As I recently wrote in the article “How I Cured My Candida“, I was able to overcome my Candida yeast infection in only six months, largely by applying a variety of self help coping tips presented on this blog, some of them to the extreme.
I didn’t tell you that story to impress you but rather to make you curious as to how I did it. Because it wasn’t an easy journey, I thought this was a good time to put down some of the lessons I have learned from this period of time that I would recommend Candida sufferers to think of when beginning a treatment program.
photo by takomabibelot
1. Change your behavior
I firmly believe that apart from taking probiotics and antifungals we also need to change our behavior in order to effectively cope with Candida infection. That means doing anything that will allow you to get rid of the root causes of your Candida infection:
- eating a well balanced diet
- increasing physical activity
- avoiding antibiotic overuse
- reducing stress
- laughing as much as possible
No anti-candida supplement – not even Threelac – will make much difference until you deal with the deep-rooted elements that stand behind the yeast infection condition you’re experiencing.
2. Trust yourself
One thing I’ve learned the hard way as a former yeast infection sufferer is that it can be a serious challenge to trust ourselves and our own thinking when everyone around us is telling us we’re wrong. In my case, this was especially true about the Candida diet. It was the first time I had ever done anything like this:
- I didn’t have any personal nutritionist helping me
- I didn’t know of anyone who’d done anything like this before
- and I can’t recall a single person encouraging me to do it
In fact, most people were highly discouraging of the idea when I told them about it. Friends and family who saw me urged me to quit seeing the “quacks”, stop following the Candida diet and return to the hospital (for more tests and drugs?).
I can’t blame them though – I must have looked as bad as I felt. 
Most of the time I kept quiet about what I was doing, but if someone asked me why I was on such a strict diet, I didn’t deny it. This was simply something I decided to do for myself and when I look back on my experience with Candida infection from more than a year in the future, I’m glad I followed my gut instinct that I was on the right track.
3. Don’t push yourself too hard
It’s a mistake to try to push yourself too hard when trying to overcome Candida related problems. Why? With so much information being available on the internet and in books, it’s not hard to get caught up with getting healthy and completely forget to actually live.
If you attempt to follow every health recommendation out there, the combined restrictions will simply prevent you from doing and eating anything.
I was once tied up in conventional strict Candida diets and lots of high exercise in the gym along with a full time job and eating six times a day. This pushed me down a path of obsession and ultimately compromised my social life and love for living.
Don’t make the same mistake:
- don’t let the sheer quantity of health theories and eating styles overwhelm you
- remember to balance a good life with your Candida treatment program
- try to live life to the fullest without compromising on your health
With that said, however, I’m still of the opinion that it’s good to keep in mind that if you attempt to follow every health recommendation out there, the combined restrictions will simply prevent you from doing and eating anything.
4. Knowledge is paramount
A wise, preventative strategy is to arm yourself with as much knowledge about Candida and nutrition as possible. In this way, you will be able to:
- know what works and what doesn’t
- ask a very direct questions instead of blindly accepting what others tell you
- avoid scams
Let’s face it – in this day and age many people just don’t care about nutrition and fitness in spite of it being a cornerstone of life. And when health problems like Candida show up, all they want is a simple quick fix cure. Little they know they’re in search of something elusive or temporary at best.
This is what – by the way – sets them apart from the people who have successfully cured their Candida infection and reclaimed their health. Such results come with a price, however, and that price is the time you must spend first learning and then maintaining the treatment process.
There’s a lot you can learn about Candida and health in general – and this knowledge can be a gift leading to a number of positive changes for you and your family.
