The specific Candida diet guidelines and tips that you’ll find here are practical solutions to eliminate your yeast infection permanently, as smoothly as possible, and restore your good health naturally.
These tips will help you stay on the anti Candida diet with less effort and frustration. But most importantly, for your convenience you’ll find here listed the foods to favor and to avoid plus specific Candida defense supplements required for restoring the health of your gut and immune system.
Following these specific Candida diet guidelines will help you:
- lose weight with much less struggle,
- put an end to unstoppable cravings for refined carbs and sweets,
- eliminate bloating and constipation,
- stop those frequent headaches and horrible night sweats,
- get rid of the many aches and pains
- regain your energy and vitality
… all of these naturally.
Before looking at specific foods to favor or avoid, here’s a first tip.
To compensate for and neutralize the impact of forbidden foods that (occasionally) you may not be able to avoid I recommend an awesome, all-natural Candida defense: Candidate.
Candidate is your secret aid on a Candida yeast diet to stop your Candida overgrowth, increase your metabolism and energy, help you get rid of sweets cravings, prevent localized thrush or yeast infections, restore the probiotic flora in your gut.
Now, to better understand the following Candida diet guidelines we need a bit of background.
If you aren’t familiar with the most common causes of Candida, you should know that Candida Albicans is a naturally-occurring yeast in your intestinal tract, which under some certain conditions that disrupt your intestinal flora and lower your immunity spreads into your bloodstream – and from there, to most organ systems in your body.
As you can imagine, what begins as impaired digestion and very likely chronic acid reflux, soon escalates to wild food cravings, extreme fatigue, skin problems, sudden weight gain – to name just a few of the symptoms of Candida overgrowth.
You must understand this.
Unless you follow these Candida diet guidelines, your intestinal yeast overgrowth leads to a plethora of serious symptoms that makes your life miserable.
Plus, you must fight a constant weight loss resistance, no matter how little you eat and how much you exercise.
In fact, even if you manage to lose a few pounds, you very soon gain them back, and then more.
That’s because with a Candida overgrowth, your relentless, neverending food cravings for all kind of high-carbs and sweets are impossible to ignore.
The GOOD news, now.
By eliminating the Candida overgrowth in your body, your immune system becomes able to function properly – perhaps for the first time in years!
As a result, your body can start to heal itself.
Let’s see now what you should eat and what you shouldn’t on a Candida yeast diet.
Candida Diet Foods to Eat
The anti candida diet food list contains a wide variety of yummy foods and spices to season your dishes:
- high-quality proteins
- gluten-free grains
- non-starchy vegetables
- healthy fats
- fermented foods
- herbs & spices
Take a look at how many tasty foods you can choose from:
High quality protein foods
High-quality protein foods are easily-digestible, complete proteins of high biological value, which means that they contain all the necessary amino acids that your body needs.
Among these are: lean cuts of chicken, turkey, lamb, beef (favor meat from hormone-free, pasture raised animals), wild fish & seafood, free-range eggs, hard cheese, Greek yogurt (which has double the amount of protein than plain yogurt).
Gluten-free grains
Switching to non-glutenous grains allows you to avoid the worsening of all your Candida symptoms. Plus, you’ll avoid the chronic gut inflammation and intestinal permeability typical for candida overgrowth.
The gluten-free grains are: amaranth, buckwheat, millet, oats, oat bran, quinoa, rice (white, brown, wild), sorghum, teff.
Non-starchy veggies
Non-starchy vegetables are low in carbs. They have a high nutritional value but low GI (glycemic index) – reason for which they’re also known as “negative calorie foods“.
The most common non-starchy veggies are: asparagus, avocado, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, cucumber, eggplant, endives, kale, leeks, lettuce, onion, peppers, radishes, spinach, tomatoes, turnips, zucchini.
Try to include at least 50% of these non-starchy veggies in your anti candida diet because they alkalize your body and supply the necessary amount of fiber to help restore the micro-flora in your colon.
Healthy fats & oils
The many types of fats and oils permitted on anti candida diet allow you to enjoy tasty, very fulfilling meals. You can use these raw or cooked.
Fats and oils on the candida diet food list are: extra-virgin coconut oil, grass-fed butter & ghee, flaxseed oil, cold-pressed olive oil, raw nuts & seeds – including flax seeds & chia seeds – and their butters.
From all these, extra-virgin coconut oil is especially recommended on anti candida diet, as its caprylic acid content has powerful anti-fungal and antibacterial benefits – just two of the precious health benefits of coconut oil.
In fact, studies suggest that “coconut oil could become the first dietary intervention to reduce Candida albicans GI colonization”. Another study suggests that “coconut oil should be used in the treatment of fungal infections in view of emerging drug-resistant Candida species”.
Fermented foods
Fermented foods can’t miss from anti candida diet food list because they contain healthy probiotic bacteria that keep candida in check. Plus, they repair your digestion and gut and improve your immunity.
You’ll find they are a delicious addition that brings a lot of variety to your candida diet: kefir, yogurt, sauerkraut, pickles, kimchi, miso, nattō.
When you shop for fermented foods, buy them in a natural foods store rather than in the supermarket, where these foods are mostly pickled with vinegar rather then naturally fermented and pasteurized (for longer shelf-life), pasteurization which kills good bacteria that keeps candida in check.
Herbs & spices
Believe it or not, mighty spices have potent antifungal activities, therefore starving candida BIG time.
Plus, they are very effective for breaking down candida’s biofilm, which this fungus creates to protect itself within the gut.
Common herbs and spices you likely use in everyday cooking are powerful antifungals proven to beat candida infection: raw garlic*, turmeric, ginger, cloves, coriander/cilantro, cinnamon, fresh oregano, rosemary, thyme.
*Raw garlic deserves a special mention here because it’s one of the most effective Candida killers. Do your best to eat 1-2 cloves of raw garlic daily. Use it smashed in all your salad dressings or just swallow the raw cloves.
But there’s more. This study concluded that nine less common spices are very effective against Candida albicans, without resulting in any side effects or toxicity, like allopatic drugs.
An Important Guideline…
…when you need to follow an anti candida overgrowth diet is this: make sure to eat a substantial breakfast and don’t skip your lunch.
That’s to avoid low blood sugar levels, or else you might experience dizziness, headaches, increased anxiety or irritability.
If this happens even when you eat three good meals daily, you can add a mid-morning and/or a mid-afternoon snack.
Want some specific candida diet recipes, meal and snacks examples?
Check this full set of sample menus for a Candida free diet.
Candida Diet Foods to Avoid
–> All processed and packaged food products containing ketchup, mayonnaise, vinegar, soy sauce, flavor enhancers like MSG (monosodium glutamate) and preservatives.
–> Foods that create high acidity, like deep fried foods, fermented cheeses, cold cuts, coffee, colas.
–> Sugars, or foods converting to sugar (cookies, breads, pasta and pastries made with gluten-containing flour, alcohol), as sugar causes fermentation in your body.
Here’s a more detailed list of foods that cause Candida.
Candida Diet Guidelines & Tips to “Survive” the Die-Off Symptoms
If you are like most people, before you’ll feel better, you’ll feel worse on a Candida yeast diet; this can last from a few days and up to 10 days. You may experience an aggravation of your existing Candida overgrowth, condition known as Candida die-off (or Herxheimer reaction). The most common symptoms are body rashes, flu, stuffy nose, headaches, brain fog, fatigue, digestive distress, diarrhea, swollen glands, bladder/kidney/vaginal infections.
Why does it have to be like this?
Well, this Candida die-off reaction is caused by the toxic overload your body has to cope with – i.e., yeast cells being killed off en masse – when your elimination pathways (colon, liver, kidneys) aren’t properly prepped before undertaking anti Candida diet.
What to do to ease off these symptoms off? Here are a few tips:
Remember this!
Your positive mindset is absolutely essential; no matter how bad you feel on the anti Candida diet, do your best to stick to it – know that your persistence will pay off!
Don’t doubt your progress and don’t push yourself; slow down, try to sleep more and relax as much as possible…
Rest assured (pun intended!) that your condition WILL improve after a few days and you’ll begin to feel healthier than you’ve felt in years 🙂
TIP 1. To help wash away from your body the toxic metabolic by-products that Candida releases as it dies-off, drink plenty of gentle herbal detoxification teas (unsweetened) and water: ideally, drink one large cup of hot water with fresh lemon juice first thing in the morning and sip warm water throughout the day.
TIP 2. To help draw the toxins out through your skin and wash them away, take a daily Epsom salt bath in the evening (add 2 cups of salt to warm bath water) or use a sauna for 20 minutes every other day, followed by scrubbing your body with a firm brush and thorough showering.
TIP 3. To facilitate your body’s detoxification and a smoother recovery, consider using Candidate (which contains effective and safe detoxification herbs: Pau d’arco, Marigold and Lemon grass) and other Candida defense supplements:
Candida Diet Guidelines for Natural Supplements
The following supplements are extremely helpful on a Candida yeast diet:
1. Probiotics
Your most effective Candida defense is the supplementation of your diet with time-released, high-strength probiotics (i.e., live yogurt cultures) to repopulate your digestive tract with friendly bacteria. Acidophilus, Lactobacillus Probiotics, Bifobacterium Bifidium and Streptococcus Thermophilus are the most common ones; you’ll find them at your local health food store – follow the recommended dosage on the specific product that you will get.
2. Antifungals
- Blackseed Oil (also known as black cumin seed oil, or nigella sativa oil) is a well-known powerful antifungal with no side effects, used for a very long time along with an anti Candida diet. In fact, this multivalent panacea is a BIG help in weight loss, proven to lower blood sugar levels reducing your food cravings and to detoxify the liver, so it can burn fat more effectively.
For best results, mix 1 teaspoon (or 2 capsules) of Blackseed Oil with raw honey in a glass of water and take it on an empty stomach first thing in the morning 30 minutes before breakfast and at night, just before going to bed. This delicate oil oxidizes easily, so try to get a high-quality cold-pressed Black Seed Oil. - Wild Oil of Oregano is an antifungal extremely effective in killing off Candida overgrowth. Take 3 drops 5 times/day, swallowed with a bit of warm water (always remember to dilute pure Oregano Oil 50/50 with coconut oil or olive oil to avoid tissue damage).Make sure that the Wild Oregano Oil you get for Candida defense is high in naturally-occurring carvacrol (at least 75%), rather than having extra carvacrol added in; also, that it doesn’t have more than 5% thymol, as higher concentrations may be hard on your liver. I recommend purchasing Wild Oregano Oil from Amazon, because it comes in a certified pharmaceutical grade, free of fillers, with an optimal concentrations of active ingredients.
3. Prebiotics to Restore Friendly Gut Bacteria
- Fiber: drink a fiber shake daily with minimum 15-20 grams of fiber to help sweep any undigested waste, toxins, mucus and parasites out from your colon, preventing a Candida overgrowth in your intestine – use psyllium, hemp, chia seeds or ground flax seeds.
- Green algae like Spirulina and Chlorella restore your intestinal balance and give a lift to your immune system – add a scoop of each in your daily shake.
Follow these basic Candida diet guidelines and you’ll starve off your yeast infection, which is responsible for your weight gain and weight loss resistance – among many other nasty things that make s a certified nutritionist anyour life a living hell.
And if you’d like some gentle hand-holding and extra guidance for each step of the way to cure your yeast infection once and for all…
…or, if you tried to eliminate your Candida infection before and went through unbearable Candida die-off symptoms, I recommend Linda Allen’s step-by-step Candida cleanse program, Yeast Infection No More.
You’ll find that this is a clear, practical and very effective Candida defense program.
As a certified nutritionist and a former yeast infection sufferer, Linda guides you through a comprehensive protocol of holistic strategies so you can cure your Candida yeast infection permanently.