I feel like I'm being self destructive when I eat things that I know will keep me sick. But my resolve just wears down after a while.

I feel like I need more support with the diet part of this journey. How are the rest of you managing this?

Me too! I started my ABX this week and have been reading about "the diet".

I have been trying to read old posts to find out how important it is to follow the diet completely.

I would really like to know about the follwing foods.

brown rice
oatmeal
flour made with millet, oats, quinoa,spelt
Legumes
Sugar free products.....cookies, etc.

Im finding conflicting information.

Also, do you know how many billion acidophilus is ok to take.

Im sorry i cant answer your quesion, but im in the same boat.

I have given up "real sugar", italian white bread, and potatoes.

This is very difficult.

Jordan

quote:

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Originally posted by jbgoth:
Kess,

I would really like to know about the follwing foods.

brown rice
oatmeal
flour made with millet, oats, quinoa,spelt
Legumes
Sugar free products.....cookies, etc.

---

brown rice is OK in moderation....oatmeal, maybe...but what are you adding to it?
flour...etc......check labels for sugar...Im not really sure about all those....I avoid every grain I can, but have trouble now that I'm working.
legumes....not
sugar free products have sugar alcohols... I found that these were a problem for me if i consumed too much....they don't have an effect on blood sugar........but DO have an effect on yeast, unfortunately. [just limit the use of them....moderation!]

I find that eating carbs breeds eating more carbs.

Candida elimination: http://flash.lymenet.org/ubb/Forum1/HTML/021412.html

I also have a mold problem, which makes it even more important to stay on a healing diet. The diet seems so restrictive though.

I do feel much better when I stay on it. But I have a strong intuition that the only way I'm going to TRULY recover is if I stay on this diet at least 98%. I just don't know if I can do that. I haven't been able to do it so far--at least not for the long haul.

I feel like I make a choice every time I eat. Am I choosing to get better or am I choosing to stay sick???? A healthy diet is so much more than just avoiding yeast problems. It's helping the body heal in every way.

Guess all I can do is get back on track and try to stay there. This is the hardest part of getting well for me.

Good luck to both of you.

Years ago I was on abx for 2 months. I had constant vaginal yeast infections for a year. If you have ever had a yeast infection, then imagine it never going away. That keeps me darn strict on the diet.

The most important thing is to find comfort foods that fit into the diet. I have recently discovered soft boiled eggs. The taste and consistency is one of a sinfully bad treat, but it's perfect for the diet.

quote:

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Originally posted by kess:
It seems to me that it's next to impossible to control the yeast problem without (total?) abstinence from sugar. That is the question, isn't it.... how much cheating can we do and still get well??

But I have a strong intuition that the only way I'm going to TRULY recover is if I stay on this diet at least 98%.

I feel like I make a choice every time I eat. Am I choosing to get better or am I choosing to stay sick???? A healthy diet is so much more than just avoiding yeast problems. It's helping the body heal in every way.

---

You've got it, kess!!!

Keep going! You CAN do it! I think too many people underestimate the negative result of consuming sugar while on abx! In my opinion, you just will not get well that way.

I guess I could eat bland chicken, beef and vitamins for the next 12 months.

I guess there are people in some parts of the world who would kill eat bland chicken everyday.

The mother instinct in me is coming out, and wanting to force you to eat your veggies. Vegetables are very important, they assist in digestion, have fiber, etc.

Can you eat vegetables in a soup or stew? If so, then on Sunday make a soup and bring it to work for lunch. Or find ways to mask the taste with sauces.

On the non-veggie, but fast side, I keep hard boiled eggs in the fridge. I also sometimes get turkey breast from the deli, and just eat that for lunch (but with my veggies )

quote:

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Originally posted by Lenny777:
For me it's the convenients. When I'm at work if I don't get up 45 minutes early and fix something to take the only options at work are carbs and sugar. Also, I hate vegetables! I wish I didn't but I just can't stand them. The only one I like is corn and that's a no no.

I guess I could eat bland chicken, beef and vitamins for the next 12 months.

I guess there are people in some parts of the world who would kill eat bland chicken everyday.

---

I just can't believe, with today's technology, they can't make green veggies taste like a Snickers.

I posted on a similar topic a while back. I've always been very thin. I'm 6 foot 140 and if I go no carb no sugar I will disapear.

I work out and I take these protein shakes with about 60 grams of protein and about 500 calories plus all of my meals. Doing that I would barely gain a pound or two of muscle here and there. The problem is, those shakes have about 50 carbs in them with 3 grams of sugar.

If you are preventing yeast, rather than eradicating yeast, you don't have to be on as strict a diet. Many people are good by cutting out sugar and just watching the carbs - particular anything processed and/or white.

I can't relate well to not liking veggies. I went to Brazil a few years back, and there were few vegetables to be found on menus. Everything was protein and starch. I lost 5lbs on that vacation because I lost my appetite without veggies.

Well, i was a very bad girl. I was at the hospital waiting to have my SPECT brain scan and i was starving. I had "part" of a multi-grain bagel. It was sooooooo good.

There was like nothing to eat. So, i figured i can just have 1/4 of a bagel.

Friday night i also had a "small" piece of challah and a tiny sip of wine because it was shabbat.

Whats a person to do?

Also, its so depressing shopping at the grocery store. Do you guys just stare at the candy area where you check-out?

A Food depressed person....

Jordan

quote:

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Originally posted by Aniek:
Lenny,

If you are preventing yeast, rather than eradicating yeast, you don't have to be on as strict a diet. Many people are good by cutting out sugar and just watching the carbs - particular anything processed and/or white.

I wonder if you are a super taster. Have you ever heard that phrase? There is a small percentage of the population that tastes foods differently. Usually they detect bitter much more strongly. George Bush Sr. is a super taster, hence his distaste of broccoli.

---

I'm actually beginning to wonder if my problem is yeast and not Lyme. I had been on and on abx for several years before all of this mess. So, I don't know if I'm preventing it or eradicating.?

The super taster thing is interesting. My girlfriend studied something in her biology class about certain people who have a gene or something that allows them to taste a certain some part of green veggies that most don't and that part taste nasty they say. I would bet I would be in that small percentage. It interesting to think about. I guess I'm a super taster...it's nice to be a super something.

The first time I did this diet, I was a vegetarian. I would actually cry at meal time because I couldn't eat anything. I'm eating meat now, and it's so much easier.

I would think the small piece of challah and wine at Shabbat should be fine. You only need a taste. But if that little bit does bother your health, than wouldn't it be a mitzvah to not eat/drink it?

Also, a couple hints that help me, and might help you:

If you like dark chocolate, Lindt has a bar that's 70% cocoa and it has very few carbs (for chocolate). It's in a white wrapper with black. There are 13 grams of carbs in a serving, which is 4 big blocks. It's got so much cocoa in it, that I eat only one block when I need to, and that's just above 3 grams of carbs.

I've never been a veggie fan myself, but I've found out a way to make the stuff palatable. You might give this a try:

What I do is blend in some of the "bad tasting" veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, greens) with some "good tasting" things, like tomatoes, celery, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, seasonings, avacadoes, nuts, etc.).

I have a vita-mix at home that I use, but I am sure that you could use a regular blender with this, you just need to make sure that you have enough liquid. I like using tomatoes as a base, and I use some good seasonings like garlic powder, onion powder, paprika, oregano, majoram, parsley, cilantro, etc..)

Just experiment with it. That's what I have done.
For example, this is one of the recipes that I use:

1 large tomato
1/4 cup coconut milk (or whatever milk you want)
1 celery stick
1/2 cup pumpkin (or sweet potatoes, or butternut squash, or acorn squash)
3-4 florets of cauliflower or broccoli
handful of fresh parsley or cilantro
optional: handful of greens like kale, collards
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/2 of an avacado or 1-2 tablespoons nut butter
salt to taste

Blend the tomato, celery, and milk first
Then slowly add the rest of the ingredients, blend one at a time, ending with the avacado (or nut butter)

This is just one example that I like using. Obviously, there are other combinations that you can choose from.

DMC

I quit smoking and ate everything in sight and now have the yeast bad. Still though I am suffering I am haveing trouble. Don't know what to suggest, just know you are not alone in this and it is very difficult.

Keeping busy helps a bit. If I am not sitting around then I don't think about it so much. Hard when I have a 3 year old that is always asking for cookies!!!

If I miss meals it is worse, so eating regularly is important and the odd slip up, once in a while should be okay. But everyday....end up like me.

Good Luck. It is the most challenging part of fighting this disease as the temptation is always around.

quote:

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Originally posted by Lenny777:
Thanks for the menu, I'll try to force one down and see what happens.

---

Good Luck!

Let me know if you aren't poisoned to death.

I "cheat" with Atkins bars and sugar-free candy [be careful, because sugar alcohols can also contribute to yeast].
My favorites are chocolate mocha crunch and the apple crisp breakfast bars. Go to your health food store. There are tons of low carb foods! Pancakes, cereals, breads, all kinds of goodies. Read labels!

Yes, you are right. If the bread and or wine are harmful to my health, it would be a mitzvah for me to not consume them.

Also, i was wondering, what do carbs really have to do with yeast? I know all carbs are not created equal. I think that's what im really confused about.

For example lentils, have carbs but they are ok to eat? Is it ok to have complex carbs which do not convert to sugar. I think even vegetables have carbs.

But, carbs from potatoes or white rice turn to sugar much faster. I have read brown rice is ok to eat. Is that because of the way the body breaks it down?

I wonder if i have lyme brain or am just basically confused!!??!

Jordan

After about a week of eating things I should't (and haven't for the longest time), I feel I can get back on track.

A goal popped into my head in the middle of the night. For 100 days I'm going to stay off of all sugar, alcohol, yeast, wheat and corn. I don't know why a 100 days.....but that's what popped into my head.

I think I got too strict with my diet for a while. It got so all I could eat was vegtables and meat. I felt too deprived.

I have to find a middle ground that is strict enough to heal--but not so strict that I can't stick to it.

Anyway--I'll try again....

Below is the yeast control diet suggested by Dr. B in his 2002 guidelines. You can access the document at http://www.lymenet.org/DrB-GuidelinesNov2002.doc

You will rarely find 2 sets of yeast diet guidelines that are the same. If you have yeast and need to kill it, you need to be much stricter and would probably want to stay away from carrots, brown rice, lentils, etc.

If you are just preventing, you can usually be less strict and eat brown rice, beans, whole grains, etc. along with lots of probiotics. But everybody is different. I'm prone to yeast, so I am rather strict.

YEAST CONTROL DIET (Restricted carbohydrate regimen)

FOODS ALLOWED
Meat, fish, fowl, cheese, eggs, dairy, tofu

FRUITS
q Only high fiber fruits are allowed
q Fruits are only allowed at the end of a meal, and never on an empty
stomach

ALLOWED
Grapefruit, tomatoes, avocado, lemons, limes

SMALL AMOUNTS ONLY!
(The high fiber content in these makes up for the carbohydrates)
Pears, apples, strawberries, etc.

NOT ALLOWED
Oranges, watermelons, bananas, grapes, etc. (too much sugar and not enough
fiber)

VEGETABLES
Green vegetables and salads are O.K. Avoid starchy vegetables (potato,
rice, beans, etc.)

STARCHES
If it is made from flour, it is not allowed! (No breads, cereals, cake,
etc.)

SWEETENERS
NOT ALLOWED
No sugars at all; no fructose or corn syrup, and no honey

ALLOWED (if tolerated)
Aspartame, Nutrasweet, Equal; saccharin products allowed but not recommended

DRINKS
ALLOWED
Vegetable juices, water, seltzer, diet sodas, coffee and tea without sugar
or caffeine

NOT ALLOWED
Fruit juices, regular sodas, any drinks sweetened with sugars, syrups or
honey

I dont think i have/had a yeast problem. I cant remember the last time i had a yeast infection (knocking on wood).

I think my body handles carbs/yeast very well. I dont seem to gain weight from eating them.

Jordan