Stacy emailed me with another jewel of misinformation about Candida and acne.
She said that she just discovered that she "suffers" from severe Candida infection. I put the word suffer on quotes because Candida is not something you suffer from. In all likelihood it’s saving your life. Anyway, she said that after her "research" she discovered that she shouldn’t eat fruits. The reasoning goes that fruit has sugar and sugar feed Candida. Hence fruit is bad.
I covered this in Candida and acne page on natural-acne-solution.com. Anyway, here it is again in a nutshell.
First, Candida is not caused by eating sugar. It’s caused by problems with blood sugar metabolism. There’s a world of difference there.
In a recent blood sugar post I mentioned that blood sugar metabolism problems are an issue of output. Meaning the glucose can’t get out of the blood stream. That means insulin resistance.
Here’s how the blood sugar thing and Candida works. You eat and the food is converted to glucose. Glucose goes into the bloodstream, and from there insulin escorts it into your cells. Insulin resistance weakens the action of insulin and glucose stays in the bloodstream.
Your body cannot allow too much glucose to remain in the bloodstream. It can cause some serious health problems, and even death.
That’s where Candida comes in. It multiplies and eats away the excess blood sugar and hence saves your live. So instead of cursing Candida, bless it.
Now that you understand Candida let’s see what you can do about it.
The culprit behind insulin resistance and blood sugar problems is excess fat – not carbs.
When you eat too much fat, your blood gets ‘fatty’. All the fat you are is now floating in your blood. Now your red blood cells, sugar molecules, insulin and insulin receptors at cells are all covered in fat. This layer of fat prevents insulin from working effectively; hence causing insulin resistance.
And after a high-fat meal your blood can remain fatty up to 24 hours.
Clear out the fat from your bloodstream and you can go willy-nilly on fruits without any problems. And soon you’ll discover that your Candida infection is gone.
I know that practically all Candida sites tell you the exact opposite thing. They also say that you have to stick to the diet for months. Some people have been on these high-fat, low-carb diets for years without making any progress.
Candida, like all yeasts, is a short-lived organism. It’s life span is measured in hours. If you don’t constantly feed it with glucose it cannot survive in your bloodstream in large numbers. Candida overgrowth dies-off very quickly.
Just to nail the point home I’m going to quote Steve Pavlina. Steve writes one of the most popular self-development blogs in the web. A while ago he did a 30-day trial on low-fat, raw vegan diet. He kept a detailed diary during the whole time.
Here’s his comment about blood sugar levels during the trial:
I monitored my blood sugar using a blood sugar testing device, the same kind diabetics may use. It showed no discernible spikes in blood sugar throughout the trial whatsoever — absolutely none. In fact, my blood sugar remained incredibly steady throughout the trial. My highest blood sugar reading of the trial was 94, which is still medium-low. All that sweet fruit in my diet simply did not have any adverse effect on my blood sugar.
Eating this way gave my blood sugar more consistency than ever. I couldn’t spike my blood sugar on this diet if I tried. Even eating 19 bananas in one day made no difference.
Isn’t that just weird that all that ‘evil sugar’ did nothing to spike his blood sugar levels? Not even 19 bananas.
I recommend you read Steve’s post. It details out what happened to him during 100% raw food diet. It’s going to blow your mind, especially the tidbit about athletic performance and muscle development.
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September 29th, 2008 at 9:13 am
[...] See example here: Candida and acne – Misinformation strikes again [...]
September 29th, 2008 at 11:22 am
Funny thing. I was thinking the exact same thing as whoever wrote you yesterday. However, the person I’m seeing for my acne said I shouldn’t eat any sugar- in any form.
This is because:
I do have many symptoms like muscle ache, acne, inability to think clearly etc and I didn’t think they were all connected but they are. Though I love your book, I think people should be more careful with advice that is not tailored to their needs. I bought the book, I ate healthily, there was a bit of improvement but the acne never went away. Why? because I was feeding my overgrowth of candida.
So please stop dismissing candida as easily as that, it becomes more dangerous if people who have it ignore their condition.
September 29th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Lily,
Thanks for a great comment.
We talk about two different Candida’s here. Your quote mentions the one that resides in the digestive track. I talk about the one that’s living in the bloodstream.
I’m not sure if they are different but the issues we talk definitely are.
Hostile Candida in the digestive track probably has much more to do about the content of the digestive track than blood sugar levels.
I’m speculating here, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Candida in the bowels would react differently to different substances there.
For example, when one eats meat it causes different type of fermentation happening than when one eats fruits. Different fermentation results in different chemicals being released.
It’s well known meat ferments into very nasty toxins in the gut. And these toxins also cause leaky gut.
One can fix LG by eating plenty of fiber rich, healthy foods, and in simple combinations that digest easily.
I also wouldn’t jump to conclusions that you didn’t get clear because you were feeding your Candida overgrowth. With the symptoms you mentioned I’m not surprised you didn’t get clear.
It may be because of you diet or your body was just detoxing.
Regarding Candida and most health information I tend to trust Dr. Graham the most. He has been successfully treating people with Candida and other health issues for more than 25 years. Plus he has followed his own advice much longer than that. And what he says makes perfect sense.
Because of his track record with Candida I do dismiss it. I think people make far too big deal of it.
I agree with the need of individual recommendations. But I never give very specific recommendations. I’m not qualified to do that. I give guidelines that one has to apply to their own lives.
I do believe these guidelines apply to everybody. As humans we almost identical in terms of our digestive physiology and nutritional requirements. So it’s quite absurd to claim that different people would require wildly different diets.
November 8th, 2008 at 2:41 am
I have to say some of your advice is extremely confusing. You say Candida in the bloodstream is a life preserving mechanism used to stabilize blood sugar when the insulin can no longer function due to fat coatings binding to their receptor cites and those of the cells. In another ACNE 101 lesson, you discussed the cause of leaky gut syndrome, pointing out fungal Candida and other bacteria overgrowth in the gut the rhizomes of which has burrowed into the intestinal wall essentially enabling undigested food particles and toxins to leak freely into the bloodstream.
So now we have two types of Candida, fungal and yeast roaming freely in our bodies without any supervision so to speak. Both gives off toxins as metabolic wastes and eagerly lap up any sugar present in bloodstream or colon or intestines.
When the cat’s away the mice will pay sort of scenario. On the same token, you advice a low-fat diet can eliminate the problem at its source and recommends fruits and raw vegetables in the form of a daily green smoothie.
My question is: While the insulin is compromised and one inhibits fat to bring insulin back in the game…what happens to the current sugar in the bloodstream? Would the Candida not eagerly leap at the opportunity to feast on the sugar from fruits n carbohydrates?
This has been a worry for me….mostly b/c after starting the “green smoothie” regime, my symptoms exacerbated…my energy levels have plummeted, (I get sleepy straight after a meal) and zits popped out of nowhere…and a host of other symptoms I thought were finally far behind me.
While I would loveeee to believe it is safe to resume eating fruits again, this seem to confirm the exact opposite.
November 8th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Rina,
Good points.
First, some chapters of Acne 101 were written quite a while ago. And I’ve learned a lot since. That can make for small contradictions, but nothing major.
What you should take from the lesson about LGS is that your gut may be compromised. Don’t worry about different strains of bacteria or fungus. They are quite irrelevant (except in special cases). As you get healthier and the body fixes the digestive system those issues generally resolve themselves.
“My question is: While the insulin is compromised and one inhibits fat to bring insulin back in the game…what happens to the current sugar in the bloodstream? Would the Candida not eagerly leap at the opportunity to feast on the sugar from fruits n carbohydrates?”
If there were large amounts of glucose in the bloodstream, yes Candida would probably leap to the opportunity. And you better hope it does.
But once you take care of insulin resistance (partly with correct diet) there won’t be large amounts of glucose in the bloodstream. The levels remain remarkably steady. Candida is only an issue of chronically elevated blood sugar levels.
Since the body clears excess glucose out of the bloodstream very quickly there’s not that much for Candida to eat. Thus large numbers of Candida cannot survive.
Now, to your other question. Why do you feel worse after eating fruits.
There can be many reasons for that, and I can’t say what’s the exact reason for you.
One possibility is that you are not following a low-fat diet. What most people consider low-fat still has 2 to 3 times more fat than is healthy.
Second possibility is that there’s more to insulin resistance and blood sugar problems than diet. I explain these in detail in Clear for Life. Without knowing all the factors I can only speculate.
Third possibility, maybe you are doing everything correct but it just takes time for the body to clear out the ‘old garbage’. These things are not fixed in few weeks.
Fourth, maybe you are going through a detox. Sleepiness, breakouts and generally feeling bad are a common sign of detox. It’s a possibility.
Finally, some people have preexisting conditions (such as food allergies) that make eating fruits difficult and can lead to health problems.
Those were just from the top of my mind. So as you can see there can be a number of reasons for what you are going through. Blaming it simply for Candida (as most people do) doesn’t even begin to address the complexity of the issue.
March 5th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
Does this include “good fats” such as avacados? Should fish oil supplements be avoided?
Thanks
March 6th, 2009 at 3:18 am
Angela,
Yes, in this case fats are just fats. Even too much of the so-called good fats may cause blood sugar problems and Candida.
I would avoid all supplements since they are simply extremely refined foods. Rather eat whole foods, they will always be more nutritious than supplements.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Sorry, you are wrong. An excess of sugars in the diet will cause the liver to convert them into triglycerides in the blood stream, high trigs is known to contribute to insulin resistance. So your idea that ‘it’s not carbs, it’s fat’ is totally wrong.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Of course excess sugar converts into tgs. Excess anything does. But who said you have to eat in excess? As long as you don’t eat more calories than you burn carbs won’t get converted to triglycerides because your body needs them for energy.
May 18th, 2009 at 4:37 pm
At what point does one know they have reached ‘excess’? From wikipedia:
“Once liver glycogen is replenished, the intermediates of fructose metabolism are primarily directed toward triglyceride synthesis.”
So unless you’ve got a magic crystal ball telling you when your glycogen stores have been replenished, there is no way to know. And saying ‘don’t eat more than you burn’ is so cliche and does not help anyone. Talk about misinformation.
May 20th, 2009 at 7:47 am
Actually there’s a very simple way to know when to eat and when to stop eating. It’s called hunger. The average male consumes about a million calories a day. And those who stick natural foods their weight usually remains very steady; within a pound or two. So this simple mechanism is incredibly accurate.
Sure after your meal some may be converted to triglycerates. Later on these tgs are burned for energy. This ebb and flow is normal, harmless and in no way contributes to Candida or any other blood sugar metabolic disorders. That’s they way your body works.
Just so we are clear. I don’t advocate consumption of refined sugar or any refined crap. When I talk about eating sugars I mean eating fruits.
I have real world evidence coming to my inbox every day from people who tell me they feel so much better, they have tons more energy and their skins have either cleared up or are clearing up. These are people who eat plenty of fruits, 50 to 80% of their calories, and little fat.
Those to me don’t seem like symptoms of Candida running out of control, which, according to fruitphobics, should happen after eating so much fruit.
You can show them your Wikipedia article and tell them they are wrong. But I don’t think they are interested of listening to you; most are out enjoying their lives.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:20 am
You have a fascinating point of view, and very well presented. However, not all fats contribute to insulin resistance. Certain fats, such as trans fats and saturated fats from meat, most assuredly do, but good fats such as those from raw organic flaxseed, sesame, sunflower, evening primrose, borage, and coconut oil, which contain uncontaminated essential fatty acids, primarily omega-3, and which are underconsumed in the “standard American diet” do not have an insulin blocking effect. People should be getting more of these, not less, as you seem to be advocating with your low-fat diet recommendation. In fact it is the good fats, the omega 3-6-9 group, otherwise known as EFA’s (essential fatty acids, which are essential for us to live), that have more to do with the quality of our skin than anything else we consume.
Please visit the website udoerasmus.com for detailed information concerning good fats and how they contribute to good skin and good health overall.
Finally, it must be noted that cooking, especially high temperature cooking, will destroy the EFA content of any fat or oil and instead turn it into something bad for our bodies. I believe acne and many other skin problems are the result of people consuming processed or cooked oils. If you must cook anything, cook it in WATER or steam it.
June 8th, 2009 at 6:49 am
Thomas,
Good points, and you are right on the money with them.
I actually have been to Udo’s site and read his book “Fats that Heal Fats that Kill”. However I did so after writing this article.
You are right that most problems associated with fats don’t apply to omega-3 fatty acids. In fact the entire fat issue may be more about imbalance of these fatty acids than about total fat consumption. We just eat too much omega-6, saturated fats, trans-fats and damaged fats and too little omega-3.
As far as I understand omega-6 still contribute to insulin resistance, but perhaps not as much as saturated and trans-fats do.
October 12th, 2009 at 1:51 pm
I have recently(3 weeks in) started a diet that doesn’t include gluten or dairy. My skin feels like it should belong to someone else–it produces much less sebum and I have a healthy glow with virtually no acne.
I used to use milk sparingly–mostly in my morning coffee and the occassional morning cereal. Cheese and ice cream were my big culprits.
Wheat was a big one. I used to get gluten from TONS of sources.
In place of much of my old diet I have added vegetables and fruits, along with non-gluten grains such as quinoa, brown rice, etc.
I still eat a LOT of fat. Skin-wise, I don’t think I could ask for better results. But my saturated/trans fat intake has greatly been reduced, so I think I would have to agree with Thomas that saying that fat in general is the enemy is misleading.
I know that I am getting at least as much fat in my diet, it just isn’t coming from ice cream, cheese and milk–most is now unsaturated.
Just on another note:
I have a native american friend who told me about his whole tribe and how they don’t have problems health problems like americans do(he lives on a reservation). They don’t have heart attacks or strokes, they don’t get cancer or Alzheimer’s. He is convinced it is all about the diet, and so am I. He said it is natural for people to live to their 90′s and 100′s in his tribe, and that not one person in his trbie has ANY acne. He also said something startling to me at the time. His tribe lives off of mostly 3 things: Red meat, nuts/seeds(mostly pine nuts), and berries. He said they ate some vegetables but never ate fruit. I know that at least the nuts and red meat have lots of fat in them. So you can take from that what you will. That information, my personal experience and other information have lead me to believe that it is much more important to eat the right types of fat(have the right type of fat ratio, however you want to put it) than to avoid fats altogether.
Not to say there aren’t other healthy ways of living. I pretty much agree with everything except the low-fat part.
All I really know is that my diet is still pretty high fat(little less that 50% on average, which is less than what it used to be, believe it or not–it’s just good fats now) and I don’t have skin problems anymore after years of battles with all types of diets. I attribute this to one of two things: my gluten-free diet or my dairy-free diet. I’ve eaten healthy before with lots of vegetables/fruits/whole grains/not much saturated fat, and it never cleared my skin. I do remember getting hives and my arms and getting foggy headed and headaches and feeling weak, but my acne never cleared up. I’m positive my acne was caused by gluten or dairy, or both. But honestly, i’m afraid to add one back to my diet after being free of them for 3 weeks–I’m not willing to find out which one it was for me at the expense of acne.
October 14th, 2009 at 6:30 am
Jolsen,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. And congratulations for getting over you acne – must feel pretty good now. Gluten is definitely one of the worst foods for people with acne.
So you are basically on a low-carb diet now. I know they have helped many people to get clear also. When you take the carbs out of the equation (or significatnly reduce them) you’ll have less blood sugar related problems.
Low-carb diets itself could lead to some health problems down the road, but that’s another matter.
But I partially agree with you on fats. When I wrote the blog post I was far more dogmatic and into the whole raw food miracle thing. Raw food are definitely healthy, but some things that the promoters tell you just ain’t so.
When it comes to fats type matters more than quantity – just like you said. But only up to a point. There’s not much research on this topic, but from what I’ve seen even good fats cause insulin resistance when you eat more than 40% of your calories from fats. Saturated and transfats can lead to insulin resistance even at smaller amounts.
I’m sure diet plays a part in the health of your Native American friend’s tribe. But diet is really only part of the puzzle. I would guess that they are emotionally healthier (more stable) than most Western people. And in my experience emotional health and emotional issues matter more than diet.
Anyway, congratulations for getting over your acne. I’d advice you to stay away from gluten and dairy for good. They are both horrible for acne victims.
April 6th, 2010 at 1:37 pm
I have both achne and candida that has gone into my bloodstream, but my body fat percentage is very low and I don’t eat a lot of fat and sugars. I’m confused!
April 19th, 2010 at 9:37 am
Hey,
You make a lot of sense with everything BUT HOW do you explain the fact that a lot of people still seem to get clear from an anti-candida diet (HIGH-FAT diet)?
May 12th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
I continually get a vaginal yeast infection every month and it’s been happening about a year. I notice when i stop eating sugar my symptoms go away. how is your diet going to help me?
July 20th, 2011 at 9:35 pm
How can you eat 19 bananas! Jeeze I find this very skeptical now you can’t have to much of a good thing. You can only have 2 bananas twice a day its high in potassium. Evil Sugar…? There is bad and good sugar. Good sugar is found in Fruits all natural. Bad sugar is found in Junk food or Dead food. Most of it made a lot of sense besides what you said about the bananas! That threw me off! And saves your live. Saves your life…you need to correctly grammar this right if you wanted this website to be taken seriously. Your all wrong from the carbs as well!