food allergies and candida -- time to let the body heal

i was tested yesterday for food allergies for the first time in my life (i am 43).  i am moderately allergic to cow's milk and soy, while slightly allergic to eggs and yeast.  thankfully, i am not allergic to wheat or corn but it sure has made me feel like my life is now going to be completely different.  it will be better because my body will stop having to fight off what it doesn't want and as a result i may have more energy, less pain throughout my body, better digestion, etc. -- not sure yet how it will be manifested.  in the opposite way, my life will be challenging.. i will no longer eat freely without concern for avoiding cheese, soy products (including soybean oil and soy lecithin), as well as products made with eggs and bread made with yeast.  pizza, mac cheese, ice cream, cookies, bread, cakes, cookies, pancakes, milk chocolate and cheese in general are now all on the list of foods to avoid..

in addition to these food allergies, i experienced a therapy which detects low energy areas within the body, and it was determined that i have an overgrowth of candida.  i'm sure most people in the world whose diets are saturated with processed sugar and grains are suffering from this condition.  our bodies have it in a healthy balance, but when we eat excessive simple carbohydrates, it multiplies and thrives, sending out signals for us to crave more sugars.  our entire family will now be freeing our bodies from sugar to overcome the addiction to it, as well as to free our bodies of the fungal effects of having candida.  we'll now be on a candida diet..

personally, this will be very difficult and challenging.  i am the mother and wife who loves to bake and eat chocolate and homemade cookies.  i love baking for guests and bringing freshly baked goods to people's homes as an offering.  i savor the flavor of dark chocolate in my mouth and the feeling of comfort it provides.  we'll be eliminating all white breads (even ciabatta!) and pastas.  it will be a fundamental reorientation toward food for me.  we are very accustomed to a strictly alkaline (candida free) diet, especially when we observed it for ayana's sake when her blood was very acidic 2 years ago, but now it's up to me to change.  it's no longer me relying on my daily sweet while eating a mostly alkaline diet -- i have to commit 100% to it.  i'll be taking nutritional supplements, including probiotics, to support my body's ability to have a bloodstream that is free of candida.  initially, the process includes withdrawal symptoms like being tired and irritable.  in time, it will evolve into a normal way of life..

i have never wanted to be restricted from eating sugar.  i have never dieted.  i have enjoyed my own way of being free from dieting by what i viewed as moderation in what i ate.  i studied nutrition and have understood eating food that is as close to natural as possible, with a wide variety of vegetables and grains as the basis of one's daily intake.  but i always enjoyed a sweet each day, even if just a bite of chocolate.  i realize now that i have spent a lifetime consuming too much sugar.   as a child, i grew up without sweets in the home except on special occasions, but i would buy a little paper bag of 1 cent candies for 25 cents many times a week from the candy store.  by the time i was in college i ate way too many sweets; it certainly was not a healthy association with sugar.  as an adult i no longer overate sweets but enjoyed them as natural part of life's pleasures.

so, here i am as a middle-aged woman, needing to acknowledge that i am dependent on sugar because of this overgrowth of candida in my body.  i know that i must put into practice the virtues of detachment and patience with myself as i strive to be free of one of life's pleasures in order to return to a state of health within my body.  this will require a great determination of my will, self-restraint, and some suffering until i truly am free to manage consuming sugar within a real sense of moderation for my body.  it will take at least a few months before i can even think of putting a piece of chocolate in my mouth again.  it is a lesson to be learned from living a life out of balance with Nature..