Hi Elsie,
Would you mind sharing your anti-candida diet? I had looked into that a long time ago but never did anything with it.
How are things going with the diet?
I do agree on the nastiness of the grapefruit seed extract... uck!!
Brenda
I've done the diet before, years ago, because I've always had a problem with yeast. This time around, I gleaned a little more information from the internet than I've previously obtained from books. Opinions vary. I've searched about every site I can find on the subject, and I just created a diet based on the consensus. Because I've been fighting this particular bout of yeast infections for a couple of years--and I REALLY want to be done with this--I've elected to take the strictest route for 3 months.
Basically, it's eat nothing that can feed yeast and take stuff to kill it. Definitely no sugar or processed foods. But I was surprised to learn that some things I thought were okay were not.
Here's my version:
All non-starchy vegetables. Garlic and onion are very helpful. Cruciferous veggies are particularly good. I'm glad that cucumber and peppers are on the okay list, because they're great for munching on (I HATE raw broccoli and raw cauliflower).
There isn't agreement about beans (some say yes, some say no), so I've excluded them for now and will add them in gradually to check for problems. Same thing with tomatoes.
All meats and fish are acceptable with the exception of processed meats (including ham). I don't particularly like meat (and I avoid pig), but I've been having chicken, turkey, and salmon. Eggs are okay.
No dairy, except yogurt and kefir. Again, some say no yogurt either, but most say it is good because of the beneficial bacteria. I've elected to include it.
Most say that whey protein is good. Unfortunately, my ON Natural Whey Protein has a small amount of evaporated cane juice, so I'm off it for now.
Raw nuts and seeds are okay, with the exception of pistachios (because they tend to have a higher mold content). I had been eating pistachios and was surprised to learn that. Some say no walnuts--not sure why. Peanuts and peanut butter are a no-no (again, because of mold). Most say raw almonds are very good--yea.
Grains are tricky. Yeast breads are definitely out. Some say that non-glutenous grains are okay. I've excluded all grains for now and will add quinoa and brown rice in later. Oats land on both the good and bad lists equally.
The jury is out on avocado, but most say it is good and I'm including it. All other fruits (besides lemons and limes) are excluded for now--sigh! Berries are the first to be added back in. Some say green apple is okay as well. Next would be citrus fruits. Fruits like melons (because of mold) and banana (because of it's high glycemic load) are last.
Unprocessed oils are okay. Coconut oil is supposed to be wonderful to control candida because it contains substances that kill yeast. But I'm now incredibly torn because my cholesterol jumped from 181 to 237 after I started using it. My HDL went from 50 to 80, which is great, but the total number concerned my doctor and he wants to see me again in 3 months.
No caffeine or caffeine-containing foods. Chocolate is out because of the sugar, but cocoa powder is also out because of the caffeine. I used cocoa powder often, so that was sad.
No fungus, including mushrooms.
No sugar or artificial sweeteners. Stevia is recommended--thank goodness! I use stevia for everything anyway, so that is really good news.
No vinegars except unfiltered, unprocessed apple cider vinegar. Some say no ACV, but most say it is very helpful. I use it regularly and continue to. I make a salad dressing with olive oil, apple cider vinegar, herbs, fresh garlic, and a little stevia to take the bite off. It's not as good as my berry viniagrette, but it's pretty good.
I've finished my prescription anti-fungal (a triple-dose this time). Die-off was miserable, but I loved that something was working. My past treatments with the generic Diflucan helped but didn't knock it out and the yeast overgrowth came right back. I don't feel out of the woods yet, so I'm continuing my own treatment. As far as supplements, I'm including a good probiotic, oregano oil, grapefruit seed extract, and garlic pills (because it's not fun to smell like raw garlic all the time). Because I will probably have to lay off the coconut oil, I've ordered some caprylic acid. Green algae is supposed to be very good, so I'll try spirulina and chlorella as soon as the UPS guy brings it today.
I've lost 6 pounds, which gets me past a barrier that I haven't been able to break in 2 years. I feel much better and am excited that something is working.
I am also very bored after only 2 weeks of doing this. I miss berries and watermelon. And I always had a green protein smoothie with berries, banana, whey protein, and kale. Post-workout, I would have whey protein, 1/2 banana, and water. I'll probably have to bite the bullet and order some unsweetened whey protein, because I'm really struggling with something fast to have post-workout. Chicken is good on salad, and I love salmon and asparagus. Yogurt with stevia, chia seeds, and a couple drops of vanilla extract is yummy, but not the same without berries and walnuts.
One of my usual breakfasts was scrambled eggs with either asparagus or broccoli, so that stays. But I used to season with lemon pepper which turns out to contain sugar (grrr).
I think most paleo recipes would work well. I'll have to get a cookbook because this is getting really old, really fast.
Sorry to be so long, and I apologize if it's too much information. I hope I answered your question.
Edited to add that not everyone would need to be this strict. But I normally eat very clean and avoid sugar and processed foods like the plague and still have yeast problems, so I decided to be ultra strict.
