Sugar Detox Diaries Part 1
Crunch time. After struggling with a cycle of thrush and recurrent Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs) and shockingly low energy levels I've decided to go on a sugar detox. More specifically The Ultimate Anti Candida Diet.
My theory is: that the frequent antibiotics for the UTIs have left me very persistent candidiasis. This in turn makes it very hard for my good vaginal flora to repopulate (very important for protecting against UTIs) which then means I have more UTIs, more antibiotics etc.... Hopefully if I can get rid of the candida then the UTIs might settle down too!!
In preparation, I significantly reduced my alcohol intake, which has had an amazing effect on my sleep and I may have lost a little bit of weight but other than that I haven't seen huge changes. Keeping my fingers tightly crossed that this sugar detox will be worth the effort (and the small fortune I spent on supplements! 🙈)
In truth I'm dreading it (probably a good sign that I REALLY need to detox) and have been putting it off for a while but finally trying it as a last ditch to see if it will help!!! Also, as I used to be anorexic, I'm a bit worried going back into a very restrictive eating pattern will trigger it again but I'm so tired of this thrush / UTI cycle I'm willing to take the risk....
Detox Phase - Day 1
The anti candida diet is split into several phases. Phase one is the detox phase and completely sugar, caffeine, meat and fun free! Its followed for 3-7 days and I know I'm going to struggle, My target is do 4 days of this phase but will see how I go!
As a whole day 1 wasn't too bad. Minimal detox symptoms and I kept busy which helped with the cravings. The hardest part was not the meals themselves which were tasty it was not snaking on sweet stuff when I felt hungry during the day.
Breakfast: 2 egg and bell pepper omelette
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine (lush!) and kale
Dinner: 1/2 Avocado tomato and lettuce salad
Day 2
Slept soo well. Had a few hunger pangs so going to bulk out my meals with more leafy greens. Getting more of the detox symptoms today.... fuzzy head, dry mouth and super clumsy (who know preparing swede could be so dangerous!?🙊)
The fuzziness cleared in the afternoon and I felt quite good for the rest of the day adding in the extra green veg helped with the hunger pangs and the roasted swede was a pretty good carb substitute.
Breakfast: 2 egg and bell pepper omelette + kale
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine (lush!) and green beans
Dinner: 1/2 Avocado tomato and lettuce salad with rosemary roasted swede.
Day 3
Didn't sleep so well last night and, oddly despite drinking over 2.5 liters of water yesterday, I woke up feeling really thirsty at 3am :(
Symptom wise haven't noticed much of a difference yet apart from my lower abdomen might be a bit less bloated
Detox symptoms starting to kick in 💀 - bladder lining feeling quite irritated, not sure if it if from the cayenne pepper in the detox drink or toxins from the candida die off or combination of both. Also have lots of white sediment in my pee, again not sure if this candida flushing out of my bladder (I suspect i might have a candida based UTI) or waste products from my lymphatic system,. Some bit lethargy as well.
Breakfast: 2 egg and bell pepper omelette + kale
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine and green beans
Dinner: 1/2 Avocado tomato and lettuce salad with rosemary roasted swede.
Day 4
Urgh!!! Violently sick this morning after I drank my detox drink (lemon juice, cidervinage and cayenne pepper diluted with water in case you are wondering!) shivers, aches fuzzy head and so so tired. All classic signs of candida die off which produces alot of the acetaldehyde - the same chemical that makes you feel hungover
Eventually managed a little bit of breakfast and felt sick again after that but managed to keep it down. Hoping I'll start to feel better once I can keep more fluids down to flush the toxins out of my system.
Started feeling better during the afternoon, avoided the detox drink and took some milk thistle to try and help my liver along with the Molybdenum and N-Acetyl Cysteine supplement I've been taking which is meant to help the liver convert acetaldehyde into harmless acetic acid (vinegar).
Breakfast: 1 egg and tomato omelette
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine and lettuce
Dinner: Fermented tofu with herbs, tomatoes and kale
Day 5
Feeling much better this morning, still fuzzy head but that it! Bit sad as it's my three year anniversary with my partner and would love to have a glass of bubbly to celebrate :( But hoping short term pain for long term gain will win out.
Day 14
Through the worst of the detox symptoms, I've lost more weight and my skin is better. Unfortunately though, not seeing any benefits candida symptom wise :(
Pretty demoralised as although I've got used to the diet now (sugar cravings pretty much under control) it's a lot of effort and is killing my social life. All of that would be worth it if I was seeing some rewards but I'm not. Am still sticking with it for the moment as I've already invested alot of money and effort and don't want it to go to waste.
I've added in a strong vitamin D supplement to see if that will help. I read a research article which linked vitamin D deficiency with recurrent UTIs and a light bulb went on in my head. I was diagnosed as very vitamin D deficient last year but I don't think it properly corrected and after a gloomy English winter I'm pretty sure I am again. Vitamin D plays a strong role in the immune system and I'm hoping once I can get my levels back up my body will have more of a chance to fight this stuff. It's onlty been 3 days so a bit early to tell but fingers very much crossed.
Check back regularly for more updates!
My theory is: that the frequent antibiotics for the UTIs have left me very persistent candidiasis. This in turn makes it very hard for my good vaginal flora to repopulate (very important for protecting against UTIs) which then means I have more UTIs, more antibiotics etc.... Hopefully if I can get rid of the candida then the UTIs might settle down too!!
In preparation, I significantly reduced my alcohol intake, which has had an amazing effect on my sleep and I may have lost a little bit of weight but other than that I haven't seen huge changes. Keeping my fingers tightly crossed that this sugar detox will be worth the effort (and the small fortune I spent on supplements! 🙈)
In truth I'm dreading it (probably a good sign that I REALLY need to detox) and have been putting it off for a while but finally trying it as a last ditch to see if it will help!!! Also, as I used to be anorexic, I'm a bit worried going back into a very restrictive eating pattern will trigger it again but I'm so tired of this thrush / UTI cycle I'm willing to take the risk....
Detox Phase - Day 1
The anti candida diet is split into several phases. Phase one is the detox phase and completely sugar, caffeine, meat and fun free! Its followed for 3-7 days and I know I'm going to struggle, My target is do 4 days of this phase but will see how I go!
As a whole day 1 wasn't too bad. Minimal detox symptoms and I kept busy which helped with the cravings. The hardest part was not the meals themselves which were tasty it was not snaking on sweet stuff when I felt hungry during the day.
Breakfast: 2 egg and bell pepper omelette
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine (lush!) and kale
Dinner: 1/2 Avocado tomato and lettuce salad
Day 2
Slept soo well. Had a few hunger pangs so going to bulk out my meals with more leafy greens. Getting more of the detox symptoms today.... fuzzy head, dry mouth and super clumsy (who know preparing swede could be so dangerous!?🙊)
The fuzziness cleared in the afternoon and I felt quite good for the rest of the day adding in the extra green veg helped with the hunger pangs and the roasted swede was a pretty good carb substitute.
Breakfast: 2 egg and bell pepper omelette + kale
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine (lush!) and green beans
Dinner: 1/2 Avocado tomato and lettuce salad with rosemary roasted swede.
Day 3
Didn't sleep so well last night and, oddly despite drinking over 2.5 liters of water yesterday, I woke up feeling really thirsty at 3am :(
Symptom wise haven't noticed much of a difference yet apart from my lower abdomen might be a bit less bloated
Detox symptoms starting to kick in 💀 - bladder lining feeling quite irritated, not sure if it if from the cayenne pepper in the detox drink or toxins from the candida die off or combination of both. Also have lots of white sediment in my pee, again not sure if this candida flushing out of my bladder (I suspect i might have a candida based UTI) or waste products from my lymphatic system,. Some bit lethargy as well.
Breakfast: 2 egg and bell pepper omelette + kale
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine and green beans
Dinner: 1/2 Avocado tomato and lettuce salad with rosemary roasted swede.
Day 4
Urgh!!! Violently sick this morning after I drank my detox drink (lemon juice, cidervinage and cayenne pepper diluted with water in case you are wondering!) shivers, aches fuzzy head and so so tired. All classic signs of candida die off which produces alot of the acetaldehyde - the same chemical that makes you feel hungover
Eventually managed a little bit of breakfast and felt sick again after that but managed to keep it down. Hoping I'll start to feel better once I can keep more fluids down to flush the toxins out of my system.
Started feeling better during the afternoon, avoided the detox drink and took some milk thistle to try and help my liver along with the Molybdenum and N-Acetyl Cysteine supplement I've been taking which is meant to help the liver convert acetaldehyde into harmless acetic acid (vinegar).
Breakfast: 1 egg and tomato omelette
Lunch: 1/2 Avocado, sumac roasted courgette and aubergine and lettuce
Dinner: Fermented tofu with herbs, tomatoes and kale
Day 5
Feeling much better this morning, still fuzzy head but that it! Bit sad as it's my three year anniversary with my partner and would love to have a glass of bubbly to celebrate :( But hoping short term pain for long term gain will win out.
Day 14
Through the worst of the detox symptoms, I've lost more weight and my skin is better. Unfortunately though, not seeing any benefits candida symptom wise :(
Pretty demoralised as although I've got used to the diet now (sugar cravings pretty much under control) it's a lot of effort and is killing my social life. All of that would be worth it if I was seeing some rewards but I'm not. Am still sticking with it for the moment as I've already invested alot of money and effort and don't want it to go to waste.
I've added in a strong vitamin D supplement to see if that will help. I read a research article which linked vitamin D deficiency with recurrent UTIs and a light bulb went on in my head. I was diagnosed as very vitamin D deficient last year but I don't think it properly corrected and after a gloomy English winter I'm pretty sure I am again. Vitamin D plays a strong role in the immune system and I'm hoping once I can get my levels back up my body will have more of a chance to fight this stuff. It's onlty been 3 days so a bit early to tell but fingers very much crossed.
Check back regularly for more updates!
Comments
Post a Comment