Got to say I hated AA in my town Phoenix, AZ. It was a joke. Nobody spoke to me because I think I didn't look like an alcoholic. Not only that I didn't for a minute believe they all quit drinking. They would have looked a lot better if they had! AA is just not for everyone. What I did find interesting about it is that it goes back to God...you don't need an AA book for that. Healing is spiritual, mental and physical and an alcoholic has to heal all those issues. All adictions are the same thing. Being an alcoholic myself I know I found this forum for a reason. Alcoholism I think too, is a mental disease...there are triggers that you tell yourself make you want to drink. However, I remember before I ever drank at all and that I never had those triggers. So I have to bring myself back to that time and reteach myself how to be healthy. I do think an alkalizing diet, teaching yourself a new way to think and realizing we really are a spiritual being and than "being" the being. A spiritual being doesn't drink, doesn't need it. That is the key. And it's working for me. I never want to go back to that drunk, stumbling, person I was. I did things I would never have done ever, said things I never would have said if I had been sober. And slept with people I shudder to think about :( Thank God for waking up.

Hi
Thank you for your comments stridar. I wouldn't dare post that message on the AA site! I know people who have been recovered alcoholics for over 20 years, who still attend. They have invested a whole sense of self in it!

With regard to your questions, 60265, unfortunately, candida research is still in its infancy as far as the medical profession is concerned. It was 'discovered' in the US in the 1980s, and research has to be done on average for fifty years before health professionals accept it as 'truth' and treatments are meted out. You will not get very far with a doctor. You would have to self treat, or go to a naturapath/kinesiologist. They will know all about it and treat you.

I cannot remember where I read about the 80% of adults have candida infection, but give me some time and I will dig it out. I have been at this for more than two years and read my way through reams of stuff. Because research into candida is in its infancy, there are no figures,that I am aware of, giving percentages candida:alcoholics. However, it is generally accepted that an alcoholic has candida. Candida shows itself in many ways. You know the guy who can have one or two beers then stop? THe woman who can eat one biscuit, and no more? They are the ones who don't have candida. It is a disease of our times. A hundred years ago humans ate 10 pounds of Sugar per annum. Its more like 100 pounds per annum now, and the human body has not had sufficient time to adapt to the onslaught.

Sure fire signs of candida presence: do you crave sweet foods, chocolate, bread, and/or alcohol?

You have no idea how bad this stuff is. Alcoholism is a symptom, not the illness itself.

As far as reading goes, I would look at the Candida Support Forum , there are some superb posts if you go back through it. There are many sites on the net that give lists of symptoms etc, any any bookshop will have a good stock.

with regard to your last question, I am still healing from my candida. I was alcoholic for a long time. When I sobered up I went through the usual healing crisis, but then noticed that since I couldn't have alcohol, I was craving carb/sugary stuff/drinks. I was told this was comfort eating coz I couldnt drink. I intuitively felt there was something else wrong, and learned about candida albicans.

My symptoms were extreme. Candida often (usually) is accompanied by parasites, so I have leaky gut from the candida and the parasites! Lovely, but I am dealing and healing. It takes a long time to clean up.

If it helps, I am 90% cured. My life is back on track and I am not the emotional wreck the AA taught me I must be to have been an alcoholic in the first place. That is simply not true.

I hope this helps. There is a simple test you can do to see if candida albicans is present, called the spit test. You get a glass of water, and spit in it, preferably in the morning. If the spit floats on the water in a nice tight round, then you are clear, but if it starts to spread, with sort of threats/tendrils, then that shows the presence of candida, and you will be looking into the eye of the cause of your alcoholism.

Good luck

Fiona