Candida

Hi

I too am on the candida diet and trying to tackle an infection that has been with me for many years.

There are some good websites out there, I am using candidadiet.com, as although it is pretty restricted I am seeing some good results on it.

I started off with the cleanse but did allow some greek style probiotic unsweetened yogurt. I choose greek style as the process for making it removes most of the milk sugars and I seem to tolerate this well (given I am intolerant to most dairy this is surprising).

there is so much conflicting info out there, I have spent months looking at different sites. Candida diet is the one I would recommend. I don't find it too difficult anymore and I am vegetarian so my diet is even more restricted.

I would suggest you go with the cleanse first and whilst it is hard, believe me its worth it. I lost 11 pounds in 10 days. I felt so much better for it, no bloating cramps etc.

Now I am on phase 2, the strict diet. Although it says brown rice is allowed, I restrict this to once a week and only in very small amounts. I tend to use Quinoa and have this with stir fry veg.

the hardest things for me to give up were butternut squash, sweet potatoes, chickpeas and tomatoes. However, now understanding why these are banned it is clear why my candida has never cleared.

If you can eat meat then you will probably feel less deprived than me.

My meal plans usually are:

Breakfast: oat bran with homemade almond milk or oat bran breakfast bars (recipe I use with oat bran, xylitol, dessicated coconut , sunflower oil and almond milk.

Lunch/ dinner - I always have the same thing for both, just easier that way.

Quinoa and veg stuffed aubergines, roasted on a low heat.
Broccoli, green bean and asparagus stir fry with quinoa/ occasional brown rice.
Celeriac chips with guacamole (minus tomatoes but still tasty).
Celerical and veg bubble and squeak cakes.

I even made merginues with xylitol and toasted pralines. I was trying coconut cream with it but as I am not that keen on coconut the taste was too much for me.

however, that said once I had completed a couple weeks on the diet I no longer had any sugar cravings or alcohol so it didn't really matter.

As I said, if you eat meat then you can have the allowed meat with veg and quinoa, brown rice and you should be ok. If you can tolerate eggs then you can also make omlettes or frittata. I don't tolerate them well so only have them occasionally.

the hardest thing on this is accepting that this is not a 'diet' it is a way of life and if you don't keep at it then you will become il again. that said, an occasional cheat day is not a problem, providing you don't 'cheat' by having alcohol, sugar and high carb foods all in the same day. I have had the occasional small 'cheat' and have noticed now that I have an immediate reaction to it, which I never did before. Thats enough to keep me on the straight and narrow now.

Have you looked into antifungals and probiotics as well? I would recommend the cleanse first without taking either of these as you kill off the candida without having such bad 'die off' symptoms. I started them at the end of the cleanse and I take my probiotic first thing and the first lot of my anti-fungals at least 3 hours later (you're not meant to take them at exactly the same time).

If you have candida in the mouth like me then you will need to consider not using normal toothpaste, as I found no improvement until I started oil pulling and then brushing my teeth with bicarb and my tonge with sunflower oil. Sounds digusting I know and it is until you are used to it, but its working.

let me know if you have any other questions.

The 'live' vitamins called Probiotics which have active cultures in them, they are full of millions of good bacteria. Can help your stomach, intestines and your bodies 'natural flora'. Awesome for preventing yeast infections and is often good to take immediately after having a round of antibiotics. At the same time wont work as the antibiotics will kill the good guys too. Often bought from the fridge section at the chemist, can get some now that dont need to be refridgerated. These can help reduce any yeast over growths. Also have to avoid foods/drinks with yeast can help so no beer and bread or at least reduce it. Brands like 'Inner Health Plus' are advertised on tv here in Australia but I think there's a few fridge and non-fridge brands to check out the differences in quantities and types of priobiotic contained. Yoghurt is good but doesn't have nearly as much good bacteria as the tablets.

cheers matey.