Hi all,

I am due to see Hesham for consultation at the end of July but was wondering what I should and shouldn't be eating in the meantime to help keep my symptoms under control?

I am a martial artist and weight lifter so take Whey Protein, not sure if that is a problem?

I also have a very sweet tooth and desperately try to avoid sugar!

Also, what about supplements?

Hi Mark, whey protein is excellent (undenatured whey protein the best). It increases glutathione production in your body, which aids natural detox, which will help your mercury toxicity a great deal, plus any candida issues.

I hear it continually advocated by a natural health adviser on a candida group. He also mentions selenium as another aid to glutathione.

Diet wise? It is generally advised (whether you have candida or not) to eat a sugar free, grain free (gluten free), diet. Preferably with no fruit or milk or honey due to their natural sugars, though it depends on how severe you have candida. You may get away with limited amounts of fruit and milk, though it's not usually wise.

And basically concentrating on eating proteins like meat, eggs and getting into vegetables as well (raw, steamed, stir fried etc). Potatoes are a bit of a problem because they are so high in carbs and can feed candida also.

It's limited, but sometimes necessary if a person is really suffering and wants to help their gut and liver by reducing the yeast burden and aiding toxin elimination.

Supplements? Depends on what you tolerate. The most popular ones I see mentioned for most people are generally typically vitamin C, B complex, zinc, magesium/calcium (equal ratios), vitamin E and cod liver oil for the vitamin A and D.

Also can take a green supplement like nature's way chlorophyll which contains a lot of goodness and natural nutrients. Helps also with metal detox too apparently, but is better tolerated than chlorella.

You may tolerate sugar free acidophilus yoghurt also, and maybe some raw nuts like almonds/brazil.

Also you can be liberal with healthy fats, as they aid healing, tissue repair, bile production, etc. Fats like butter, lard, extra virgin olive oil, extra virgin coconut oil and mercury free fish oils (cod liver oil etc).

These links here are among the best links on health/diet that I have read.
http://www.westonaprice.org/knowyourfats/index.html
http://www.healingnaturallybybee.com/

I hope this is helpful to you. Everyone is different and I'm only passing on what i have learned and read for years now and applied to myself and seen what has generally been helpful to others. But it's still an individual thing.

also when you have had your amalgams removed. he will want you to go on a candida diet.
also some of the foods. he will want you to completely avoid
is

chicken(exept ones fed on grains only and not concentrates)

eggs (exept legbar cotsworld eggs available at super markets

fish(except wild salmon)

meat (except grass fed animals

garlic(except biodynamic farming

onions(except biodynamic farming

spring onions(except biodynamic farming products

leaks (except biodynamic farming products

because all of above contain high amounts of mercury

Wow, that narrows it down. Is this because chickens are often fed fishmeal? Which would contaminate them and their eggs? I eat chicken and eggs all the time!!! But I eat free range eggs, not battery ones.

Also what about meat? HOw come that has to be grass fed? because of antibiotics?

And the garlic, onions, leek, etc, is this because they are high in sulphur and have a high affinity for mercury, which means they can absorb the mercury in the fertilisers from the soil?

It makes it really hard to know what on earth to eat. Because you can go the other way and start avoiding too much and end up becoming malnourished and weaker in the process. I guess one should "try" and make the best food choices whenever possible and out of that, get the foods that are as clean as possible from contamination.

I live in New Zealand, so I would hope that the meats I get are pretty much ok! I just haven't got the money to fork out for all organic produce. This is just too much.

I eat the Paleolithic Diet and my body loves it. I do have dairy though; I'll have fermented things like yogurt, or cheese made with unpasteurised milk.

As you know Bex, it's better for many people if they don't eat grains, so it's also better if they don't eat grain-fed animals. At least here in the UK I can walk into the local butcher's and know that everything on display is grass fed. Not so in the US. And yes, there are issues there about all the stuff the animals are injected with, and how they are raised on the feed lot.

Also, an animal that has been grain fed will contain an imbalance of omega-6 to omega-3 fats, because grains have more of the former than the latter, some by more than 20:1.

I eat so-called omega-3 eggs. The chickens have been given a special diet and the fat ratio is good in these eggs, so I chow. (I don't seem to have trouble with sulphurous foods.)

Eating Paleo doesn't have to feel restrictive. You can have some wonderful foods. I've always loved fat, I'm the person who ate the corner piece of the cake with all the icing on it, poured loads of gravy over my meat, and wouldn't trim the fat off because it was the tastiest part. Now that I'm on Paleo I can eat more of those things (provided they are healthy fats) and because I'm not eating grains, I actually lose weight.

You can find some good recipes here. They don't use butter but I think it's really good for you, I'm a fan of Weston Price.

http://paleofood.com/

Some good sources of nutritional information that I have used are The Cure by Timothy Brantley (www.brantleycure.com), Dr. Joseph Mercola's website (www.mercola.com), and Dr. John Symes website (www.dogtorj.net).