What is Candida? {The Beginning of My Sugar-Free Life}

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Is it possible to stop eating sugar and to live a sugar-free lifestyle? You say you’re addicted and you just can’t stop eating sugar. Is there any hope?

I’m here to tell you, that there is. Here’s my story about struggling with sugar. I hope it helps you to see that there. is. hope.

Why I Changed to a Sugar Free Lifestyle. I was a sugaraholic, but candida was ruining my health. Here's how I knew I needed to change.

If you’ve been around my blog for awhile, you’ve noticed something.

– I typically don’t post recipes that include dried fruits.
– I mostly use alternative sweeteners (like stevia and even–gasp–xylitol and erythritol.)
– My recipes are almost 100% gluten-free and are moving more and more grain-free

Why is that?

Well, I used to be a real sugar-aholic and that led to some pretty bad health effects.

I thought I really needed to share some of the stories with you so that you could learn more about me–and perhaps learn how to better care for yourself and your family.

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My SAD (Standard American Diet) Childhood

I grew up in a family eating the Standard American Diet (SAD).  A typical daily menu would look like:

– White bread toast with margarine and cinnamon sugar on it (and it wasn’t my Healthified Cinnamon Sugar)
– School lunch (maybe pizza, milk, and dessert.  When I got into high school, it was likely
–  Pasta, stir fry, etc.
– of course, after school snacks of dry cereal, ice cream (like Breyer’s Natural Mint Chip–if you LOVE that as much as I do, here’s my low-carb dairy-free mint chocolate chip ice cream recipe!))

Of course, there was variation, but you get the idea.

As I grew older, my “health consciousness” grew, and I started eating more and more vegetables and fruits, and even whole grains, but I still was a real sugar addict.

I even worked at an ice cream parlor for years, which was a completely bad idea.

All employees would snack on the ice cream and candy bar toppings (when we had time), and there were numerous days when I came home stuffed and just couldn’t eat dinner.

The Beginning of Health Problems

Years went by.  I ended up with health issues that no one could connect the dots with.

itching in my ears, which the doctor said was likely just dry ears “It’s a vicious cycle.  Just stop scratching them.  It’ll go away.” Ummm…it didn’t.
vaginal itching (diagnosed as vaginitis)
–  tinea versicolor (a fungus that discolors the back and abdomen with white, itchy spots.  Typically it shows up in summer months.)

And as more years went by, more conditions showed up:

bloating
on and off fatigue
mood fluctuations including anxiety
insomnia

I clearly remember the day (about 3 years ago) when I was standing after church, talking with two friends of mine.  They were talking about candida.  And sugar.  And changing their diets.

I was listening but basically might as well have had my fingers in my ears, because I didn’t want to hear what they were saying.

They were talking about:

bloating
severe mood fluctuations
rashes
vaginal “issues”

(Hmmm…sounds familiar, eh?)

And they were talking about candida.

I’d heard about candida, but no doctor had said that I had it.  They should know what they are talking about, right?

Hmmmm…

One of my friends said she had had manic-depressive episodes and thought she’d have to give up homeschooling, but going sugar-free had helped her greatly.

I. didn’t. want. to. hear. that.

Me?  Give up sugar.

No way.

I really was basically standing there with my fingers in my ears humming to myself to block out their words…..

Why I HAD to start a Sugar-free Lifestyle

Well, fast forward six months or a year.

My symptoms progressed.  Now I had:

severe fatigue
mood swings and depression (it’s pretty easy to be depressed when you are severely fatigued.)
itching scalp (sometimes this got really really bad.)
insomnia (I had always had a hard time sleeping, but it was getting worse.)

I felt like I’d hit rock bottom.

I didn’t know what to do, but a friend who participates in our family’s whole foods co-op shared her struggles with sugar and candida with me.

She pointed me to a site called Whole Approach (a site that sadly is no longer around).  I took their Candida Symptom Assessment Questionnaire and my score was super high.

My allopathic background (I had been pre-med in college) led me to be suspicious of any “self-diagnosing questionnaire”, but I needed help.

I pored over their site, and ordered their cleansing and candida-killing supplements, and started the candida diet.

Well, there is a lot more to tell.

I had horrible candida die-off symptoms the first two weeks or so of the diet. And I do mean HORRIBLE.

My diet had changed and now I was basically living a sugar-free lifestyle including:

no sweeteners that feed candida (sugar, evaporated cane juice, sucanat, agave, maple syrup, honey, etc.)
no fruit
no dried fruit
limited starches

Later, after following their protocol pretty carefully, I found myself in a pit of bad health again.

I’ll be sharing more about that later.  But let’s just suffice it to say that I now think there is much more to know about how to get rid of candida than just cutting back on sugars and starches.

But I think you’ll be intrigued to hear more about candida and its ties to other health issues in the future.

We’ve had a lot of health struggles in our family.  It can be hard to deal with them all, but I do hope that what I share can bring help and healing to others. We have had a lot of miracles happened, which you can read some about here.

For more of the story, read:

Candida, My Childhood, and 5 Causes of Gut Imbalance and
Busting a Popular Gut Health Myth.

Could You Have Heavy Metal Toxicity and Not Know It?
Just a Red Face? Or Something More?
Food Allergies and Eczema – From Despair to Healing

Some of Our Favorite Sugar free Lifestyle Treats

In case you’re ready to try to get off sugar, here are some sugar-free treats that can help you out while still satisfying your sweet tooth.

Healthy “Almond Joy” Bars
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Homemade “Jello”
Chocolate Chip “Cheesecake”-Filled Chocolate Cupcakes (dairy-free) 

Have you thought about going off of sugar?

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159 Comments

  1. I have a very severe eczema problem on my hands. I am 21 years old and this eczema just randomly showed up on my right hand on only two fingers in May of this year. It has spread all fingers except my thumb on my right hand and now over to my left. It is so bad that it is at the point of cracking, pussing, bleeding, flaking, itching, leathering over, and starting the cycle over again.
    I started a candida cleanse two weeks ago and I am not seeing any improvements. I am using essential oils on my hands to help clear them up, and I have tried SO many things!
    I am eating dairy and wheat free right now. No sugar, and no fruits except for berries, green apples, lemons, limes, and grapefruit. What else can I do!? I am feeling so desperate right now.

    1. I am not a medical practitioner, of course, but one thing I am thinking is it might be another allergy. If you search for eczema on my site there are 2 posts that talk about that. Additionally, a local friend of mine had horrible eczema on his hands. He bought Defense and pH Rescue from Native American Nutritionals and said his hands were the best they’ve ever been. The company is having free shipping today and tomorrow – you can see more about them here: https://wholenewmom.com/health-concerns/natural-remedies/announcing-the-best-essential-oils-company-and-a-great-sale/ Hope that helps!

  2. I am still struggling on which sweetener I should be using to make a recipe candida-friendly. Is it best to use vegetable glycerine, xylitol or stevia? I am not even sure what the differences are betwen them.

    1. I use all of them. Mostly xylitol, erythritol, and stevia. I wrote a post on stevia here. And here is a blend I make myself, though I might need to change it a big. I use whatever I like but typically I will cut the sugar amount in 1/2 and use xylitol for that portion and make up for the remaining sweetness w/ stevia. Hope this helps. I need to write a post on this soon :)!

  3. Hi! In one of your recent posts you mentioned making a substitute for recipes requiring date paste. I can’t seem to find it but I do remember you mentioning using pumpkin and several other ingredients (and I can’t remember those!). Do you have a specific formula you use. I avoid most fruits, sugars, grains as I have thyroid issues and have had breast cancer (I also intensely dislike the taste of most dried sweet fruits ie: figs,, dates, raisins and bananas anyway!) I will use stevia if necessary or even a small amount of mesquite powder if a recipe calls for some sweetness. Love your posts! Keep up the good work and thank you!

    1. I don’t have a specific recipe (yet :)!). I was thinking pumpkin or sweet potato and/or chia with sweetener mixed in. I would think even some gum or glucomannan would help w/ the texture. I’ll try to work on it as I can but I would just try making a concoction to see what you come up with for now :)! Sorry. I’ve got a bit too much going on.

  4. I am researching the Candida diet for my son. I see you use Xylitol as a sweetener, but it is on the list of foods to avoid on the Whole Approach website. I’m confused. . .

    1. Hi Laurie. The sweetener info is really confusing. Tarilee on WA is very picky and I appreciate that, but there are some things that I didn’t do according to plan and some things that in my own experience and research that I think might be incorrect. (By the way, I think she is amazing so this is not meant to discredit her at all). I think that xylitol is a good option and so is erythritol. We have heard that you can work yourself up to tolerance of xylitol if you have digestive upset from it. I still wonder some times, but for my family and our budget, we use it. There has been a lot published about xylitol that is negative that just is not true and I hope to write a post about it soon. In the meantime, you could also try yacon, vegetable glycerine, etc to round out your sweetener options.

      One good example of where I differ from Tarilee is my thoughts about fermented foods. I thought for years that I couldn’t tolerate them, but if you read my post on Why I Don’t Have Fermented Foods on My Blog, you will find out that it turns out that I wasn’t.

  5. Oh how familiar your story is! Mine is nearly identical except I never worked at an ice cream shop. LOL. I’ve tried GAPS – but still ate honey and fruit like a crazy person. So now I am on day 9 of a candida cleanse – I’m convinced I may have to eat this way forever! I cut out all that you mentioned above, and I’m doing some high powered herbs from my local enzyme specialist. Die off really does suck… It’s so hard, but I keep telling myself it will be worth it. Thanks for sharing!

    1. Welcome, Carly. Yup – don’t try the ice cream store. What a disaster! You might be interested in the candida course that is mentioned in this post. Take care and hope to see you around again–maybe in the class :).

  6. Thanks! 🙂 I looked up the info on the stevia and liked what I saw. Many reviewers said it didn’t have any bitterness or aftertaste and that is exactly why I haven’t liked the stevia I’ve tried before, so I think I will like this one. I will have to look up the info about the xylitol too. One word of caution to pet owners, xylitol is toxic to cats (I don’t know about dogs though.) Stevia I’m not sure about, but I would keep it away from pets to be safe.

    1. Xylitol is toxic to dogs, but so are raisins and chocolate, so there are several things to think about regarding pets. Take care! I don’t think stevia is toxic to them – not that I have heard.

  7. Hi Adrienne, can you tell me where you get your sweeteners from? I’ve tried Xylitol before and liked the taste, but the kind I bought turned out to be highly processed and had sucralose in it (which I can’t have, instant migraine). I’ve had Stevia before as well, but didn’t like the after taste it left. But that could have been the brand I was using. I am trying to get off the sugar because I am addicted to it. (at least it feels that way!) Though I highly suspect I have candida as well… Thanks for all the good info you have posted!

    1. Thanks for writing! I get xylitol from several places. One is from a place that sells bulk (Global Sweet). As for stevia, the info on stevia is in a lot of my posts, one of them is this Bean Fudge post. That’s the only brand I use at present. Hope that helps!

  8. I just read this article. I scored a 125. What 125?! In the above post you say there is more to your story as you were on the Candida Diet and still had health problems. I am looking forward to that article or if it is somewhere on the site already please post a link for us who are relatively new.

    125?! OMG

    1. I think I was in the 300’s. You are waaaay better. Did you read my fermented foods post from yesterday? Hang with me — it will all come together. I am not totally healed but things are so much better.

  9. We are doing GAPS right now to try and help me with Candida. I was frustrated because I thought I had a gazillion unrelated things so searching Candida really was nice to know the ear infections, itching, joint pain (in past), food intolerances, anxiety, and /extreme/ fatigue, headaches, chronic cough ect. was all potentially connected. I think my daughter has it too and is THRIVING on GAPS. I took the test and got 465… but it has been a really bad day so I might have over estimated a few things.

    1. I also took the spit test and “soared” I might be going lower carb after baby is born but I was recommended not to right now.

    2. HI Debra. I am considering GAPS for myself and my son…..problem is the broth and other things. My son detests broth (kind of like a phobia) and he is deathly allergic to egg whites and dairy and most nuts. And w/ the candida I fear we cannot tolerate honey. I would need to use the sweeteners that they forbid. Can you tell me how it is going w/ you? I would love to check into this further, or maybe we need to look at SCD instead. Thanks!

  10. We are in the midst of a candida diet, and what a ride. My wife and I have never had a serious weight problem, so we believed falsely that you could eat whatever you wanted…my wife would eat an ice cream sandwich and soda for lunch, and because she was skinny she didn’t think it was a problem…
    We are seeing changes, very slowly, but changes, and it is mostly good, thanks for the info and the encouragement…can’t wait to look more at your blog.

    1. Thanks for commenting and welcome. I know what you mean about being skinny. I used to be that way and I have friends who are as well. Cute, thin and eating loads of sugar…or not loads, but just sugar. It’s a big problem. Hope you continue to heal.

  11. I’ve been following different versions of Candida Diet for the past 2.5 years now and have had symptoms for as long as I can remember – very similar to yours actually.
    In one way I am grateful that it has made me appreciative of a lot of foods that I would never have eaten in my “normal” life. And I was forced to cook/ bake, which is a blessing. But all the uncertainty and phantom pains, itches and worries…
    Gosh! It is quite a life changer, isn’t it?

  12. I avoided all fruit for the first six or seven months. I started to add cranberries back in last fall when they were in season. I guess I didn’t really think about them until they were in the stores for Thanksgiving. I’ve always made my own cranberry sauce and now I just use stevia instead of honey. We’ve also been enjoying them in some gluten free, dairy free, sugar free muffins.

  13. Hi Adrienne,
    I was a terrible sugar addict for years and didn’t realise it until I came across Sugar Blues by William Dufty in 2001. Since then, I’ve been off sugar, white flour and white rice about five different times for about five months at a time. When I cut those things out, I lose a heap of weight, and my asthma disappears along with a host of other annoying little issues like nail fungus, grey hairs (seriously!), and yeast overgrowth, which was terrible during my pregnancies. It’s just so hard to stay on track sometimes though, which just doesn’t make sense when you’re getting so many benefits!
    So now I just want to kill the cravings instead of willpowering them out of existence, and even acupuncture can’t get rid of them, so I’ve been trying to find an essential oil blend to use to get my body back in balance. I figure that if I kill off the candida, the cravings will disappear. At least, I’m hoping so.
    BTW I noticed your sleep comment above. When I was off refined foods, I had so much energy that I could only sleep a few hours each night!

    1. Wow. You know, that’s amazing. I just can’t tolerate barely any sugar at all. Keep on, OK? It’s just not worth it!!!

      I don’t know about the getting rid of candida thing. My practitioner says that one Chinese Herb blend she recommends will kill it but I think it’s always going to be an issue. What blend are you trying? I think we’ll be able to talk w/ Mr. Dean about using oils for different conditions but now sure when. I am sure he says no sugar and no white flour.

      1. Thanks for the encouragement. It’s so great that your body rejects sugar now, you must be feeling fantastic!

        I tried Ocotea and Cinnamon with no noticeable results, so Palmarosa, Myrrh and Clove oils are next – will let you know how that goes. It could be emotionally-related too, so might do a feelings kit-type thing eventually. I’d be very interested to hear Mr Dean’s recommendations and if anyone else has had success using oils.

        1. Actually I feel super sensitive. I am working on metals now. Not easy but necessary. Have you read my metals post?

          1. Not yet, but I had a quick look and will read the related articles too. I could read your blog all day!

            I actually found myself reading about metals two days ago as my daughter has been exhibiting some autism-spectrum behaviours. Cilantro oil is supposed to be a good detoxifier so I’ve ordered some to try from Heritage. Will be interesting to see if it does anything.

            1. Well you are just too kind. I feel I have sooo much to learn. And not enough time to write what I want to share. Heritage oils in the US? You should connect w/ my practitioner if you have those suspicions. Is she GF and DF and SF?

              1. Well, you seem to have shared very generously so far, it’s been a great help 🙂
                Yes, it’s Heritage oils in the U.S. Our diet is mainly wholefood with minimal wheat and sugar. She loves her dairy, but we stick to organic, A2 or goats milk. I went off those things when I breastfed her to see if it helped, but it didn’t. We thought that she was just a strong-willed child. Who is your practitioner? I’d like to find out more…

                1. Theresa Vernon. She’s very interesting. Heavy metal and adrenal work. I am doing quite well w/ her. My son has done GF, SF and DF (DF for life b/c he’s deathly allergic) and he is quite a bit better but still likely on the spectrum. Hard to tell. He has anxiety.

                  1. Thank you! Her site looks fascinating. I so hope that you are close to the finish line with these issues, it sounds like you’ve been through A LOT. It makes you really appreciate the normal days with no tears or arguments or tantrums though, huh? I’ve had 2 in 5 years. I still remember them. They were bliss!

  14. I have been on a candida diet since April 2012. When I started I thought it would only take a month so no big deal giving up all those foods. I certainly was wrong about the time frame but really like the diet and don’t feel deprived in anyway. I know I won’t go back to eating wheat again and will probably stick to a gluten free diet as well.
    Giving up sugar wasn’t a big deal since I didn’t eat much of it, but I did drink alcohol. I thought giving that up might be hard but wasn’t at all and I don’t miss it. Giving up coffee was probably the hardest but I’ve gotten to the point where I don’t miss that either — but don’t you dare take away my chicory/dandelion/cinnamon drink in the morning!
    In addition to following a pretty strict diet I have been taking (herbal) anti-fungals and probiotics. I’m at the point now where I have started to reintroduce a few foods — cranberries are making be very happy! My most visible and persistent symptom has been eczema on my legs. It is almost totally gone and winter is usually the worst time of year for it.
    Sorry to be so long winded — really looking forward to reading your next chapter.

    1. I hear you on the coffee substitute! Did you see my recipe? I used to put cinnamon in mine as well.

      Cranberries shouldn’t be an issue on the candida diet…why were you off them? Good for you on the eczema. My son’s is gone too . Bleh.

  15. Adrienne,
    I’m glad to find your article here – what an eye opener! Most of the time people don’t realize how sugar effects their health – It’s not just that you gain weight, get bad teeth or get diabetics.
    Also me and my husband quit sugar for 2 1/2 months now (we did the 21 sugar detox challenge on Tim Reviews and the most dramatic change I experienced is that I’m easing to sleep at 11pm AND staying there without waking up several times anymore. Before I used to sleep at 2-3am, waking up a few times at night and get out of bed at 8am, feeling sick and exhausted.
    All the best,
    Jennifer

  16. I never knew that itching ears could be symptom! That’s just crazy how it effects skin inflammation and itchiness all over your body. I’m starting a Whole 30 this coming month (March) myself. It’s not as anti-sugar as the candida diet or 21 Day Sugar Detox, but it’s still quite low in sugar. I am tempted to do the Candida Diet after that to see if it helps even more. Baby steps!

    Thanks for sharing this information!

    1. I didn’t know it either but I’ve noticed a too close correlation too many times to ignore it now. And after reading more on the Whole Approach site it is pretty obvious that it’s a problem related to candida. Take care!

  17. It truly is amazing how many people are effected by this and don’t know. Thank you for bringing it to your readers attention. I think this info could help a lot of people.

    1. You’re right, France. I spoke at my church about 1 year ago about this — for only about 15 minutes. You would think people would have thought I was crazy but they really listened. I think it’s epidemic.

  18. Thank you for your encouragement. I’m glad to hear that it can be done a bit more incrementally. I did download the food chart, and it’s really helpful and do-able. I have a hard time with breakfast. Anyway, so sorry to hear about your concussion! Thank you for taking the time to respond in spite of that. Take care!!

    1. Thanks for the well wishes. For breakfast, have you seen my chia puddings? I have another one I am working on. Or just leftovers from lunch and dinner. For awhile I did veggies and meat or eggs. I have gotten so much more simplified but likely I will add more veggies soon :).

      1. Hmmm, I do need to think outside the box, and I do need to eat way more veggies, so breakfast would be a good place to start. I can’t eat eggs right now because my son is allergic, and I’m still nursing. I have seen your chia pudding and that’s a great idea. I am at the point where I think I need to purchase a Vitamix, particularly because I recently learned my store-bought coconut milk has a not-so-friendly ingredient in it (carrageenan), (so I want to make my own), so all of this will come together for me soon.

        1. I had that problem w/ my son as well w/ eggs. My kids typically have a funny “super fast” drink which is just homemade coconut milk w/ stevia and gelatin blended in. They get fat and protein and it tastes good. I hope to share more ideas soon. They aren’t gorgeous but I just made coconut biscuits that are low to no carb. Oh…how about the flax bread I have on my site? You could make it with chia egg sub or even the egg replacer on my site and it has almost no carbs at all and that is really good. My son loves it with nut or seed butter and some xylitol for breakfast. So see – there are options :).

          And if you buy a Vitamix, consider geting one through me :).

          1. Great ideas – that bread looks great, and a good place to start with flax (I’ve used it as an egg replacer a couple of times, but that’s it). What do you grind flax seeds with?

            I’ll definitely get the Vitamix through your site. We’re going to get one – talked about it today. If I click through from one of your links, will anything I buy be credited to you? (we’re looking at a refurbished one). I’m asking because I see the code in the initial link, but then when I click on links on the Vitamix page, your code doesn’t stay in the link.

            Thx!

            1. I grind them in my Vitamix :). But a coffee grinder will work as well. I can do 2 cups at a time in the Vitamix. Yes, if you go through I believe I get credit. You can call their 800# listed on my sidebar to get the free shipping – same thing. Hmmmm.. Which link are you trying? I should check it out. Thanks for letting me know. They changed their links awhile ago and I might have missed one.

              1. I just tried adding the Vitamix to the shopping cart, and your code shows up in the promotion code box so all is well.

  19. Adrienne, Thank you so much for this article and links, and I am looking forward to hearing of your experiences. I have known for some time that I have issues with candida. I’ve known sugar is my enemy. But I’ve just never had the strength to eliminate it (talk about addiction!).

    In 2011, I changed my diet radically because my newborn son began having allergic reactions to what I ate, via my breastmilk. I ended up going from being a vegetarian (for over 20 years), to being a meat eater, after reading about “real food” and Weston Price and all that. I went on an elimination diet for two weeks, only eating turkey, zucchini, yams, and pears, and slowly added foods in. This was for my son, but I felt better than I had in my whole life. I felt younger, mentally alert, and I was at my high school weight (I am in my early 40’s).

    I thought it was because my vegetarian diet had been high in soy and starch. So, I eventually went back to eating sugar. Because I am an addict. The products are healthier or homemade. And I use sucanat when I can, or honey or maple syrup.

    But I have now gained back 10 pounds, and I’m bloaty, and irritable. I still don’t eat wheat or soy (never again), and our diet is entirely organic and our meat is grass fed and pastured.

    But I eat too much sugar and starch. (rice, fruit, potatoes)

    So, here is your article smacking me on the head, lol! I did that assessment. I was even conservative with my scoring.

    I scored 263. Seriously. You have answered my questions about itchiness (an issue since my son was born in 2011). And now I’m having itchiness all over my body, intermittently – no rash, just itchiness.

    I will be honest – I am terrified of getting this strict with my diet, but I know it’s right. So, I am very interested in how you did it. I didn’t have any die off when I went on that elimination diet, so I’m not sure what would happen with this.

    Anyway, sorry to ramble. I found your site seeking recipes for my son, and you have blessed us again and again with your creativity and knowledge. Thank you thank you thank you.

    1. I think my score was higher than that. :(. It is terrifying but if I can do it. You can. The recipes here should help and some of the blogs I’ve shared have great stuff.

      Just try going down to 3 servings of starch or starchy veg per day and see how you do. It becomes manageable. They have a great food chart on W. Approach. I was going to write more today but our internet was down for about 2 hours and I am recovering from a concussion and am still pretty tired. Bless you and hang in there.

  20. Yes we are off sugar. I’m not sure about grain because my son has a gluten problem. So right now I’m trying to up his probiotics and keep him of sugar and get more bone broth in him to help heal.