After trying to self-diagnose for three weeks, I finally decided to make an appointment with my doctor.?Blood was taken and tests were done. Everything came back normal. No parasites. Nothing.

That’s when I decided to hire a health coach ? someone like me who specializes in gastro-intestinal issues. I may not have known exactly what was wrong with me, but I did know that having loose stools and diarrhea three to five times a day for over a month was not a good thing. The strangest thing was that aside from that, I felt perfectly fine. A little tired, but nothing else out of the ordinary.

After speaking with Coach Claire, she determined that I had a candida overgrowth.?According to MindBodyGreen.com,“Candida is a fungus, which is a form of yeast, and a very small amount of it lives in your mouth and intestines. Its main job? Helping out with digestion and nutrient absorption.

But when overproduced, candida can break down the wall of the intestine and penetrate the bloodstream ? releasing toxic byproducts into your body and causing leaky gut. This can lead to many different health problems, from digestive issues to depression.”

If I was totally honest with myself, my?fall from {food} grace?had been happening for well over a year. Even though I was eating healthy 75-85 percent of the time, it was the other 15 percent that had started to catch up with me.

I’m a sugar junkie by nature and have been since childhood. Even though I had made better choices with some of my snack foods, sugar is sugar. Too much fruit, sweet vegetables (carrots, corn, beets, potatoes), an occasional drink when out with friends, raw honey in my tea, ice cream (it is summer after all!), gluten free pasta … it all adds up.

When it comes to candida, this was not my first rodeo. I’d had trouble with it in my early twenties and periodically it would pop up over the years. It manifests in both physical and emotional ways. Physical symptoms can range from oral thrush to yeast infections to leaky gut syndrome. Emotionally it ?can make you feel depressed and/or anxious when you have no specific reason to feel blue. Mainly because it wreaks havoc with blood sugar levels which can result in anxiety and depression.

With Coach Claire’s guidance, I started a diet that consisted of chicken, fish, greens, vegetables (sweet veggies in moderation), fruit (grapefruit, berries and green apples only), small amounts of grains like quinoa and brown rice (limited to 2-3 times/week), lots of water, eggs, nitrate free turkey bacon (once or twice a?week), raw nuts, and healthy fats (avocado, olive and coconut oils). She even gave the green light for vegan Shakeology which made me very happy.

Within three days I saw a remarkable turnaround. We added in a supplement called Candex that naturally kills off candida and a licorice root supplement to aid in digestion.

It’s been nearly a month since my turn around, and I’m slowly starting to add back in some of the healthy foods that were on the restricted list. Mostly I just stick to what I’ve been eating because it makes me feel good.

For days when I have to have a little somethin’-somethin’, I’ve found a natural sugar free coconut milk ice cream by So Delicious to replace dairy ice cream and a candy bar sweetened with low glycemic coconut nectar?by my favorite Martha’s Vineyard chocolatiers, Not Your Sugar Mama’s.

Taking care of myself is not a major project. It’s a series of small choices?? usually boring ? made every day. Eating a bowl?of ice cream?won’t result in poor health?immediately. But over time …?Well if you’ve read this far you know what happens.

If you have a health concern that you were able to overcome, please share it below. You never know who you might help or inspire!