The Body Ecology Diet: Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity

The Body Ecology Diet is a gut-healing diet that I highly recommend. Its basic premise, building upon the foundation of what Dr. William Crook built in his "Yeast Connection" books, is that many chronic issues are due to a buildup of yeast (Candida) in the body. You can sign up on my website to listen to the webinar replay of my interview of Donna about the Body Ecology Diet. Because doctors don't offer systemic Candida infections as a diagnosis, it is often overlooked as a causative factor in autoimmune, neurological and hormonal diseases, disorders and conditions, even cancer, when, in my mind, it should be one of the first suspects. Most people don't understand how the use of steroids, antibiotics, birth-control pills and even ibuprofen can negatively affect the gut's ecosystem. The Standard American Diet (SAD) with its grain, sugars and starches also contributes heavily to a disrupted gut ecology. It boils down to this: 70% of your immune system is located in your gut. If its inner ecosystem is overrun by bad guys, like Candida, it can leave you vulnerable to more virulent infections, diseases and disorders. Not only that, but Candida can affect your ability to produce hormones, which is why people with candidiasis often have adrenal, thyroid and reproductive-hormone problems. People with candidiasis are frequently fatigued, get sick a lot, have "female problems", food allergies, chemical sensitivities, constant headaches and other symptoms that are often dismissed by the medical establishment. To me, the Body Ecology Diet is the most comprehensive approach to healing the gut, and therefore the body, because Donna addresses these hormonal balances; as far as I know, hers is the only gut-healing diet that does. She emphasizes the use of sea vegetables to heal the thyroid and adrenals, which is brilliant, in my mind. She also emphasizes the consumption of probiotic foods that contain oodles of probiotic bacteria. Foods such as homemade kefir, sauerkraut, kim chi and other fermented foods. If you think about it, before the invention of refrigeration, all foods that our great-grandparents ate were fresh, preserved with salt (real salt, not the processed white stuff we find today) or preserved with fermentation. These are truly health-promoting foods! That's why the subtitle of this book is "Changing the Way the World Eats with Probiotic Nutrition". I won't say it's an easy diet to follow, although it is far easier than the basic anti-Candida diet, mostly because of the various principles upon which the diet is based: Expansion and contraction Acid and alkaline Uniqueness Cleansing Food combining 80/20 Step by step Because of the food-combining principle, you can have gluten-free grains on the diet (just not with protein), which is a nice highlight for people out there who feel better eating grains or those who need more carbohydrate-rich diets like children and athletes. To this end, Donna also includes Peter D'Adamo's Blood Type theory in the book. However, food combining makes it a bit more challenging about when to eat things like olives, avocados, nuts, etc. If you're eating out, it's best to think Paleo-type foods (minus the nuts and fruit). All in all, it's a very well-thought-out and comprehensive diet that offers health-promoting principles for everyone.

One day I picked up the BED book and started to read it from front to back! I was totally drawn into Donna's writing. Having been passionate in natural health for years I could see she left no stone unturned. With so many questions out there in regards to health diet etc. this book has done deep research and gets to the bottom of things. It answered so many of my questions. It made so much sense I decided to put it in practice. I have never felt better or looked better. I have followed the principles since I read the book (which I think is about 5-6 years) and love it! I am at my desired weight, people ask me what I eat and what I use on my skin all the time. It's nice when they think I am younger then I am as well :)). What I love about the book is it addresses the innerecosystem, the immune sytem, the digestive system, candida, the organs etc. It isn't just about what foods to eat. When it does cover the foods we should eat it explains in great depth - which foods and why...how much, food combining etc. Being a twenty-six year ovarian cancer surviver my intent is what to do to live and survive the healthiest and fullest that I can. Sure, I want to look good but its deeper then the surface. This book goes deeper then the surface. My heart breaks when I watch the American people put all this junk and processed food in their bodies. These are living human bodies we have! How can it survive on chemicals and junk food. It really break when I see what adults are feeding their children...these precious little souls. We need to take care of our bodies and our precious loved ones! Donna's book is far my favorite. Listening to here speak is also worth every minute of my time. Thank you Donna and am looking so forward to your next book!!

I got this book on Kindle after having the flu this year, to boost my immune system back up, Her information is good but some of her topics are not well researched, such as the Eastern Traditions, she mentions, and has no clue about, I do think that the raw fermented foods are a good thing, and the fermented beverages are also, she does a lot of promoting of her ...way too expensive products, also in my area buckwheat bread is no where to be found, which she promoted a place in CA that sells it. I also took her test on line and they sent an e-mail to me with the results and said I had a severe case of candida, so I thought wow, I have never had any of the symptoms nor ever been treated for that, but... I thought maybe I was missing something, I bought the book, then took the same test in the book, same answers, and turns out I am in the LOWEST range for having that problem, another scam, I do believe that her book would help people who REALLY have this issue, but don't scam me. Now...some of her info is factual, and I do drink fermented probiotic drinks and I do eat fermented foods, and I do believe that they are really good for you, which is what her book is really all about, she also is an avid promoter of stevia, and she does have good advice for candida, but I do it for my health and have for a long time now, I also checked out the prices she sells her products for, WAY TOO Expensive!!!! look around in your area health food and grocery store, you can get the fermented veggies and drinks (Kevita sells good tasting drinks) for about a fourth the price. The book it's self is good, but read with open eyes.

Gut health makes sense. Donna Gates is very experienced in this topic and deserves respect for her wisdom in taking good care of your gut. There is plenty of science substantiating that keeping the good and bad bacteria in your system balanced that determine overall good or bad health. If you aren't up on the idea that the gut has it's own brain and that the micro organisms living in and around you may be running your show, read up. Although the book covers a very wide field of gut health issues, Gates focus is on killing Candida Albicans, a fungus that is resident in most of us and not easy to get rid of. It manifests in many skin and digestive diseases including acne, toenail fungus, and feminine issues galore, IBS and many more. Her basic approach is to kill Candida by starving it of sugars of all kinds, even hidden ones. If you have done any studying on the detrimental effects of sugar on our society and how many diseases lead back to sugar, it makes sense to see how we can break our addiction and enjoy many benefits of a sugar free program. Curing brain fog is only one of many. I will not say everyone is going to go for this cure, no matter how profound the benefits. The basic formula is to cut sugar containing foods for 2-3 months, including dairy, fruits and even some veggies. If you are a sugar-addict, this may prove difficult, which increases the reason to go for it. There are many other suggestions such as dropping all processed food and adding fermented foods and drinks as well as supplements. However, if you have had GI issues, yeast overgrowth issues, thyroid issues and many more modern maladies of our stress-ridden and toxin-ridden lives, your pain and discomfort might make you willing to try this aggressive approach to optimum health. Even if you don't go for the suggested full-bore diet, there can never be anything wrong with switching to organic and adding as much green-leafy stuff (the suggestion is 80%) to your plate, at each meal along with protein. That, almost anyone can and should do. And lay off the sugar in its many hidden and insidious forms: Soft drinks, including many sports drinks, almost all processed foods, alcohol, and a host of others! Even table salt has sugar in it! Learn what not to eat. It could literally save your life and definitely improve your happiness and well-being. On the website and on Amazon, Gates offers her own products and supplements. This always makes me wonder if the book is just there to sell product. In this case, I would say no. Just watch a few videos and take advantage of all the free information offered, and it doesn't take much to see there is a lot of heart and sincerity in the messages and intent to help people to better health and feeling really good. Our collective health is in a crisis

This book is always on my top ten list of greatest books I've read. I am always buying another copy for friends, especially those battling cancer, schizophrenia, autism, MS, fatigue, yeast infections, depression and more. It takes a while to internalize (be patient with yourselves), but I'm so grateful to Donna. She's not a goddess (nobody is perfect), but she's GOD SENT! I absolutely love the fact that she refuses to sell out her brand to large corporations because she knows that they do not have the best interests at heart. Donna, I'm not too happy with your not well thought out delivery of a theory in Virginia at a WAPF conference, but I think you're amazing anyway. Thank you so much for your work. I forgot to mention, I initially came across this book in 2002. Many new editions have since been published. I had come to the conclusions that my digestive issues were due to yeast or parasites. It was a long journey. I went to every library in the Las Vegas valley and read about EVERY book on Candida. This and the Yeast Connection are recommended. She clears up all of the contradictory information that you'll find in all the other books. She's open minded and does her own research. I truly admire her. Body Ecology did change my life and so many of my friend's lives. One of my friends went on to write a book in Spanish called, la Salud que te Conviene. Not as comprehensive, but extremely concise and easy to follow, if you have any Spanish speaking friends that you want to help. I learned, eventually, that I need all these principles, but tweaked here and there. My body needs red meat too. That was another thing I learned. But Donna keeps it all open for you to do your own exploration. Also recommended: Gut and Psychology Syndrome and Nourishing Traditions. <3 !!!!

The book has some great advice but I caution anyone with candida to accept the advice unconditionally but instead trust your gut, literally. I was surprised to learn that I should not eat beans yet other candida diets say you can. I've been eating black beans for several months ever since I learned I had this problem. I make mine from scratch from the dried organic kind, which I soak in water for several hours, then cook with EVOO, garlic and onions. They're great and they do not cause any problems. That said, the book does, however, suggest using apple cider vinegar, which can make my symptoms worse but I will probably just water it down more. It also recommends soaking raw almonds or sprouting them before eating. I chose soaking as recommended, but I can say that not only has their taste diminished, doing so has caused gas and stomach ache that I did not experience eating them without soaking. She also recommends not eating nut butters like almond (says sufferers can't digest the fat well), sunflower, or tahini, but I never have a problem eating them on brown rice cakes, which are also not recommended. I was especially annoyed by the constant push to purchase her products, which are extremely expensive. Coconut Kefir is continuously recommended and unless you want to make your own, which is tedious and must be made from young coconuts, and which aren't in my health food store, you must resort to buying it from her at $44 for 42 ounces, the cheapest I found it was $26, but it's recommended to drink 4 ounces 3 times a day! That's one expensive drink! It does taste good though, a bit like champagne without the buzz, but this is not Grande Cuvée and shouldn't be priced as such. I did appreciate learning more about sea vegetables (so good!), and about employing colonics and enemas to avoid constipation, which she recommends you NEVER allow to occur. There is some good information here, no question, but... So I'd go into this book with a bit of caution since some of the suggestions not only run counter to what other candida diets recommend, some could actually make your symptoms worse.

I grew up in Poland where eating fermented foods was a staple in our diet. I didn't know all the benefits of eating that way as a child, but I grew up eating sour milk (basically kefir) that we would make out of raw milk. When I moved to this country many years ago I stopped eating all those healthy foods, because they were simply not accessible and over the years started feeling the negative effects on my body. I have always been interested in nutrition and eventually started rediscovering fermented vegetables and kefir again. When I found Donna Gates book through her radio show, I was really thrilled. Donna has tremendous knowledge of what makes our body work the way it does and her advice is based on both eastern and western methods. For example, though I love some of the principles of the macrobiotic diet, I've always found it a little too rigid and its flavors bland. I'm also not a big rice eater. The Body Ecology Diet book explains that rice is actually too acid forming and therefore the diet doesn't really protect us from candidiasis. Though initially you may find some of her advice hard to follow (no gluten, no sugar, no coffee), the effects of this kind of eating are almost immediate and you will feel so great, you won't really crave those foods. I am glad that Donna helps familiarize people in the country with fermented foods and its wonderful benefits to our health. Try it and you will see a difference in your life!

I am still reading and studying. But Donna Gates seems to really know what she is talking about! This is a dietary theory, like others. Not one diet works for everyone... especially in the Gluten-free world. I am currently studying several gluten-free dietary theories. I am a holistic health coach that specializes in celiac disease, autoimmune & inflammatory diseases, Fibromyalgia, food allergies & sensitivities.. etc... I myself have been living with Celiac disease for all my life.. most of my life it was undiagnosed and untreated.. thus a crazy cycle of autoimmune disease and inflammatory disease began. I have now been in remission from everything for 10-15 years... but of course, I still can not eat gluten/ Or any grains at all. I have discovered that I have issues with other foods that are cross reactive. So, I am one of many living with Celiac Disease that can not just go on a "Gluten-Free Diet". Many Doctors and Registered Dietician's do not really know their patients still suffer and think that maybe they are just not following the diet. Truth is, there is so much more to celiac disease, as well as any autoimmune or inflammatory disease. It is so hard to a specialist that knows that, let alone great information about that. Gluten, Wheat & Such can lead to so many diseases, conditions and so many issues. So many people suffer.. and it is really sad! It is a great read and a great book to have if you are one of the many who Suffer. Suffer from any inflammatory or autoimmune disorder, celiac disease, lack of energy .. or other. Autism.. Mood swings... Etc.. know that could just be the beginning of your search and your quest in healing. Like I said before.. Not one diet works for everyone! we are all so very different. Just like a basic gluten-free diet might not work... You might have other work to do first (Like Clean House... Candida Is A MONSTER! ).. Even steps for that is in here. I love how she steps! She also walks you through them. I also study GAPS, Paleo, SCD.. and anything gluten-free. And when I say study, mean study. ..LOL

Very good book

Great read

I love Donna Gates. She is helpful to fight candidose or to cure any disease with food. The wiser diet that I know.

Bom livro porém para aqueles com "mente aberta". Fala de muitos aspectos nada científicos, como dietas do tipo sanguíneo. Alguns conselhos são bons porém com muita propaganda "camuflada"

Dieses Buch ist Gold Wert, es geht nicht um eine schnelle Diät, sondern wie man sich richtig und nachhaltig ernährt, damit man genügend gute Lebewesen im Darm hat und nicht von den schlechten übermannt ist. Liebe dieses Buch.. ist jetzt wie mein Leitfaden für alles in Bezug auf Ernährung. Es beantwortet wirklich jede Frage in Bezug auf Ernährung. Es beinhaltet die Blutgruppen Diät Trennkost Eine Ernährung wie man schlechte Pilze im Darm beseitigt Wie man den Darm wieder aufbaut, fermentiertes Gemüse und Wasser Seitdem habe ich so viel mehr verstehen über meinen Körper und habe Probleme wie Blähungen dauerhaft für immer gelöst. Bestes Buch zum Thema Ernährung, etwas umfangreich, aber sehr leicht und verständlich erklärt. Ich hoffe meine Bewertung ist verständlich und hilft. :-)