I am returning to a theory that was discussed in previous chapters. If the candida lives in the lower intestines, only the complex sugars will feed the yeast, because the simple sugars are absorbed higher up. Glucose can even be absorbed through the stomach. Now this is interesting, because I have documented terrible reactions to almost every starch, yet he can eat all the fruit he wants. This is precisely the opposite of what I expected. Traditional yeast books tell you to introduce starches first, gradually, then simple sugars later. That was also the opinion of our doctor, but here was an opposing point of view.
More searching brought me to the <specific carbohydrate diet>, abbreviated SCD, which admits simple sugars, but avoids starches completely. This diet has been in existence for 45 years, but only now is it growing in popularity. The autism community has "discovered" it, and in many cases it is more effective than the traditional GF CF diet.
I decided to give it a whirl. Sorry John, but we're changing your diet again! He is so patient, so very patient. Actually, we can't change everything overnight, so we're simply taking the first step, a reduction, and eventual elimination, of sucrose. No cane sugar (and all its variants), no corn syrup, and no maple syrup. He had so much maple when we were trying to avoid cane, and it turns out that's no better; it's just another form of sucrose. Honey is the preferred sweetener on SCD, and we've never tried that before.
Well the reduction of sucrose seems to help a lot. This is about the tenth time I've proclaimed "progress!", only to recant three weeks later, so I'll bide my time and reserve judgment. I'll let you know in a couple months. For now, though, it looks like the reduction in sucrose is making a big difference. I wish I could eliminate it completely, but he insists on eating most of the school lunches. Sigh.