Don’t get me wrong, it ticks all the check boxes in the benefits column, but find it gives me too much energy and that I have to take a magnesium supplement to calm my muscle movements.

An example of this would be walking down the hallway and having to turn the corner, but instead I would overshoot the mark and then the sudden turn would cause me to stumble or fall. Another symptom that comes and goes is tummy cramps which at times is quiet uncomfortable.

Also I found my mind to be more busy and I couldn’t concentrate on one thing at a time(not to say that I could before, but it was worse now).

I have friends who rave about the benefits of Moringa and that’s probably why I persisted with it for so long, but I don’t think Moringa is for people with ataxia or celiac disease because of the energy that it gives you.

I started off at this dose, but soon realised that it had a very strong laxative affects. I though this might be because of the chlorophyll content and would eventually subside, but the affects continued. I phoned the supplier who explained to me that I should only take about 1/4 of a teaspoon and slowly work myself up to 1/2 a teaspoon with the emphasis on slowly.

It is now 2 weeks later and I am now taking 1 teaspoon per day in the morning on an empty stomach (about half an hour before breakfast).

It is still to early to say for sure that Moringa leaf powder will be of benefit to me, but research has told me that it has a very good nutritional content. I also feel my balance has somewhat improved and my body has adjusted to the chlorophyll content.

It doesn’t taste all that great so I have found the best way for me to take it is to put a teaspoon of powder in my mouth and to chase it with water diluted lemon juice to mask the taste a bit. They say you should simulate the taking of Moringa to taking a shot of liqueur.

If my body absorbs the vitamins and minerals of this amazing leaf powder then I can only see positive results coming from this supplement.

I have listed the vitamins, mineral,amino acids and antioxidants below so you can see this is a very beneficial powder.

Vitamin A (Arginine Carotene), Vitamin B1 (Thiamin), Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B3 (Niacin), Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin K, Calcium, Copper, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Zinc, Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalinine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine

Gram for gram, Moringa Leave Powder contains seven times the vitamin C in oranges, four times the Calcium in milk, four times the vitamin A in carrots, two times the protein in milk and three times the Potassium in bananas.

I will update you as to how my body reacts and also if I am able to absorb the nutrients.

There are large particle concentrations and small dense particle concentrations and it is the small dense concentrations that are the bad guys. Therefore if you have a high LDL count with a large particle concentration they are completely benign.

How this works is that your artery walls are all lined with cells and these small dense LDL particles are small enough to slip through those cells. They are also more readily oxidized and only oxidized LDL can enter the macrophages in the lining of the arteries and form cholesterol rich plaques. These plaques can build up and eventually restrict blood flow to the heart and result in a heart attack.

There are tests that you can do for different LDL particle sizes – one such test is the NMR LipoProfile, but a normal Lipogram will also do the trick.

To tell if the cause of your raised LDL cholesterol in a normal LipoProfile is from large or small particles you must look at your HDL/Triglyceride levels. If your LDL count is on the high side and your HDL/Triglyceride ratio has worsened then small dense particles are most likely present in your cholesterol and there is cause for concern.

It is very important to understand this and until Timothy Noakes the Sports and Science Professor at the University of Cape Town explained it to me I was under impression that all LDL cholesterol was bad.

Most importantly in my case my HDL/Triglyceride ratio is better which has improved my profile substantially and has also told me that my raised LDL is from the large particles and are completely
benign.

This is evidence is that a high fat diet outperforms on all variables measured.

I was excited in that I had blood tests done before I started my high fat escapade and could compare the two sets of results.

Firstly the fats in my diet come from nuts, seeds, eggs, avocados and wild game. They are also mainly monounsaturated fats with a bit of saturated fats from the grass fed wild game.

I arrived at the clinic over this past weekend and waited in the waiting room eagerly to have the tests taken. Eventually it was my turn and I explained what tests I wanted done.

I rolled up my sleeve so that the sister could draw blood, but being the dead of winter here (I think it was 6 degrees outside) my veins that were normally exposed were now hidden and the sister found it difficult to find one of them.

Needless to say she hurt me as she had three attempts at trying to draw the blood, but eventually got it right(not going back to that sister).

I got my results back today and initially I was quite shocked as my cholesterol levels had shot up, but then I began to analyse it and look at the ratio between good and bad cholesterol.

Although my cholesterol figures have climbed considerably the ratio was 0.06 lower in these results compare to the previous lot(1.8666 and 1.8 respectively). I now feel a little bit better about the results, but still want to cut down on my red meat intake and maybe I can improve on them.

There was a bit of an improvement in the rest of the results, but will post them here for your perusal.

24/03/2012

06/06/2012

Candex contains fibre digesting enzymes which are claimed to kill the Candida since their cell walls are mainly made of fibre. Candida cells can’t change their structure therefore it is thought that by the enzymatic approach resistance cannot be induced.

After receiving the product I thought I would take the upper limit dose as it states that Candex digests the Candida and that it should not produce any “die off”.

I took two tablets in the morning and two just before bed on an empty stomach as indicated. I continued this dose for a week.
At first I felt amazing as though I had more strength, control etc. I was moving faster and speaking clearer, but then it hit me.

My balance was off, I kept bumping into things, I was more reserved than normal and worst of all I had major brain fog.

I had one of the worst weeks at work that I have had in a very very long time. I couldn’t concentrate and everything I touched went wrong. I just sat in meetings with a blank stare on my face oblivious to all around me.

I have since stopped taking the product, but the ill effects still took a couple of days to where off and have now eventually dissipated.

I put this down to a healing/herximer reaction and that because of the higher end dose that the reaction was too much for my body to handle.
I am now back on my diet (only) and am quite happy the way things are progressing – until I get another bee in my bonnet.

Have any of you tried Candex from Pure Essence Laboratories – I would love to know your thoughts on the product.
 
 

Don’t think if you change your diet and take the right supplements that you will feel better and better each day. The body clears out toxins in cycles and flare ups are part of those cycles.
 
As an example – you start your gluten/yeast free diet and for a while you feel much better, but after a time you start to develop symptoms. Maybe you feel nauseous or get diarrhea. When you recover you start to feel even better than before. This goes well for a couple of days and then you suddenly develop a cold, feel chills and lose your appetite. Three days after that you again recover and feel better than you did before that.

You will also find over the duration of these cycles that you’ve got more energy or your balance is better and you have got more control of your movements.
 
This is how recovery occurs – You feel better, a reaction occurs, you don’t feel as well for a short while and then you feel better than before.
 
Every time you go though a cycle you feel better than your last recovery (your health increases with every cycle). Also as you go through your cycles your reactions get less and less intense.
 
As the body rids itself of the toxins and becomes stronger, the reactions become shorter and milder. You will also experience longer periods of well being until the healing reactions subside altogether and you reach your optimal health.

Until recently the majority of the house hold chores fell on to my significant other. This is not because I didn’t want to help her, but
because of fear of dropping dishes when washing up or stacking and unpacking the dishwasher. I used to get dizzy when hanging up the washing(looking up into the sun even though not directly)

I used to hate making beds and cleaning the kitchen etc.for fear of falling or spilling things. Anyway I didn’t have the energy or willpower to do the chores.
Therefore I used to make every excuse under the sun in order to avoid doing them.

I have now recovered to an extend (thanks to the gluten and yeast free diet) that I can help more around the house and I feel I have more energy especially in the mornings. I get up early and my daughter and I go downstairs to make ourselves breakfast.

I then start cleaning the kitchen and unstacking the dishwasher from the night before. My wife then awakes to a clean kitchen while I go back upstairs to make the beds.

I do this not only to help my wife, but to prove to myself I can do it( I think mostly I do it because I can). I frequently hang the washing with no dizzy problem and can even play a bit of netball with my daughter.

Working in the garden used to pose a problem in that the dogs used to knock me over or I used to fall over when crouching down to pick up the leaves. I now find that I have the strength to hold my own body weight when picking up the leaves and I don’t find the dogs a problem any more.

After all the chores are done I feel so refreshed, its like I have just finished a workout. What better way to relax than to lie on the couch with a handful of almonds and watch a super 15 rugby match.

When I first began I had 2nd thoughts because of all the ill affects. My bones started to ache and I had a runny nose, my balance was shot and I had major “brain fog”. I knew that I had reintroduced almonds into my diet knowing that it affected me when I first went gluten/yeast free in 2010.

One thing that was a major concern to me was that I had loose pale coloured stools. I searched for answers on the internet and came up with 2 options, it could be either an allergy to the almonds or it could be a blockage in the bile ducts thus not producing bile which gives the stools their brown colour.

So I gave up the almonds for a couple of days as this was my first thought, but my “symptom” did not go away. At this stage I was thinking that I have damaged my body as I had intense tummy cramps and that I would have to go to my doctor.

That night I came across an interesting article which said that if you suddenly increase your fat intake you will feel unwell and your stools will be paler in colour until your body adjusts to the new diet. I then found a number of articles stating the same thing about fat so I put the doctors appointment on hold for the moment and continued with the higher fat intake.

About 7 days after I began my symptoms of my runny nose and brain fog lessened, my stools were a bit darker and my balance got better.

I reintroduced the almonds once again thinking I must be mad, but limited the intake to 10 per day. My symptoms didn’t get any worse so I gradually increased the amount to quarter of a cup over the next few days.

I am now on day 10 and I am virtually free from the symptoms above except for mild shoulder/neck muscle pain(more stiffness than pain).

I have now averaged a diet of 38/41/21 – Fats, Carb’s, protein and well on my way to my goal as you can read in one of my earlier posts about Fats or Carb’s.

After doing some searching I found a website -The SCDiet – which will tell you all you need to know about the diet short of reading Elaine Gottschall book “Breaking the Vicious Cycle”.

All the foods on the diet seem to be gluten free, but not all are yeast free. What I like about the diet is the science behind it which you can read on the website.

What I have taken out of this so far is to give up all grains, to re-introduce a few old foods that previously affected me and to add some new suggested foods.

I still drink milk which could soon be replaced by SCD yogurt. It looks pretty simple to make and would be very beneficial as far as repopulating the gut with good bacteria.

I also like the idea about ripe fruit especially bananas – I miss my bananas.

To make my bananas ripe I either put them in the microwave for about 10 seconds and when I take them out they ripen in a couple of minutes or I just put them in a plain old paper bag and let nature take it’s course. To speed up this process you can always put an apple in the bag with the bananas.

I have restructured my diet to to include/exclude the foods mentioned above, but being very careful to include the essential nutrients that the body needs.

Although my diet more represents the Candida/Paleo diets the SCDiet does have some good points and the science behind it.

I bought some and did some further research that night. I was pleased with what I found because not only is it rich in magnesium, but it is nearly 15% protein, contains high amounts of fiber, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some vitamin E. It is particularly high in the minerals iron, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium so I thought that I had found a very good substitute for a magnesium supplement amongst other things.

The first day went well, I was more relaxed, had more energy, had more control and generally did things quicker. When I awoke the next morning I awoke with a headache, my left arm was lame and I had this tightness in my chest. Naturally I suspected the worst, but the pain subsidised somewhat so I had another bowl of millet for breakfast. Throughout the day I endured the pain and I gradually lost control of my muscles and my balance got worse.

I have now been on Millet for 4 days now and things have been getting progressively worse.

I the found some evidence linking the functioning of the thyroid to Millet and it turns out that Millet contains goitrogens which limit the uptake of iodine to the thyroid and in large amounts can cause goiter.(enlargement of the thyroid gland) This in turn could also lead to the swelling of the neck or larynx(voice box)

Goitrogens are not unique to Millet, but it has them in big amounts. Studies have also found that Millet contains glutens, but the glutens in Millet do not contain the gliadin molecule that can provoke the inflammatory reaction and therefore is usually safe to eat.(yeah right) Millet also contains prolamines that are similar to the alpha-gliadin of wheat and so may be a problem for gluten-sensitive individuals.

I have stopped eating Millet due to my experience above, but would like your point of view on the grain/seed. Also if you have any food choices to increase my magnesium intake I would appreciate the feedback.