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Treating candida with diet

Treating candida with diet make up about 20% of an effective gut-healing, candida-kicking, full-body program, but it’s the part that inevidably creates the most questions.

There are a lot of candida-diets out there. Some are impossibly strict, and others are impossibly lenient. I’ve found that a well-balanced combination is the recipe for long-term success in treating candida.

There are a couple of reasons I suggest the particular diet I do in the Kicking Candida Program:

1. You want to think long term. This diet isn’t easy, and if you don’t allow ANY treats or little indulgences, it’s easy to give up and quit – or you end up binging and set yourself back.

2. Extreme reduction of carbohydrates puts your body into ketosis. While ketosis normally has a variety of health benefits, I don’t suggest it until your candida is under control because of the effect it has on candida.

An article in Clinical & Experimental Immunology found that “killing of candida by the diabetic neutrophil (white blood cell) is impaired under conditions of hyperglycemia and ketosis.” [1]

A 2000 article in Microbiology Letters agreed that ketosis is not a favored condition with candida. “…prolonged ketosis may be a significant risk factor for candidiasis.” [2]

Paul Jamient, Ph.D. states that “very low-carb diets will flare fungal infections by suppressing anti-fungal immunity and reducing the population of probiotic bacteria in the gut, which compete with fungi. A balanced diet with 30% carbs is best for candida.” [3]

3. Being too restrictive might cause some to not eat enough.

While there are those who suggest a water fast as a way to ‘starve’ the candida, that method is counterproductive, since “starvation of yeast cells induces exponentially grown cells (and usually non-germinative) to germinate.” [4]

An article in the International Endodontic Journal also states, “Candida albicans cells can survive and form biofilms in anaerobic and nutrient-limited conditions. . .” [5]

Sugar and candida

In the backs of our minds, we all know that too much sugar isn’t a good thing. Sugar promotes chronic inflammation which then disrupts the normal function of your immune system. Diets high in refined sugars are harmful to the brain and promote inflammation and oxidative stress and worsen mood disorders like depression. [7, 9]

Sugar (specifically glucose) plays an important role in candida’s ability to change form – from round and harmless to filamentous, growing branches or ‘roots’ that invade cells and cause tissue damage. Candida is “exquisitely sensitive to glucose”, even responding to 0.01%. Testing showed that glucose in the blood also helps candida become more resistant. [6, 8]

The best plan of action is a low sugar, low carbohydrate/starch, nutrient-dense diet that includes foods that heal your body, increase your immunity, and help you lose weight. The chart below shows some of the allowed foods you can eat.

Allowed foods

Animal Protein (limit red meats)

  • beef
  • bison
  • chicken
  • duck
  • eggs
  • fish
  • lamb
  • rabbit
  • turkey
  • venison

 

Grains, Seeds/Nuts as Grains, & Flours

 

Vegetables

  • all, especially green leafy vegetables and cruciferous (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower)
  • except corn, mushrooms, peas, and white potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, and winter squash
  • avoid nightshades (eggplant, potatoes, tomatoes, peppers) as they can cause inflammation

 

Fruits (limited)

  • apples, green (green are more sour and have less sugar content)
  • avocado (not limited to 1 serving)
  • blackberries
  • blueberries
  • coconut flesh
  • cranberries (fresh)
  • 1/2 grapefruit
  • lemons and limes (not limited to 1 serving)
  • raspberries
  • strawberries

 

Nuts & Seeds

 

Condiments

  • apple cider vinegar (raw, with ‘the mother’, Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar is a good brand)
  • Bragg’s Liquid Aminos (this is the only soy product allowed)
  • herbs
  • spices (without sugar, MSG, or additives) (tip: ginger and turmeric are anti-inflammatory)

 

Fermented Foods (Look for natural ferments that don’t use sugar or white vinegar. Cultures for Health has starters for kefir, sourdough, vegetables, and yogurt)

  • sauerkraut
  • sourdough
  • kefir
  • vegetables
  • yogurt

 

Sweeteners

 

Dairy

  • ghee (clarified butter)
  • unsweetened, full-fat yogurt with live bacteria (Cultures for Health has yogurt starter)

 

Treating Candida

Resources:
[1] Bulla, A., Hitze, K.L. (1978). Acute respiratory infections: a review. Bulletin of the World Health Organization.
[2] Saeed, F.A. (2000). Production of pyruvate by Candida albicans: proposed role in virulence. FEMS Microbiology Letters. 190 (1), 35-38.
[3] Van Burik, J., Leisenring, W. (1998). The Effect of Prophylactic Fluconazole on the Clinical Spectrum of Fungal Diseases in Bone Marrow Transplant Recipients with Special Attention to Hepatic Candidiasis: An Autopsy Study of 355 Patients. Medicine. 77, 246-254.
[4] Calderone, R., Suzuki, S., Cannon, R., Cho, T., Boyd, D., Calera, J., Chibana, H., Herman, D., Holmes, A., Jeng, H.W., Kaminishi, H., Matsumoto, T., Mikami, T., O’Sullivan, J.M., Sudoh, M., Suzuki, M., Nakashima, Y., Tanaka, T., Tompkins, G.R., Watanabe, T. (2000). Candida albicans: adherence, signaling and virulence. Medical Mycology.
[5] Ning, Y., Hu, X., Ling, J., Du, Y., Liu, J., Liu, H., Peng, Z. (2013). Candida albicans survival and biofilm formation under starvation conditions. Intentional Endodontic Journal.
[6] Sudbery, P.E. (2011). Growth of Candida albicans hyphae. Nature Reviews. Microbiology. 10. 737-748.
[7] Selhub, Eva. “Nutritional psychiatry: Your brain on food.” Harvard Health Blog. 17 Nov.2015.
[8] Rodaki, A., Bohovych, I.M., Enjalbert, B., Young, T., Odds, F.C., Gow, N.A., Brown, A.J. (2009). Glucose promotes stress resistance in the fungal pathogen Candida albicans. Molecular Biology of a Cell. 20(22), 4845-4855.
[9] Dr. Mercola. (2014). Can Food Affect Your Mood? Mercola: Take Control of Your Health.