The spice that sends mood and energy soaring
Christine Porter, 54, was overwhelmed by fatigue, blue moods and brain fog—until she discovered the surprising culprit and the easy lifestyle tweaks that restored her vitality
That decision might cost me my business, Christine Porter thought as she hung up the phone. “I worked as a freelance art director and graphic designer, and had just told my biggest client—who brought in 70% of my income—I couldn’t take on a large new job. I’d always been proud of my ability to meet deadlines and juggle multiple projects, but lately I was so exhausted, all I wanted to do was sleep. It was impossible to focus on work. Passing on the job made me really, really scared because I knew the work might never come back.
Exhausted 24/7
“Several years ago, fatigue, brain fog and blue moods took over, impacting every aspect of my life. Not only was I too tired to muster the energy to work, at home I stopped taking care of chores I’d always handled, like cooking, cleaning and laundry. That frustrated my now ex-husband, putting more strain on an already stressed marriage and adding to my sadness. I also gained more than 45 pounds. And if that wasn’t enough, I started waking up in the middle of the night, doubled over with stomach pains.
“I felt too sick, tired and overweight to have fun, so I stopped going out with my friends. I stayed home watching TV, wondering why I couldn’t talk myself into feeling better. My friends and family thought I was having a midlife crisis and told me to exercise and find hobbies.
This made me feel isolated—and guilty for feeling so bad.
“For about three or four months, I kept going back to my doctor. He blamed it on my age, but I knew that wasn’t the problem. This can’t be happening, I fumed in my head.
I refuse to be overweight and feeling ‘old’ so soon in my life.
“My doctor’s suggestions were to exercise more and go on a diet. He also said he thought I was depressed, and he suggested antidepressants. I tried the diet, but I didn’t agree with him that I was depressed, so I didn’t take the prescription. He also put me on heavy doses of a proton pump inhibitor because he believed reflux was behind my stomach pain. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to help, which made me more sad and tired.
“And it didn’t stop there. While I struggled to get relief for one set of symptoms, I developed others, including rashes on my hands, underarms and eyelids, sleeplessness, low sex drive and headaches.
An answer at last!
“Since I wasn’t getting the relief I needed, I went to see an internist who specializes in functional medicine. Following blood tests and stool samples, my new doctor diagnosed me with candidiasis—a body-wide fungal infection caused by an overgrowth of candida yeast—and gluten intolerance. She said the infection caused all of my symptoms.
“I was shocked. I hadn’t had a vaginal yeast infection and had no idea yeast infections could start in your gut and impact your whole body. I learned that candida is the most common— and the least diagnosed—fungal infection and that it often becomes chronic. It scared me to learn it can cause ‘leaky gut,’ where bacteria and toxins pass through the intestinal wall into the body, triggering autoimmune conditions such as celiac disease.
“I had been a vegetarian for about five years because I thought it was a healthy way to eat. And it is when you fill up on fresh veggies, fruit and whole grains. But the bulk of my diet had been processed and packaged vegetarian foods, which my doctor explained were converted to sugar in my body—and the sugar fed the yeast. She advised me to avoid simple carbs and grains, caffeine, chocolate, wine, cheese and starchy vegetables like carrots and sweet potatoes. I also decided to eliminate the processed foods and to bring organic, freerange meats back into my diet to meet my protein needs.
“Finally, my doctor put me on an antifungal drug to kill the candida. The first two weeks, the yeast die-off brought flu-like symptoms that sent me to bed. But by the third week, I felt a huge shift. I had more energy, began to lose weight and was thinking more clearly. I even got back to doing yoga and meditating. By the third month, my sleep was better, my headaches were gone and I was happier and more focused.
“With my renewed energy, I was inspired to study holistic nutrition to learn the food-mood connection. I’ve since started my own business, Peace and Pear, teaching nutrition and mindfulness techniques. And I recently published my first book, The Wisdom of You, to empower others to find their own path to thrive emotionally, spiritually and physically. I used to think my health and career would never be on track again, but now they’re better than ever, and I’m loving life.”
—As told to Cynthia McVey