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I am not a practitioner of any kind so please accept the following only as an exchange of information and ideas.

I think some of the answers to your questions might be in my book in the section called A Little Controversy (last page of section).

When people cannot handle fresh, ripe, organic fruit (in moderation), it is usually as a result of their previous diet and lifestyle and not the fault of the fruit. What I mean here is that refined, processed carbohydrates – white sugar and white flour (principally) are the culprits that brought the body to a condition where it cannot handle EVEN the natural sugars present in fresh fruit. The good news is that after a period of time on a raw diet without the sweet fruits and dried fruits, etc., a person can begin to gradually add in some fresh, quality fruit again. How long does this take? It is different for each individual, depending on the conditions that need to be corrected.

I haven't read the book that you mentioned, though it is on my list to do so. But if the Youngs say that fruit is acidifying to the body, I do not agree with that. Most RIPE fruit is alkalinizing to the body.* Among the exceptions are blueberries, cranberries, plums and prunes. I also believe that some citrus fruit that is not grown organically may be acidifying due to the way in which it is grown, however, this does not apply to properly grown organic citrus. Also, fruits do not normally ferment in the body, unless there is some digestive problem, or unless a combination of food is eaten that cannot be handled by the individual body. For people with digestive problems, I do suggest following food combining guidelines. For candidiasis, I would take a good probiotic regularly and also some homemade sauerkraut and/or rejuvelac. (There are recipes for these in my book.) This is because you need to supply the body with an abundance of beneficial bacteria to displace the negative bacteria that is present.

Fresh fruit will cause the body to release a lot of acidity. This release of acidity does not mean that the fruit is causing the acidity; only that the fruit is causing the release of acid accumulations from former lifestyle choices. This release, however, can be too much and too fast for some people. The acid might cause some corrosive damage to teeth or sensitivity in teeth. For this reason, I believe that it might be better to do a slower detox using vegetables, vegetable juices, blended energy soups, vegetable fruits (like the avocado, tomato that you mention, but also the squashes, cucumbers, okra, etc.), seaweeds, buckwheat lettuce, sunflower sprouts, and other sprouts. I would also stay away from too many sprouted grains with the exception of a moderate amount of buckwheat. Grains are acid forming but when sprouted they become less acid forming, but for someone with a problem I would concentrate more on sprouted legumes – mung beans, garbanzos, lentils – in moderation.

It's true that some of my recipes combine fruits and vegetables, but for me, and others, we have found that chewing the food well (making a soup in the mouth) allows the food to be easily digested. This may or may not work for you. You can make a recipe, chew it very well and see what happens and how you feel. Remember too, that in the beginning of changing over to a raw food diet there are going to be some reactions that may happen as a result of the detox process. Deciding what is detox (symptoms) and what is actually an allergic reaction is a trial and error process we all go through. I think it is a very good idea that you are staying completely away from the foods you mentioned – meat, dairy, corn, wheat and soy.

In a person with no candidiasis problems, I suggest fruit in the morning and as a between meal snack, when desired. The bulk of lunch and dinner would be vegetables and the other foods I mentioned above.

Wishing you excellent health.

With blessings and peace,