Well, folks, my blood test result came back and I've tested positive for Candida infection. So that means I really should stick to this anti-Candida diet - which has not been so easy.
I confess. I have drunk wine (not gallons, but it's a big no-no). I have eaten chocolate (tiny amounts, but it's sugar, isn't it?). I even ate a deep-fried bread dough thing, that was then dipped in a sweet chilli sauce (ooooh, horrible refined carbohydrates, the worst). And I have just found out that even a tiny deviation from the plan is a major setback. Great.
I was hoping my results would be normal (so I can get back to truly eating what I want), but with my elevated 'Candida IgG antibodies' score of 66.9, it seems I need to hack it out for a few months to try and set things right.
My sinuses have been very bad, presumably with the die-off (Herxheimer's) reaction, and I've been taking probiotics, to rebuild the healthy bacteria in my gut. There is so much conflicting information out there, though, I found this THE ANTI-CANDIDA FOUR-POINT PLAN which says you shouldn't take the probiotics until after the first month or so. Other advice pages say different things.
All very confusing.
I'm Andrea, and am obsessed with creating fabulous food. After I managed to ditch dieting, the reason Chocolate and Beyond was born, it seemed natural to evolve my site into a foodie blog. More so since I also ditched animal produce to be vegan. Now, I love showing how inventive cruelty-free cooking can be. And sometimes I like to rant, too. I wouldn't be myself otherwise :) x 
Andrea, that sucks for you.I am glad that you are struggling on,I would be such a sook I don't think i could do it.I hope you feel better soon :)
Posted by: lisa jane | January 26, 2007 at 10:15 PM
Hi Andrea, Good luck on your new diet!
I live in Tel Aviv, Israel and have been on a strict anti-Candida diet for about a week now. I go into the details in my new blog: http://www.candidacandor.blogspot.com/. I won't lie to you: the diet is very very difficult!
Posted by: migelooch | February 01, 2007 at 08:40 AM
Hi Migelooch! Good to hear from you all the way from Tel Aviv! Well, if you've just read my most recent post you will see that I failed quite miserably to stick to the diet while on holiday, but I don't feel too bad for it at the moment. I'm hoping I'll be one of these people who doesn't have to be too strict! Good luck also on your diet.
Posted by: Andrea Wren | February 07, 2007 at 07:35 PM
*sigh*
I hope for you as well that you won't have such a bad case. I really like your site!
Jul
Posted by: migelooch | February 08, 2007 at 07:29 PM