I spent this last week seeking peace. I did so by enjoying my new home, cooking, listening to music, and getting lots of rest. I'm learning, ever so slowly, that you can't love people right or serve God if you aren't taking care of yourself. I had become so stressed out about Candida, and eating perfect that I couldn't even relax. It was consuming me. It's amazing....when you are well rested and you put your priorities in place (which I'm still working on) it's much easier to function like a healthy person.
I've been reading about our need for cleansing. The body uses many different ways: tears, sweat, bowel movements....etc. In fact there is a strong argument that women live longer than men (in general) because they have more natural opportunities for cleansing (menstrual cycles, child birth). When you eliminate your body's ability to cleanse itself in these routine ways by eating constipating foods or depriving yourself of sleep....the toxins that your body so desperately wants to release are forced deeper into your system...creating disease and illness....or just general discomfort.
To say the least the it's been nice to just sit back, relax and try and re-establish what my goals are...to cleanse both emotionally and physically. I'm in no hurry to "cure" myself...it doesn't have to be rushed. However I would like to have figured some things out and be stronger before I leave for Africa in January. So it's a process of admitting when I'm frustrated, allowing myself to be frustrated and in turn, finding ways to address the frustration.
This weekend I addressed my frustration by cooking soup, chalk full of lots of colorful veggies. I also took time to listen to music and just...be. It's so easy to rush around and join the rat race of life. And let's face it, we live in a culture that often calls for it and there's nothing you can really do about that. But I promised myself this week that if I had a busy, yucky day....I would follow it up with a peaceful, thoughtful day. Perhaps that sounds new age, but it really helped me enjoy these days off from work.
This idea leads me to another way of thought I've been reading about....balance. I'm learning that some foods are expansive, while others are contractive. An example Donna uses in her book is when you eat a large bowl of theater popcorn, you will often find yourself craving a sugary soda drink to go with it (which is why Theater concessions make so much money :). Salt (theater popcorn) is contractive to your body, therefore you start to crave a substance that will give it relief....something expansive like sugar (soda drinks). This also can explain the wheat thin/nutella phenomenon that Bethany Winstead so wonderfully describes as "pretty much amazing". The salty/sweet create the perfect balance, as we found out at a recent girls night.
Obviously too much salt and too much sugar lead to problems (such as yeast overgrowth, energy burn out, water retention, etc). The key is to find BALANCE is what you eat by pairing the right amount of expansive and contractive foods to give your body relief and satisfaction.
It sounds confusing but the body naturally craves these things, so it's not too difficult to figure out.
Expansive Foods:
(allowed with Candida diet)
Some Raw Vegetable Juices
Herbs and Spices
Teas
Kefir (which is awesome! more later...)
Raw butter, oils, ghee (I dont know what Ghee is...but I'm going to find out)
Lemons, limes, cranberries
(not allowed)
Alcohol
sugar
coffee
milk
cottage cheese
all other fruits
Balanced Foods:
(allowed on Candida Diet)
raw veggies and salads
green veggies
soaked almonds
red skin potatoes
ocean veggies (to be explained later)
winter squash
root veggies
Quinoa, Amarath and buckwheat
Contractive Foods:
(allowed on Candida Diet)
Shell fish
Fish
Fowl
Beef
Eggs
Sea Salt
(not allowed)
Nuts
Beans
all other grains (flour etc)
Hard, salty cheeses
So whether you are using the Candida diet to guide you, or just interested in a more healthy way of approaching diet, this is a very helpful idea to keep in mind. This food list has really helped me for preparing to go back on the Candida Diet...or more precisely, "The Body Eccology Diet" http://www.bodyecology.com/aboutbed.php.
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