Sugar & Fungus

Sugar & Fungus

Posted on September 27, 2019

What is the one thing that most of my clients have in common remain unaware they have it? Fungal infections! Insidious by nature, fungus goes undetected because it grows slowly and the symptoms vary. It appears as though physical issues pop up out of nowhere. In reality, they incubate under the surface until conditions within the body reach imbalance and physical dysfunction and illness arise.

Why do we have fungus to begin with and what supports its growth? I believe a large percentage of the population inherited it directly from our mothers in utero. Mothers…before you throw things at me, please hear me out. I’m not blaming our mothers (or you, if you are a mother.) I’m suggesting that many women are unaware of having fungus when they get pregnant and they pass the fungus on to their developing fetus. Case in point: eczema. My children were both born with eczema and, unbeknownst to me, I was full of candida (overgrowth of yeast) at the time of my pregnancy. My mom gave it to me and she most likely received it from her mother and who knows how far back it goes? Interestingly, when I gave birth to my son (a very long and difficult birth) I had a breakout of rashes on both elbows. I later discovered the stress of birth pushed out the fungus through my skin. Busy with a newborn, I didn’t have time to think about what it was until the doctor told me his eczema was a fungal infection and then I connected the two.

What feeds fungus? Sugar! To be fair, our first taste of nutrition is breastmilk or formula, and both are sweet. Our first foray into solid food is sweet–rice/wheat/corn cereal, carrots, and starchy vegetables. One look at restaurant kids’ menus reveal a general tendency toward refined carbs and starchy vegetables: chicken nuggets (wheat/corn covered), grilled cheese (bread and dairy), French fries (starchy veggie), pizza (bread and dairy), hot dogs (wheat), pb & j (wheat, nut butter and jam). All the fore-mentioned foods feed fungus because they include ingredients that break down into sugar (and dairy feeds fungus.) Cow milk or juice usually accompany these meals and both feed fungus.

Fungus and sugar create a vicious cycle. We develop fungus which makes us tired so we naturally gravitate toward sugar for the energy, not realizing the cycle being created is immensely difficult to extricate ourselves out of.

Recently, I gave up all sugar and grains because I felt so tired. I’m a blood type “O” so it was a natural choice for me. Although I work a lot, I felt some of my energy drain was diet driven, so out went the sweets. I (thought I) actually ate very little sugar but upon closer inspection, I discovered “hidden” sugars, much more noticeable in their absence. If you know me, then you know one thing I always say, “Even if we eat a small amount of inflammatory foods regularly, the inflammation and resulting congestion from exposure never leaves our bodies making it difficult, if not impossible to heal”.

This time, I took my cleanse more seriously than ever before, cutting out my beloved soy creamer in my matcha green tea, feta in my salads, Ezekiel 4:9 bread, rice crackers (again with my salads), nut, beans, fruit (even the low sugar ones). Keep in mind that all these foods were on my beneficial or neutral foods lists according to my blood type diet. I increased my water intake 2–3 times my normal amount and added bitter greens 2–3 times per day. My results? The itchiness in my ears disappeared, I’ve dropped about 6 pounds (mostly inflammation as I did not have a lot of weight to lose), I lost stubborn abdominal fat (something I had been trying to address for a while) and I have zero aches or pain in my body! My energy is back and my brain is functioning much better both with mental recall and sharpness.

One other positive effect: my mood. I feel so calm and peaceful. Even if people around me get excited or stressed, I can avoid getting pulled into the drama. I feel so balanced and grounded on this diet that I will continue to stay on a modified version of it. It definitely takes a commitment to achieve these results, but I am willing because I am worth it and so are you!