Die-Off Symptoms

"Die-off" symptoms are the same as a Herxheimer (aka "detox") reaction. It is a "flu-like" feeling that one gets when parasites, fungi, bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens are killed in the body and being cleaned out of the body.

With candida "die-off" symptoms are caused by large numbers of candida being killed off, releasing high numbers of toxins into the system.

One person who suffers chronic candida overgrowth and has experienced the reaction many times made the remark, "Got my typical Herx reaction: cold, dizzy, light-headed, faint, can't-really-think-straight feeling." Others describe it as a "bone-tired feeling."

These "flu-like" symptoms are also cleansing (detoxing) reactions, caused by the body isolating and getting rid of toxins.

These symptoms include increased mucus secretions in all mucus membranes (nose, throat, sinuses, lungs, vagina, intestines, etc.) and muscle or joint aches and pains, more headaches, digestion disturbances and so on. It's like that "bad all over feeling" you had during a bout with the flu.

Also any symptoms you had while the candida was overgrowing will intensify. These symptoms vary person to person, according to how candida attacked their particular body. If the symptoms were mainly digestive problems, the person will experience an increase in digestive disturbances during "die-off."

If the symptoms were mostly in the head, i.e. brain fog, dizziness, headaches, etc., the person will experience an increase in those symptoms. And so on. In other words, any areas of the body that were affected by candida overgrowth symptoms will become more intense during "die-off".

On the other hand, if you eat too many carbs, sugar, alcohol, etc. that feed the yeast you will experience these same symptoms.

If a treatment is particularly effective, the onset of the "die-off" symptoms can begin within a couple of hours. That is a good sign the treatment is working.

If symptoms are too uncomfortable, cutting back to a lower amount and increasing it gradually will help. This is much better than stopping a treatment altogether.

Also, to complicate matters further it can "appear as if you are allergic" to some foods when your reactions are not an allergy or sensitivity at all. Instead they are healing reactions. This is a common occurrence when changing your diet, and particularly when starting on coconut oil or other antifungals such as garlic or oil of oregano. That is why it is important to start at lower amounts and gradually increase them.

As you can see it can be difficult to determine what is causing your symptoms. Being on the diet alone will not cause severe "die-off" symptoms unless you've started on the entire diet at once, i.e. cold turkey. If you gradually change over to the candida diet, some candida overgrowth will be killed off but not in large numbers at one time.

It is better to gradually change over to the diet until you have incorporated it completely into your daily eating habits. The diet is intended to cut off the food supply to the yeast, and also build up the immune system with a nutritious foods and supplements so the body can heal itself.

Coconut oil is one of the first things added to your diet because it is nutritious and it is antifungal as well. It is very important for your health to get plenty of good saturated fats in addition to coconut oil such as butter, lard, chicken fat, and other naturally occurring fats in animal meats and seafoods.

Once you've totally incorporated the diet into your life you can start on a "good" one other anti-fungal, i.e. garlic or oil of oregano. "Die-off" symptoms cannot be mistaken at this point. A "good" antifungal will kill off yeast in high numbers.

You can regulate the rate at which candida is killed by taking a smaller dose and gradually increasing it. Pushing through this phase and being consistent with your diet and supplements is very important.

After the worst of the 'die-off' symptoms decrease somewhat you can start on probiotics. Probiotics will also cause "die-off" symptoms but they will not be as severe as those created by antifungals.

If you slip with your diet by consuming sugars, alcohol or high-carb foods, or you become exposed to environmental substances you are sensitive to, you will also experience symptoms of the candida overgrowing.

That is why sticking to the diet is critical, in addition to avoiding toxins. If you start on antifungals and are not sticking to your diet, or you have not eliminated the sources of toxins, you will not know what is causing your symptoms.

I recommend antifungals and probiotics that are simple, containing as few ingredients as possible. Too many ingredients open the door to sensitivity reactions. In my opinion coconut oil, raw crushed garlic, oil of oregano and clove oil are the best antifungals to use, but in some cases powdered nystatin is good too, because of its versatility.

Nystatin powder is particularly useful for inhaling and sniffing, to kill candida in the respiratory system, i.e. the throat, bronchials, and the lungs. Fumes from garlic oil, oil of oregano or clove oil can also be inhaled.

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