Before you declare that all vinegar is out of the question if you have a yeast infection, I want to make an important distinction right here and now, if you can manage to get hold of a bottle of unfiltered, raw, organic apple cider vinegar you will find it of significant help in your quest to eradicate a yeast infection from your body. As I have mentioned earlier, most supermarket bought vinegar products have been distilled, filtered and pasteurized, in other words they are “dead” and contain no natural enzymes because all that processing kills off any goodness. You simply cannot compare a dead and devitalized grocery bought item to a natural product!

I have been recommending raw and natural apple cider vinegar for over 25 years for yeast infections after reading Paul Bragg’s book on the topic over thirty years ago. Paul Bragg was one of America’s leading health gurus who in fact opened up America’s first health-food store. Apple cider vinegar is one of those products that you can use both externally and internally with confidence, but do discontinue if it causes you any discomfort or burning. Before you stop using it however, try to dilute it because you may have taken it in too strong a dose to begin with, like many healthy foods, you may need to go low and go slow before you increase the dose.

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Here are four uses for using raw, unfiltered and organic apple cider vinegar when it comes to a yeast infection:

Apple Cider Vinegar as a Wash for Athlete’s Foot

Add 3 to 4 tablespoons of organic, raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar in a bucket containing about 2 liters (2 quarts) of tepid to warm water. Soak the affected foot for at least twenty minutes, allow to air dry and use clean cotton socks. I’d recommend that you do this each evening for about two weeks.

Apple Cider Vinegar as a Drink

Add anywhere from 1 to 3 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar to a glass of tepid water. Good to sip during or between meals. Apple cider vinegar is a good alkalizer of the digestive tract and is a perfect daily drink throughout the Candida Crusher Program. Some folk claim that apple cider vinegar kills a yeast infection, but this is not my experience. It helps to restore digestive harmony by alkalizing the system and it also helps to stimulate the production of digestive enzymes in the stomach, pancreas and small intestine. This is perfect for those undergoing a diet change that needs more digestive power.

Apple Cider Vinegar as a Douche

Add anywhere from 1 to 3 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to 1 to 2 litres of tepid water. For an even better effect add ½ teaspoon of water-soluble tea tree oil. Use this cleansing recipe whenever you have a vaginal yeast infection as it will soothe any itches and reduce any irritating discharge. Use as required, more on some days and less on others. See chapter 5 for more complete information.

Apple Cider Vinegar in the Bath

Draw enough water to have a bath and ensure the water is the right temperature; you don’t want it too hot. Add 1 to 2 cups of apple cider vinegar and again, if you have a stubborn yeast infection or a particularly irritating one (whether it is jock itch or a vaginal yeast infection) you may want to add at least 1 -2 teaspoons of water soluble tea tree oil to a bath. Do experiment with dosages when it comes to the apple cider vinegar and tea tree oil, the dosages I recommend are suggested dosages only. I tend to recommend higher dosages generally, because I believe that by doing so you will get superior results. Ensure that you dry yourself very well after a bath and be sure to always use 100% cotton under garments.

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It is important for you to understand what pH means and how when carefully balanced it can make all the difference when it comes to crushing your yeast infection permanently. What does pH mean, and how does it relate to your health when it comes to a yeast infection?

The letters pH are an acronym for the words Potential Hydrogen, and come from the chemistry formula for calculating the concentration of hydrogen ions present in a substance. The pH scale measures acidity and alkalinity and the scale ranges from 1 (most acid) right up to 14 (most alkaline) with a pH value of 7 being regarded as neutral, pure water thus has a value of 7. Foods that are predominantly alkaline by nature have a pH value above 7, whereas foods that are predominantly acid by nature have a pH value below 7. Your blood has a pH finely balanced at 7.365.

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Your body not only tries very hard to maintain a constant temperature of close to 98.5 Fahrenheit (37 Degrees Celsius), it tries even harder to maintain a pH balance of almost exactly 7.365, and it achieves this by way of maintaining your oxygen levels within a fine range.

Scientists have worked out that in order for your blood cells to remain the healthiest, they require a blood-based pH level of 7.365, which is slightly alkaline. Meanwhile, your digestive system, in particular your stomach, requires a pH level of around 2, which is very acid to break down foods, especially any protein foods.

We have also discovered that if the body’s capacity to absorb and retain oxygen becomes compromised in any way and the pH becomes imbalanced, that we can get sick much more easily and become more prone to diseases like infections, inflammation, heart disease, cancers and even a candida yeast overgrowth. So, when your body’s pH levels fluctuate widely, and especially if they remain too low (acidic), you may gravitate from one infection to another and may be considerably more prone to all kinds of acute or chronic illness.

Many who live in the Western world tend to adopt diets that are too refined, they eat too many prepackaged foods that tend to be processed and full of sugar, salt and fat, and the bottom line is that they may develop a real problem absorbing and maintaining adequate oxygen levels.

It is a fact that most people I see in my clinic don’t eat the recommended daily amount of vegetable and fruit servings. If you really eat 6 or 7 servings a day along with some animal, vegetable, and grain, nut or seed proteins you will desire little else and your digestion will function very well. You will feel full and satisfied most of the time, your appetite and weight will be controlled as well.

But how do you achieve eating so much fruit and vegetable matter? It’s not as difficult as it seems, all you need to do is increase your portion size of vegetables on your plate (eat less meat and more vegetables), snack on carrots, cucumber, bell peppers, apples, kiwi fruit, celery, etc. Let’s take a look at a few different ways you can incorporate more vegetables and fruits into your diet.

I have helped many patients over the years overcome their issues of eating more vegetables and fruits and have some tips that I think might help you. Try and get away from the idea of just eating meat and three vegetables on your plate and do experiment with your vegetable intake. You may like to begin by eating a combination of cooked and semi-cooked or raw vegetables. This is why I like Asian ways of eating, especially wok cooking. This way of cooking involves high temperatures for only a very short period of time, and the vegetables are eaten partially in their raw state.

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Wash your Vegetables and Fruits Well

Besides pesticides, fungicides, and other chemicals, mold spores maybe present on the outside of fruits and vegetables, it’s important to wash them well before you consume them, especially if you are very unwell with a yeast infection. The more chronic your yeast infection or digestive problem, the more important it will become for you to eat pre­dominantly organic and spray-free produce. You can help to clean your vegetables more effectively by adding a little Bragg’s organic apple cider vinegar to the water.

4 Steps to A Diet Richer In Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

First Step – First it is a good idea to tell yourself all the reasons why you should eat fruit and vegetables in increasing amounts in your diet, there are too many reasons why you should eat more of these health foods and less of the processed and refined foods, this will help you stay motivated and make you think twice about buying that bar of chocolate or packet of your favorite snack food like chips, whatever this treat may be. Watch how your digestion and bowel health improves, you will certainly notice this. Tell yourself you will be halving your risk of cancer, diabetes and heart disease. Visualize how great you will look and feel, as you get older.

Second Step – Write a list of all the fruits and vegetables that you enjoy eating and actually like the taste of and wouldn’t mind eating on a regular basis. If you put a bit of thought into this, you will be surprised to find that your list will be a lot longer than you originally thought! This will help you to realize that you have many options indeed to pick and choose from, and not just the boring green stuff like lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes.

Third Step – Go to your fresh produce store or Farmer’s Market and buy several of your favorite vegetables and fruits. Start by adding one new vegetable each week, which means that after a month you will have added four vegetables you wouldn’t normally have eaten. Try and aim for seven to nine different vegetables that you will eat on a regular daily basis. Include two or three leafy green vegetables (broccoli, spinach, bok choy, lettuce, etc.) Two or three colorful vegetables (bell pepper, egg plant, zucchini, asparagus, corn, etc.) and two or three starchy or root vegetables (sweet potato, pumpkin, potato, parsnip, onions, squash, etc.).

You will soon notice however that we limit these starchy vegetables initially for the first few weeks as you commence the Candida Crusher Diet, but then add them back as your digestion improves. Now depending on how you like to eat these vegetables, there are seven different ways as you will see in a moment, I’d recommend stir-fry or semi raw like saute’.

Fourth Step – Understand that what you do for a twenty-one day period of time can become a habit. If you begin to incorporate more vegetables into your diet on a daily basis for twenty-one days then you may very well find that it becomes part of what you normally do with your mealtimes. When you eat out be sure to order a meal rich in vegetables, like a Thai dish or a Japanese meal. It’s not hard to do and once a habit is formed it will become part of our normal routine.

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There are many ways that you can increase your intake of fresh vegetables and fruits, depending on how you like to prepare your foods. You can eat vegetables and fruits raw, steamed, boiled, stewed, baked, or stir-fried or deep-fried . When you eat vegetables and fruits in their raw state, you are ensuring that your digestive system has access to the valuable nutrients contained within. Eating vegetables and fruits in a semi-raw state is good too, and in many cases it will be a more pleasant experience.

Stir-frying is personally my favorite method of cooking vegetables, but so is a partial steaming of vegetables. Remember, the more and prolonged heat you apply, the more chance you will be destroying those all-important enzymes. Casseroles, soups and stews are a favorite method for many people, particularly in the colder months. These methods are good, and even though you reduce the enzyme content, you lock in many minerals that would be otherwise discarded by cooking methods such as boiling or steaming.

Simple enough, yes? Give it a try and let me know how it goes!

One of the most important reasons why you will want to consider eating a certain amount of raw foods in your diet every day is because raw foods contain enzymes, and these enzymes are destroyed when you cook food. Without enzymes, your body has a hard time digesting foods, and it is only the living things you consume that can make enzymes. Have you noticed how a fresh food can rot rather quickly, and that a processed food can stay looking good for months, even years, without deterioration? It’s all in the enzymes.

Your body has two main types of enzymes: those that run your body, called metabolic enzymes, and other enzymes required for digestion, called digestive enzymes, which aid in the digestion of foods including proteins, carbohydrates and fats you consume.

Foods that are raw and which come straight from nature contain enzymes, and it is these enzymes that are responsible for the release of the nutrients from the foods we eat.

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Are You Super Sizing Your Meals?

Super Size Me was a 2004 American documentary film directed by and starring Morgan Spurlock, an American independent filmmaker. Spurlock’s movie follows a 30-day time period through February 1 to March 2, 2003 during which he ate only McDonald’s food. The film documents this lifestyle’s drastic effect on Spurlock’s physical and psychological wellbeing, and explores the fast food industry’s corporate influence, including how it encourages poor nutrition for its own profit. Are you currently a fast food junkie? This movie may change all that, my 14-year-old son was disgusted and has refused to eat take-out food ever since watching this documentary.

Spurlock started to develop a rather sick liver and was advised by his doctor to resume a normal healthy diet. There are no enzymes in take-out food and his body had a hard time digesting the food he was eating, is it any wonder his digestive system started to become unwell? Only raw foods that come straight from nature come complete with their own enzymes, so be sure to consume some every single day.

The Happy Meal Project

Looking almost as fresh as the day it was bought, this McDonald’s Happy Meal is in fact an incredible six months old. This plastic food was bought by New York artist Sally Davies in April 2010, and photographed at the end of September 2010. You will find photo of Sally’s Happy Meal Project on www.flickr.com Note the complete absence of mold or decay even after six months, how this “happy food” can contain the slightest shred of nutritional value at all is anybody’s guess. Imagine what this fake food does to your digestive system and to your health, especially if you eat it several times a week. It would have made Mr. Spurlock seriously ill had he kept on eating it beyond a month according to his medical doctor. Is it any wonder we have so many fat, sick people and half-dead people in our world today?

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A lot of people ask me if they can have milk if it’s in raw form.

It is true that dairy products should be initially avoided, especially in the first month; I have most certainly found that the addition of raw (straight from the cow, un-homogenized and unpasteurized) dairy products such as milk, kefir, yogurt, buttermilk, cream and various cheeses can be quite beneficial. Personally, I would be more inclined to trust the opinion of a healthy cow over a scientist in a white coat and have never believed that foods like margarine or tampered with dairy products are conducive to good health

An important point to remember is that raw dairy products straight from the cow, or minimally processed dairy products which have been made into various products, contain enzymes, beneficial fats, probiotics, and prebiotics not found in pasteurized dairy products.

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Some patients with candida can actually tolerate these organic raw dairy products all the way through their treatment, so you may want to experiment and if in doubt ask your health-care professional about an ELISA food allergy test to determine your immune’s antibody status when it comes to dairy products.

Incidentally, if your blood-based IgE-IgG food allergy test results reveal very high antibody levels towards dairy products, then you should avoid these dairy products regardless of whether they are pasteurized, homogenized, 100% certified organic or even biodynamic dairy products. The proteins will be the same, so just avoid them until your digestive and immune health improves.

So raw milk? It’s great if you can get it. Unfortunately, some areas won’t allow you to buy raw milk because of the lack of processing, which seems counterproductive. You may find you have to locate a local farmer willing to sell or trade if you really want milk in its rawest form.