Urinary Tract Infection

[J F]

I have Candida and metal toxicity and would like information on what is good to take for a UTI with these. I was thinking of Cranberry pills, but don't know if that is safe when you have Candida. I am not eating fruit right now. Have not eaten it for about 2 months and don't want to try it again until I feel I've got the upper hand on my ailments. ) What are your recommendations?

Much thanks! Love the snowflakes. LOL

Jelaine

[shelley]

Hi Jelaine!

See if you can find unsweetened cranberry juice at your health food store. I always find that much more effective than the tabs. The tabs are good for liver cleansing but not so much kidney cleansing. To get rid of any yeasties in the urinary system you have to change its pH, and only several glasses of juice will do that.

It's pretty tough to drink the unsweetened cranberry. Stevia and diluting it helps a lot. Cranberries are safe for candida people, they're a very astringent fruit.

If you can find a tincture of Uva Ursi, about a dropperful 1-2x daily for 3-4 days should help too. Marshmallow and slippery elm are good for soothing irritated membranes, as is eating Okra.

Hope that helps!

[J F]

I guess I am nervous about the juice since there's so much literature about the no-no's of drinking bottled juices of any kind when you have candida. I'm really sensitive to molds right now......at least I was and have mostly avoided them in my diet for the last couple of months. When I first went on the diet, I noticed my favorite organic cranberry/grape juice gave me a sore throat, sometimes feeling a little swollen. Was that due to molds or yeasts or natural sugars in the bottling process or was it my body saying that the juice was killing ugly things in my throat from liver overload/candida/toxins???

thanks!

[shelley]

it could have been a healing crisis, yep! Cranberry is of a pH that totally prohibits molds so I wouldn't worry about that.

[J F]

What's a good number of glasses to drink and for how many days to heal up the urinary tract. I'm assuming you mean 6oz. or 8 oz. per glass, no?

So long as there is not an issue with yeast in drinking cranberry juice every day, I don't mind having a glass a day as a general protocol for good health. Is that safe, or should I stagger it to a few times a week.

What fruits are good for a vatta/pita Candida/toxin person who is in their second month on a detoxing diet? I haven't even tested fruit since 2 months ago after I got mouth/throat swelling after eating papaya for 4 days straight. Also, I got burning around my lips last time I tried to eat a slice of pear around 2.5 months ago, so I just gave up on fruit and started the diet. I also briefly got that with tomatoes but have since reintroduced them and enjoy them without any noticeable symptoms.

Jelaine

[shelley]

Aim for a minimum of 2 glasses a day for 3 days or until symptoms cease.

Cranberry overall isn't great for Vata because it's so astringent. I only drink it periodically to flush my kidneys. I find it much easier to enjoy cranberry sauce, since that's sweeter.

Candida-safe fruits (after 1-3 months of total no-sugar diet) are green apples, pears, berries, pineapple, lemons, lime, grapefruit. Just about any fruit becomes safe if you cook it as in fruit compote, as that breaks down the sugars. Sorbets and jams have sugar re-added in because of this. You can use Stevia instead of sugar.

Vata people need sour fruit to take care of their cravings for sour. Sour really balances Vata a lot. One of my favorite "cheats" that isn't such a cheat is a whole-fruit lime popsicle. If I've been having general Vata digestive complaints one or two of these as a snack, eaten slowly so my tummy doesn't get cold, really does wonders.

Astringent fruits like green apples and pears aren't really all that Vata appropriate, but apples have such a great affect on the power of digestion that eating them cooked as in apple crumble, sauteed in butter, stevia and molasses with a bit of lemon, or gluten-free apple pie, is fantastic for Vata.

With pears I tend to just get canned (the ones in the glass jars kept refrigerated) and add Vata-friendly spices such as ground clove, cinamon and ginger, then mash them all up together. YUM! So long as you drain off the syrup this should be relatively candida safe if eaten in small amounts infrequently and eaten alone.

The trick with candida is to make sure everything digests quickly. This is doubly important with fruit. It's when fruit digestion gets interrupted that fermentation happens. So long as there's no fermentation, the candida don't feed off it all that much. There isn't time.

And of course you should wait until your tongue is totally free of any coating for days on end before allowing a lot of sweet and rebuilding foods back into your diet.

[J F]

"Sour really balances Vata a lot."

This would explain why I've always liked things like lemon chicken, sweet and sour chicken, sour cheeses and caesar dressing.

I have not given up on lemons since I started the diet. Their benefit seemed to far outweigh their potential to cause problems. For now I will stick to the unsweetened cranberry juice taken alone a couple of times a day. I'd like to go another month or two before I try fruit, again. My favorites have always been green apple slices with sour yogurt (kefir is lovely), berries with sour yogurt, grapefruit, pears, lemons and limes.....pretty much what you listed. Now I know WHY I like them since taking the dosha test. LOL I like papaya, though I don't know how good that would be for me to eat regularly.

I have never liked things such as banana (unless in banana nut bread), peaches, really sweet fruits like that. Some small amounts of oranges such as used as a pallette cleanser are "okay", but I never liked the way most fruit made me feel. And, I absolutely hate orange juice. Now I know why! Figs and dates in small amounts I like but rarely eat.

I don't have sugar cravings as many Candida people do. It was actually relatively easy for me to give up on things like bread, sweets and alcohol. And, when I tried a nibble of some chocolate my hubby got for Christmas, it did nothing for me. I preferred a cinammon/nutmeg quinoa waffle with coconut oil and stevia, or with almond oil.

[shelley]

oh do please share that waffle recipe!!!

Yep, we do sound a lot alike in our food choices! I can only abide peaches if it's the very best peach ice cream in the world (had some in Georgia, homemade, that I will never forget) or if they are spiced.

I used to adore eating oranges but then they stopped growing them in California or Florida and those ones from what used to be the Amazon jungle just are NOT the same. Nope, nope nope. We still have one grower here in California that sells small navels that are really excellent, very sweet and juicy. When those come into season for a month out of the year I go wild, but otherwise...

Super-sweet things always have bothered me. It's one of the reasons I got into baking. Store-bought baked goods are simply too sweet, or use cheap fats. Most of the things I bake have nut flour or tons of butter, but not a lot of sugar.

[J F]

I hear ya, Shelley! That's why I was so excited about your new forums. I loved reading your stuff on CureZone, the recipes and tea recommendations, especially.

Okay, I'll share my quinoa waffle recipe if you share your compote/baking/pie recipes in the forums! LOL Now, in pie form I'll eat ANY fruit. I've also had luck buying apple pie that isn't icky sweet at Whole Foods.

Shelley, my in-laws live in Murrieta, and they are fortunate to have a farmer's market just down the road from them. They get excellent fresh avocados and citrus fruits in season. And, yes. There is a definite difference. I always just liked grapefruit with honey, but now I'm off honey until I'm all cleaned out. Someday.....someday. Maybe I could do an almond oil/stevia blend to pour over top of the grapefruit when I decide to eat it again. Shred some fresh coconut on top. Oh, heaven. LOL I love it when my face puckers up to an unrecognizable state from lemon and grapefruit. LOL

My recipe for the quinoa waffles is taken directly from the "Yeast Connection Cook Book" except that I don't let the batter sit for the extra 10 minutes they recommend, I use less water, making the batter really thick or else the waffles will stick to the iron. I add 1 tsp. minimum of cinnamon and 1 tsp. minimum of nutmeg to the batter, enough that I can really smell the spices through the house when I put them in the iron. There's just nothing quite as satisfying as those waffles, at least not for me.

I don't know if it's legal to reference my versions of copyrighted recipes. Let me know if it is, and I'll type it up for you here. I also like adding a little ginger, but that's because I'm a nut for ginger. Some might not like it.

[shelley]

ah, Murrietta, I wasn't too far from there when I had those peaches. Can't remember the exact name (oh dear, aphasia! LOL!) but it was the paper-industry place. I went up to Atlanta for the weekend.

Golly I gave away my copy of Yeast Connection Cookbook and I really shouldn't have. Sigh. You can post it as long as you say where it came from. Excerpts are allowed for non-commercial, educational purposes. Definitely include the ginger, it aids digestion. I always add spices to my pancakes, oh yes!

The cooked fruit recipes and such will be in the fAQ. The FAQ will have the essential recipes and the more general recipes.

[h0ppy]

You can try a herbal tea called Cran-Aid by Traditional Medicinals. They sell it at every health food store.

[J F]

Oooh, thanks! I'll look that up.

[shelley]

I like Traditional Medicinals' teas. I keep their ginger-Digest Aid tea stocked in my pantry all the time.

[J F]

Shelley, an update. The cranberry juice was helpful, but the problem was not being completely erradicated. I am making sure to have kefir each day the last couple of days and notice that really seems to sooth things internally. Must have needed some extra probiotics???

[shelley]

yes, or just extra mucus to take down the irritation. Milk products are fantastic for alleviating dryness, irritation.