The Dreaded Diet

In my personal opinion, the biggest hurdle to curing Candida is the diet.  Swallowing herbs, supplements and probiotics is a piece of cake compared to following an anti-candida diet.  A strict anti-candida diet is incredibly difficult if not nearly impossible for most people, myself included, to stick with long enough for it to work.  For the record I don't believe you can cure Candida with diet alone.  Candida can lie dormant in you body for long periods of time and wait for you to eat something it can flourish on.

I've done the strict anti-candida diet twice in the past, once for 30 days and once for 90 days.  Both times I was very strict and did not cheat and both times I still felt just as miserable on it as off.  In fact by the end of the 90 days I actually felt worse.  I still had all of my same symptoms and my fatigue was worse than ever.  For me there was a very good reason for this...food and vitamin allergies.  I'll talk more about those in a future post.  For now I'd like to focus on my current diet.

When I started my current treatment program I also changed my diet.  No matter what any Candida treatment program or supplement tells you, if you currently eat a typical American diet you will have to make some changes to be successful in the long term.  What does this mean for me you ask?  Below is my modified anti-candida diet.

What I'm not eating:

1) No refined sugar
2) No honey, molasses, maple syrup, agave or cane juice
3) No artificial sweeteners, this includes aspartame, xylitol and Splenda
4) No white flour
5) No chocolate
6) No fried food
7) No alcohol or caffeine - this includes caffeinated teas
8) No luncheon meats, bacon, ham or sausage
9) No dried fruit
10) No melons
11) No peanut butter
12) No soda or processed fruit and vegetable juices

What I'm limiting:

1) Limited fresh fruit - currently one green apple per day for juicing
2) Sprouted whole grain bread - two or three slices per week
3) Whole grain crackers
4) Rice noodles
5) Dairy products - for me this is mostly small occasional amounts of cheese
6) Limited meat

What I'm consuming most of:

1) Fresh vegetables of all kinds - read my post on juicing
2) Fish - Specifically wild caught Alaskan salmon.  I'm avoiding Tuna for mercury reasons.
3) Seeds - Pumpkin are my favorite.
4) Almonds
5) Olive oil and coconut oil
6) Beans and lentils
7) Eggs
8) Lemons - Love to add these to my water for a little variety.
9) Apple Cider vinegar
10) Brown rice

Obviously the above is not an all inclusive list but I think you get the idea.  I plan to modify my diet as time goes on based on how I feel.  The biggest reason I'm choosing to follow a modified anti-candida diet is to keep my stress level in check.  Both of my previous experiences with the super strict anti-candida diet became very stressful, depressing and I had no energy.  Following that strict of a diet when you work full time and attempt to have a life makes it just that much harder.  In my opinion keeping your stress level low is just as important if not more so than the diet itself when trying to heal your body of anything.  Being constantly stressed about what you are going to eat next is counter productive.

I also think it's important to mention that if you follow any anti-candida diet long enough chances are you will fall off the wagon at some point.  But whether it be for one meal or a weekend the important thing is not to give up.  I believe that if your taking the correct herbs, anti-fungals, probiotics, etc for your body, you most likely will not have to start over at square one again as long as you get back on the wagon in a reasonable amount of time.  This does not mean I'm giving myself permission to cheat.  I just want to be realistic and not beat myself up if it does happen.


*Please note I am not a medical professional and do not claim any medical expertise.  The information above is based on my personal experiences, research and opinions.  You should consult your Health Care Professional before beginning any type of diet or supplement program.