I’ve been saying for a long time now that I’ll be doing the Body Ecology Diet in January, and now that the new year is looming the time has almost come!
For those of you who are unfamiliar with the diet, the Body Ecology Diet (or BED) is designed to remove all Candida, yeast, mould and fungus from the body. And because chronic acne is often caused by an overgrowth of Candida, a lot of acne sufferers can benefit big-time from this diet. It kind of works on the same principle as Acne Free In 3 Days, but this diet works a lot better and is definitely more permanent. And you don’t have to starve yourself for 3 days.
But it’s not going to be easy, which is why I’ve been flicking through the BED book and mentally preparing myself for some months now. For a period of weeks I will have to give up all sugars including natural sugars (such as fruits, honey and agave), bread, dairy and most grains. It will also make it extremely difficult if not impossible to eat out so I have to be highly committed for the duration of the diet.
Why I’m doing the Body Ecology Diet
Lulu is one of the people who inspired me to try the BED -
I’ve had symptoms of an overgrowth of Candida for quite some time now. Which isn’t surprising because an estimated 85% of the developed world share this problem.
Obviously acne has been one of my main symptoms. I find that I have to work very hard holistically to keep clear skin which shouldn’t be the case. It’s not normal to experience a breakout so easily. A 100% healthy body and 100% healthy mind should be able to take a little extra sugar or a little extra stress every now and again without getting pimples.
If we have an overgrowth of Candida in our bodies and we eat foods that feed the Candida (like sugar, pasta and bread), then our symptoms can worsen. This is one of the reasons why many acne sufferers find their acne is aggravated or gets worse after they eat a lot of sugar.
Other symptoms of an overgrowth of Candida in the body include mood disorders (depression, anxiety and irritability), insomnia, headaches, skin rashes, loss of libido, food allergies, sensitivity to odors, joint and muscle pain, menstrual irregularities, feeling “spacey”, fatigue and digestive problems.
So as you can see it’s quite obvious as to why I’m doing the diet. Primarily it’s an attempt to finally tame my skin permanently so I can go off my holistic routine occasionally without getting a breakout. And of course I’m looking forward to possibly getting rid of all those ugly other symptoms that I’ve been experiencing from time to time.
What this means for High on Health
Because this diet is so intense and will no doubt be consuming a lot of my time with meal preparations, I’ll be blogging about it a lot. I’ll also log how the new diet is making me feel and of course how it’s affecting my skin.
My biggest concern is that the diet will put my body through an intense detox or “healing crisis” which I think I’m tough enough to handle but it may mean an initial bad acne breakout before it all gets better. I haven’t had severe acne for over a year now so the thought of it scares me a lot! But that worry is not going to stop me from following through with doing the BED.
I’m currently spending my spare time preparing to begin the diet - I need to buy supplements and learn how to make fermented foods (which I’ll be writing more about later).
Are you thinking about doing the diet too?
I can’t tell you whether or not the diet works well for the skin because I haven’t personally trialled it yet and I don’t like to recommend something that I haven’t tried myself. There are however many online testimonials and a lot of information about the BED online if you want to learn more about it.
I also never recommend diets like this to anyone that’s still growing, so anyone that’s under 18. However, the BED has become popular for treating autism in children so it is proven to be safe at any age. But if you are under 18, I would strongly recommend you talk to your parents before considering this diet.
I’ve been looking forward to this experiment for quite some months now so I’m very excited to be sharing it with all of you!
Fran Kerr is the founding editor of High on Health. To cure your acne, sign up to Fran's FREE acne cure mini-course or download her latest how to guide, Eat Away Your Acne.
12 responses ↓
Wow the first comment lol. Im really looking forward to hearing about this diet. but what are you actially aloud to eat lol. Im 15 is it safe for me to do, or not? And dont worry about the initial breakout, these arent normal pimples, if you leave them alone then they go away by themselves in only a couple of weeks and they dont leave scars, (as long as you dont pick them)
lol. Im looking forward to the furutre video logs about this diet!
That will be interesting to see how you do, Fran!
I like Body Ecology Diet because of focusing on probiotics and quitting all sugars ( and , no, agave syrup does not exist is nature, therefor is not a natural sugar) , which I love and consider the main superfood ever.
I spent my Xmas making crocks of Kim-Chi and some other wonderful fermented food.
The thing that I don’t like in BED is the meat. I know Donna describes it as alkalizing, but, I am sorry, meat causes a lot of stress to the body ( cortisol level goes up in a nasty way and other dangerous substances are formed )
I know, I know, not everyone is ready to go vegan. It is everyone’s personal choice.
I just saw so many miracles happened to my friends who stopped eating meat and dairy.
Anyways- wish you all the best!
i would like to try out the diet but i am living in a dorm and eating my pre paid meal plan. does the food from the diet have to be organic? my school serves basically everything so selection and correct food choices should not be a problem. I am only worried about the organic part.
Samantha- you’ll find out what I can eat when I start blogging about it
Marta- I hear you on the mean thing. You actually don’t have to eat meat, and you can do it as a raw foodist too, Donna has instructions for both diets ..it just takes a little more work. I had originally planned to NOT eat meat on the diet because I’ve been pescetarian for quite some time now, but I’ve had this strong intuitive feeling that I need a period of eating it for a while. And because I’m already so thin, I’m worried that if I cut out so many foods there won’t be enough foods left on the BED to keep weight on me. We’ll see how that goes. But I’m not going to tell my yoga teacher!!
Susie- Preferably organic but if you can’t get access to organic food you can still do the diet.
fran-
i found a really fantastic website, http://www.candida-cure-recipes.com. it’s not just a website with recipes, it’s extremely imformative on having an overgrowth of candida! i reviewed the BED website and found it helpful, but i find this website even better. for months i was reviewing every possible site i could find trying to see what i could and couldn’t eat so that it wouldn’t feed my candida and this website really was amazing! along with seeing a whole food nutritionist and getting on some whole food supplements, and following the very strict no candida feeding diet outlined on the website my face started clearing up, among other symptoms. make sure and eat LOTS of coconut oil!!! I put it on everything…however if you do start eating alot you will experience die off symptoms, but that just tells you that the candida is dieing off! i consume as much coconut as i can-coconut oil, coconut milk, and dried coconut. I made the mistake of eating sugar on Christmas (and alot of it) and instantly the next day i got a rash like break out on my face. i’m back to my strict diet so hopefully it goes away asap!
I also went vegan before i did this diet and realized my body was telling me i needed some omega fatty acids so i incorporated eggs and some ocean caught white fish back in my diet. the eggs i get are from a local farm, so i know they are happy chickens!
GOOD LUCK with the diet!
Thank you so much Fran, as always. I always look forward to each blog post.
Sounds like something I need to do, except I’m afraid of the possible side effects. When I cut out all sugar and caffeine I usually get a raging headache. If you get good results, I’ll probably try it.
Hi, Clara!
Maybe just cut the sugars and coffee gradually?
Change the type of sugar and mix coffee with roasted dandelion or chicory ( known as teccino ).
Cheers!
Hi Clara (nice site btw),
Could it be that every time you cut out your sugar or caffeine your body goes through a mini detox and begins to freak out?
Hi
I’m only 14 and a few pounds underweight, so I don’t plan on doing any detox diets. Although, I have completely eliminated soda and caffeine from my diet and not only is it helping with my acne, I have also noticed that my menstrual cramps aren’t nearly as bad as they used to be. I am less irritable and have more energy (ironic isn’t it? Eliminating caffeine can give you more energy!)
I have looked into the low GI diet and found it easy to follow. I’m not really strict about it, and I still eat out occasionally and eat tons of chocolate during my time of the month, but I eat more fruits and veggies and less sugary fatty foods. My face looks a lot better!
By the way, God bless you and good luck Fran!
Hi Sierra, you’re a wonderful testimonial for how holistic methods can work ..and you have an incredibly healthy attitude for a 14 years old!!! I’m very extremely impressed
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