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Tim,
Thanks for the answer. How did you now you had a candida infection? Was it diagnosed? I'm trying to figure out if I have one and if I have to deal with it first. About the oregano....did you ingest it or put it on your skin?

Joan

>> Can you tell me how you could tell you had (or have) candida infection? Have you ever taken any medications to kill it off?

I had it seen to by a doctor. Actually I believe two different doctors both said that it was candida. But there are many different forms of candida, and certain strains are a natural part of your flora -- both on the skin, head, belly button, gut, it seems to live everywhere.. Different strains of candida are specialised to different areas of the body too.

Anyway, it is a skin infection. I'm not talking about a gut infection. I have used many different kinds of anti fungal creams, and the ones that do work.. they work for a few weeks and then lose their efficacy.

As for gut infections.. I don't think there is any reliable way of diagnosing that ?

"So long and thanks for all the fish" - Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy

>> There is a great book that I used, Encyclopedia of Healing Juices, by John Heinerman

My sister gave me one of his books ! The info in them is brilliant isn't it

cheers
z

"So long and thanks for all the fish" - Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy

>> umeboshi plums, mint teas (don't always work), and even lime juice

hmm... yumm. the plums sound good. Will have to remember to look for it !!

"So long and thanks for all the fish" - Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy

Just noticed this dicussion and thought I'd add what I've learned over the years about alkalizing the body:

* Easy way to tell what acid/alkaline state your body is in is to test your saliva with ph strips between meals. I ordered mine online from a chemical supply house. I got ones that test in the 6-8 ph range.

* Acid state is associated with poor health and poor diet. Its unknown whether acidity is a cause or an effect but I've heard that people with cancer have acidic bodies.

* A quick way to get your body back into a healthy is to drink AlkaSeltzer Gold. Don't use the regular AlkaSeltzer - it contains aspirin. When I first tested my acidity several years ago my ph was in the 6-6.5 range. A week of drinking a cup of AlkaSeltzer Gold before sleep every day got me to a healthy ph of 7.5.

* AlkaSeltzer Gold is only a short term solution. Ultimately you want to keep your ph at 7.5 through diet. Eating more fresh and raw fruits and vegetables is a good idea. Meats in general cause your body to go acidic. Processed carbs (sugar/flour) are even worse.

* You don't want to overdo it, keep your ph under 8 or you'll have other problems.

* The affect that a food has on your acid/alkaline balance does not depend on whether the food is acid/alkaline itself. For example, fruits can be acidic, but eating them generally causes your body to become more alkaline. Digestion is complex, so its the result of digestion that matters.

* When I get my body to an alkaline state, I notice that my teeth have less grunge on them in the morning when I wake up, and my breath isn't as bad. This tells me that my body is doing better against the bacteria in my mouth. Since I generally feel peppier in a more alkaline state, I feel that my body must be doing better against all the bacteria in my body. These days I don't even bother with the ph strips, since I can tell roughly where my acid/alkaline balance is by licking my teeth in the morning. If I'm starting to get some grunge, its time to start eating more veggies and fruits.

-Don

Hi Joan,

My candida was gut infection... I would just start to feel very achy after eating sugar foods (raisons, prunes, honey etc...). The aches would kick in.

One day after drinking two glasses of fruit juice, some honey and raisons it felt like I was hit in the middle of the back with a bat. This while I was on the No Starch Diet.... so I did not suspect kp, but rather candida (I respond very well to the NSD).

Actually had a colonic performed that same day when I felt that bad.... cleared out 90% of the pain.

Hope this helps.

Tim

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional

>> * You don't want to overdo it, keep your ph under 8 or you'll have other problems.

I wonder what kinds of problems happen when you are too alkaline. Personally I have found that when I eat too many acid forming foods my candida gets worse. This is pretty noticeable after finally getting to an alkaline state. And I agree 100% that processed carbs are the worst, as these cause my candida skin problems to act up again.

My favourite alkaline foods are dried apricots and spinach. These both have a trong alkaline effect on the body, and I can easily eat large amounts of them.

table from : http://www.coral-calcium-benefits.com/acid-alkaline.html

=======================================
  ALKALINE-FORMING FOODS    (In 1 ounce portions)   
=======================================

Figs                    30.0
Molasses                18.0
Olives (green or ripe)  16.0
Lima beans              12.0
Soybeans                12.0
Apricots (dried)        9.5
Turnip or beet greens   8.0 
Spinach                 8.0 
Dandelion greens        8.0 
Mustard greens          8.0
Raisins                 7.0
Kale                    7.0
Swiss chard             5.0
Almond                  3.6
Parsnips                3.6
Carrot                  3.5
Beets                   3.5
Dates                   3.0
Celery                  2.5
Rutabaga                2.5
Endive                  2.2
Cantaloupe              2.2
Lettuce                 2.2
Parsley                 2.2
Watercress              2.0
Apricots (fresh)        2.0
Potatoes (sweet, white) 2.0
Pineapple               2.0
Coconut                 2.0
Pomegranate             2.0
Beans, baked            2.0
Nectarines              1.8
Cabbage                 1.8
Cherries                1.8
Sauerkraut              1.7
Grapefruit              1.7
Tomatoes                1.7
 Radish                 1.7
Currants (dried)        1.7
Cauliflower             1.5
Lemon                   1.6
String beans            1.6
Peaches                 1.5
Mushrooms               1.2
Squash                  1.0
Watermelon              1.0
Grapes                  1.0
Buttermilk              .7
Whole milk              .5
 Millet                 .5
Brazil nuts             .5
Buckwheat               .5
Onions                  .4
Green peas              .3
.
.

=======================================
ACID-FORMING FOODS      (In 1 ounce portions)
=======================================

Egg yolk                7.5
Herring                 5.5 
Oysters                 4.5 
Crab                    4.5
Lobster                 4.0
Oatmeal                 3.6 
Veal                    3.5
Sardines                3.4 
Perch                   3.3
Salmon                  3.3
Swordfish               3.3
Most other fish         3.3 
Most meats & fowl       3.2 
Liver                   3.0  
Chicken                 3.0
Pork                    3.0
Ham (smoked)            3.0
Goose                   3.0
Macaroni                3.0 
Bacon                   3.0
Lamb                    3.0
Duck                    3.0
Whole egg               3.0
Spaghetti               3.0
Organ meats             3.0
Rice                    2.8
Whole wheat/rye bread   2.5
Haddock                 2.5
Crackers in general     2.3
Bread, white            2.2
Most nuts (not almonds/ Brazil nuts)    2.0
Egg whites              1.7
Dry corn                1.6
Corn meal               1.6
Zwieback                1.6
American cheese         1.6
Natural cheese          1.5
Lentils                 1.5

"To live by medicine is to live horribly." - Carl Linnaeus, 1707-78

thanks for all the interesting juice ideas :-) .. I recently found that mixing spinach with citrus fruit juices caused everything to fizz up into this big frothy drink. The acids from the citrus must react with the alkaline spinach. It is much nicer without the froth, so I will have to remember not to do that

cheers
z

"To live by medicine is to live horribly." - Carl Linnaeus, 1707-78

Great list Zark,
I must say that all things on the alkaline list are unquestionable things that do me good. I think it generally is a good idea to use this list as a extra list to look at besides of course the starch content of foods.
Gerard

"Tell me what kind of food you eat, and I will tell you what kind of man you are."
-Anthelme Brillat Savarin -

Ok, so there are two pH values that people talk about.

The first is the pH of the body's interstitial fluids. That means the ~30% of the body's fluid volume that is not inside of cells, but that is inside the body. (Remember, an object in the GI tract is not inside the body. In order to enter the body, a particle has to cross at least once cell membrane.) The interstitial fluid includes the blood's plasma (the liquid component of the blood), and the fluids that bathe the cells. In general, the cerebrospinal fluid and the fluid within the inner ear is not considered part of the interstitium.

This fluid compartment's pH is slightly alkaline, with a value between 7.35 and 7.45 (the "normal" range varies depending on the center, but at UofMichigan Hospital, that's the "normal" range). Very powerful physiologic mechanisms exist to maintain this pH and there is cross-talk between the kidneys and lungs to maintain this. Even patients with severe pulmonary or renal disease tend to stay in this range.

If you get out of this range, you have either an acidemia or an alkalemia. Patients with either condition are typically very sick. I don't mean subtle aches and pains; I mean ICU sick.

The idea that one could change this pH by diet is pure nonsense and I would urge anyone to avoid any practicioner claiming otherwise. You can down very acidic or alkaline foods and your kidneys will simply respond by either excreting more bicarbonate (to lower the pH if you eat a lot of alkaline) or by excreting more hydrogen ion (to raise the pH if you eat a lot of acidic food). You can change your urine's pH with diet (which is why cranberry juice helps prevent UTI's), but not your internal pH.

The other pH that people talk about is the stomach's pH. In a normal stomach, this is a very acidic pH of roughly 1-2. This pH can be changed with foods, depending on what you throw into your stomach. But again, the stomach does have power physiologic mechanisms to keep the pH low. You can use some drugs like proton pump inhibitors to raise the pH of the stomach. There is controversy as to whether alkaline foods have much of a lasting effect on stomach pH and there seems to be a lot of individual variation. The general consensus among gastroenterologists that I've asked about this is that "no," the only way to change the pH in the stomach is with a proton pump inhibitor (like omeprazole/'PRILOSEC') or a histamine H2 blocker (like ranitidine/'ZANTAC').

However, I also respect that people have different health beliefs and I know that I've benefited from therapies that are not approved by Western medicine. However, I will reiterate that you do not want to even try to mess with your internal pH. You're wasting time and monety doing so, but if you actually succeed, prepare for a very long hospital stay.

___________________________________________
-Mike
Certified Mad Doctor (in training)