Archive for August 2018

Hello, my name is Breanna, and I am a recovering sugar addict.

Alright, there are no AA-like meetings for sugar addicts as far as I know, but I was definitely quite addicted. I was so addicted that I would get a giant headache if I didn’t have any candy by the afternoon. I ate a bowl of ice cream every single evening. 

I had tried to cut out sugar several times in the past, but I would always cave when the headaches got too bad and the sugar looked too tasty. After doing some research, I believe part of the reason for my addiction was candida overgrowth.  

Candida is a fungus that lives in everyone’s bodies. If your candida levels get too high, you might notice obvious symptoms, such as a yeast infection, toenail fungus, or thrush. Your candida can also be too high, but cause subtler symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, and cravings, to name a few. Candida eats sugar. Starve candida, and it dies off, causing gnarly “die off” headaches and general feelings of bleh. This is the part that I could never get past. 

Finally, I stumbled across an article that talked about how great radishes are at annihilating candida. If you kill off candida BEFORE completely cutting out sugar, maybe sugar will be easier to get over. The only problem is that radishes are gross. (Sorry if you like radishes. Actually I’m not sorry, I’m jealous that you’re fortunate enough to already enjoy such a healthy food.) But don’t worry, I’ve written below a perfectly palatable way to get your vitamin radish. And it’s not juicing them raw. Trust me, don’t do that. 

Roasted Radishes and Other Veggies

Roasted? Radishes? Most people have only had them raw. Some people like the spicy dirt flavor white lots of other people do not like spicy dirt. When you cook radishes, that spicy quality, and most of the flavor, is lost. That means whatever spices and veggies you cook them with will be all you can taste. Here’s what I did:

Preheat oven to 375.

Cut the radishes in half. Chop up other veggies for roasting. Suggested: Broccoli florets, bell pepper strips, mushroom halves, green beans, brullels sprouts, anything that will stand up to about 30 minutes in the oven.

Place the veggies in a single layer on a baking pan.

Pour some olive or avocado oil over the veggies. I’ve never measured how much, whatever you feel like.

Season with salt and pepper, and whichever spices you’d like. I used garlic every time, because its tasty and has candida killing properties.  I also liked thyme and paprika, but old bay seasoning was also good. If you’re into curry, that would probably be good too. Cooking time will vary. Roast for about 30 minutes, but check on them and give them a stir halfway through, and keep an eye on them towards the end. 

Eat them up and give yourself a high five- you’ve just eaten veggies without your mom making you. 

I ate radishes once or twice a day for a week until I was able to cut my sugar eating down to one fruit leather per day. I can’t in any way promise that you’ll have similar results, and I certainly can’t tell you how to live your life after you become one of those weirdos who talks about how fresh fruit makes a delectable dessert. I’m just saying that radishes might be worth a shot.