What Is An Anti-Candida Diet?

If you’ve ever had a problem with yeast then you know how difficult it can be to get rid of. The anti-Candida diet is designed to rid the body of the effects and the presence of this type of bacteria.

What Is Candida?

Mixed Candida species growing on ChromID Candida 2 Agar - detail (Photo credit: Nathan Reading)

The proper name is Candida albicans. It is yeast that can be a problem in the digestive system. When antibiotics are taken for various infections, they can rob the body of the good bacterial flora that are present. In the absence of the good flora, destructive and unwanted bacteria have a chance to grow and flourish.

Candida can be found in different areas of the body. For one you can find it in yeast infections in the vagina, mouth and under nail beds – any place that is warm and dark is a perfect breeding ground for yeast. Candida exists in all of us to some extent, and in small colonies causes no problems. However, when the body is off balance, for example, from taking antibiotics or other medications that disrupt the bacterial balance of the body, an overgrowth of candida can cause problems such as thrush, yeast infections, lowered immune function, and more.

The Diet

Getting rid of a yeast infection can be a vicious cycle. Constant yeast infections in the body can signify a systemic condition. It can affect the health of your immune system. An anti-Candida diet can help to rid the body of the yeast.

The diet is designed to take away the food for the yeast. Thinking of yeast that one would use to make bread rise - warm water helps give the yeast a perfect environment and the sugar activates it.

To get rid of yeast in the body, removing the sugar is the basic idea of the diet. But, there are other places that sugar exists besides simply in the form that we see on the kitchen table. Read the labels. Any food ending in “-ose” is a sugar in disguise and not what you want to eat on any diet designed to rid the body of yeast.

What about natural sugar, such as in fruit? While fruits contain many healthful antioxidants and vitamins, during your anti-candida diet you will want to avoid all sources of sugar - even fruit.

Sugary Pastry (Photo credit: nathanmac87)

What Not to Eat

We have already discussed avoiding sugar in its many forms. Another crucial place where you find sugars is in starchy foods. In the body, these carbohydrates break down into simple sugars. Any sugar is going to keep the Candida infection alive in the body. Avoid refined pastas, potatoes, white bread and anything made with white flour. Basically avoiding all highly processed foods will go a long way towards ridding your body of candida.

Some dairy products can hide sugars. If you like yogurt, be aware that flavored kinds can contain sugar and sabotage your efforts. Go for plain yogurts and those that contain bifidus regularis, acidophilus and other probiotic substances. These are good bacteria that will fight to regain their spot in the intestinal kingdom.

What to Eat

There are plenty of foods left that can tip the scales back in favor of the good bacteria in your body. Eat lots of vegetables, healthy grass-fed meats, omega-3 fatty acids, and garlic.

Drink plenty of water. Water removes toxins from the body. Taking a multivitamin can help rebuild the immune system along with the foods you are choosing to rebuild the bacterial flora. And if you don't eat yogurt, you should take a good daily probiotic supplement every day - even after you are done with your diet, to maintain a healthy balance of good bacteria in your body.

An anti-Candida diet can be followed for as long as you need to, until you are sure that your immune system is back on track. But typically if you are careful and do not eat ANY sugar, 30 days should be about the right amount of time to restore balance to your system.


Supplements That Fight Candida:

   

How to Choose the Detox Method for Your Health and Goals

A detoxification program can help you achieve a number of health goals. However, every diet or detox program will have different results. It’s important to first determine what you want to achieve and then to choose a detox method that supports your goals. Here’s how to choose a detox method for your health and goals.

Cover of Detox (Natural Care Handbook)Step One: What Do You Want to Accomplish?

The first question to ask yourself, and it may be a difficult question to answer, is “why”? Why do you want to detox? Some potential reasons or goals may be:

• To improve my health
• To gain more energy
• To eliminate my addiction to ________ (fill in the blank with your own food addiction. It might be sugar, white flour, caffeine, diet soda, etc…)
• To lose weight
• To reduce inflammation
• To improve my complexion
• To stop recurring Candida infections
• To improve my immune function

Step Two: Do Your Research

There are many, thousands actually, detox programs to choose from. Some are safe. Some aren’t. Some are proven to work. Some are a bunch of bunk. It’s important to make sure you’re choosing a program that is:

• Safe – Make sure it doesn’t ask you do take nor do anything that is risky to your health. Detoxing is about improving your health, not taking risks with it.
• Proven – Look for reviews, testimonials and endorsements by respected medical and health professionals.
• Realistic – If a diet asks you to drink nothing but a laxative tea for ten days that’s just not realistic. You’ll be cranky, irritable, stressed and probably unable to fast for ten days.

You also want to make sure the program supports your goals. It should be designed specifically for your needs.

Step Three: Evaluate Your Lifestyle

Some diets and detox programs just don’t work in the real world. It’s very difficult to give up eating for several days and still function normally. Make sure any detox program you choose is something that you can fit into your life. A two or three day detox plan often works best because you can detox on a Friday, Saturday and Sunday. During the weekend you can take it easy, relax and manage your detox side effects.

And detox programs that allow you to ease into them can be beneficial. Going cold turkey on any food or eating habit can be extremely challenging. If you have difficulty sticking to any type of diet, consider a detox program that allows you to ease into it by gradually reducing your bad food habits until you don’t miss them at all.

Detoxing can be a great way to achieve a number of health benefits and goals. Be honest with yourself about your goals and your lifestyle. Choose a safe program that will help you gain better health. And it’s always best to talk to your doctor or alternative healthcare provider about detoxing – it’s not right for everyone.

To learn more about toxins in your body, and reducing your toxic load, visit www.newholisticliving.com/toxicload.html