From Foodie to The Candida Diet | My Recent Health Issues & Mini Meltdown

Hey Dolls, 

So this post is a lot more personal for me and something I haven’t spoken about, not even to many of my friends but my closest family and friends have told me its about time I post and document my current health struggles, also if anyone is going through the same thing PLEASE HIT A GYAL UP WITH SOME TIPS

This is The Candida Diaries…

For over 2 years I’ve always battled with stomach issues after over indulging in certain types of food/alcohols, I would go through months feeling fine and then could have one beer and be sick for days, feeling bloated, my stomach would tighten struggling to breathe and unable to move – my doctor first diagnosed me with acid reflux, and more recently she thought it was linked to celiac disease.

However, after switching to a Gluten-Free diet which was a little tricky but liveable my doctor called me in last Monday to let me know in fact not only was it Gluten but a Yeast Allergy, this is a lot more uncommon and there’s not much research on it yet so the only way to figure out which yeast food products I can and cannot consume is to go completely Yeast Free.

This has included cutting out all dairy products, all sugary foods and drinks, all breads/bakery goods, potatoes, white rice, pasta (except Gluten Free) anything with ‘natural flavourings’ and anything with ‘citric acid’ it leaves me with a very small list of items, for example it leaves me list of drinks as:

• Water
• Peppermint Tea
• Gin (but nothing but water to mix it with apart from water)
• Vodka (again no mixer)

For the first week I have found it SO difficult, I won’t lie, I have had multiple breakdowns just crying and being moody and temperamental because of the change in diet, feeling like I can no longer socialise because everything I’ve ever socialised around before is food and drink, I loved food, I lived for it and now I can’t have anything without reading the packet, I can’t even have potato’s or flavoured waters and i’m only starting to adjust (I say that but I did have an episode of tears this morning). It has also made me really tired and I have had to stock up on multivitamin tablets to ensure I am still healthy.

Anyway, I am through the first week and although St Patricks day I did have a slip up (I’m Irish and got carried away as we do), I have realised I can’t have any cheat days in this game, yesterday I had a sugar free red bull and a little bit of battered chicken and today I have not been able to move my body and I’m back to square one, so from today March 18th I am throwing myself into the Candida diet.

The Candida diet is the diet I have been put on – completely Yeast Free and I am going to have ups and downs, I am going to cry, I am going to be moody and unreasonable to all my family and friends when its stressing me out that I cant just have a quick breakfast and I am going to try things and hate them (Irish soda bread thats a shoutout to you) but my health has to now come first and I have decided to document the rise, the falls and everything I learn on this journey, also I thought if I could share weekly my diet and what is working whats not, anyone that has also had to move to a Gluten/Yeast free diet can share any tips as well I’m a newbie I need help!!

So i apologise to all my family and friends now for my breakdowns this week and the rest of them to come (yes I may cry if i see a bit of cheese that I can’t eat, or a dessert I can’t touch). But mainly I thank my parents for taking me on the BIGGEST food shop today so that I can start trying to make something tasty out of what I can have, and through these diaries I will share what I’ve been eating and tricks for if you are struggling with Yeast allergies / Gluten allergies.

This is the first of the Candida Diaries. 

Stay Sassy Always, With Love

Rebs xo