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a patient story

Natural and Holistic Medicine continues to grow globally for one simple reason..it gets results. We have conversations with patients that have achieved success by using natural medicines and holistic practitioners presenting cases.

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a patient story

Beating Chronic Candida

July 02, 2025 • Daniel Baden ND • Episode 60

All feedback and questions welcome

If itching skin, redness, vaginal discharge, brain fog. bloating and general exhaustion sound familiar you may have a common fungal infection; candida albicans. Sometimes some antifungal agents offer temporary relief but unless you make big changes to your diet it will always come back. Chronic candida can impact how you want to live your life. Our guest Ricki Heller discusses how she beat it. If you need inspiration listen in..

Well, hello, Ricky Heller. How are you going?

I'm great. How are you?

I'm fabulous, but I'm in nice warm Australia and you last time we spoke, you were shovelling snow from the front of your house to get out.

Ohh my gosh. Well it has finally begun to melt. Thankfully, so yes, we're headed towards spring and I guess you guys are headed towards cooler weather.

Slowly we we're a bit all over the place. We have often the bushfires at one end of the country and then we have floods at the other end.

It's a standard Australian way of living.

Oh dear. One day I hope to visit.

Yeah. Well, you're always welcome. So today, we're going to talk about Candida Candida albicans to be specific and your personal journey with it. And it's quite an important topic because it said that Candida affects something like 30 to 50% of the population at any one time and. As you get older, you are potentially more susceptible to Candida. I was reading one study where they they positively found Candida in the mouth and oral cavity of over 60% of people who are over 60 years. Cold and you know that's, I guess, a big testament to our way of life, our diet. And that's what you're the expert on. You've written a book called Living Candida Free, which is published in 2015. But I'm sure the lessons are still relevant to us today. And so let's talk about you.

And my journey with Candida, yeah, I was just gonna say in terms of the book, I mean, I think that the treatments have changed and maybe diagnostic tools have changed, but the traits that you need and the, the sort of skills you need in order to navigate this journey with Candida, I think those are sort of. Unless.

How old were you when you first realised that you had something not quite right?

I was thinking about that earlier and I think it really goes back to a younger age, younger than I first realised, because when I think back in my teens I used to get headaches and they were here in the middle of the forehead. So looking back, you know, I have one of my Candida symptoms was really terrible. Sinus issues and I suspect that was sort of precursor to what was going to happen later. And then I always had sort of what my parents called a sensitive stomach. So my digestive system, you know, if I was stressed, I would get stomach aches. And that was quite early on, like in my teenage years. And then so I was first diagnosed at around 40. And even before that, I. Again, I had sinus problems throughout my 20s and beyond. And then in my mid 20s I was diagnosed with IBS, irritable bowel syndrome. Which I suspect looking back was actually, you know, a symptom of Candida overgrowth right there. You know, the dysbiosis connected with that. So I think it actually began quite early, even though it wasn't officially diagnosed.

Candida is often associated with things like vaginal or vaginal thrush, and you know, sometimes in the mouth if you're severely. Ill and a lot of people don't associate it with other general symptoms like IBS, irritable bowel syndrome, but even sinusitis. I mean, there are a number of studies out there demonstrating that sinus is often a fungal infection of some sort. And Candida is certainly one of the more common ones that can cause sinusitis and. People keep taking antibiotics, which makes the Candida worse and may look at other sort of saline solutions. They spray into their nose, which may give temporary relief, but it certainly doesn't deal with the problem. So it's it's common.

Oh, absolutely. And I remember being shocked to read that up to 93% of sinus infections are related to some sort of fungus or fungal infection, which was shocking to me. But you know, as you're talking about those common symptoms like the vaginal infections and the the oral thrush and. All those things, basically any Candida symptom you can mention. I had it at one time or another. I had them all. Yeah.

Yeah. Don't mean to put you on the spot, but vaginal thrush is a very common one and a lot of females would find that they had pain or discomfort on intercourse. The the lining of the vagina was just raw and red and and and often they would go undealt with for a long time. Is that the experiences you had as well?

Yeah, in my 30s and when I was married, that's when I I had a lot of yeast infections. And so I went to a, you know, conventional Dr and I like, I was treated with fungal creams and suppositories and things. And eventually that went away. I remember that was the very first time I even heard about. Candida or candida diet. It was a. Very early book. The name of which I forget now, but like the first major book that was published, was in around 1999, I think. And so I followed that diet strictly. Basically. I think the fact that I cut out all sugar and alcohol at the time, that's sort of what set me back on the path. And I was young. So I could. Recover, you know, but then later on that came back, I had oral thrush. I had athletes foot. I I mean every like I. Like the way it was diagnosed was I had a rash on my chest just along the ball line, right. So under my breast and I went to my allopathic Dr. She gave me a cream and she said, oh. This will be gone in two weeks. And what happened was I kind of, I thought it was better stopped using the cream, about another two or three weeks later, I discovered that the rash had grown and it was starting to go down my midsection, and it literally at one point was covering my entire midsection from the chest down to my belly button. And so I'm I'm getting into my story, but I ended up going to a series of doctors. I finally found a dermatologist. I had seen about 10 dermatologists. She gave me creams. They didn't work. So finally she prescribed diflucan fluconazole. Yes. For two weeks. And that was the first time in about 6 months that I wasn't itchy. And so by then I had been reading about it, and I had I, you know, found some professionals online who suggested you want to combine, you know, the prescription drug with a a more natural approach if you had.

Because it was. I had a pretty severe case and so, but when I went back her. She wouldn't prescribe. It because she said it was too harsh on your liver. I later found out that, you know, if you're really eating an incredibly clean diet, as you should when you're. Can eat a diet. That you know it it wasn't as it wasn't likely that it was going to harm your liver. I ended up having liver tests. Over time I found a. A sort of natural leaning allopathic Doctor Who prescribed the fluconazole for a longer time and at the same time I was also seeing a naturopathic Dr. But so we did liver enzyme tests every three months and it was all. He's fine, but I really firmly believe that if I hadn't combined that with my more natural approach and more holistic approach, it wouldn't matter. It would just come back as soon as as you stopped using the medication. I think the medication was what we used as a bridge to get me to the point where my body was now detoxified enough. And strong enough to fight it on my own.

Overtime, the pH of the skin starts to change and it spreads out a little bit as well. And if you don't deal with it just continues to spread. So you are obviously well advanced in your can. Yeah.

Oh, it was horrible. My my naturopathic doctor, who had told me that mine was the worst case he had seen in his 20 years of practise. So it was pretty bad. It literally took I, I think six or nine months before the rash.

Just started to shrink. I felt no difference for at least six months.

Growing up, were you a sickly sort of person or? Was your diet unusual?

Yeah, yeah, I wasn't sick. Which is interesting because my diet was horrible. Quite frankly. I mean, my mom was a Type 2 diabetic who was a sugar addict. So I grew up baking from the time I was like 6 years old, we always had homemade sweets in the house. And my I have two sisters. We were always eating cakes and cookies and.

And then when I, I think it was a reaction actually. So my mom, my dad was an immigrant who grew up on a farm. He only wanted homemade food, which I I look back and I'm so thankful for that because I think it could have been much worse if I hadn't eaten homemade fresh food. However, because of that, my sisters and I were always we felt that we were deprived because. All our friends had these prepackaged, you know, processed foods in their houses and we didn't have them. So when I moved out on my own, I went away to university at 8:00. Teen I just ate junk constant. I mean constantly. So yeah, I had a lot of processed food, a lot of convenience foods, a lot, a lot of sugar. I mean, in my 20s, honestly, I could have. I mean, I could have, you know, a pan of brownies for breakfast. You know, and then I might have ice cream. Like, who knows what? Like, just any sweets I would eat. And plus, you know, in your 20s and 30s and my social life, I mean, it wasn't a huge drinker, but if I was out with friends, I'd have wine, which of course is converted to sugar in the body.

The a lot of refined foods. I love pasta. I love you know, bread and muffins and cakes. So yeah, I think that was a problem. And you know the other, the other one of the other major factors is stress. And so I I suffered from anxiety in my 20s and 30s. Lots of I I was probably chronically low with low grade depression. But what's fascinating about that, I mean, I when I was around in my late 40s, I guess when I had started reading about Candida and this was after I had already worked a bit with my naturopath, I decided I was going to go study holistic nutrition because I wanted to further understand like why was were they telling me I could eat these.

And not those. So at the time, of course, you're surrounded by other people who are also interested in, you know, clean, healthy eating. And my diet completely changed that year. And by the end of the year, my depression, my anxiety were gone. Gone. Which was shocking but fascinating now.

Well, you you preempted my question my comment, I'm sorry because I was gonna suggest that anxiety and depression are very strongly associated with Candida and other chronic infections as well. So look well done. Well, good discovery.

When you started to change your diet, how did you start to change? What did you find? Did you read a book? Did you talk to somebody? What was the trigger?

It was saying my naturopathic Doctor Who prescribed this diet, you know, and it was cold Turkey. I'll tell you like I I, yeah, huge change from from the day before.

OK. Yeah, because usually when you start a diet like that and you have to leave the foods that you love, you know, sugar. In your case, it creates often a a big it's like leaving heroin or leaving some other very addictive sort of drug. How did you feel with that were? Who stressed about leaving those foods?

I was and I I did have. I mean, I guess like is like a healing crisis, right. Like, I I did have a very strong reaction. I felt ill for a few days. But I think my I was so determined that I could not live this way. I mean, it was so debilitating that I just felt that it was. To to continue on feeling that sick and being that debilitated was so much worse than giving up the food, and I have to admit initially. Because a lot of people at the time, certainly this would have been around 2009, the, the the approach to Candide at the time was you go on this diet usually for like maybe 3 months and then after that there's an 8020 approach where you stay on the diet 80% of the time and you can eat whatever you want for 20% of the time. And so I was thinking. You know, I won't have to be on this that long. Well, here we are, 2025, and I'm basically still on the same diet.

Good. And you look well.

So thank you. I mean things have changed. I have brought back a few of the foods, but they're most of them. I have not and I think the biggest difference now is just that there are sweet treats available that are Candida friendly, right? They don't have any sugar that now that we've got stevia. I don't know over there, but we have, you know, the sugar alcohols, which are 0 glycemic, which I feel is it's unfortunate for someone like me who is a sugar addict because. I would say I'm a sweets addict, and so once those became available, I was able to have desserts. Again. Not a good thing. For someone like me.

Right, OK. And what about any mental symptoms other than the anxiety and depression often does an associated brain fog or loss of concentration capacity, did you suffer through any of those?

I did have a bit of that I would say not initially, but at at one point when it was so in 2009, I went on this diet. I had been on it before in 2009 was the second time and the second time because I had got felt better, I went back to eating all the same foods and then it really hit me hard. And so the second time around. Yes, I did have some of that. And at the time I was teaching at a college, and I remember distinctly, I mean. I would go back to my office. I usually had classes in the morning thankfully, but I'd go back to my office in around 2:30 or three. I'd shut the door, put my hand on the desk and. I'd have to sleep for.

A little while before I could get up again. So yeah, it definitely affected me that way.

What was these basics of the diet that the naturopathic physician recommended to you?

So initially I mean what they usually tell you. Is what you. Have to remove.

From the diet. So and then. You hear this long list? Of foods and going Oh my God, what's left to eat? But so for me and I'm not, I I my understanding is that it's a little bit more lenient today it you know from the way it was in 2009 in 2009. I cut out all sugar of any kind, so any added sugar, even sugar in fruit I didn't have fruit for two years. And like I said, any sweeteners kind of alcohol, anything that converts to sugar as well. So alcohol, any kind of starchy foods, most grains except for gluten, some whole gluten free grains. I cut out red meat and dairy and I actually cut it all meat and and eggs. And dairy I. Was vegan for a while, which is why. My book is vegan. Anything processed, anything artificial coffee at the time was considered a no no. I believe again now that the diet has kind of evolved. I think that people who go on the Candida diet today are permitted to have some coffee. Anything mouldy, anything with fungus. So all well, of course, old age cheese is out, but. Even most nuts were considered really mouldy. I I haven't had peanuts since 2009. Or peanut butter, which I. Love pistachios, a very high mould nut. So when I when I wrote the book I did some research on that because I could not, especially as a vegan, I could not give up on that. And a lot of diets will tell you to avoid cashews. But in my research that I found they were like #5 on the list of the top moulding that so I thought OK, you know what? I'm I'm going to have cashews once in a while, but mostly almonds. You know, pumpkin seeds, hemp. Seeds. Pumpkin seeds are great, actually, for Candida, I would have sunflower seeds. Sesame seeds. I actually had tofu as a main source of protein and tempeh at the time. That was very controversial. I recall, you know, so we ended up in the book putting in fermented tofu because of course, it's more easily. Adjustable, but yeah, in terms of cutting out, I think those are the main categories. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head. So yeah, basically all. The foods you love to eat.

Ohh I'm wondering why mates were taken out of the diet.

I think at the time it was recommended especially red meat because if it's not organic it's it's so full of hormones and additives and things. Again, I believe that if someone is is a an omnivore today, you know, if they're not vegan, they can have as as long as it's organic grass fed. They can have stuff like that.

Or chicken or, you know, certain fish were not recommended like tuna because it's so high in mercury and your body's. Already still full of tax. Reasons I think sardines were a big fish for me if I were going to eat fish then I would eat sardines. Yeah. So but. That was really the main reason I think.

When you started the diet, I imagine it took you a little while to adapt and find the food. How did you? Yeah, I'm sure. Did it affect your sleep?

The craving. Not that I recall. Actually, I think I was so exhausted that I slept anyway. You know, just just the energy of mentally staying on this diet all day. And for me, because I was not that, that was unusual for me to cook from scratch. But now I was cooking 100% of everything from scratch, so that was more. It took more time and more energy. So I think no, my sleep at the time wasn't affected quite honestly, but I do recall, you know again most people will tell you if you're a sugar addict after a week, the cravings will subside. Again, here we are in 2025, you know, but I will say I you know I it it's obviously not the same. I don't.

I you know, I a few years ago my younger sister got married and there was this huge dessert table at the end of the evening with a chocolate fountain and all the things I love. And I remember a friend saying to me I put, you know, a few pieces of pineapple and some fresh strawberries on my plate. And she said, how can you of like? How can you? To avoid this, how do you not feel like you have to eat this now? And really, what happens overtime is especially, and this is part of what I talked about in the book with mindset is for me it's like a a binary yes or no, it's a yes food or and no food and the no foods are 100% no. Because I found that if I gave myself any leeway and that's how. I had that relapse the.

You know, if I if I say to myself, well, you can have one small piece of chocolate that. Turns into a whole. Bar. Yeah, I don't have that self control. So for me it has to be all or nothing. And after all this time you you get to a point where it it's almost as if it doesn't exist in your reality anymore. It's just a no. So I it doesn't tempt me anymore but in the beginning. It was incredibly difficult and I I really. Number you know at the time that I started that diet, there were none of these prepared treats, so you couldn't buy anything in the store that was candida friendly. That was also a sweet treat. You could get just stevia as the sweetener, though I was desperate and I remember taking, I mean in the first week, I probably ate half a jar of almond butter a day. Like it was ridiculous. And I just told myself if it's as long as it's Candida approved, I don't care how much I eat. I'm not going to worry about quantities. I'm just not going. To eat the things. That I'm not allowed to eat as long as I avoid those things. I don't care how much I eat of. The other things, and for me, that was a strategy that worked because over time, you know, you can't eat the half of jar of almond butter anymore.

Yeah. Good. I'm really interested in your thoughts on rent fermented foods because there are two sides to the story with fermented foods, and I'm talking about things like sauerkraut or kimchi or these sorts of foods. On one hand, they're fabulous source of probiotics.

On the other hand, the you know some of the authors around Candida would suggest that they also feed the Candida. What are your?

I think it has to be a, a a personal choice in that you need to to monitor what happens with your own body. So for me they were incredibly helpful. They really helped me to rebalance my gut and because something like sauerkraut, I think it has like 100 times the probiotics. The capsule, right like it. They're just, they're so much better than using the supplements. I didn't find I had any reactions, but I think they're also high histamine foods if I'm correct. So for some people, you know it, it can cause almost like an allergic reaction.

I didn't have that issue, so when I used to work with people, I mean I would tell them to monitor whether, you know, take it for a few days. If your symptoms increase, then obviously this is something you want to cut back on. But I know there's one philosophy that you know that they believe you should rebalance the gut 1st and then you can reintroduce those kinds of foods.

Yeah, I think that to me personally, that makes some sense because your ability to deal with histamine comes from what your gut produces specific enzymes to breakdown the fermented food. And if your guts are already affected by. High inflammation, or dysbiosis, or they go hand in hand. Your ability to breakdown fermented foods may be diminished and create more histamine, so it's quite possible, yeah.

That makes sense, yeah.

If someone came to see you with Candida, what would you typically recommend or suggest would be a great breakfast for them.

I have a few I actually looked in my book because I mean, I just I tend to eat a lot of the same stuff over, but I think for instance something like a chia pudding would be really good. When I was entirely vegan. One of my early breakfast that I still love is a, you know, 1/2 of a baked sweet potato with almond butter drizzled. Over it, or maybe some melted coconut butter because coconut is so good for Candida as well. I also have a recipe that I I make for grain free pancakes that I love and I drizzle some seed or none butter on top. So that's always nice. And if you do eat animal products eggs, it's always a good option.

Yeah. OK. And what about lunch and dinner?

For me, those are usually, you know, variations of the same thing. Like I don't differentiate much between what I would have for lunch or what I would have for dinner. I could have my meals for both. But again, if you're if you're someone who eats animal products, so you want to have you always want to balance protein, fat and fibre ideally have all three in your meals so that you can keep your blood sugar as low as possible. So you might have like a piece of chicken or a piece of fish, or again eggs or tofu. Tempeh, something like that, with some maybe some roasted vegetables. Some broccoli. That's always nice. One of my favourites is a nice high vegetable Dal, which is beans Stew with lots of veggies. And then I would serve that over you. That serve it over rice. If you're at the point where you've brought rice back, or if you've ever made cauliflower rice, I don't know if that's a familiar thing. I love cauliflower rice.

Yeah. And so just drizzle that over. Actually, I'm going to go back to breakfast for a second, cause one of my favourites is cauliflower porridge. It sounds so bizarre, but it's actually delicious, which is to just blend fruit. It has to be cooked and then frozen cauliflower with maybe some plant milk, coconut milk. I put in some a little vanilla, a little. I would do something like xylitol as my. Sweetener and then I add usually a little bit of protein powder to that, blend it up and it's smooth and creamy. You cook it until it's warm and it it it. What it reminds me of. I don't know if you guys have that there is cream of wheat, we call it here like for cream of Farina or something maybe or creamed rice. If you have something like it's like a hot porridge.

And so much. Well, it might be. I haven't seen that. Yeah. Yeah, right.

Like a gloom almost. But it doesn't taste like cauliflower. That's what's so fascinating. But so anyway, getting back to the mains lunch and dinner, I often will do a big salad with some kind of protein, maybe hummus or again, I like. I love a glazed tofu or tempeh. That's one of my favourites I sometimes.

Like I said, have sardines so those are all the kinds of things.

I also think mentioned plant milks earlier and I think they're amazing except some of them. Some of the brands are quite high in sugar, so people should just watch out, you know, read the lab.

Yeah, I always, I mean, I usually buy unsweetened, but even unsweetened oat milk can still have quite a bit of natural sugars. I tend to, and this is kind of arbitrary, but for me what works is if it's something that's less than three grammes per serving, 3 grammes of sugar per serving, that seems to be the threshold. My body can tolerate.

Yeah. OK. So let's say somebody goes cold Turkey on on a diet, a candida diet and they they just start straight away. What sort of time frame can they start to see improvement in?

You know, I think it depends on the. It depends on the person, how severe their symptoms are, how long it's. Been going on, right? So like in my case, I probably had undiagnosed Candida for 20 or 30 years. That's why for me, like I say, I was 100% compliant on the diet. I was taking supplements, I was detoxing. It took about nine months before I really felt like things. Were starting to get better. I also have worked with patients who or sorry, not patients clients. I have clients who within three weeks started. To feel better. So I really think it depends how what level the candidates at when you begin. But I think for most people, you know I think they should be able to see some kind of change within about 3 or 4 months.

Would those changes typically be around? Energy or cognitive function or digestive tract function.

Yeah, I think most people noticed a difference in their energy and the that brain fog you were talking about as well as if there are any, like sort of external symptoms, a lot of people would see those things start to clear up. So I dealt, I was working with one client, ones who had like eczema. That was we didn't even know if it was connected directly to her candida, but just as her body cleaned it, you know, she cleaned up her body and she cleaned up her digestive system. Her skin cleared up because, of course, the skin is a mirror of what's going on inside. And now I think, you know, my my poor liver was probably so overloaded. And that's why this rash exploded on my skin.

Right. So yeah, I I think something like that, people will see a change.

I don't know if you agree with this, but from my experience, when people do change their diets and they're doing really well with them, they don't want to go back. So compliance tends to be pretty good.

I think it does. I have to say with Candida though, I've seen a lot of people who it you really must make a conscious decision that this is how you're going to eat now because for a lot of people they you know, they feel that that they can just go back to the way they were before. And for most people with with Candida. Because. It tends to come back if you like, like in my case. As soon as I started eating that those foods again, it came back with a vengeance. So for me, what worked and what I this is what I actually used to work with clients on. It wasn't so much giving them treatments or whatever it was dealing with that mentality of this is the way I eat now. And I can be perfectly happy and enjoy life and do all the social. Things eating food, that's like this. And I don't have to miss out on anything. You know, in my case, because I'm such a sweet sadick and because I had been a professional Baker before, I really took the time to figure out how to make desserts that tasted really good. And so I don't, you know, my husband, my husband, who can eat anything. And does and has never had any kinds of issues. He eats the desserts I make like they're the candida desserts, but he doesn't notice a difference like they taste really good to him. So I think that's the key is so that you don't feel you're missing out on all those things. And yet you can. Still be compliant on the diet?

Yeah, it's good having a husband like that.

Oh, he's great. He'll eat any.

He'll try anything I should say.

I guess that's one of the hardest things for people trying to maintain a certain diet whilst the families going in a different direction and there is the mom or the dad, you know, the kids want something and your spouse wants something and you're all busy. It takes some serious coaching and negotiation.

Yeah. And and I think that's another reason why you want your and eater friendly foods to be really appealing. And so that you can serve them to your family and they won't notice a difference, you know, and what what happens in our family because even though I'm not 100% vegan at this point, I I still really tend towards plant based. I'd say like 90%. But my husband is. 100%. Our omnivore. He loves his meat and whatever. So if I make a dish that is can be combined for me, some kind of casserole or you know, I I will eat chickpea based pastas which are grain free and they they're they work for me. So I might do something like that or a lasagna or whatever he will have that. His side dish, and then he'll cook a piece of meat for himself or some chicken legs for himself or something like that. So it works really well.

And what about supplements?

I had many for many years, so initially we so I ended up taking a supplement. That's a combination all in in one, right and it's it's a brand called new Roots here in North America that Candida stock is the one that worked best for me. But there are many of them that have combinations.

This the supplements that tend to be recommended and work best for people are caprylic acid is a big one which comes from coconut grapefruit seed extract. How Darko is another one. You can take it. As a tea. And a lot of people use oil of oregano with great success as well. I'm trying to think if there's anything. Else.

Any probiotics?

Yes, and I I did take probiotics as well and always apart from the other ones because something like. You know, some of them will actually act against the probiotics. So you want to leave, you know, few hours in between.

So you had quite a quite a supplement regime for some years.

Yes, absolutely. And I still take maintain, you know, those kinds of things. I will take them for a certain period of time and then I'll I'll have a break and maybe go back to them if I feel things are you know like I find for instance, if I am stressed or if I tend to eat too many foods like in the grain family. Over time, like my husband and I went on holiday last summer and we were away and I wasn't. Cooking my own food. Then I find that I might get a little sense that things are not so balanced anymore, and that's when I would go back on. That for a few weeks.

Yeah. One of the things that people are often concerned about and maybe not so much in a era where we're all suffering suffering, cost of living crises, but people like to go out, you know, a couple of times a week and have dinner outside in a restaurant or something. But sometimes they feel quite limited into what they can have when they go out any sort of. Style of food or restaurants that you would generally recommend to people.

I I mean, I think vegan is really a good choice because it's so concentrated on vegetables and and whole grains. So for a lot of people, especially if you're on gluten free as well, right. So that's one these days, I can go to sometimes even an Italian restaurant if they have gluten free. Stuff and you know I can do that once in a while, even if it's rice, pasta or something a lot. Of them will. Have corn or chickpea as well, but you know if you just order a simple tomato sauce, if someone does eat meat or chicken, they can have that with it as well. And you know, almost everywhere you can get a salad. So I used to in the beginning I used to ask for my salad without. Dressing or I would just ask for olive oil and lemon on the side and that. Would work for. Eat vegetables, side dishes of vegetables. I remember one time we went to a restaurant, my husband to go, I think was like a steakhouse or something. And there was nothing for me there. But I just asked if I could make up a meal of four of the side dishes. So I had, you know, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, baked potato and something else. I can't remember. And they would. They put that together for me and that was. That was my dinner.

It's it's funny. It reminds me of a Seinfeld episode. Load where Elaine was in the cafe and and she said. Could I have the big salad? Think we don't have a big salad. And she said, well, can I have two small salads just put in one bowl and they went. Sure we can do that.

Exactly right. Yeah. Sometimes you gotta make do with what's and I mean, to be honest, there were many time in the beginning before I really realise you need to call the restaurant 1st and find out what they might offer or maybe even tell your friends. Could we go somewhere else? The very it was like the first week I was on the diet and I and I happened to have a high school reunion. Where we were all meeting at this resort and there was a big dinner planned and it was an Italian dinner so I couldn't eat any of the pasta any. Anything, and then even the vegetables were in this really elaborate cheese sauce. I remember that meal I had. Green beans for dinner.

Yeah, OK. Yeah. But you woke up hungry and having a fantastic breakfast.

But that never happens again. Well, that never happened again, because then that taught me that you need to actually inquire first, right. It's to your advantage to find out that.

So how are you? Doing now, after all these years.

I'm doing great. I mean, as I said in my book, I I would say I'm between 95 and 99% back to what I would call normal. I do still have flare ups when I'm stressed. I think that's really the main trigger for me because it's not the food. I never eat that kind of food anymore. But yeah, I mean the.

Past five years. I've been pretty stressful and I would say considering I'm doing pretty well because I haven't had any flare up. So yeah, I mean, considering I think things are really good and and day to day I don't think about it anymore at all.

It doesn't affect what I do or you know, like I said, we made plans to go on holiday and I think restaurants and you know public places, they have changed since I was first on this diet. So it's very easy to find healthy food almost everywhere now. So there's almost no, you know, you really don't need to worry and. I I'll, I'll. I was going to. Say often but. Pretty much always I bring something with me.

Yeah. Emergencies.

So please, so they have a protein bar or you know, a package of roasted chickpeas or something, just in case.

And what do you do with yourself now? Are you still coaching people? I'll be moved on from that.

I'm actually coaching people, but not on Candida. I'm a book coach and editor now, so I help some holistic practitioners write their books, but I I'm a coach not only for holistic practitioners, but.

For. Really, anyone who wants to write a nonfiction book.

Wow. OK. Is it just on fiction?

Yes, yeah, I. Although I write fiction myself, so my background is actually in English. And then I studied holistic nutrition and then I kind of went back to English. So I do write fiction myself, but I don't. I don't coach on that because my books that I've published are all nonfiction. I have 4/4. Those books, and they're all nonfiction. I feel much more equipped to help people with that kind of thing. Yeah. And three are cookbooks. So again, like, if someone were to write a cookbook, I would feel really comfortable helping them with that.

And your book, your Candida book living Candida free. That's full of recipes, isn't it?

Yeah, it's a half guidebook and half recipes, so it's split about 5050, the first half of the book is my story and also I delve into a little bit of what we were just talking about, which is how to navigate, you know, social situations, what? Do you do? About family and friends who might feel that you know, I I experienced this. I had friends with whom our relationship was almost entirely based on going out to eat and drinking, and that changes dramatically when you can't do that anymore. So how do you deal with that? So it's half guidebook and then the other half is recipes. That you can eat on the diet.

And how do people get hold of your book?

I believe it's still available on Amazon. I know it is here. I think even in Australia and the UK you you should be able to get it there.

So we look for Ricky Heller, living Candida free.

And on Amazon? Well, thank you so much for your time. And I think you, you know, your experience is very encouraging to people that.

Oh, my pleasure.

Have this many of the symptoms. Some of them aren't even aware that they are candida, but many of these vague and unusual symptoms are gone for years, is candida and is some. I want to say simple changes. They are simple. Once you get used to them, but some changes to your life and the diet you adopt becomes your life diet.

Can really make such an enormous difference and and really just give people so much more opportunity in life. Yeah, so.

App. Absolutely. And it really is doable. It really, really is. If I could do it being such a sugar addict really.

Great. And and I look forward to catching you next time.

Thank you. Thanks so much.