Testimonial

Beat Candida Overgrowth with the 80/10/10 Lifestyle

By Jacky Alles

[From The 80/10/10 Diet, page 312]

For many years, I had a candida overgrowth with severe symptoms. The symptoms were the classic ones—itching, burning, that “yeasty” feeling, digestive problems, constipation, acne, fatigue, depression, plus many, many more. In desperation, I tried everything I could think of to get rid of it. I read every book, pamphlet, article, and website I could find about candida. I spent gobs of money and time trying to cure myself.

I had tried conventional medicine, alternative medicine, supplements, therapies, homeopathics, cleanses, mini-fasts, “candida diets,” naturopathy, and hypnosis, and I even had my mercury dental fillings replaced. You name it, I tried it. When nothing worked, I had basically resigned myself to the fact that the candida was here to stay. I would spend the rest of my days feeling like garbage, and I was only 33 years old. Depression set in, and my life turned darker and darker. On my darkest day of all, I decided to go raw, cold turkey. That was January 2002.

During my search for a cure, I had been reading about the raw food diet on the Internet. I started out using the high-fat raw diet, and over the course of the next year or so I lost 30 pounds and looked like a skeleton (I’m 5'3" and I was down to 85 pounds). About half of my hair had fallen out, my teeth hurt, and I was basically an empty, human-shaped shell walking around just trying to get through each day.

The amount of fat I was eating was incredibly high, but I had no idea that in reality, I was eating very few calories. During this time, on the advice of the high-fat raw diet promoters, I ended up on the “candida diet” for nearly a year (no fruit, only raw veggies and fat and tons of supplements). I was convinced that someday the candida overgrowth would just go away and all would be well again. But … that day didn’t come.

One day I was reading a popular high-fat raw message board, and I kept seeing people there bad-mouthing Dr. Graham’s high-fruit, low-fat diet. I became curious about this guy. I did a search, found his website, and eventually found my way to the VegSource message board hosted by Dr. Graham. I’ve been reading it daily ever since. I believe it has literally saved my life.

The thing I was struggling with on the high-fat, almost-no-fruit diet was that I desperately wanted to eat fruit but was frightened away from doing so. After reading some of Dr. Graham’s VegSource messages on candida, I was absolutely thrilled to learn that I could eat fruit. Just reading that lifted my heart up to the skies. Also, when I read that my candida overgrowth could be gone within weeks on this diet, I could hardly believe it. Could it be? I had been fighting it for six years, and it could be gone literally within WEEKS?!

At this point, I figured that I had nothing to lose. Nothing else had worked, why not try this? I started to eat bananas. More and more bananas. I dropped the fats and ate tons of fruit. And guess what? It happened. Gone. Within weeks.

I had a consultation with Dr. Graham in June 2003 and what he taught me was incredibly enlightening. He educated me about 80/10/10rv and suggested healthy changes to my lifestyle. I began working on improving these aspects of my life.

… And then the bottom fell out from under my world. My father, who had been battling cancer for 14 years, was rapidly nearing the end. I was flying home every other month to see him “one last time.” For comfort, I turned to eating cooked food—and not the “good” kind either. I mean junk, and lots of it. My father died a couple days after Christmas 2003; thankfully I was able to be with him during his final hours.

I’m happy to say that after I came home from the funeral, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and began 80/10/10rv with a vengeance. I’ve stuck with it ever since, and each day is better than the last. My junk-food binge put the 30 pounds back on, plus more, so I’m working on getting fit and healthy again. One day at a time. I have a long way to go, but I haven’t felt this good since I was in my mid-20s.

Today [2006], I am a 37-year-old female, 5'3" tall, and about 120 pounds. I eat approximately 2,000 calories per day and exercise daily. Most days, my lunch consists of 11–12 bananas plus celery or lettuce, and for dinner I eat fruit in season and a large salad. I keep overt fats to only a couple of times a week. My goals are to lose the excess fat, build some muscle, and improve my overall fitness. Signs of improved health have returned—my hair grew back, my skin cleared up, my teeth stopped hurting, and my digestion is improving. I’m also working on getting more sleep, sunshine, and fresh air. It’s been, and continues to be, a fantastic journey.

I thought it was worthwhile to tell my story to let people know that this diet and lifestyle do work to get rid of a candida overgrowth. I know firsthand. I was severely losing the battle against candida when I started the 80/10/10rv lifestyle. Now, I’ve not only beaten it, I’ve left it in the dust and gone on to win so many more battles.

The weapon to beat candida overgrowth is available right here at FoodnSport.com. If you decide to you use it, I promise you, you won’t be disappointed.

July 2011 Update:

As for candida, I haven't had any problem with it for many many years. You may recall that I had an extremely severe case of candida overgrowth for about 6 or 7 years. After trying everything I could think of to get rid of it and nothing worked, I decided to give Dr. Graham's 80/10/10 program a shot (I believe that was sometime in 2003). I didn't have anything to lose. Literally within 2 to 3 weeks of starting it, my candida symptoms appeared to be gone. Do I know for sure that the overgrowth was truly gone at that point? No. But the improvement was so significant, that it sure seemed that way. As I continued the program over time, my overall health and my life just kept getting better and better. It was absolutely miraculous.

I am an example of someone whose candida overgrowth was resolved by following 80/10/10. I wish I could say for sure that it would absolutely work for anyone who follows it. All I know is that it was truly the answer for me, plain and simple. And I know I can't be the only one. It isn't easy to follow this lifestyle when there are so many temptations in this world (and yes, I have given in on occasion...but hey, I am human), but I truly believe it is the best way to live if you want the best health possible.

I should mention that in 2007, I did Doug's 6-week fast in Costa Rica. The fast also provided me with amazing results, both physically and emotionally. My digestion is now working fantastically.