> Wouldn't the paleo diet accomplish the same thing?
>
For some, yes.  For others, like myself, no.  (It certainly helped more
than anything til now, but only in part.)  According to the many
practitioners who deal with this, it depends on the individuals' many
influencing factors, such as how heavy antibiotic or steroid use had
been in the past, the state of the immune system, toxic exposure to
pesticides, mercury, etc, etc (how long, how much)

>  OR, would a flora "transfusion" help our kids? I have one other friend with
> an "autistic" daughter and she put her on paleo and the child recovered but
> still had candida overgrowth which she treats  with thyroid supplements and
> good bacteria supplements. It is her firm opinion that paleo will not cure
> candida overgrowth. Yet she does not believe in antifungals either. To this
> day her child still has muscle weakness, a signature sign of candida
> overgrowth....
>
In all the reasearch I've done, the consensus is that, once the the
yeast has transformed from its saprophyte form to its mycelial form
(puts down "roots" that dig into the intestinal walls), it is extremely
resistant to phagocytosis (beneficial bacteria and immune cells that
"eat up" the pathogens).  Worse yet, when the yeast outgrows its food
source, or its normal food supply is reduced (ie. taking the carbos out
of the diet), it transforms into its mycelial form and continues to
"feed" on living tissue, forming a growing colony. In other words, once
the colony is established, it's kind of like an impenetrable barrier
(except when it comes to protiens smaller than bacteria "leaking"
through--ie, "leaky gut" and its resulting allergies and myriads of
other symptoms).  It doesn't just give up its position to beneficial
bacteria.  It first has to be removed, and even then, conditions (pH,
nutritonal and immune status of the patient, etc.) have to be such that
the beneficial organisms will implant in their place.  So essentially,
the probiotics are going down the toilet until the colony is usurped.
(Sheez, when I think of all the $ I wasted on probiotics over the past
few years!)

> I know of only one other mom (this one)  besides me  that has a child  who
> was actually diagnosed as autistic who is doing the paleo diet and her
> daughter has completely recovered from "autism" except for the muscle=
>  weakness.=20
>
I guess you already know magnesium malabsorption (and biotin deficiency)
is common with candidiasis.

> She suspects the chronic candida is from the mercury in the vaccines  and
> from the MMR invading the mucosal lining of the intestines....
>
> Dr Shaw's website states that the child's body becomes in effet unable to
> recognize the candida as an invader.
>
> Larry is extremely susceptible to fungal overgrowth, we have tested his
> urine and he shows organic acid metabolites from fungal overgrowth.
>
> What would you guys do?
>
Well Mary, I can only tell you what I'm doing, which may be right or
wrong.  From what I understand now though, right or wrong varies with
the individual's physiology.  Wrong for me was being stubborn about the
use of antifungals.  No, they're not natural, but neither was the use of
antibiotics on this organism.  That's like one side in the war fighting
with devastating biological weapons while the other is feebly swinging
her sharpened stick.

(An analogy might be:  If a tree is damaged, allowing invading insects
to penetrate, it may be able to fight off the invasion for a time by
scarring over the wound or secreting tannins to repel the invaders--but
not necessarily evict them--in the area of injury.  It may even appear
healthy in its growth for years.  But the eggs of the invaders hatch and
increase their insult, weakening the tree until it, little by little, no
longer has the strength to fight off the invaders.  It slowly declines,
showing symptoms like weak leaf growth, poor flower and seed production,
dying twigs, patches of other types of diseases due to nutrient
depletion, other types of insects that find it easier to penetrate the
cambium now that the bark has weakened by the original invaders.  It
eventually decomposes, as all things in nature do.)

Fungi are nature's decomposers, and essentially, that's what they're
slowing doing to folks with candidiasis--some more quickly or earlier
than others.  Having a strong survival instinct and a brain that has
actually begun to function once in a while :-), I've drawn some
conclusions through extensive research, personal experience and
soul-searching:

Since I've been strictly paleo for around 2 years now (eaten less than
20 grams of carbos/day, lots of low-carb veggies, cooked, raw and
almost-raw meats), tried every possible herbal/nutritional, immune and
endocrine support for some 4 years, plus had 10 mercury fillings and one
root canal removed, had many tests (to the tune of $16,000 debt and
growing--no health insurance, only partial income), can still check off
just about everything on the candida symptoms lists (except for jock
itch and impotence!), have Crohn's Disease (or is that 2 feet of
"thickening" in my gut wall really a big, seething ball of fungus with
it's accompanying inflammation?), and am left with adrenal
insufficiency--whew!--, I figured it was about time I brandished my
Nystatin battleth and Diflucan phaser in the battle, as a valiant, final
Klingon effort.  And--Dang!--if they ain't workin'!  Of course I know
they won't render me immortal against nature's processes.  But big-time
die-off reactions--the likes of which no herb or diet has yet shown--and
marked improvements in a little as a month's time have me once again
knocking my head head against the wall for being so stubborn for so
long.  Did I wait too long?  Time will tell.  Will it work over the long
haul?  Same answer.

I have hope for your kids.  I don't believe any answer is infallible,
since there are so many variables in nature and in one organism's
nature.  But I do believe in survival of the fittest, which may include
a strong survival instinct at times when we're unfit.  That instinct may
sometimes include forsaking long-held beliefs.

Here are a couple well-written articles you may not have come across:

 http://members.aol.com/docdarren/med/candida.html
 (I think this one's out of service for now, but I hope it comes back.
It's really worth looking at.)

http://www.drcranton.com/CFIDS.htm

My best wishes for you,
Lois