Candida Diet
Candida diet is well known for its importance to the candida treatment, but also for its challenges and common misconceptions, especially when it comes tothe foods to eat and the foods to avoid while on the candida diet. As a result, critical mistakes are made leaving many people confused, constantly hungry with difficulties in overcoming their candida and yeast issues. Dealing with candidas many discomforts is hard as it is; adding a strict anti-candida diet that doesnt work on top of these discomforts is just too much.
This guide covers all the facts you need to know, so you can enjoy a candida diet that meets your bodys specific needs and also satisfies your taste buds and lifestyle. Feeling satisfied after a meal is as important as getting the health benefits from it.
One of the reasons many candida dietsfail, is that they operate under the assumption that all people should eat the same. Knowingwhat to eat on candida diet in general is one thing, but understanding what foods work the best for you may bea completely different story. It is very important to remember that in order for thecandida diet to work (or in fact any diet), it has to be tailored to the individual state of health, needs and lifestyle. An active person has significantly different needs then someone who is not active at all. They cant be on the same diet plan. In addition, people bodies, especially the digestion system tend to differ from each other. This is due to genetics, environmental diversity, and many other factors.
What does it all mean? The same food that may benefit some people, can harm others. This applies even to healthy foods that are on the candida diet food list thatare consideredto be the best foods for candida and yeast issues. You have to make sure your body agrees withthese foods and that you do not have sensitivities or allergies to them. You can follow thebest candida cleanse diet plans, but as long as you are sensitive to some of the foods in them, you may not be able to cure your candida issues.
There are many ways to design an effective anti candida diet. With that said, an ideal diet for candida should followa few core principles that are critical to the success of the candida cleanse. Knowing these will give you the freedom to choosethe best foods for your body that will make you happy and satisfied:
Switching to the candida diet is not supposed to happen overnight; your body may not be able to handle manychanges all at once. Take your time and learn how different foods make you feel.
Adjusting to the candidadiet usually takes time, especially withfoodsyour body may not be used to. Takingfull spectrum digestive enzymecan help with this transition and improve the digestion and nutrients absorptionfrom the foods you eat.
Vitamins and minerals deficiencies are very common with candida issues. Research has clearly shown that certain deficiencies such as vitamin B12 and vitamin D can cause serious health complications that cant be reversed and may even become permanent. For this reason, it is very important that your diet meetsthedaily requirements of vitamins and minerals. For more info please see ouranti candida food list.
If you need ideas for candida diet recipes, make sure to check ourcandida recipes. Do not eat the same foods every single day.
Bad eating habits are very common these days, and it is one of the reasons 7 out of 10 people have candida and yeast issues. It is your choice whether you want to be in thisgroupor join the other more healthy one Going out? Dont know what to eat? we wrote an entire post about that: Eat out without messing up your candida-diet
Constipation is a verycommon problem we see with many anti candida diets and protocols, and a knowncandida diet side effect.Here is why:
Lets have a look at the typicalanti candida diet that essentially follows the low carb high protein diet approach: Most foods that are high in protein and low in carbs (meat, fish, nuts, seeds, eggs)requirelonger digestion time and also tend to have significantly less liquids and fiber in them. Itis not surprising that diets that are high in these types of drier foods make peoples digestion slower and even constipated.
Here is the problem:the last thing you want when you have candida issues is to be slow or constipated ! Ideally you want to speed up your digestion, so yourbody can get rid of dying candida and its toxins as quickly as possible.
Already suffer from constipation? drinking water withapple cider vinegar andlemon juice on an empty stomach before bedtime may be very helpful. See theovernight toxins flushfor more details.
Systemic candida and yeast issues are usually a result of gut flora imbalances between candida to the friendly organisms (probiotics) that normally control candida from over growing. Getting enough probiotics either fromprobiotic foods, fermented foodsor probiotic supplements is a very important part of the candida treatment. Probiotics populate the intestines with beneficial organisms that balancethe levels of candida in your body to normal healthy levels.
While it is possible to get probiotics from natural fermented foods and drinks such as live cultured yogurt, Sauerkraut, Kimchi, Kombucha tea and others, there are manyconcerns regarding their effectiveness and safety for candida and yeast issues. In addition, due to stability, quality issues, and contamination risks, store-bought probiotic foodsare usually not recommended. So unless you makeyour own and know for a fact they have worked for you personally in the past, counting on these foods as a good and safe probiotic source may not provide the best results and can even backfire resulteddigestion issues such as gas and bloating. When using Probiotic supplementsfor candida, it is important to make sure the strains used are effective for candida but also safe,so your body canbalance the yeast overgrowth at a rate itcan safely handle. A good example can be found here. For more information on probiotics, see our candida supplements experts guide probiotics.
(or as we call them, Fake Foods)
The first type of foods to avoid and never include in theanti candida dietare processed foods. If theres one area that all nutrition experts agree on, that would be it. This goes above and beyond the candida diet; the research is very clear:processed foods are bad for us and may beleading cause of many of the modern diseases we have todaydiabetes, heart disease just to name a few.
In the context of the anti candida diet, consuming processed foods is one of the main reasons for the candida overgrowth to begin with; Our body does a very poor job digesting these foods, so they tend to feed candida much more than they feed the good bacteria or our body.
There are a few reasons. One is the high number of ingredients. Take your favorite processed food. Look at the list of the ingredientsThis is quite simple, our body cant effectively digest so many ingredients in one meal. Furthermore, processed foods usually containtoxic lab created chemicals. These chemicals are there for a reasonThey are:
To complete this list of shameprocessed foods are usually high in processed salt, carbs, sugars and unhealthy fats. The sad truth about these foods is that they lack thereal nutrients found in real food; nutrients required by the body such as fiber, vitamins and minerals; these are the nutrients you need to have in the anticandida diet.
What to Avoid:80% of the supermarkets food section all processed foods, frozen, dry or canned including snacks, bars, most healthy bars, cereals, processed meats, junk food, most salad dressings, sauces, sweets, ice-cream, chewing gums. Many healthy prepared meals contain ingredients such assugar, honey, rice syrup exactly the opposite of thecandida foods to eat.
The Candida Diet Alternatives: foods to eat on the candida diet include low sugar fruits such as wholeberries (fresh,ripe preferably organic), non starchy vegetables, leafy greens and selected meats or wild fish (check themercurycontent). Raw sprouted seeds are a great choice for snacks, green smoothies and also to increase the protein and nutrients content ofyour salads: sprouting makes the seeds easier to digest by the body and improve their taste as well. Our favorites are Go Raw organic sprouted pumpkin seeds and organic sprouted sunflower seeds. As for oils, we prefer raw organic extra virgin coconut oil,and organic extra virgin olive oil.
Coconut oil is natural antifungal and actually one of the most knownfoods that kill candida. Caprylic acid, a natural occurring fattyacid found incoconut oilis responsible forits strongantifungal properties. Due to its potency,Caprylic acid is included in manyanti-candida supplements as well. These properties make coconut oil an excellent fit and a staple in every candida diet and treatment, whether as an oil to cook, eat raw, and even as oil pulling.
Another great option to include in your candida diet is coconut butter: in addition to the anti-fungal, brain and energy benefits of coconut oil, coconut butter also has the other nutrients found in whole coconuts such as fiber, protein, healthy fats and minerals. Our favorite brand is Sacred Foods coconut butter which is raw, organic and also stone-ground. The stone-ground process preserves the nutrients and provides a smooth texture with a very sweet taste very helpful in satisfying craving for sweets in a safe and healthy way that is also very effective against candida. Sacred Foodscoconut butter is also very easy to digest, which is another reason to include it as a part of the candida diet.
Important note on meat for the candida diet make sure the meat you eat wasnt treated withantibiotics, hormones or other chemicals. Also to minimize the inflammation response to the meat, always make sure the meat you buy is:
If you look at the list of ingredients and cant tell what some of the ingredients are, or if it takes you more than a few seconds to go over them, find the nearest trash can and get rid of this fake food !
(or as we call them, Liquid Fake Foods)
Beverages are usually processed foods in liquid form wrapped inattractive bottles. As such, theyshould not be includedin your candida cleanse diet as well.The biggest problem with beverages is the large amount of simple sugars orartificial ingredients which can feed candida and make the yeast infection worse.
What about pure fruit juices ? despite being100% natural, fruit smoothies and juices should be avoided as well as a part of yourcandida diet, since theyare loaded with fast acting carbs. This may create big sugar spikes that can feed candida. Remember, while drinking these when you arehealthy can benefit you, consuming them in a body with candida and yeast infection is probably going to harm you.
It is strongly advised to give up any caffeinated beverages for their effect on the central nervous system. This also includes regular coffee,caffeine based supplements andother stimulants.Stimulants cause the famous fight-or-flight response in the body which overtime canwear down the adrenal glands and cause adrenal fatigue. Having this response on top of the stress caused by systemic candida overgrowth while trying to treat it can intensify the symptoms and make the infection worse. Another concernwith coffee on candida diet is that many of thecoffee beans that are available on the market may becontaminated with mold, which can cause a reaction due to the mold content.
What to Avoid:any sugary drinks, soft drinks, energy and vitamin water drinks, meal replacementsshakes, milk alternatives with added sugars, drinks with artificial sweeteners, sodas, sports drinks, fruit juices or smoothies, coffee, tea, ice-tea, tap water.
Candida Diet Alternatives:clean water (spring water or natural alkaline water are preferred). If you want todrink something other than water, you can drink organic non stimulant herbal teassuch aspeppermint,hibiscus, chamomile, ginger with pure steviaas a sweetener witha fresh squeezed organic lemon. You can also try our Anti-Inflammatory Low-Carb Pina Colada Miracleas a refreshing healthy drink that can be included as a part of your candida diet.
It is recommended to avoid or limit sugars while on the candida diet. There are many sugar alternatives that taste very sweet, have minimal impact on the blood sugar levels and may help to make your food taste sweeter and better. It is important however, to know which ones to use and which to avoid, as many sugar alternatives and artificial sweeteners are unhealthy, contain chemicals that can cause potential health issues, or actually contain enough sugars in them that can make your candida overgrowth becomeworse. This also applies to natural alternatives to sugar such as agave nectar, date sugar, coconut sugar, pure maple syrup and others that are often sold as high mineral health foods. These natural alternatives to sugar may be better than white sugar, but are still loaded with sugars and should be avoided while on the candida diet.
What to Avoid: aspartame, sucrose, splenda, saccharin, agave nectar, sugar cane, molasses, honey, brown rice syrup, coconut palm sugar, date sugar, maple syrup.
Candida Diet Alternatives: stevia, xylitol (from non-GMO corn or from birch bark). Low sugar fruits such as fresh whole berries are allowed in moderation on the candida diet and can bevery helpful insatisfying sugar cravings. See our food combination section, as fruits should be eaten by themselves on an empty stomach.
(or as we call it, Sticky Food #1)
Despite massive marketing campaignsby the dairy industry trying to position dairy as a healthy vital nutrient, most health experts strongly recommend to avoid it completely; our recommendation is very clear dairy should not be consumed as a part of your candida diet. In fact, it is one of the topcandida diet foods to avoid during the candida cleanse diet.
Here is why It is estimated that 3 out of 4 adults cant properly digest lactose which is the sugar found in milk and dairy products (lactose intolerant). When consumed, milk sugarcan travel in the gutundigested, causing many digestion issues,inflammation and an environment candida thrives on.
Casein stickiness properties make it an excellent glue known for being very strong and water resistant with many uses of casein glue documented throughout history.
The second issue with dairy is the milkprotein (casein). Casein hasa supersticky consistency that may stick to the gut walls and takes a very long timeto digest. One of the difficulties ingetting rid of candida is candidas ability to stick to the gut walls making dairy one of the worst foodsto consume as a part of your candida diet when trying to treat candida and yeast infection.
What to Avoid:All dairy products, milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, dressings or sauces containingmilk.
The Candida Diet Alternatives:coconut, almond or hemp milk. Watch for the added ingredients there should be no added sugars or other ingredients you can not pronounce we prefer making these ourselves at home from organic coconuts, almonds or hemp seeds. If you are looking for an alternative tothe cream in your coffee, coconut butter is a perfect choice, tastes much better and will also boost your energy levels. It is also a natural anti-fungal food. As a reminder, coffee is not ideal for the candida diet, but we are aware it is sometimes needed, especially in the beginning.
(alsocalled Birds Food)
Next on the list of candida foods to avoid in your candida cleanse diet is Gluten, which is the wheat protein found in wheat and various grains such as semolina, rye and barely.The Latin origin of the name means glue which is exactly the consistency of gluten.
The biggest problem with gluten has to do with gluten sensitivity; when gluten is consumed by a person with gluten sensitivity, a reaction in the body is triggeredthat over time can lead toleaky gut syndrome. Leaky gut is a condition where substances such as undigested food particles and toxins leak from the gut into the bloodstream. Once in the bloodstream, the leaked undigested foods or toxins are identified bythe immune system as invaders resulted a response by the immune system. Overtime, this may lead to many serious health issues.
Many people with candida and yeast infection issues also suffer from many food sensitivities, including increased sensitivity to gluten. Thisis the reason it is commonly advised to adapt a gluten free diet lifestyle, avoiding gluten foods as a part of your anti candida diet.
Special note about grains while not all grains contains gluten, they are known tocreate inflammation in the body, and it is advised to avoid them as well while on the candida diet. It has been suggested by many health expertsthat the human body isnt fully designed to digest grains and wheat; the reason behind it most likely is due to the fact that grainswerent consumed long enough during human evolution in order for the body to fully adapt. In fact, most people feel great aftereliminating or reducing the amount of grains from their diets.
What to Avoid: Bread, pasta, rice, oats, cereals, any wheat/grain based meals,rye bread.
The Candida Diet Alternatives:(All In Moderation) Fresh organic whole ripe fruits or vegetables, organic sprouted cooked Quinoa and organic root vegetables (you have to try roastedrutabagas!)
Important: It is recommended to limit carbs during your candida cleanse and adapt a somewhat low carb diet approach. This works well for most people with candida overgrowth issues. You can still consume carbs, just make sure to watch your symptoms and the way they make youfeel. The alternatives that are shown above in this section, are healthy choices, yet theydo containcarbs,they willincrease blood sugar levels and can potentiallycause a reaction in the body. For this reason you need to pay closer attention to the way your body responds after eating these foods as well as to the quantities used. Ask yourself if eating these foods made you feel satisfied, happy, did they provide you enough energy and focus, in addition to your digestion after eating these.
If you miss rice, you have to tryour famous high rated recipe for Restore Nutrients Cauliflower Rice known as The Most Amazing Anti Candida Cauliflower Rice Ever Made. The flavor of this is exoticrecipe is trulyamazing. But this is just the beginning: we combinedpowerful candida fighting foods with foods that are very high in health promoting nutrients, and we alsomade sure they all work in perfect synergy together. As you can probably guess,our choices for thefoods that fight candida included coconut oil, garlic, ginger amongothers. We even included healthy alternatives tosoy sauce.
(or as we call it Yeastswaste)
Yeast breaks down sugar to alcohol and carbon dioxide. The candida in your body is no different, which is the reason why many people who suffer from candida and yeast infection can feel drunk The last thing you want to do is to add more to the mix by drinking more alcohol!
Alcohol is created byfermentation which is the process whereyeast breaks down sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide.When consumed, itgoes into the bloodstream very quickly bypassing the normaldigestion process.
If you suffer from candida and yeast infection, you are likely to have some sensitivity to yeast which is a good reason not to include alcohol as a part of your candida diet plan. In addition,many alcoholic beverages contains large amount of simple processed sugars which can make the yeast infection worse.
The yeast free diet
The problem with mold during the candida treatment has to do withmold sensitivity, which is a knownsystemic candida overgrowth problem.
If you are thinking about indoor mold in addition to mold in foods, you are absolutely right! It is very common for people with candida overgrowth to have a reaction once exposed to indoor mold, so it may be a good idea to ensure your house is mold free.
Yeast and fungi are also added to the list of candida foods to avoid and they should not be included in yourcandida diet plan. The candida diet is known as the yeast free diet for a reason. People who suffer from candida issue are likely to also havesensitivity to yeast or fungi. different types of yeast and mushrooms have many wonderful health benefits which you can definitely enjoy after you are healed.
What to Avoid:Any food that has mold, mushrooms, morels, truffles, brewers yeast, bakers yeast, nutritional yeast. Manytree nuts tend tohave mold if they are not fresh, so it is important toget them fresh from a trusted source.
Finding the easiest to digest foods for your body can be challenging when you have yeast infection due to the increased food sensitivities. If things are hard, try to eat one ingredient meal. This approach also called Mono Meals is very effective in these cases and also a great way toavoid bad food combinations.
Ideally, as a part of your anti candida diet, you want to consume foodsthat are easyto digest by yourbody toavoid undigested food travelling in your guts along withother digestion issues. As you know, a common issue with candida overgrowth is increased food sensitivities, which brings the question of how to determine which foods you are sensitive to. While variety in your diet is very important, if you are not sure which foods to eat and which are causing you issues, here are a few helpful tipsforyour candida diet plan:
(or as we like to say keep things simple for a while)
As surprising as it may sound, many peoplefind themselves struggling with candida and yeast infection despite following healthy diets and lifestyles. The problem is not the food consumed, but the food combination. This is a very common problem thesedays, where a typical meal includes several courses withdifferent types of foods. This is very important when it comes to candida diet. In fact, even if you only eat anti candida foods from thecandida diet food list, ignoring proper food combination may prevent you from getting better.
When the body cant effectively digest ameal,undigested foods particles may travel in the gut and can beconsumed by candida resulted in candida overgrowth. So what are the main food combination principles that should be followed during thecandida overgrowth diet?
Despite being high in sugars, manyfruits can be very beneficial during thecandida cleanse as long as you follow the food combination and quantities rules. The candida diet is known to be alow sugar diet which makes many people avoid fruits altogether. Low sugar fruits such as fresh whole berries can be a very good fit forthe candida diet. If you are looking forgood breakfast ideas for candida diet, a bowl of fresh ripe organic fruits may be the perfectcandida diet breakfast for most people. It is a much better choice than cereal based meals or most shakes that tend to cause digestion issues or rapid blood sugar spikes. A bowl of fresh berries is sweet, hydrating, full of antioxidants, vitamins and minerals, 100% vegan, with natural cleansing properties!What else can we ask for? The fruits topic is covered extensively in our eBook, which is available for download here
Your candida diet plan should match your individual state of health, body and lifestyle; it should support all of your day to day activities, providing you enough energy, focus, vitality and nutrients. You should only eat foods you enjoy eating, and avoid eating foods that dont make you feel good. The fact that many foods are generally recommended and are on thecandida diet food list doesnt guarantee that they are ideal for you. This is one of the biggest problems with candida diets. Many candida diet plans recommend very low carb diet approach; while it may be beneficial in many cases,itmay not be a good fitfor people with higher carbs demands like athletes, or for people who generally do quite well with high carbs.
So many of us tend to forget it at a presence of foodswe like, social events, due to emotional reasons or simply because we were hungry for a long time. In terms of your candida diet, overeating can be so problematic, that even if youare overeating healthy anti candida foods, itcan still cause the digestion to work too hard and most likely make the candida and yeast infection become worse.
The Candida Dietrecommendation eat slow and stop when you are almost full. The fullness feeling usually comes 30 mins after.
DID YOU KNOW ? Feeling full after a meal doesnt guarantee feeling satisfied after a meal ! If you find yourself battlingwith overeating, you may want to take the time to think of the possible reasons behind it. Here are common reasons that may cause you to overeat or to not feeling satisfied after you eat : Ask yourself: do you really enjoy the foods you eat ? perhaps you prefer more fats ? do you need more salt (use natural salt) ? is your body possiblymissing vital nutrients ? does your body crave for certain foods that are currently restricted in your diet ? are you drinking enough water (many people think they are hungry wherein fact they are thirsty) could it be emotional ? are you eating under high stress conditions (while working, while talking on the phone, in front of the TV, while arguing with your significant other) As you can see, there aremany reasons to consider, but most people significantly improve their diets once these factors are uncovered.Speaking of hunger
Hunger is a very common reasonmany diets fail. When we become hungry and we didnt plan what to eat, we quickly go back to our old ways. This is a critical point with the candida diet, sincecandida can make us crave for bad foods, especially sweets and processed carbs. Forthis reason, it is important to plan ahead andprepare themeals and healthy candida snacks for those momentswhen hunger strikes. In addition, it is very important to be satisfied after you eat ! for some people, it means eating frequent meals; others may prefer to eat less frequent, but when they do eat they would like to have bigger meals. All these factorsshould be taken into considerationas a part of your candida diet meal plan.
Candida diet snacks are much more simple than many people realize. Fresh nuts and seeds on their raw state preferably sprouted, can be very satisfying in addition to their health promotingbenefits. Certain seeds such as pumpkinseeds are even considered ascandida fighting foods due to their antifungal properties. They are easy to carry, require very minimal preparation and therefore may be the perfectcandida diet snacks ! If you dont have time to sprout these yourself, you can get them already sprouted, a good example can be found here.
If watching this video made you crave for chocolate or chocolate cookies, we may have a surprise for youespecially since you took the time and read this entire lessona home made healthychocolate recipe for the candida diet !
What is so unique about ourhappy detox chocolate dream recipe? This chocolate recipe is specifically designed to help your body naturally fight candida, as well as supporting natural cleansing and detoxification. There is moreif you have ever experienced brain fog, mood swings, low mental energy and other mind-body balance die-off symptoms, this recipe may help to lift up your spirit, providing you non-jittery pure energy, mental clarity, focus, great mood and positive attitude ! Learn More
Now that weve learned what foods to eat and what foods to avoidits time to learn about supplements for candida:
Learn what are the best supplements that canhelp you heal and what are the ones you should stay away from. Avoid critical mistakes that can ruin any candida or cleansing program. Antifungals are not always the best fit for your candida and yeast issues !Read More
This candida diet lesson can change your life ! Share these important diet guidelines with your family & friends !
For the complete list of the recommended candida diet foods that are specifically high in keyvitamins & minerals, please see our candida diet foods for key vitamins and minerals. This list of foods also includes candida diet foods that aresuitable foravegan candida diet. Thecandida diet food list below is categorized per the different food groups so it can be used as acandida diet grocery list:
Best way to eat: raw, steamed
Best way to eat: raw, steamed, grilled
Best way to eat: raw, steamed, grilled, boiled, soup Comments: eatin moderation, watch how you feel after eating root vegetables as their carbs content is higher thannon-starchy vegetables
Best way to eat: raw or lightly steamed Comments: watch for potential sensitivities such as nightshades (tomatoes and peppers) and others.
Best way to eat: whole ripe fresh fruits, raw, on an empty stomach away from other foods Comments:due to thehigher sugar content and unique way of digestion, we highly recommend to read thefood combination section, orto download our eBook that covers the fruits topicin details.
Best way to eat: grilled Comments: make sure to follow food combination rules
Best way to eat:raw, sprouted or soaked, unsalted, unroasted Comments: to avoid mold contamination, make sure to get the nuts and seeds from a trusted source. Watch for food sensitivities.
Comments: useorganic and fresh whenpossible. Get whole spices and grind them before use.
Best way to eat: raw
Comments: use in moderation
Potatoes are very high in carbs and are not recommended to eat while on the candida diet. Sugars and carbs feed candida and can contribute to candidaovergrowth. Another problem with potatoes is that they are usually not very satisfying on their own. This means that you will probablyneed to eat a lot of potatoes to feel satiated, which will result eating high amount of carbs. A common mistake in regards to potatoes orother starches is to combine themwith meat orfats in order to feel satisfied with less carbs. The problem is that this type of food combinationusually leads to manydigestion issues and is not recommended while on the candida diet.
It is common to experienceweight loss while on thecandida diet. When limiting sugars, carbs and unhealthy foods that typically lead to weight gain, it is likely that there will be initial weight loss. It is important to make sure that you consume enough calories and nutrients, to maintain a healthy weight and energy levels. Many candida diet foods such as nuts, seeds avocados and others are high in calories, so if you see you are losing too much weight, you may want to increase their consumption so you will get enough calories.
See the original post here:
Candida Diet Facts vs. Fiction What You Must Know
