Kava and anti-fungal diet

[kilakila]

I guess this question should really be directed towards @Mrbinx69 - you seem like a really good nutritional guru. I've had ongoing hip pain and nothing has worked for it - from acupuncture to chiropractic to stretching to NSAIDS (which I found I can't take!) So today I went to a holistic practitioner. She did some nice gentle manipulations which felt really good and then started muscle testing for food sensitivities, emotional issues etc. Now, I'm very open-minded about this kind of stuff and she did confirm what a doctor had told me was going on with my hip and sacrum area. She also correctly identified some other stuff that I'd recently had tested - thryoid, vitamin d levels - and previous anxiety issues. So we tested my current supplements - most of them I was sensitive to and shouldn't take, and herbs that would help heal my body. The one "supplement" I forgot to take with me was my kava. Maybe I didn't want to find out I was sensitive to it and shouldn't take it!! Anyway, she says my body is full of fungus (ugh) and all manner of bad stuff that needs de-toxing. Question is - do you think I should give kava a break for a while? There's a lot of food I have to avoid for at least a month and then gradually introduce, and I'm on a regimen of 5 herbal supplements. Oh and one supplement that contains St John's Wort. Oh, and she also thinks I don't have enough acid to digest food properly. Which I would say was correct.
I suppose really I should just suck it up and stop the kava for a month too. But if someone says - oh yea, I had that problem too and continued with kava, then I'd be happy. Alcohol and chocolate is on the list of things to avoid too. AAAAAAGGGGHHHHHHH

 

[kastom_lif]

How did this "holistic practitioner" determine that you have a fungal infection?

No amount of herbal cleanses will fix hip pain. Your GP may be able to help or refer you to a specialist.

Anyway, I hope you're feeling super again real soon.

 

[kilakila]

She did a great deal of "muscle testing" - and yes I know it all sounds very "woo-woo" but alternative medicine is always my preferred route of treatment as I cannot take any allopathic medicines due to extreme sensitivity. I refuse to take painkillers and I have to be on my game anyway when I'm taking care of my grandkids. I've had this type of pain before and it usually goes away within a few weeks but this time its hung on. I (and my message therapist) originally thought is was piriformis syndrome affecting the sciatic nerve, but my symptoms point more towards the iliotibial band. So I'm working on focused stretching, icing and foam rolling for that area. Strangely enough the pain in that area started when I was going through a horrible time with my ex daughter in law. Not going into the whole story here, but I firmly believe that i had PTSD because of it - psychiatrist and therapist said it was anxiety. Well yea maybe but it was deeper than that. And I think I still carry the pain. And its manifested in my body - you know - "Pain in the Butt"!
The herbs I have are all tried, true and tested and one of them targets inflammation - which is the root cause of most if not all illness. I'm keeping an open mind because I don't want to see a doctor or a specialist! Once you're in that system you can stuck for life!

 

[SelfBiasResistor]

I feel the same way about allopathic medicine. Especially when it comes to pain or anything psychiatric related. I would really recommend trying tart cherry juice. I've been using it for a year and I have not had any need to take NSAIDs. Before that, I was taking handfuls of Ibuprofen a day. It can be helpful for so many issues. I'm not sure about the fungal thing but it is very good at taking away or greatly lessening inflammation.

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

I too am skeptical of the full of fungus situation. This is usually known as heroic medicine. You are poisonous. Let me detox you.

What are the 5 herbal supplements you take?

Have you been tested for magnesium levels?

Is it a sharp hot pain or is a it dull aching that is more constant?
^^^^^^
How does it feel when you meditate on the hip pain?

 

[kilakila]

Hi @Mrbinx69 ! I'm not at home today and didn't bring the herb containers - I'll get back to you on those. I too am slightly sceptical on the fungal thing. But I do agree with avoiding certain foods for a while. Because certain foods do give me migraine! I take magnesium on a regular basis but not had levels checked. The hip pain currently is more like a dull ache that worsens when I walk and towards the end of the day. I also feel pain in calf muscle and I'm certain that's a trigger point. There is occasional sciatic like twinges. No pain when sitting or lying down. I know my pelvis is out of alignment! Chiro working on that!
Trying to remember herbs - morinda, reishi, illicium and melia. One more was I think "hemoguard" and not sure what was in that. Then one blend that contained a blend of vitamins, folate and St. John's wort. Yea I think that's it!
As for meditating on the pain - I'm aware of it and trying to imagine it moving through space in my body and then out beyond my body. It works until I have to be active!!

 

[violet]

Not that I'm recommending this, but if you were to take something known for taking out fungus (I'm guessing this means candida overgrowth?) and the muscle testing was correct, you'd probably experience a very telling (albeit nasty and miserable) reaction to the substance. Candida is a helpful microbe and we all have it. Immmune deficiency, diet, and antibiotic exposure among other things can cause it to shift to a more invasive form. It can remain a very problematic issue until the root causes are addressed and corrected. Moderate doses of B3 can cause it to shift back to its benign form, but remaining issues must be fixed or it will probably remain a battle.

Muscle testing can be a great tool, but fully depends on the skill, expertise, and integrity of the practitioner. It can be very useful to learn to muscle test things on your own, especially when it comes to supplements.

If you go with the antifungal diet or anti-candida "killing" types of supplements/foods (caprylic acid, coconut oil, olive leaf, garlic, many, many more) the die off can make you really sick, as if you are flattened with the flu. You can take molybdenum 3 times a day, it creates the enzymes that will bind to the neurotoxin acetaldehyde produced by the candida and die off so they are carried out of the body (as acetic acid) rather than making you more sick. Usually better to take it before beginning anti-candida routine, otherwise treatment may have to be paused until the body is better able to handle the extra load for detox.

 

[kilakila]

@violet - thank you for all that information! I can definitely tell something is going on. I feel worse today than two days ago! Woke up headachy and dizzy so contacted the therapist and waiting for her response. It's my oldest grandsons birthday weekend and I do not want to feel this way.

 

[violet]

@kilakila you are most welcome. If the prescriber suspected yeast and put you on on an anti-candida regimen she really ought to have informed you about how to deal with the inevitable detox reactions . It's okay to slow down a treatment if it's causing die-off faster than you body can deal with comfortably. Some would say to push through it, but forcing your body to remain exposed to more neurotoxins than it is capable of handling at one time isn't good for us, physically, mentally, nor spiritually. There are much better, healthier ways to do it.

Be sure to keep your bowels moving regular, ingest extra fluids to dilute the stuff your body is trying to get rid of, and strongly consider bringing chelated molybdenum on board for the duration of the ride.

 

[kilakila]

Thanks @violet! She did mention feeling tired, sluggish and maybe a skin reaction and to contact her if I was concerned. Which I did and she advised me to reduce dosage. She didn't mention molybdenum so I think I'll try that on my own!

 

[violet]

Welcome! The molybdenum makes a night and day difference, it's the aldehydes that are making you feel bad/worse and the molybdenum gets them to convert from something neurotoxic to harmless acetic acid before acting as a poison in the body.

You'll want to spread doses throughout the day, 3 times is effective. I don't recall the dosage offhand right now but it doesn't have to be high to work, just need to keep it in the system. I'll see if I can dig up a good page on it for you .

 

[violet]

I like the way this page explains yeast die-off, resulting neurotoxins, and usage of molybdenum:

http://blog.probacto.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-herxheimer-candida-die-off/

I've used the molybdenum product linked to in Amazon, and have likewise used chelated molybdenum from Swanson's, which is dosed a little higher at 400 mcg. Both worked well for me and others for use in similar situation. You might be able to find it locally in a Vitamin Shoppe or health food store, just make sure it's chelated. The upper tolerable limit is said to be 2 grams daily (from Linus Pauling Institute). That would be like 2,500 of the 400 mcg capsules daily, so toxicity shouldn't be a concern.

There are some other good detox suggestions in the article. If you increase "detox" do so slowly as some methods add more burden to the system while others lend more gentle support. Lemon water with the peels each day is always good as it supports phase 2 liver detox.

Make sure you are keeping up with magnesium intake - several doses spread through the day for oral (chelated most bioavailable oral), transdermal with mag oil or Epsom salt bath is most bioavailable and the body will take up as much as it needs with no extra to burden the kidneys. Magnesium is vital to hundreds of enzyme reactions in the body. It becomes extra depleted in times of stress and illness, cannot detox or methylate without it.

 

[kilakila]

Excellent information Violet! Can't thank you enough! I actually ordered the molybdenum mentioned in that article this morning! Should have it by tomorrow. Can I ask how you became so knowledgeable on all of this? Also I would imagine it would be wise to stop kava intake while I'm doing all of this?

 

[violet]

Ugh, more personal experience with health issues than I would wish on a worst enemy. But blessed with a formal background that's been needed to deal with such things.

I've found kava tends to slow down the detox process. It might help you feel a little better in some ways but could also make you feel worse in others. When your body is working to move bad stuff out so it can heal and rebalance it would be best to devote the greatest amount of resources possible so it can do so more efficiently, going without if/when possible. That said, you may have such a need for the benefit of kava that you need it to prevent other negatives. If so, then you will have to find a balance where you are making gains in your overall physical health.

 

[kilakila]

Glad to know I can still do Kava when needed. I don’t do a lot but when I do I know it’s sorely needed! Especially now as wine is one of my “foods to avoid” for a month!

 

[Zac Imiola (Herbalist)]

Absolutely wonderful. I couldn't have answered that except theoretically .

Kava absolutely slows down the liver. The glutathione prevents it from being overly inhibiting. Kava in water is always safer than alcohol extract when it comes to kava drug interactions.