What is the Candida Diet and how can it help me?

There are various versions of the Candida diet available, but all follow the same basic formula.

Native Remedies suggests the following list of what you should and what you shouldn't eat to beat Candida in conjunction with taking Candidate.

Will the Candida Diet help me to lose weight?

The Candida Diet is not intended for weight loss, but is specifically designed to combat Candida, Candidiasis and yeast infections. However, if you are overweight, you will almost certainly lose weight if you follow the Candida Diet!

Overgrowth of Candida causes intense cravings for sugar and starch, which is why many people cannot follow a weight loss diet.

Controlling levels of Candida in your digestive tract will help you to stick to your weight loss plan, while eliminating sugar and refined carbohydrates will help you lose weight.

Some Important Points

When following the Candida diet, you must make sure that your blood sugar levels are kept at an acceptable level by eating a substantial breakfast, lunch and supper. If you find that your energy level is low or you are experiencing dizziness while on the diet, it is probably due to low blood sugar. If this happens, simply add a mid-morning and mid afternoon snack. Please remember to drink lots of water in order to assist the elimination of toxins from your body. After a few days of detoxing, some of your symptoms may become worse and you could also experience headaches. This is quite normal and part of the detoxification process. It will improve after a few days and you will begin to feel healthier than you have felt for years! The Candida diet should be followed for 4 weeks, followed by a maintenance program as outlined.

You may not use sugar in any form – this includes sucrose (cane sugar), gluscose and fructose (fruit sugar). Lactose (milk sugar) to be kept to a minimum.

CANDIDA DIET

Foods Allowed

• Rye Vita (contains no yeast)
• Chicken, fish, meat (roasted/grilled or steamed)
• Rye Bread (no yeast or wheat)
• Rice cakes
• Sunflower/olive oil
• Rice, potato or rye flour
• 30ml lemon juice
• Corn or soya flour
• All veggies fresh or frozen – no tinned food
• Oats, maize (corn) meal, maltabella
• Avocado pears
• Dairy-milk 125ml per day
• Sweet / normal potatoes
• Plain Bulgarian yoghurt-125ml (no sugar!)
• Brown rice (no white rice)
• Low-fat cottage cheese (no sugar!)
• Onions / garlic (unless sensitive)
• Soya / Rice milk
• Walnuts, cashews, hazel, pecan, coconut & macadamia
• Ricotta cheese
• Popcorn (homemade), plain chips (no MSG
• One fruit per day (no melons & grapes) Make sure that fruit is not bruised.
• Herbal teas eg Rooibos
• Lipton herbal teas
• Herbs
• Mineral water
• Tomatoes
• Artificial sweeteners eg. Advantage
• Hummus

Foods allowed weekly (only one item of each)

• Whole wheat pasta, 1 rice cake with carob or yogurt topping
• Wheatabix (sugar free) (if no wheat allergy is prevalent), tomato paste
• Soft goat cheeses e.g. Camembert, feta or goat

Foods allowed twice a week (only one item of each)

• Tinned tuna or Salmon in spring water
• Spices eg. curries, chillies (avoid if allergic)

Foods to Avoid

• Anything containing yeast
• Pickled, smoked or processed meat or fish (including cold meats, & vacuum packed foods)
• Breads, marmite provita, Bovril etc
• White wheat flour or pastry flour
• Gluten flour, flake cereals, semolina flour
• Cream of wheat, pasta – white
• All vinegars and vinegar products (chutney, mayonnaise, salad dressing, etc)
• Cheese, fermented or processed eg. Cheddars, feta from dairy or other hard cheeses
• All forms of alcohol
• Fruits – melons or grapes or any fruit and vegetables that shown any signs of bruising or mould
• Honey and other natural sweeteners
• Mushrooms
• Sugar and anything containing any form of sugar
• Peanuts, peanut butter and pistachio
• All teas and coffees, including decaffeinated, except herbal teas
• All fruit juices (drink still mineral water instead)

Typical Meals would include (Omit foods your are allergic to. East as much as you want.)

BREAKFASTS

• 1 Fruit
• Porridge - Oats, maltabella (regular) or
• Mealie (corn) meal. Rice cereal (infant food)
• Rye vita / yeast free bread / rice cakes Avo / cottage cheese / egg / tomato
• Haddock

LUNCH / DINNERS

• Salads eg. potatoes, greens, rice, beans
• (include as many different ingredients as possible)
• Meat, fish, chicken (roasted / grilled / steamed)
• Lentils, pulses, legumes-soups, bakes, etc
• All vegetables-steamed and to include
• pumpkin, squash, butternut
• potato-baked, boiled or chips
• brown rice
• salads / stir fries / soups-chicken & veggie
• soup may be frozen & reheated
• yeast free bread / rye vita / rice cakes
• Avocado / tomato / cottage cheese / tuna / cold
• chicken

Maintenance Program

After the initial four-week detox, you can slowly re-introduce foods from the ”Foods to avoid list”, but, please remember to use them in moderation. The foods to continue avoiding, or using with caution are: sugars, white flour, fruit juices, dried fruits, prepared breakfast flakes including muesli, alcohol, vinegar and foods containing yeast. It is also suggested that you see a Naturopath or other such doctor for food sensitivity testing to be sure of all foods that need to be avoided, for optimum results.