Welcome! Thank you for stopping by. If you are joining us for the first time, you may not know that our grand nephew, Jaxon, was diagnosed with mild to moderate autism in December 2021. Little Jaxon has been living with us since April 2020. In February of 2022, Jaxon, now three and a half, was diagnosed with significant yeast belly, C-Diff, and three other bacteria, all residing in his gut. Jaxon was pretty non-verbal up until a month ago.
Jaxon would only eat lightly colored, or pale yellow foods. Anything brightly colored would not go near his lips which didn’t help his gut issues. When you are in the moment, getting them to eat something is better than nothing. However, in his case, it may not have been the best course of action to take.
Disclaimer: We cannot advise you what you should do for your child or someone else’s child you know. We share this information in the event it can help a child the way it helped Jaxon, but ultimately, you make your own health care decisions on how to proceed. The information we share about treatment and food comes directly from the doctor who diagnosed Jaxon’s yeast belly.
This page sheds light on what major changes we had to make to Jaxon’s food intake, and what we have been through in the last two months since Jaxon’s yeast diagnosis. We want others to have the information, and while it is specific to our child, we still believe others can benefit.
Stool testing tells a lot about a person’s gut health.
Gut testing, also known as stool testing in our world, is not well known. But did you know they can test your stool for at least 30 different things? I have the test results to prove it; however, I can’t tell you what those tests represent. There are too many big words I can’t pronounce.
Thankfully, we know some friends who tested their son’s stool seven years ago, and he too had a yeast belly. Their son also spoke a few words and when they cleared out the yeast, his vocabulary took off. Today, he is ten years old and brilliant. His parents have kept him gluten-free all these years.
While there are differing opinions on what works and what doesn’t work regarding autism and food, we believe cutting gluten, sugar, and dairy has made a huge difference in Jaxon. It’s been a little over two months and Jaxon no longer hits or bites himself, and his stool is back to normal. We would have never known about stool testing and yeast belly if we had not met our friends at church. Jaxon’s gut health would have continued to decline.
The following information comes from our appointment with the doctor on how to treat Jaxon’s yeast belly.
Eliminating the fuel for Candida through diet
In addition to strengthening the immune system, diet is the foundation of any antifungal treatment program. The vast majority of individuals with yeast overgrowth are far more susceptible to food allergies. The following basic principles apply to almost any patient who opts for a candida controlled, hypoallergenic, and anti-inflammatory diet.
- A diet consisting primarily of protein and fresh organic vegetables, with a limited amount of complex carbohydrates and fat-containing foods, and a small amount of fresh fruit.
- Sugar and concentrated sweets are always avoided.
- The minimum time frame for maintaining the diet is three to six months, although the diet can be less restrictive the longer it is followed.
- The best practice is to rotate acceptable foods and not eat a particular food more than once every two or four days. This is especially true for grains.
- Changing the diet can be a challenge. The more involved the child is in the process, including planning, shopping, and cooking, the easier and more rewarding it will be.
Note: For the first 21 days, avoid starch and high sugar foods, including fruit. Also, avoid yeast and mold foods.
Foods to include at the onset of the diet
Vegetables
Vegetables should be eaten freely for 50% to 60% of the total diet. Vegetables may be eaten raw or lightly steamed and should be organic and clean (washed well). Vegetables with high water content and low starch are preferable. The following are recommended:
- Green leafy: all lettuce, spinach, parsley, cabbage, kale, collard greens, watercress, beet greens, mustard greens, bok choy, and sprouts
- Other low-starch vegetables: celery, zucchini, summer squash, crookneck squash, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, radish, bell pepper, (green, red, and yellow), asparagus, cucumber, tomato, onion, leek, garlic, and kohlrabi
- Moderate low starch: carrot, beet, rutabaga, turnip, parsnip, eggplant, artichoke, avocado, water chestnuts, peas (green, snow peas), and okra
Protein
Protein should be eaten predominantly at breakfast and lunch with no less than 60g a per day including antibiotic and hormone-free meats; fresh or deep water ocean fish; raw organic seeds and nuts; and acceptable proteins such as fish, canned fish (salmon, and tuna- no more than two time per week), turkey, ground turkey, chicken, lamb, wild game, cornish hens, eggs (limit two to four per week), and seeds and nuts (almonds, cashews, pecans, filberts, pine nuts, brazil nuts, walnuts, pistachios, sunflower seeds, raw or dry-roasted sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds).
Complex Carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates include starchy vegetables, legumes (introduced after the first 21 days), and whole grains. These should only be consumed in sufficient quantities to maintain energy (ideally, one serving a day or less), with restrictions varied according to food allergies, which can be determined with food rotation. Following are the recommended sources:
- Starchy vegetables: new and red potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, winter squash (acorn, butternut), pumpkin
- Legumes: lentils, split peas, black-eyed peas, beans (kidney, garbanzo, black navy, pinto, lima adzuki)
- Non-gluten grains: brown rice, millet, quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth, sprouted or cooked, organic and clean; available in bulk at health food stores; grains rotated every four days; tasty as breakfast cereals, in salads and soups, and in casseroles and stir fry; stored away from light and heat in airtight containers; other whole grains (with gluten) that should be eaten in only limited amounts: barley, spelt, wild rice, corn, oats, cornmeal, bulger, couscous
Flaxseed oil
Flaxseed oil should be taken as 1 to 2 teaspoons daily on grains or vegetables or as a salad dressing, not heated or used for cooking. Flaxseed oil should be refrigerated and away from light. Other acceptable oils (cold-pressed) include extra virgin olive oil, canola, walnut, and macadamia nut used within six weeks of opening. Flaxseed oil can also be taken as a supplement.
Foods to Include After 21 days
Fruits
Fruits are introduced slowly as one serving per day until patients are sure they do not make symptoms worst. One starts with melons, berries (blueberries, raspberries, huckleberries, blackberries), lemon, and grapefruit (only after the first 21 days of diet) and then chooses from among most other fresh fruits, all of which are generally sweeter than the first group. These include apple, pear, peach, orange, nectarine, apricot, cherry, and pineapple. Fruit juices should be very diluted to at least 1:1 with water. Freshly squeezed fruit juice is considered best. Full strength juices, canned fruit juices, and all dried fruits are avoided.
Yeast and Mold Containing Foods
Yeast and mold-containing foods are allowable only if the patient is not allergic. However, these should be introduced gradually (no more than one food every 3 to 4 days) and not until at least 3 weeks into the diet. Yeast and mold-containing foods include the following: fermented dairy products such as yogurt, kefir, buttermilk, low-fat cottage cheese, and sour cream; fermented foods such as tofu, tempeh, miso, and soy sauce, and raw almond butter, and raw sesame tahini.
Foods to Avoid
- Refined sugar and sugar-containing foods, cakes, cookies, candy, doughnuts, pastries, ice cream, pudding, soft drinks, pies, etc.; anything containing sucrose (table sugar), fructose, maltose, lactose, glucose, dextrose, corn sweetener, corn syrup, sorbitol, and mannitol; honey, molasses; maple syrup; ate sugar; barley malt; rice syrup; Nutra sweet and saccharine; table salt (often contains sugar; sea salt preferred).
- To diminish sugar cravings; chromium picolinate, 200 mcg twice daily; biotin, 500 to 1000 mcg twice daily; and a yeast-free B complex, 50 mg twice daily, only if the patient is not already taking a comprehensive multivitamin; craving is also eliminated by four days without sugar.
- Milk and dairy products: all cheeses (unsweetened soy milk and butter allowed, but not in excess)
- Bread and other yeast-raised baked items, including cakes, cookies and crackers, whole grain cereals, pasta, tortillas; waffles; and muffins
- Beef and pork
- Mushrooms: all types
- Rye and wheat (avoided for the first three weeks)
- Grapes, plums, bananas, dried fruit, canned fruit, and canned vegetables
- Alcoholic beverages
- Caffeine: both tea and coffee (herbal tea and green tea allowed)
- White or refined flour products, packaged or processed or refined foods
- Fried foods, fast foods, sausage, and hot dogs
- Vinegar, mustard, ketchup, sauerkraut, olives, and pickles (raw apple cider vinegar allowed)
- Margarine, preservatives (e.g., in frozen vegetables)
- Refined or hydronated oils
- Leftovers (can be frozen for later)
- Rice milk (high carbohydrate content)
Sound like fun?
This diet is meant to be a guide. Responses to this diet will vary greatly depending on the severity of candidiasis, food allergies, and the type of medication (if any) the patient is taking to eliminate candida. The majority of individuals who closely adhere to this diet will experience a significant improvement within one month if the diet is followed for a minimum of 28 days.
So there you have it—all the food information we received from the doctor when we met for Jaxon’s stool test results.
One thing she did mention in person was to keep Jaxon away from all wheat which we have done.
The other factor in treating yeast is supplements.
Jaxon takes seven supplements daily to help kill the yeast beast and other bacteria as well as build up the good bacteria in his gut. The doctor said it is important to replace bad bacteria with good bacteria.
Jaxon takes the following supplements:
- Multivitamin
- MCT-90 Oil
- Grapefruit extract
- Omega 3 oil
- Vitamin D drops
- L Glutamine powder
- Probiotic powder
In the two and half months we have followed this protocol, Jaxon is gaining more words and is less frustrated over the littlest things and noises.
We pray the information about the food is beneficial and brings healing.
Psalm 18:2, “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
Blessings!
The Teaching Lady
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