What Your Candida Is Trying To Tell You
The biggest myth about Candida is that it is caused by the food you eat. After years of changing my diet, I finally came to realize that for me, Candida is not activated by the food I eat but rather from stress.
Candida is the overgrowth of yeast in your gut, therefore it's easy to draw the conclusion that the cure for candida comes from changing your diet. As someone trained in the scientific method and works with data, I know better than to draw immediate conclusions from what is right in front of me. Unfortunately, I did not apply this methodology when I started having my candida symptoms and if I did I might have found a cure sooner.
I first experienced candida in high school, often experiencing a lack of energy, brain fog, and continual upset stomach. I tried everything to fix this with food - from cutting out all sugar, yeast and processed foods. At times even fruits were limited because of the sugar from them. Not only is eating like this super hard but it also caused additional stress. The second I would go back to eating normally, the candida would come back. This process went on for many years, changing my diet, going back and forth between having heavy symptoms to not having any symptoms, and at times just accepting the fact that I would never really feel that great.
It wasn't until I zoomed out of my life and started to look at the bigger picture for when the candida flared up and when it didn’t. What I found is Candida had direct correlation to times I was under heavy stress, or was at dissonance with not feeling like myself and being able to express my feelings, needs, and desires effectively. When we look at stress we know that it causes higher cortisol levels, and that was my lead. I started to look into the effects of cortisol and found evidence that high Cortisol levels can cause Candida overgrowth.
As soon as I knew this, I stopped looking for a new diet to cure my candida but started working on my stress, and I saw incredible results. Not only did I not have the added stress of worrying about what I was eating and not enjoying my life, but I also started to see huge changes in my energy levels my overall strength and clarity, something I never really saw from diet changes.
I share this story because I know there are a lot of people out there who are still looking to diets to fix their candida issues and my solution is to look a little bit broader. Maybe it's not the actual food you eat that causes it but first a neurological an emotional level that wears down your immune system to cause candida. I'm not saying that diet isn’t important, but what I've learned to do is listen to my body. Today, I manage my stress and then listen to what my body wants. My body craves fermented food which I also found to be very beneficial in regulating candida. Today I eat a lot of kimchi, miso, fish, and ramen. are the things my body naturally craves.
Diet Staples
Kimchi & Bone Broth
In addition to listening to what my body wants to eat, my routine comprises of a lot of self-love, self-care, and quiet time to destress. The things I have found that have helped me are number one, keeping a routine. I've always had a morning routine but also having a bedtime routine has been very important to help me decompress the stress of my day. This includes drinking tea, reading a book, or taking a bath. In addition, my own personal self care has become a top priority, this includes things like yoga, meditation and massages, but mostly giving myself permission to be who I am, and letting go of the need to please others.
I think it's important to realize that you never beat Candida, we are always living with it. and this is what helped me overcome it. Today I look at my Candida as a blessing, if it ever flares up I know I need to dial back and manage my stress better. It's amazing that my body gives me this sign of when I've overdone it, or I'm not taking enough quiet time. I'm so happy I have this body that speaks to me and provides me with the information I need to live a happy and healthy life.