The candida diet is pretty straight forward in that you want to eliminate the foods that yeast and candida thrive on, which are primarily sugars and simple grains. In affect you are going to starve it to death. This will help your natural candida cleansing supplements kill it faster and restore your digestive system and your immune system to how it was originally designed to function.
Keep in mind when evaluating any candida diet that in the 1970's the CDC decided that yeast and fungi were not that big of a health problem so an official candida diet has never been developed. The candida diet is simply a combination of low glycemic foods that do not feed candida.
I must warn you that the first few days you may have flu like symptoms as the candida begins to die. Fungi are living things and of course do not like to die. They may emit toxins into your body, making your symptoms get worse instead of better for the first few days.
This candida diet can also add a lot of additional protein to a persons body. Cooked meats that are enzymatically dead cause an immune system response in the body because of incomplete digestion called leukocytosis in some people. This is an immune system response by white blood cells; their levels rise as if fighting an invader in your body. Make sure you eat plenty of fresh veggies preferably raw or lightly steamed to help with digestion of meats and those meats should be cooked as rare as possible at low heat. This is also very important on the candida diet because vegetables absorb fungal poisons known as mycotoxins and carry them out of the body.
If you have kidney disease, you should consult a physician before you go on the candida diet. Diseased kidneys can have a problem with the increased protein load of this diet. If you are pregnant or breast-feeding you may not be suitable for this candida free diet either because of reduced carbohydrates, please consult a doctor before proceeding.
Of course there is a way around the reduced carbohydrates that's very very simple, juice and drink 1-lb of vegetables a day. Your body and baby will love you for it.
A Word of Warning. This Candida Diet May Cause You to Lose Weight if You Don't Eat Right.
Of course losing weight is easy if the truth where to be told, all you have to do is cut down on your processed grains and sugar, it is that simple. They are really just junk foods and the human body was never designed to eat them. Vegetables, are much better for you and are a complex carbohydrate, not a simple carb that quickly turns to sugar in the body. Sugar and simple carbs cause a blood sugar spike in the body and this feeds the candida. It also causes insulin to rise and insulin gathers up the excess sugar and deposits it on your body as fat. Complex carbs from vegetables are released slowly and do not cause a blood sugar spike.
But just to calm your fears about losing to much weight. The body has an innate intelligence and knows what is the best weight for it to function at its best. So don't worry, you will stabilize at your ideal weight. Keep this in mind too; because 65% of Americans are now over weight the weight charts have been revised upwards to make us all feel good about ourselves, they are by no means the ideal. The ideal as determined by BMI measurements would be 20% for women and 10 to 15% for men. The Present BMI charts will say 20 to 25% is ideal for everyone.
Processed grains are a fairly recent addition to our diets within the last 200 years or so and quickly turn to sugar when digested. Grains themselves were introduced about 10,000 years ago and for 2 million years prior to that we ate meats and plant foods that we could pick or dig up. They are not good for you and we are unable to digest them unless they are cooked first, which should send up a red flag because the body was designed to eat real living foods. Not processed paper mache! Thats right, simply add water to grain flours and you have paper mache.
Your candida diet should consist of 30 to 40% meats, 30 to 40% complex carbs from mostly vegetables, and 30% good fats. By good fats I am talking about Omega 3 fats found in grass fed beef, free range chicken, wild salmon, buffalo, and wild game. Good fats from plants includes avocado, olives, nuts and seeds. All vegetable oils and trans fats should be avoided like the plague, instead only use olive, coconut, and macadamia oils with coconut oil being the best for cooking. Real butter is ok too and throw out the margarine if thats what you us.
Good fats are really critical for good health because cell walls are 40 to 50% fat. Cells are also permeable so they let nutrients in and waste out. The body will use whatever fat you feed it to make these cells and if you consume bad fats it makes bad cells. These cell walls are harder and not as permeable as good cells and this is one cause of cancer and heart disease.
It is important to eat when you are hungry on this diet, do not starve yourself. If that takes 5 or 6 small meals throughout the day then by all means eat that way.
It is also very important to get about 60 grams of carbs per day from your plant foods. If you don't you are going to compromise the function of your red and white blood cells, and those white blood cells are part of your immune system.
A common question that is asked is, do I have to stay on this candida diet forever? No, you don't. But chances are that you will in some form or another because after the candida yeast infection is gone you are going to feel so good that you will not want to go back. At least that is how I feel about it and many people have told me the same. When your candida infection has been eradicated by the candida diet and the natural treatments listed on the treatment page, you can then start reintroducing foods back into your diet. But I would carefully keep a record of how they make you feel. If you have a bad reaction to a food then you must decide if it is worth eating or not.
Dan,
I can't thank you enough for this information.
Thanks A Million!!!
Mike
I have been asked to read lots of stuff over the years, but honestly i have lost interest by the second page to boring all the same sh*t carbs this no carbs that no fats blah blah blah, but when it comes to your work i find myself mesmerized i look forward to your email updates, i have been on the candida diet for 1 week now which for me is a real accomplishment, usually i chuck it in by the third day not this time though it was as if by the third day something clicked and i stopped struggling.
Thank you so much for your research i really really appreciate it.
A. Brice