Healthy-Family.org on Doug Kaufmann’s Know the Cause Television ShowKnow the Cause with Doug Kaufmann: interview with Caryn Talty (Healthy-Family.org)
In this interview I talked candidly with Doug Kaufmann about the recovery process we went through with my son after he was diagnosed with a chronic multifocal tic disorder in January of 2007. At the beginning of the interview Doug Kaufmann referred to my previous article The Corn We Eat is Infested with Mycotoxic Fungi.
My son eventually made a full recovery but the process was long and slow. We didn’t know the cause initially and spent quite a bit of money testing and trying various alternative treatments. They improved his condition but did not cure it. An allergy test we did that spring gave us something to go on and after nine months on the specific diet and supplement regime he really started to improve. After about 1 1/2 years he became symptom free. We continue to practice the dietary changes we made in order to keep him healthy.
I was fortunate to hear Doug give a lecture at a conference in Dallas by Latitudes. He was one of many speakers who discussed at length natural and non-pharmaceutical biomedical treatments for Tics, Tourette Syndrome, OCD, and Depression. There are many variable treatments for these conditions, but for our family much of what Doug said that day seemed to resonate more clearly than the other treatment options. I knew that we had been battling a fungal overgrowth problem even though we never had the foresight to test for it. It made sense to me: his many symptoms, the process we used to find a cure, the diet we used and it’s strikingly similar make-up to Doug’s own diet called the “Phase One” diet.
I wondered as I listened to him whether or not our son’s problems would have resolved sooner had I known the cause initially. I also wondered whether he had inherited his fungal problems in utero because I had a long history of antibiotic overuse. I was prescribed them throughout most of my youth and young adulthood. In my early childhood I was put on them long term for a congenital kidney defect that was later corrected with a surgical procedure. Consequently I developed allergies and sinus issues that were controlled with medicine and antibiotics each and every time I suffered an infection. This process continued for over 20 years until in my young adulthood I developed such a serious sinus condition that I could no longer breath through my nose. This lasted over a year before I had sinus surgery, and yes, was prescribed both antibiotics and then steroids on a more long term basis to keep the inflammation down and perhaps infections away.
Doug lectured that day about mycotoxins and how dangerous they can become when a person suffers from dysbiosis, a digestive condition often caused by continual long term overuse of antibiotics. That was me and also my son. We had both discovered that we were gluten intolerant and had severe reactions to most gluten free products that also contained corn, yeast, or sorghum.
Through his lecture last May in Dallas and in his television program that airs daily, Doug has become a fantastic spokesperson for the chronically ill that are plagued with microbial fungi and need drastic dietary intervention for healing. Although this clip is short, he does a very good job of highlighting the key ingredients to a successful anti-fungal diet: avoid all grains, all yeast, all sugars, use a good probiotic with a high microbial count, eat plenty of vegetables and choose organic meat. Above all else, he wants folks to stay vigilant with their new lifestyle choices.
I certainly hope anyone plagued with a similar condition and with a history of antibiotic overuse finds valuable information in our story. And I also want to thank Doug and his staff for requesting an interview and for all the wonderful information they shared with me both off the air and on.
Hi Caryn,
wow, you guys really went through a lot! i’m glad you have found some answers that have helped you to heal. do you find now that you are on this diet that you no longer need antibiotics, etc, for you sinus condition? and how does one know how the body is affected by microbial fungi? does it affect everyone, or only certain people?
Dee
Hi Dee!
I’ve had this problem for years. All I can say is that when it is fungal and not bacterial you do not get relief from antibiotics anymore. You get what I call “rebound” infections. You get sick, you get a prescription, you think your feeling better for a couple of days, then all of a sudden it is back with a vengeance, and the next time it is worse. You can get four attacks in one winter, each making you worse, and they usually follow binging on fungal feeding foods: pizza, sugary baked goods, that sort of thing. When it gets really bad there is a sort of stale smell in the nose. I can’t really describe it any better than that. It is a distinct odor that you smell continually and it over powers the smells in your environment. That is how it is for me. I have been battling this for years and years. When I am on the diet and off the sweets I have no symptoms and no infections. When I cheat it returns. It may take a few months but it comes back with a vengeance if I am not careful. Being gluten free is not enough because many gluten free foods are fungal– have lots of corn-based ingredients and sugars in them. I am not perfect, sometimes I indulge but I have to be very careful or I will have a reaction.
In addition to the sinus issues I often get sore muscles and joints, swelling in the hands and face (although not bad, just a hung-over look), itchy elbows, and sometimes white coating on the tongue.
The best thing to do for fungal infections of the sinuses is to use a nettipot daily. I also use olive leaf spray for my throat and one for my sinuses. Sometimes ear aches and ringing in the ears can be relieved with antifungal drops. I think I read somewhere that 95% of sinusitis is fungal and not bacterial. It takes a really long time to get better, but it is so worth it. You really get your energy back after a while. The first two weeks are torture though.
You know, medical doctors do not get much training on mycotoxins and fungi. The majority of the work in this field is done in agricultural sciences. So, really– I don’t know what percent of people suffer. The best way to get rid of it is to get an antifungal prescription like nystatin or diflucan from your doctor. Then you have to do a strict antifungal diet for as long as it takes to get your body back into balance. Could be six months, could take a year or more. You will know yourself when you eat something not on the plan and you don’t have your typical reaction anymore. Doug has a three phase diet. The last phase includes tortillas, potatoes, honey. So as time moves on you incorporate more and more foods.
Caryn, I found your site from ACN/Latitudes and some of your very helpful posts there about healing your son thru diet.
My son just turned 18 and his tics have gotten really bad with this spring’s allergy season (scary bad because he’s ticcing so much now that it’s hard for him to do anything).
I want to try a low carb type of diet to see if it helps, but I’m not sure how low we should go. How similar was your dietary approach to Kaufmann’s? Did you avoid fruit as well as honey, etc? And if so, for how long? Please help!
Grace,
We used a very similar diet to Doug’s when my son was very sick and reactive. He had re-occurring infections and had recently been dxd with multiple allergies and dysbiosis, so there was a lot going on that seemed to point to digestion as a culprit. Our diet eliminated wheat, corn, all cow dairy (we used fermented goat milk), peanuts, all gluten, soy (although not purposely– it just wasn’t in what we were buying and using). We were buying organic eggs and as much organic meat as possible. As far as fruit, we avoided processed juices and only drank fresh orange juice. We incorporated digestive enzymes and high doses of probiotics too. We avoided sugar but not too carefully. I still used evaporated cane juice a little bit. I was on a learning curve. At that time I did not think I was treating a fungal issue. It was just a strange coincidence after I heard Doug’s talk that what worked for our son was what he was doing. We used maple syrup as a sweetener. He does not. He uses only honey and stevia. There are good reasons for that. He only allows green apples and green grapes for initial phase and of course all berries. All vegetables are okay except potatoes. We never gave up potatoes. We peel and boil them. Don’t know if that matters but Doug does say that boiling noodles is okay because it washes the mycotoxins off.
Now our diet is much more relaxed. Our son is still enjoying no symptoms. We did do Doug’s protocol over Easter for lent and plan to do it every year as an entire family. It is good to clean out the system. It is tough to do but after two weeks you get into a groove and it gets much easier. The first couple of days are a shock to the system. He may get headaches and feel really crummy. It doesn’t last though. Hope this helps. Doug sells a recipe book and we bought it. He has some really nice, easy recipes. You may find that you are eating a lot of raw as summer is coming. You may not need it. But he does outline his program in it too.
Caryn
Thanks so much, Caryn! At this point, are you convinced that it was fungi and not strep? Or do you figure this diet would work either way?
My son has potential signs of both candida & strep – it’s a which came first question for us, I think. Two of my other kids have labs that indicate a probable clostridia overgrowth. I’m thinking maybe some type of low carb diet could cover all those potentialities.
I’m just struggling with trying to figure out how much to restrict our carbs & for how long – So if you had to do it all again, you would have followed Doug’s diet then?
Don’t know if you’re familiar with the Specific Carb Diet, but I am thinking of trying the enhanced version which sounds quite similar to Doug’s – as someone who has been there, done that, your feedback is very much appreciated!
wow….. I just watched this. It makes soo much since my daughter is 4 months old and the doctor said she had colic, she is very fussy even more so when I have milk and soy. I was on antibiotics for strep throat when I was pregant with her before I knew I was pregant.