Tag Archives: candida diet

Questions & Answers

What’s Causing My Chronic Hunger?

I’ve had clients ask me, “Why am I always hungry?”

I think it’s important to be able to get through the day without being hungry 24/7.

There are a lot of factors that influence appetite. Hormones like leptin and ghrelin play a role as does the composition of your diet.

One of the key factors I see in my overweight clients is that they don’t eat enough protein. I’m not suggesting you have steak three times a day. I’m recommending getting good quality protein in your diet regularly. The protein can come from meat, legumes, eggs, nuts, seed, fish, amongst other options.

Because it breaks down slower than carbohydrates, eating protein throughout the day can make a big difference to your appetite and cravings.

Next, watch out for eating too many refined carbohydrates. These types of foods can play havoc with your blood sugar, leaving you with a ravenous appetite at times. In contrast, having a small piece of meat with a bit of fat on it will keep your blood sugars stable as it slowly digests.

Further readings:

I don’t eat any refined carbohydrates. I stick with vegetables, fruit, meats, Brazil nuts, almonds, and other gut healthy foods. My energy remains steady throughout the day.

By sticking with better foods, you’re at much less risk of getting overweight or developing diabetes and heart disease.

Keeping track of your sleep is important to appetite control.

People who don’t get enough restorative sleep will have hormonal dysregulation. Sleep deprivation increases the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. And cortisol is notorious for increasing appetite and cravings for high-sugar, high-fat, and high-salt food.

Normal weight people with normal cortisol levels don’t generally have any problem getting enough sleep.

If you regularly wake up through the night, your leptin and ghrelin levels can be impacted. Ghrelin is the appetite-stimulating hormone, and leptin is the satiety hormone. If you’re not sleeping enough, your leptin levels can drop, and your ghrelin levels can increase.

Another reason people feel chronically hungry is that they aren’t eating enough fat. The medium-chain triglycerides found in coconut products will provide a very nice, slow burn. Including a small amount of healthy fats in your diet, such as sesame oil or olive oil, with help keep your appetite in check.

Not drinking enough water can sometimes leave you feeling hungry. Keep well hydrated at all times. People who drink water instead of immediately reaching for a snack can reduce their calorie load by 600 calories or more per day.

Make sure you’re getting enough fiber in your diet.

Not enough fiber. Many people are scared of fiber because they think it increases candida or dysbiosis—bad move.

It is essential to have an ample supply of plant-based fibers in your diet. By cooking your vegetables very lightly, you’ll ensure the nutrients, fiber, and flavor stays intact.

The sensation of fullness is going to last much longer if you have protein and vegetables for supper than if you have a couple of pieces of bread.

Lastly, don’t forget about distractions. People spend far too much time on their screens, snacking away mindlessly.

You need to concentrate on your food. You need to relax while you are eating.

Lastly, make sure you manage the stress in your life. Stress plays havoc with the hormones that regulate your appetite. Try deep breathing or mindfulness if you have a lot of stress in your life. You want to stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system – the “rest and digest” system.

If you act on all these points, your weight will start to move in the right direction. Small steps today can pay off big time in the future.

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Questions & Answers

Shrimp And The Candida Diet: Are They Compatible?

Shrimp is okay on the Candida diet, but make sure the quality of the shrimp is in keeping with gut-health.

When I was a child, shrimp was wild-caught in many regions of Australia, especially in the Gulf of Carpentaria. This area was a source of banana shrimp, a large version of this shelf-fish.

If the shrimp are wild-caught, they’re going to have a low contamination level and would be fine to eat if you’re following the Candida diet.

Unfortunately, about 90% of shrimp in the U.S. is imported from countries that don’t have the same standards when it comes to contamination. This opens the door to the shrimp containing antibiotics, pesticides, and other harmful compounds.

Further readings:

If you’re going to eat shrimp regularly, I would recommend putting in the effort to find a reliable supply of wild-caught shrimp. You’ll pay more for the product, but the shrimp will be cleaner.

My understanding is that there are wild-caught shrimp that are harvested on the east coast of the United States. I assume those shrimp would be of pretty good quality and should be appropriate for a gut-healthy diet.

Years ago, some people thought that both shrimp and lobster were unhealthy because of the cholesterol content. It turns out that shrimp and lobster can help boost HDL cholesterol, the “healthy” cholesterol in the body.

Of course, like anything, moderation is the way to go. So, yes, enjoy some wild-caught shrimp but don’t eat it every day.

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Questions & Answers

Cooking Methods for Weight Loss

What’s the best cooking method for weight loss?

It’s important to know the best way to cook food in order to maintain vital nutrients.

If you search online, you’ll probably find that microwave cooking is described as the “ultimate” way to cook. However, I’m not a fan of microwave cooking. I prefer to steam and stir-fry foods.

Boiling is not a really good food preparation technique. Boiling almost guarantees that nutrients will be lost during the cooking process. It’s estimated that 35 to 65% of nutrient loss occurs by boiling food.

I also think boiled vegetables, boiled potatoes, and a slab of meat is a bland and boring way to eat.

Steaming is a much better way to prepare food as the nutrient loss is only 10 to 15%. I prefer steaming my vegetables very lightly.

You should always be looking for ways to cook without destroying the valuable nutrients. For example, if we look at folic acid, it’s a vitamin that is exceptionally easy to degrade. Deep greens should be minimally processed to avoid this degradation. Folate is essential for cancer prevention, so protect it, if at all possible.

Further readings:

My general philosophy is to cook for less time, cook smaller portion sizes, and cook for flavor.

In terms of cooking for weight loss, the best method is the quickest with the lowest heat that can achieve a satisfactory product.

Personally, I don’t have to cook food overly well. I prefer to eat meat that is semi-cooked and still juicy.

Stir-frying is a fantastic technique for weight loss. I love stir-frying using my steel wok and a little bit of sesame oil and the secret ingredient, water.

I will only boil certain tubers, such as sweet potato.

Stewing and grilling are also good options.

In the winter, I recommend hot pot cooking and stewing.

Having flavorful meals is another great weight to encourage weight loss. When food is tasty, it’s more satisfying. Some of the flavors I like are ginger, garlic, lime juice, chili sauce, anchovy sauce, Worchester sauce, and salt and pepper.

Over time, your taste buds will come to appreciate tasty, crunchy food.

Ensure that you are cooking healthy, high fiber foods. This will help you feel full on less food.

And don’t forget to keep your body moving.

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Questions & Answers

The Why Of Food Cravings

I had someone write to me and ask, “Why do I crave chips, soda, pizza, burgers, and junk like that?”

One of the key reasons people like junk is because they develop a taste for it. Their body gets used to certain foods. There are multiple mechanisms involved in stimulating the appetite, but it’s like anything. It’s all about habits.

I’ve said this many times; people don’t decide on their future, their habits do. If you regularly eat fast food, you’re going to develop a taste for that kind of meal. Over time, it’s going to be harder and harder to break the habit.

It’s like tobacco. Once you develop a taste for cigarettes, it’s tough to stop smoking. Years ago, I smoked a lot and ate a lot of junk food. Do I like junk food? Not anymore. I was highly stressed at one stage in my life. The higher the stress, the more cortisol in the bloodstream, and the more salt, sugar, and fat cravings emerge.

Once you get a taste for high salt, you’ll find it difficult to break that taste. Slowly, but surely, when you start incorporating fresh ingredients into your diet, the craving for junk food will diminish.

Further readings:

I now love sour things and bitter foods like grapefruit. Don’t let other people tell you what you should eat. Eat when you want to eat. But the trick is to very slowly wean yourself off the junk and replace it with fresh food.

For example, if you like French fries, try substituting olives instead. Olives will undoubtedly answer your salt craving. If you have powerful salt cravings, you may have an element of adrenal fatigue. Or you may be highly stressed.

If you have blood sugar levels that go up and down, adrenal dysfunction may be at play. Once you start understanding the concepts of eating good food, sleeping properly, getting your emotions under control, and living a healthy lifestyle, your cravings will improve immensely.

When you have been eating junk food for a while, the bacteria in your gut becomes “junky,” too. The type of bacteria you have can influence your cravings. Scientists are now working out that bacteria often call the shots.

If you want to stop your cravings, you need to fix up your gut flora. I suggest using a supplement like CanXida Remove to get the gut clean and tidied up a bit. Once you do that, you”ll find it easier to lose weight. You’ll find it easier to resist your cravings.

The “bad” bugs gave up on me a long time ago. And guess what I crave?
Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, a nice piece of fish, organic chicken, and free-range eggs. That can be true for you as well.

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Questions & Answers

Dieting Done Right

Is it better to tweak your diet or to follow a diet designed for you by someone else?
Now, you might think that’s a bit of a dumb sort of thing to say. Why would you not want to go on a diet that somebody else made specifically for you?

I’ve hardly ever met patients that follow a dietician’s recommendation to the letter. Occasionally, people who are highly structured and weigh out everything they eat, pop up, but that’s not very common.

My question is, how can somebody else work out exactly the right foods for your bowel, your gut, at any particular time. I don’t think a professional can ever know your body and your physiology well enough to do that.

When it comes to food, I know what suits my palate, what agrees with my gut, and what doesn’t.

With my clients, I always make it a point to identify the foods they like and work around that information.

Most people gravitate to about nine or ten foods. They can change those foods over time, but then the bacteria in their gut is going to change as well. As your gut changes, so will how you think and how you feel.

When you make changes to your digestive system, you’re making changes to your entire life. That’s why I always like people to eat good food if they want to have a good life.

To have someone else come along and tell you that you need to eat X, Y, Z
on X, Y, Z day, and in certain portion sizes doesn’t work for me.

I do think that guidelines and suggestions are helpful. On many occasions, I’ve had clients who have avoided foods for some time because someone told them they shouldn’t eat it.

Further readings:

I’ll have someone ask, “can I eat bananas?” I say, “well, of course you can.”

“Well, I haven’t had a banana for three years.”

I say, “well, why?”

“Well, the naturopath I went to, he said that they’re bad for me.”

That’s very interesting, isn’t it? Someone says something’s bad for you, so you stay away from it for three years.

I don’t tell people things are bad for them unless it’s something like pop or donuts.

At different stages of your Candida recovery or SIBO recovery, you’ll be surprised how the gut can change. Sometimes the changes occur quite quickly, and that allows you to eat foods you haven’t had for a while.

I also have seen many people over the years with very poor digestive health that kept eating the same food day in, day out, day in, day out because they were told to eat those foods. It wasn’t until they stopped them or switched something out that their digestive health improved.

I’ve seen that pattern over a hundred times. A client is sentenced to a life of eating steamed spinach leaves for breakfast. That’s all they’re allowed to eat, and maybe a little bit of something else.

I don’t like that. It’s not the right thing to do to people.

Once you say to somebody, this is good and this is bad, that person and takes it as gospel. That will be their mantra going forward for five, 10, 20 years.

When someone says to you, this is a bad food for you, and this is a good food, take it with a grain of salt. Five minutes from now or next week, that food may be perfectly fine for your digestive system. You would be surprised how many foods you can tolerate even if you were told they were “bad.”

Of course, this advice doesn’t apply to junk food. I’m referring to healthy foods.

Be careful of the food police. There’s plenty of them out there. If you’re told not to eat something because it’s bad for you, you need to think that through yourself.

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