Diet for the Overgrowth of Candida

Candida, a yeast fungus, is the cause of both oral thrush and yeast infections (genital or in body folds). Candida has gotten a bad reputation as being the culprit behind other unexplained symptoms like chronic fatigue, recurring headaches, changes in mood or bloating. Many people, however, report a decrease in both oral and genital infections and improvement of these other symptoms by following a diet plan designed to reduce the amount of candida in the body.

Three Stages

Most of these candida-reducing diets follow three stages: an internal detox to cleanse the body of candida, eliminating foods that encourage the growth of candida internally and supplementing with therapeutic herbs. This is followed by a long-term maintenance phase where limited amounts of eliminated food are re-introduced into the diet, along with probiotic bacteria, as found in live yogurt culture.

Internal Detox

Internal detoxes take one of two forms, either colonic irrigation or a liquid diet (much like a variation of the Master Cleanse, but with increased fiber supplementation). The principle behind both of these is to flush out as much candida from the digestive tract as possible, whether by literally "rinsing" via irrigation, or by dramatically increasing fluid intake and "scouring" with added fiber. In either case, never attempt a colonic cleanse or a fast without consulting your health care provider.

Food Elimination

In the second stage, candida-friendly foods are eliminated entirely from the diet. These foods include dairy products of all types (with special emphasis on aged cheeses), fermented foods of all types (including wine, beer and most vinegars); all fruits; fungal foods (such as mushrooms); gluten foods (grain-based foods containing wheat), carbohydrate-rich vegetables such as potatoes, corn and carrots; and sugars of all types (white and brown sugar, raw sugar, honey, brown rice syrup, maple syrup and molasses).

Foods allowed follow a "low-carb" diet model, encouraging eating high-quality animal proteins (meat and eggs), leafy green vegetables and grains without gluten (such as rice or millet). Most anti-candida diets also encourage supplementing the diet with nutrient-rich algae, such as spirulina or chlorella, and taking herbs that are believed to attack and reduce internal yeast. These herbs include garlic, cloves, goldenseal and black walnut, among others. Again, never take any nutritional supplements or herbs without first contacting your health care provider to ensure that there are no contraindications with other medicines you may be taking.

Maintenance

In the final stage of a candida-reducing diet, foods previously restricted are re-added into the diet, although most plans recommend that you consider these foods as "condiments" and continue to consume as little of them as possible. In most plans, as well, probiotics are taken as supplements to re-introduce "friendly" bacteria into the system.