It's amazing how just looking at a picture of bread causes little pangs of discomfort in my stomach. I searched for a bread picture online so I could write about my experience of simply smelling fresh bread at the grocery store (which caused immediate pains in my gut) and now as I sit here just looking at this image I'm starting to feel those same pains surface. Our mind is a powerful thing.

I haven't been great about keeping up on here, I can assure you it's not for lack of things to say, it's just that I've had some setbacks in my healing which have been frustrating. I've been so good about sticking to a Candida diet for the majority of the last 8 months but I thought with the holidays coming, I might just sneak in a few treats here and there. Well that was a big mistake. Since Thanksgiving I've had some not so pleasant side effects one of which is something I read about early on when I was researching candida and that is a skin rash. Some people have it all the time or there are others (like me) who develop this when they eat something that their body feels is toxic and within a matter of minutes produces surface inflammation on some part of their body. Well lucky for me this happens across the right side of my face. The good news is that it will go away within a day when I detox my body from all sugars (I only eat natural sugars) and carbs. But the downside is that I can't even eat brown rice or any type of carbohydrate, even if they contain 0 grams of sugar, unless I want to look like a before pic on a Pro Activ informercial. Needless to say this makes for a very dull holiday season.

I'm back on a very strict regimen of Candida fighting supplements and they come with their own slew of side effects but if I don't do this now it will only get worse. I long for the days when I used to indulge in holiday sweets, cakes, wine, nog, stuffing, peppermint tini's, you name it. Perhaps those days will return and when they do, eating will be such a privilege - one which I will never, ever take for granted.

Blessings to you and your loved ones this season.