Re: A bit fed up!

I have also felt very tired on this diet, periodically. I've been on it for about a month, with one or two small episodes of falling off the wagon (a piece of bread, some peanut butter, ets. - not like cheescake or anything). It does sound like you have made some good improvement, and really - two months is not that long. She says for people who have severe cases, it can take as long as three years. How long had you been sick with Chronic-Fatigue-Syndrome and Candida before then?

I have not run across a section in my book about taking vitamins and herbs. I actually have cut back quite a bit on those - I found that taking too many supplements and anti-fungals all at once was too hard on my liver and made me feel sick to the point of not being able to function and work. You might just need to cut back on some of that stuff and try to get your nutrition from food. I thought I would just do the diet for awhile to reduce my yeast load, and THEN do some more antfungals when there is less yeast to kill so that the die-off won't be so bad.

I have another excellent book on nutrition called "Conscious Eating." I think the author is Gabriel Couzens, M.D. It's a great, comprehensive sourcebook, and I've found some very useful information there, as well. He has charts to help you figure out your metabolic type,etc, to help determine which foods and nutrional plans suit you. It might be possible to work some of those principles into the BED diet for better results for you, personally. When you mentioned you were taking large amounts of C, it reminded me that somewhere in that book I read that was not good for certain types, and I think the liver has to deal with any herbs and supplements you take, which might be too hard for it as you're cleansing ??? I don't know, I'm starting to think it's better to get nutrients from food in their complete, whole form as nature intended as much as possible.

I've also been eating a lot of sea vegetables - arame is the easiest to prepare and get down. It's mild and mixes with a lot of other foods, and has good trace minerals. Nutritionally dense food. Can you do soaked or soaked & sprouted almonds? AReyou taking flax oil? Also, are you eating the grains and doing the proper food combining? I think the small amount of carbs you would get with the grains and starchy vegetables (carrots & redskin potatoes) would help keep your energy up. I'm not sure about the yogurt - I don't think it's recommended. She says to stay away from dairy completely in the beginning, although some people can tolerate milk kefir earlier on (the home-made variety, which is awesome). I used to make kefir and plan to start that again soon. Definitely get live cultures, though, not the powdered stuff they sell through BED website.

Also, are you eating the cultured vegetables? I think they are a key component, and I've also noticed a couple things just since I've been on the veggies - my fingernails are rock hard and growing like crazy (apparently they help you assimilate minerals and nutrients in your food), and I'm pooping a lot more, after years of being pretty constipated. That's the other thing - how is your elimination? Are you doing anything to cleanse the bowel/kidneys/liver? I did my first Liver Flush a few weeks ago and definitely got out stones. I plan to do them monthly until I know I've got my liver & gallbladder cleaned out and functioning properly again. that might really help you, as well.

The hardest thing for me has been keeping up with a regular exercise plan when I'm so busy, and often pretty tired. But I'm realizing that doing SOMETHING active every day is better than nothing at all. I bought a rebounder recently, and that's great for getting your energy moving and assisting lymphatic function. I was trying to take saunas, which also are supposed to help remove toxic heavy metals through the skin, but I found I could not tolerte the heat - it would give me a headache every time. It's got something to do with chronic inflammation, probably related to the candida infection and some staph that apparently goes with it.

She does mention that people often get cranky and exasperated in the early stages of the diet - the liver is connected with anger in Chinese medicine, and I know I get crabby when my liver is stressed. Maybe some meditation or some kind of affirmation, deep breathing, etc. would help you get through that.

Then, after all that's said, I don't think any one program is right for all, and you have to may attention to what your body is telling you, and experiment and make modifications according to your own particular needs.

Anyway, even though you are feeling crappy, I think it sounds like you are on the right track. I would do some Liver Flushing if you haven't yet. Some bodywork or acupuncture might help, as well.

Good luck, keep us posted! Tweet