue and black cohosh, valerian root, passion flower, uva ursi, hops flowers, cornsilk, juniper berry and dandelion root in a base of grain alcohol and distilled water.

Female Energy Formula

With Damiana leaf, wild yam root, licorice root, siberian ginseng roots, sarsaparilla root, saw palmetto berry, oat seed, kola nut and ginger root in a base of grain alcohol and distilled water, this formula works well at balancing the hormones and improves energy as well as sex drive.

What typically causes PMS symptoms

An inability to process and assimilate B vitamins, a lack of vitamin D, and other hormonal imbalances can be traced back to an overabundance of candida. Like so many diseases, candida  is often the underlying cause. Even when candida is not the source, at the very least, candida exacerbates PMS symptoms. Check out the first source below for information about candida and the gut.

While it is great to know that there are natural remedies to alleviate the symptoms of PMS, alleviating symptoms is a short term strategy, not a cure. If you are ready to rid yourself of these miserable symptoms and get your hormones in balance, it’s time to make some lifestyle changes.

If you’re on the lookout for some healthy chocolate recipes, go to healingthebody.ca. And see Natural Remedies for PMS for more information on diet, herbs, and other supplement options.

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What is a Cyclic Ketogenic Diet?

Burn Fat and Build Muscle with a Cyclic Ketogenic Diet

What constitutes an optimal physique?  This is different based on each individual’s unique genetic potential but researchers would agree that we should have a moderate to thin structure and good muscular development.

While many have sought after a thin physique, the mantra of the 21st century is that strong is the new thin!  We want to have a good body fat percentage (6-15% for men and 15-30% for women) and have developed well-toned musculature.

Ketogenic Diet and Fat Metabolism

A ketogenic diet is a very low carbohydrate, moderate protein, and high fat based nutrition plan.  A ketogenic diet trains the bodies metabolism to run off of fatty acids or ketone bodies.  This nutrition plan has been shown to improve insulin sensitivity and reduce inflammation.  This leads to improved muscle development and fat metabolism.

The ketogenic diet is built around good fats such as grass-fed butter, coconut products, avocados, nuts/seeds, pasture-raised animal products and extra-virgin olive oil.  This diet should also focus on low-carbohydrate fruits, vegetables and herbs as staple components.  The fat levels will be between 60-80% of calorie intake.

How Ketones Are Formed?

The body has two major energy sources, it burns glucose or ketone bodies.  The majority of people burn glucose primarily because they are constantly supplying a steady form of sugar, starches, and proteins that can be turned into blood sugar.  When one either fasts or goes on a low-carb, moderate protein, and high fat diet they switch their energy source to fat.

In particular, the fatty acids are broken down into ketone bodies.  The three major forms ketones produced in the body include Acetoacetate, Acetone and Beta-HydroxyButyric acid.  These are released into the blood from the liver when insulin levels are low and hepatic liver metabolism is increased.

Healthy Cell Membrane

The cell membrane is the double outer layer of fatty acids.  This structure is made up of a blend of saturated, monounsaturated and highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs).   The cell membrane and particularly the HUFAs are very susceptible to free radical damage.  This free radical damage causes something called “lipid peroxidation” and negatively effects hormone sensitivity.

Elevated lipid peroxidation leads to issues like insulin resistance and poor blood sugar metabolism.  Insulin resistance and poor blood sugar metabolism leads to fat storage and muscle tissue breakdown.  This is the antagonist to healthy aging and a desirable physique.

The two biggest dietary factors that reduce lipid peroxidation include

  1. The Anti-oxidant Content of the Diet
  2. Carbohydrate Level of the Diet

Research has shown that a low-carbohydrate, ketogenic diet reduces oxidative stress in the body1.  The reduction in oxidative stress on the cell membrane allows for the formation of healthy insulin receptors and normalized blood sugar regulation.  This improves insulin sensitivity which further reduces inflammation and fat storage in the body.2  The more sensitive the body is to insulin, the less stress it puts on the rest of the system and the easier it is to build muscle and burn fat.

Protein Sparing and Healthy Muscle Tissue

A healthy body is not thin and weak.  A desirable physique is strong and has well-developed muscle tissue that is genetically congruent for the individual.  The antagonist to this is again poor blood sugar sensitivity and insulin resistance.

High carbohydrate diets increase the level of muscle cell inflammation and reduce protein synthesis.  For many body types this leads to a catabolic or cannablistic state where the body eats up the muscle tissue.  This leaves the individual with a very thin and under developed physique.

A properly formed ketogenic diet maintains circulating branched chain amino acids (BCAAs).  These BCAA’s (leucine, isoleucine and valine) and especially leucine are critical for protein and muscle synthesis in the body.  Blood leucine levels, a powerful regulator of muscle protein synthesis, increases on a ketogenic diet.  Meanwhile, insulin levels decrease on a ketogenic diet as does muscle inflammation 3

The result of this is that the muscle cells will have an environment that promotes proper development and optimal function.  The keto-adapted state improves the efficiency of protein utilization.  The   greater economy of protein allows for less to be consumed while still maintaining healthy blood leucine levels for proper muscle development and recovery.

Practical Considerations

There is a popular idea that the body needs carbohydrates and protein immediately after exercising in order to properly recover.  However, with the application of a properly formulated ketogenic diet to achieve a keto-adapted state this is not necessary.  Keto-adapted individuals can often fast for periods after a short high intensity workout and see improvements in strength and muscle development.

In my late teens and early twenties, I would eat around 5,000 calories a day with over 200 grams of protein.  I used to have to eat before and after I exercised.  My diet was probably 50% carbohydrate, 25% protein and 25% fat.  This nutrition plan resulted in good strength gains but also destroyed my gut, desensitized my cells to insulin leading to blood sugar instability and chronic inflammation.  The elevated carbohydrate and protein levels also promoted the development of cancerous growths in my body.

This resulted in severe health problems and a 5+ years of learning better strategies to improve my health.  I noticed incredible improvement with the ketogenic diet and intermittent fasting.  I also learned to focus on super hydration with anti-oxidants in the morning hours.  I typically drink 64oz of water before 12pm and use anti-oxidant extracts such as lemon and/or anti-oxidant supplements in the morning hours.

Now, I eat 2 meals a day between a 4-8 hour eating window and consume around 3500-4000 calories with approximately 60-70% fat, 20-25% protein and 10-15% carbohydrates on average.  Some days, it is 70%, 25%, 5% while other days it is 60%, 20%, 20%.   I work out intensely in the morning and NEVER eat afterwards.  I eat my meals between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. on most days.

The results – I am stronger in my upper and lower body and feel significantly better than I did in my teens and 20’s.  The pic below is not me…haha!

What This Means to You

As a clinician, I believe that everyone on the planet will benefit from a well-formulated cyclic ketogenic diet.  This will look different for each individual.  Some will do great with 80% fat, 15% protein, 5% carb.  Some will need a more carbohydrate and protein, or maybe just one or the other, etc.

I am not strict about counting calories or percentages of macronutrients and the numbers I provided were approximations based on the foods I typically consume.  I would encourage you not to be dogmatic with macronutrient counting but instead be strongly considerate of the quality of fuel you are putting into your body and you should categorize it as primarily fat, primarily protein, protein/fat, protein/carb or primarily carbohydrate.

There are many key variables that play a role in the proper formula for success.  These include your unique genetics, your exercise, activity and stress levels, your sleeping habits, levels of inflammation and the health of your thyroid, adrenals and liver/gallbladder.

By cyclic ketogenic diet, I am referring too a state of cylcling in and out of ketosis.  I will typically have a larger carbohydrate meal (using healthy starches like sweet potato, quinoa, brown rice, or a good sweetener like fruit, raw honey, or coconut nectar) once a week.  This pulls me out of ketosis for a short period and then I enter right back in the following day while I am doing my morning fast.

Some individuals do well with the inclusion of a higher carbohydrate meal 2 or 3 times a week while others will do better staying in ketosis for a month at a time.  You will have to experiment to find what you feel best with.

Would love to hear about your experiences with a cyclic ketogenic diet in the comments box below.

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