Garlic is another excellent food that can be worked into different aspects of the diet. The main curative property is allicin, which helps lower blood pressure and is an effective treatment for yeast and fungal infections.
Inan era dominated by pharmaceutical solutions, there is a rising consciousness about the incredible healing and preventive powers of food. As the age-old saying goes, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food.” But how does this translate in today’s world? Can we really use nutrition as a potent tool against sickness and disease? How does one curate a diet that supports health, longevity, and wellness? In this series, we are talking to nutritionists, dietitians, medical professionals, holistic health experts, and anyone with authoritative knowledge on the subject. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Dan Jackowiak.
Dan Jackowiak is a Nutritional Consultant and Holistic Healthcare Practitioner. Dan has over 18 years of experience studying medical research on candida yeast infections of all types. Dan began his journey through a course in Nutrition through Humanitis International and the University of Miami School of Medicine and, from there, went on to obtain his Holistic Healthcare Practitioner licensing. His team of scientists and doctors have the expertise and authority in this field that you can trust, and their research still continues to this very day.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Before we dive into the main focus of our interview, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Iwas born in 1961, and my introduction to health challenges came early. At just six months old, I found myself battling pneumonia, and the prescribed remedy was antibiotics. Throughout the next dozen years, pneumonia hit me seven more times, with countless bouts of bronchitis in between. With every infection, antibiotics were handed to me. After one particularly long course of antibiotics for bronchitis, I developed severe diarrhea that didn’t abate until two months after I stopped the medication. I’ve since learned about the havoc antibiotics can wreak on the human microbiome, and I’m convinced that my good bacteria were severely disrupted. However, it would not be until much later that I made these connections and dedicated myself to bettering my own health through knowledge and helping others do the same.
What or who inspired you to pursue your career? We’d love to hear the story.
My career in researching yeast-related illness and its relationship to our diets actually came from my personal struggles. I did not know it at the time, but you could say my inspiration came from struggles in my teenage years.
As a teenager, I started battling chronic athlete’s foot and dandruff. My feet were in such a terrible state that I couldn’t wear tennis shoes anymore because they exacerbated the fungal infections. The stench from my feet became a daily battle. To combat dandruff, I relied on Head & Shoulders, and for my feet, a combination of Lotrimin and foot powders became part of my daily routine.
In my early 20s, like many young adults, I relished the party scene. Little did I realize that the alcohol was further damaging my already compromised gut flora. I noticed a pattern; when I took breaks from drinking, my digestive health improved. But whenever I returned to my old habits, the problems surged back. An Herbologist once told me I likely had Candida yeast overgrowth in my gut, a diagnosis later confirmed by a Naturopathic doctor. Yet, stubbornly, I chose to ignore it.
By the time I hit my 30s, my digestive issues became nearly intolerable. It got so bad that I began exploring other potential causes. After reading about parasites, I underwent a cleanse that provided relief for about two years. When the symptoms returned, another round of the same cleanse gave me an additional eight months of relief.
In 1995, with the advent of the Internet, I started researching more about my symptoms. I stumbled upon a website discussing Candida yeast overgrowth. It was eerily familiar, the same diagnosis I’d been given a decade earlier. I decided to take action, starting a treatment. It helped, but not as much as I’d hoped. I realized that to truly heal, I needed to commit to a candida yeast diet.
My search for the right diet was frustrating. The sheer volume of contradictory advice was overwhelming. Was it okay to eat grains and potatoes? Some said yes, others said no. I decided to delve deeper, transitioning from general literature to medical journals and scientific research.
Using the insights from credible medical sources, I tailored a plan and, after 14 painstaking months, reclaimed my health.
My journey led to a deep fascination with alternative medicine. I pursued nutrition courses through Humanitis International and the University of Miami School of Medicine. Later, I enrolled at the Global College of Nutritional Medicine to become a Holistic Healthcare Practitioner, specializing in Clinical Nutrition and Herbology.
Today, the website I run is a culmination of my personal experience, academic training, and over two decades of intensive research on candida yeast infections. With the support of my team of scientists and doctors, I’m proud to say we’ve established a trusted authority in the field, and our research is ongoing.
My hope is that others can utilize the insights and resources we provide to find their path to healing, just as I did.
It has been said that our mistakes can sometimes be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
I think it can be comedically frustrating to think about all the misinformation that appears so easily trustable on the internet. A mistake I possibly made early on in my own health journey was blindly trusting advice that was not backed by science and evidence. This is one thing I hope others can learn from, and I believe it is a multifaceted lesson.
You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?
Perseverance — For anyone who is trying to be successful, whether it be in their career, personal wellness journey, or just life in general, you have to be able to bounce back from adversity. I started my journey into health and wellness because something felt wrong each day in my own health that I was forced to persevere through.
Apprehension — Being able to take what the world throws at you with a grain of salt is also essential if you ever want to find objective truths. There is a lot of misinformation, especially in the digital age, so being critical is not a bad thing. Take my experience, for example; the exact antibiotics that doctors prescribed me were worsening other conditions unannounced to me.
Drive — If you want to be successful, you also need the drive to reach your goals. Whether it be to secure a degree in your field, secure a job, or self-direct your learning and, ultimately, your success through entrepreneurship, you need to be driven.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
I and my team of scientists and doctors continue to research the latest information on gut health so we can pass it along to those that are interested. We also work one on one with people that ask for our help, it is very satisfying to help people turn their lives and health around in a positive way.
OK, thank you for all of that. Let’s now shift to the core focus of our interview about cultivating wellness through proper nutrition and diet. To begin, can you tell our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of nutrition?
As a certified nutritional consultant and Holistic Healthcare Practitioner, I have continuously researched for over 20 years on nutrition, gut health and bacteria. My blog is a compilation of all I have learned and is fact-checked and co-authored by doctors in the field.
We all know that it’s important to eat more vegetables, eat less sugar, etc. But while we know it intellectually, it’s often difficult to put it into practice and make it a part of our daily habits. In your opinion what are the main blockages that prevent us from taking the information that we all know, and integrating it into our lives?
Humans are habitual creatures. The fact is, it is hard to change ingrained habits, and oftentimes, we do not have a good enough incentive to do so. Additionally, when it comes to diet, we may even be choosing temporary satisfaction over long-term, more rewarding changes.
Take something like cutting out sugar, for example. The carbohydrate is a form of energy, so it gives us that quick boost we need when our blood sugar levels are low. We like this feeling, so we tend to eat more of it. However, one of the negative processes related to sugar is that it feeds yeast, and yeast overgrowth anywhere on the body can lead to infection. This leads me to my next reason.
People fail to make the connection between their diet and overall health. Sure we know food is fuel, and eating bad will make us feel sluggish or low energy. However, this is not always the case. Additionally, many people don’t even know what elements, down to the chemicals food is made up of, are responsible for making them feel bad. So when someone suffers from something like chronic yeast infections, they try all sorts of over-the-counter solutions without ever turning to their diet as the culprit.
From your professional perspective, do you believe that nutrition plays a pivotal role in supporting the body’s natural healing processes and overall well-being, particularly in cases of chronic diseases? We’re interested in hearing your insights on the connection between a holistic approach to diet and its benefits for individuals facing health challenges.
When I reflect on my personal journey, it becomes abundantly clear that our bodies are intrinsically connected systems, and the food we consume plays a pivotal role in our overall health. A holistic approach to diet is about understanding that connection. It’s about recognizing that everything we put into our bodies impacts not just one isolated part, but the whole system.
Chronic health conditions, from my experience with Candida yeast overgrowth to digestive problems, often arise from a combination of factors. These can be external, like the antibiotics I took repeatedly as a child, or internal, such as the imbalances in my gut flora exacerbated by diet and lifestyle choices as a teenager. Addressing just one factor without considering the entire picture might cover the issue momentarily but doesn’t address the root cause.
Based on your research or experience could you share with us five examples of foods or dietary patterns that have demonstrated remarkable potential in preventing, reducing, or managing specific health conditions? If you can, it would be insightful if you could provide real-life examples of their curative properties.
- Green vegetables are the first one and maybe the most obvious one. Everyone has heard or said the words ‘eat your greens’ in their life. Herbs, asparagus, green beans and broccoli are all examples of vegetables that should be incorporated into a balanced diet. These are low-carb, low-sugar vegetables that offer a multitude of vitamins and minerals, give you energy, and supply fibre to feed the good bacteria in your gut, which is essential for digestive health.
- Mercury-free fish is another excellent source of protein and fat to add to your diet. Fish such as cod, sea bass, trout and tilapia are all high in omega-3 to reduce inflammation and regulate blood pressure to help prevent heart-related issues.
- Garlic is another excellent food that can be worked into different aspects of the diet. The main curative property is allicin, which helps lower blood pressure and is an effective treatment for yeast and fungal infections.
- Yogurt is one dairy product that most people, even those with minor intolerances, can incorporate into their diet for gut health benefits. The curative properties include probiotic-rich bacteria that help maintain a healthy gut flora and promote digestion.
- Similarly, sauerkraut and other fermented foods are extremely rich in probiotics and can be consumed in small quantities to get the benefits. Fermented foods are a secret weapon that can be used to warn off candida overgrowth in the gut.
Do experts generally agree that merely choosing healthy foods isn’t sufficient, but that understanding how to consume them is key to unlocking their full health benefits? (For example, skins on/off, or cooked/raw, or whole grain/refined grain) Could you provide advice on how to approach this and sidestep common errors or misconceptions?
I agree with the science behind the fact that the chemical composition of food changes when it is cooked, causing changes in the nutritional value of the food. Take, for example, carrots; the glycemic index of the vegetable doubles when cooked. So how food is prepared will have different effects on your gut microbiota and blood sugar levels.
Common misconceptions are usually around how much this will affect you. Taking the carrot example, I would recommend eating them raw to avoid the excess sugar, although it likely won’t kill you to eat cooked carrots, especially if you do not have existing issues with yeast overgrowth in your stomach.
With the recent prominence of nutrition’s integration into healthcare, what’s your perspective on the collaborative approach between medical professionals, health coaches, and nutrition experts when it comes to delivering holistic patient care? Can you please explain?
I think having more holistic perspectives in traditional medical environments is an excellent step, especially for preventative health care. Nutrition is extremely important for the maintenance of health and is an integral part of anyone’s healing journey.
Additionally, there can be mental aspects to one’s nutritional choices. Therefore, having a variety of knowledgeable perspectives and professionals guiding a patient’s care plan can be extremely beneficial for providing the right solution faster.
It’s been suggested that using ‘food as medicine’ has the potential to reduce healthcare costs by preventing disease severity. However, there’s concern about the affordability of healthier food options. What solutions do you believe could make nutritious choices accessible to everyone, ensuring that food truly becomes a form of medicine for all?
Right now, people can look to frozen vegetables. Unfortunately, for a lot of the nutritious food available, you cannot save by buying in bulk because it is all perishable. Frozen tends to be cheaper but can still provide the nutrients you need.
Cooking at home and planning your meals can also help you eat better as you are less likely to spend money on fast food that is likely full of bad stuff.
Everyone’s body is unique, and what works for one might not work for another. How does one navigate the vast array of nutritional advice available today to curate a diet tailored to individual needs, ensuring health and longevity?
If you want to see what works best for you completely on your own, you will need to start with trial and error. While this can be a long process, it really is the way to tease out the nitty-gritty details of your digestive health. Record a comprehensive food and stool log for a week to start without making changes. If you are struggling with a specific symptom (i.e., stomach pain or loose stool), do some research. Adjust your diet around what you think the issue may be, or try incorporating a food or probiotic you think will help. Record for another week and note any changes.
A quicker way to decipher the best diet for you is to consult with your doctor or a nutritional specialist. It is easier for a professional to consult you on your needs without consulting your health history.
As our understanding of the intricate link between food and health continues to evolve, we’re curious to know which emerging trends or breakthroughs in nutritional science excite you the most. How do you envision these advancements shaping the future of healthcare?
The trend toward more sustainable diets excites me. As more people turn toward products that have waste-reduction and climate-friendly practices in mind, they are also inherently turning toward healthier options. Veganism and vegetarian diets are also playing into this trend as they steer consumers away from many unsustainable practices in the dairy and farming industry. While these diets are best for the environment, I urge those experimenting to proceed with caution and ensure they are supplementing as needed to get enough protein, especially.
How can we better educate the public about the medicinal properties of food, and what role do professionals like you play in this educational journey?
Providing high-quality and trustworthy resources to people struggling with gut health is what I aim to do in my work. The internet is a blessing and a curse, so knowing what information is backed by evidence is crucial for one’s educational journey.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
Visit our website for more information: https://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/
Thank you for these really excellent insights, and we greatly appreciate the time you spent with this. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
