Body Ecology Diet

The Body Ecology Diet incorporates excellent principles of proper food combining, acid/alkaline balance with low acid-forming foods, low/no sugars and starches, easily digestible foods, fermented foods, and other solid nutrition recommendations to clear up candida overgrowth in the body.  The diet allows a few grains such as quinoa, millet buckwheat, and amaranth when properly soaked. Acid/alkaline is the principle of eating mostly alkaline forming foods.  This will assist the body in maintaining a slightly alkaline blood pH.  When the body is too acidic it leaches alkalizing mineral from the bones to balance the pH.  Alkalizing the system supports the health of the gut as well.  The standard American diet is awfully acid forming: sugar, meat, processed foods, and refined grains and carbohydrates. As meat is acid-forming, this diet uses much less animal protein than the SCD and others.The most alkalizing foods are most mineral rich so vegetables top the list.  The particular grains that are allowed are on the alkalizing side, while rice, wheat, oats, and most others are acid-forming.  Note that acid-forming foods are not necessarily acidic foods; for example, while lemons are acidic, they are alkalizing (creating an alkaline ash in the body).  When to use this diet:  The Body Ecology Diet is great for clearing up candida overgrowth.  It goes a step further than anti-candida diets that simply restrict sugars, and fermented/moldy foods. Pitfalls: This diet requires proper food combining.  If someone has very limited or no consumption of vegetables this diet can be difficult.  Additionally, while some kids like or warm up to cultured vegetables and kefir, it can be challenging to get children to consume these fermented foods.  Finally, it combines many principles that can be confusing and require quite a bit of education at first. Clinical Experience: Several parents in my practice have seen great results with their children from this diet—clearing up the yeast can really improve gas, digestion, and absorption of nutrients benefiting many bodily systems. From Nourishing Hope