KILL YOUR YEASTS!

Yeast, or more specifically Candida Albicans, is a bacteria that should normally be 15% of your intestinal flora, however, with antibiotics, poor dietary habits, poor chewing habits, and excessive sweets or alcohol, candida tends to thrive and be the "man in charge" in your gut - which isn't good because candida is also a malicious fungus that can bore holes through you intestinal lining and make its way through your body tissues, plaguing your other nearby body parts with infection and fungus (such as a yeast infection) but also can be localized in the ears, mouth, liver, etc.. AND can sometimes be systemic, which means your entire body is filled with it, greatly taxing your immune system as it's ALWAYS cleaning up this culprit. 

The candida bacteria have the job of cleaning up your waste foods, typically unchewed food, undigestible foods (such as maltodextrin and other zero-carb sugars), but otherwise eats leftover carbs in the body.

The resulting effects of a yeast (candida) overgrowth is 

• itchiness (ANYWHERE, nose, anus, feet, face, hands)
• foggy headedness (as the metabolic byproduct of yeasts is ALCOHOL.. which means, you actually have alcohol in your blood stream, leaving you feel drunk and stupid!)
• sluggish digestion and weird bowels
• insatiable appetite, easily feel like you are overeating
• edginess and inflammation (which go hand in hand)
• moodiness
• decreased energy
• decreased immunity, and a host of other symptoms. 

Basically, this fungus is like a parasite, constantly taxing your body, and as long as you've got it, you've got an infection festering inside of you - leaving your body sick and at war for as long as you've got it. Antibiotics are given to kill this baddie off, but it also kills the bacteria that check and balance the candida, giving you NO immune defense, which means the candida have an even easier time coming back. I really don't think there is a remedy that a doctor can give that will totally get rid of it that will last. Really, I believe that most people have this to some degree (more so the younger you are, because of the worsening of our diet and increase in antibiotic use) but remember that we should have some of it - but our healthy bacteria should be the majority party ruling our intestines, which keeps the bad boys in check. We're obsessed with sterility and anti-bacteria. But really, our ancestors have grown up with bacteria all their lives, its all around us, heck - we actually have more bacterial cells in our body than human tissue cells.. isn't that amazing? A forest floor has bacteria to help decay and breakdown to renew life, and so do we! I've always got something fermenting in the kitchen, whether on purpose (sourdough, sauerkraut, rejuvelac, etc) or unintentionally (leftover rice, beans, veg... these can sit out for quite a while, as long at the food is still 'sweet' and not foul, you're game for good bacteria!). We've got this same lovely fermenting bacteria in our gut (the good ones) but when you have candida, everything just molds and turns to fungus. But really, must we sterilize EVERYTHING!? Our food is so sterile, not even bacteria can survive from it - but it is this good bacteria that we thrive from!! Did you know that US almonds are ALL sterilized with a toxic chemical, so that NO bacteria can thrive from them? Gees, we've got pasteurized nuts now too!! 

What do we suggest to get rid of this enemy inside us?

1. Don't overeat!.. and for heaven's sake - chew your food!! Especially carbs
2. Raw foods easily rot in the body, making it easier for the candida. "Rot" (breakdown) the food by cooking it first (therefore, eat mostly cooked foods)
3. Exercise, as fungus can't survive in an oxygen rich environment (picture hanging a mildewy cloth out on the line to get sun and air, and the mold disappears!)
4. Eat little salt, and ABSOLUTELY NO SWEETS, of any kind. Natural or refined (and definitely not artificial!! Stevia is tolerated however)
5. Avoid preservatives and other non-foods
6. Eat fermented foods, as they contain lots of GOOD bacteria (like acidophillus)
7. Don't eat cold foods or drinks, but drink tea and room temperature water moderately
8. Don't worry - worry worsens any damp condition, and don't force it, because you'll worry
9. Eat chlorophyll rich foods (green!) as it neutralizes toxins in your body and heals our tissues
10. AVOID bad oils, packaged foods, anything refined, overly floury foods (please, just eat a whole foods diet for goodness sake!!)

As I felt the onset of yeast last week (starting with an itchy nose), I started delving into sweets and ignoring it. It really started to bother me when my food didn't satiate me, which DRIVES ME NUTS!...  So I did this therapeutic plan for three days and seriously kicked its ass.

(From Left to Right in the photo)

1. Dandelion tea/coffee - which cleanses the blood (especially effective if systemic)
2. Lavender essential oil - please be cautious, use 100% botanical and only do ONE drop every three days to start.. if you get a headache, you're using too much (cleansing reaction)
3. Oxygen - which just destroys yeasts on contact. Good for systemic as well, please don't overdo this as well (remedies 1-3 are HIGHLY cleansing and should be moderated) 20 drops a day to start (I did 100 drops a day, but I also had no cleansing reactions)
4. Sauerkraut (in back) - a bacterial supplement for the body, which helps check and balance the yeasts, takes their place when they die, and is rejuvenating for the tissues (HIGH in vitamin C!). An acidophillus supplement is advised as well, but I had already spent too much money on the remedies and needed low cost bacterial support. This sauerkraut is locally made, is raw (unpasteurized), and NO SALT - which is preferred for killing candida or any infection
5. Garlic - nature's antibiotic!! This KILLS any pathogenic microbobes BUT leaves the good ones standing, giving them a favourable place to proliferate!! Seriously, antibiotics kill life, good and bad, but garlic just kills the bad.....  One clove eaten raw before a meal, sometimes best eaten with an apple slice, yogurt (another fermented food!) to soothe the digestive lining if the garlic burns too much. I ate a head in under 3 days! Too much!! Garlic is known in the East by sages to create emotional desire. This actually happened to me!! Desire arose, and I became very emotional. I stopped the garlic, and the desire went away - interesting lesson. (Sweets create desire as well... which just leaves us perpetually shackled to the things we desire!! Not good!)
6. Flax oil - healing for the digestive lining (to reduce inflammation), and rebuilding. Also satiates when you are in an "unsatiable mode"! Repairs the tissues that were aggravated by infection, and cleanses the liver (the body's filter) of junk while healing. Good stuff!
7. Aloe juice from inner fillet (not GEL - and NOT the WHOLE LEAF!!!). This stuff is magic. The sour flavour of the juice just gives away its healing and restorative properties (the sour flavour is healing to the liver as it is like soap, or a solvent to toxins, fatty residues, and all the other crap that is stored in the liver). It is also BUILDING!! Isn't this amazing!! It cleanses and builds at the same time!? It's an antimicrobial, like garlic, but builds the immunity, heals tissue and reduces inflammation, while keeping us cool and refreshed. This is a great pair for when using lavender oil or oxygen, as it "protects" us from the harsh reducing nature of the aforementioned remedies. Oxygen alone can create a feeling of light headedness and poor stability, but when combined with oxygen, keeps us centred, but clear as a bell. Drink 2-3 oz. a day to start (with 20 drops of oxygen) but up it if you can handle it and want to specifically heal short term. I drank the whole bottle of juice in 3 days, accompanied with larger doses of oxygen - but treated it acutely.

Typically, if the "infection" is acute, an short term and aggressive remedy is effective, however, if you suspect that you've had it for a while, and is chronic, it is best to do long term (.5 - 2 years?) and start with the dietary changes, while doing some remedies at a very low level for a longer period of time. 

* NOTE: These are NOT to be taken as a daily preventative medicine, and we are not trying to replace the efforts of the medical system, and this is NOT a prescription. We are simply offering information, and what you do with it is up to you, and we will not be held liable for any healing effects or symptoms that may arise from it. Understood!? Any questions can be directed to Whole Foodies Michael and Sharla at foodies@wholefoodies.org

Stuffed Acorn Squash

This was served on our Whole Foods Cooking Retreat, and it was a complete hit! Cooked with love for all the guests by Whole Foodies Sharla and Anna.. what a treat!

Stuffed Acorn Squash

Bake squash face down in halves for 1/2 hr. at
350F. Cook rice in stock or water. Heat oil in a
skillet, and sautee onions and garlic, then add
remaining ingredients, as well as cooked rice.
Stir all ingredients like a stir fry, add to cooked
squash and top with feta.

1 acorn squash, split in 2
2 cups vegetable stock or water
1 cup black rice
1 onion
1 clove garlic
sun dried tomatoes
capers
parsley
herbs
bell peppers
feta

Baked Tempeh, Eh!

Baked tempeh is so hearty, it's almost as rich as meat! Almost the only source of vegetable based B12, tempeh is a fermented soy food that has oodles of protein. Baked tempeh is so hearty, it's almost as rich as meat, in fact my dog Jack liked it so much he ended up eating most of the tray to my surprise. I'm not sure if I should scold him or reward him eating such an eloquent food. 

Make a marinade of:

-chopped green onions

2 Tbsp miso paste

1/3 cup tahini

3 tablespoons of water

1 crushed clove of garlic

(and a little honey if your tahini is bitter)n

Slice and spread out the tempeh as shown in a casserole dish, and then pour the marinade over the tempeh and let it sit. Bake it at 375 for 20 minutes. The liquid should evaporate so you have a nice coating of yumminess on the tempeh once its done. YUM!

Burn-Your-Mouth-Off Salad

This was made by my sister-in-law but is very blog worthy. For a wintery winter, I haven't been making a lot of green salads. So this was refreshing, but also face melting due to it's extremely high proportion of raw garlic present in the salad!!

Garlic is just amazing!! It's an antibiotic, antimicrobial, antifungus, antiparasitic, .. need I go on? It just drives stuff out of the body, typical of all pungent foods. Ever notice that when you eat a pungent food (like garlic, or horseradish) that the energy in our body seems to ascend and go outwards? This is the nature of pungent food - so if you have something that you want to drive out of you, use pungent foods!! A cold is a good example too.. a little bug is trying to hide out in our body, and raw garlic just drives it right out of the body... at first, but if you continuously do it, it can have a reversed effect. So, pungent foods in moderation are excellent. A refreshing salad with greens and chick peas are a perfect thing to accompany some hell-inspired raw garlic to drive out the baddies in your digestive tract, and depending on how well you digest the fiery fall root, it might clean out your colon too.

It has such potency for eliminating garbage from the body, that it is often too strong for people with hard-working livers. Signs of a hard-working liver might include flatulence and digestive discomfort after eating raw onions or garlic. The best solution?: don't eat them!! You can cook them, and it will help, but until your liver has done it's work and is able to relax, avoiding pungent white vegetables might be helpful. If it doesn't bother your digestion, then the white "spicy" root veggies like the aforementioned onion and garlic are nicely stimulating for the liver - creating a "get up and go" feeling, stimulating the body, blood, mind and qi.

So there you go - a whole blurb about garlic, and that's all I've got, as I have no clue how this salad was made. There were chick peas and greens and a magnificent dressing that only sister Krista can make, and so I'll leave it at that. Oh yes, carrots and cashews I can see in there as well...  AWESOME SALAD!

Home-style Brown Rice Bake

Ooh! This tasted better than it looked, simply because it was in the oven for a LONG time, and little veggies and grains tend to get a little extra brown around the outside making it look not so fresh, but the cooking time in the dish made it a yummy ray of digestive qi emanating from that delightful cooking pot (all ceramic, which means stove and oven proof).

Cook some brown rice on the stove top with 2:1 water (so 2 cups water for 1 cup rice)

Sautee in veggies with some oil:

onions

garlic

carrots

mushrooms

Once soft add the cooked rice and stir.

Crack in 2 eggs and stir those in until mixed and scrambly.

Add black pepper, nuts, beans, whatever, and a little tamari to richen it.

Pop it into the oven and let it bake for a while!! If company is coming over in an hour, set the oven low and check on it, but if dinner is waiting, you don't need to bake it, or pop it in the oven for a very short time at moderate heat (375F?)

Garnish with fresh herbs like parsley if you wish!! It might make it look "fresher" looking if it's been in the oven for a while!

Sautee in the pan the veggies. Add

Lung Boosting with White Foods

White foods influence the Lungs and Large Intestine according to Chinese Medicine. Why? Because they moderate and balance moisture in these elimination organs. Some white foods are drying, some moistening, but they do aid these organ systems. In this dish, I've used drying white root vegetables; parsnips, onion and white carrot. Using warming ginger and garlic just gives it that extra drying capability, and the tofu doesn't dry us right off the planet as it gently moistens the lungs so we can breathe deep and exchange more air.

This was a simple side, and served on a bed of grains, probably quinoa, I've been eating this grain a little more often than usual - I don't know why... it feels good.

This whole thing was sauteed in a bit of sesame oil, shoyu, spices and a touch of rice vinegar. Yum yum!

Chili Beans

Hearty, spicy and GOOD! A simple recipe for a crockpot or stove top:

Pinto beans

Oil

2 whole garlic cloves (cooked in with the beans and then mashed)

1 onion (sliced, diced, chopped or whatever)

Cumin, chili powder, black pepper and sea salt

Uhn! Ride 'em cowboy!

I bet these would even taste better if they finished in the oven for a good baking!

Quick Korma and Turmeric Rice

Quick Korma

6 Tbsp. oil

3 bay leaves
2” stick cinnamon
8 cardamom pods
4 whole cloves
1/4 tsp. cumin seeds
1 Tbsp. ground coriander
1 Tbsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. cayenne
3/4 tsp. sea salt

1-1/2” piece fresh ginger
5-6 cloves garlic
1 smalll onion

Chopped potatoes or other veggies
1 cup beans or chicken (optional)
3 Tbsp. tomato sauce or paste
3 Tbsp. yogurt or cream

Heat frying pan with oil. Add spices and wait until aromatic. Add chopped/blended garlic, onion and ginger into the pan and stir. Sautee for about 3 minutes or until onion turns brownish. Add veggies, beans or meat and cook until soft (may need a little water). Add tomato sauce and yogurt and simmer until sauce has thickened. Add dill or wilt some spinach in it to finish with some greens if you like!


Indian Rice

3 Tbsp. oil

3 whole cloves
1 bay leaf
4 cardamom pods
1” stick cinnamon
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 tsp. turmeric

2 cups basmati rice
4 cups water
2 Tbsp. raisins
1 tsp. sea salt

Put oil in a pot and heat to med-high. When oil is hot, add spices and wait until aromatic. Add rice and quickly pan toast. Add water, raisins and salt, bring to a boil and simmer covered until fully cooked, about 45 minutes. Serve with Quick Korma recipe.