I have a hard time believing that so many different foods MUST be avoided. I have read up on this topic online and it seems that many of the alternative health practitioners preach a candida diet that eliminates a multitude of foods.

I understand the importance of avoiding almost all forms of processed sugars and starchy products. However, ALL forms of dairy as well?? What about some varieties of cheese?

In order to get a better grasp on what to eat and not to eat, I've compiled this list of foods that I'm not sure about. Please give me a yes or no for any or all of the foods and explain why if you can. Thanks.

1. Peanut Butter
2. Lactose free milk(s) or milk-like pro- ducts
3. Unsweetened Yogurt
4. ``Diet'' yogurt (with Sucralose or Aspartame)
5. Flavored waters sweetened with Sucralose
6. Eggs
7. Cheese
8. Unsweetened oatmeal
9. Apples
10. Bananas
11. Canned soups
12. Sweet potatoes
13. Red skin potatoes
14. Butter or other butter-like spreads
15. Watermelon
16. Cantaloupe
17. Red skin Grapes
18. White or brown rice

2. Lactose free milk(s) or milk-like pro- ducts- soy is okay if it is low sugar

3. Unsweetened Yogurt- Maybe

4. ``Diet'' yogurt (with Sucralose or Aspartame)- cant eat these

5. Flavored waters sweetened with Sucralose-cant drink there

6. Eggs-You can eat these

7. Cheese-some cheeses are okay-cheddar.
a
8. Unsweetened oatmeal-enjoy eating

9. Apples-very limited

10. Bananas-NO WAY!!!

11. Canned soups-some yes..hard to find good ones.

12. Sweet potatoes-limited

13. Red skin potatoes-limited

14. Butter or other butter-like spreads-I cant believe its not butter light is okay

15. Watermelon-NO WAY!

16. Cantaloupe-NO WAY

17. Red skin Grapes-NO WAY

18. White or brown rice-limited-try whole wheat coucous

1. Peanut Butter - NO, because of mold, but I personally use all natural peanut butter that has only peanuts and salt as ingredients.

2. Lactose free milk(s) or milk-like pro- ducts - probably a NO. I thought I was allergic to milk and discovered most milk-like products have corn products in them and most soy milks are high in sugars- added or natural.

3. Unsweetened Yogurt - YES and actually think of it as medicine. It's got lots of good probiotics for you. And, the best part, you should eat the kind with lots of fat! Fat free yogurt is higher in sugars. Brown-cow makes one with cream on top, and it's one of the higher protein and lower carb yogurts. Yummy!

4. ``Diet'' yogurt (with Sucralose or Aspartame) - NO. I've heard sucralose is like sugar to yeast, but I don't know. All yeast diets say to keep out aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. I just swore them all of a couple months ago.

5. Flavored waters sweetened with Sucralose - NO, see sucralose above. But, Poland Springs and Perrier make sparking waters that are so lightly sweetened there aren't carbs and no artificial sweeteners.

6. Eggs - YES. Great source of protein. I've heard many times it's actually better to eat the yolk with the egg. I can't remember why. Hard boiled eggs are a great snack to keep in the fridge.

7. Cheese - Officially NO, primarily because of mold. I reduced my cheese and cut out all blue cheeses.

8. Unsweetened oatmeal - MAYBE, depending on whether you are maintaining or actively trying to rid of yeast. If maintaining, then some whole grains are ok. But instant oatmeal is a no-no. The longer it takes to cook, the better for you.

9. Apples - SOME YES, according to Dr. B., granny smiths are ok but only when protein is in your stomach. The other apples are too high in sugare. Again, if not maintaining but actively treating yeast, I'd recommend staying away.

10. Bananas - NO. Very high glycemic index (aka very high in sugars). In fact, in the Yeast Connection, eating a banana is used as a test to see if you have yeast, because the reaction is so quick.

11. Canned soups - Mostly NO. I believe Progresso Lentil soup has no sugars added. But Lentils are high in carbs, so you would only want to eat a little. There are a few organic soups you may find aren't as bad, if you filter out the noodles and potatoes, etc.

12. Sweet potatoes - In MODERATION. With no sugars or rum added to it. You may want to stay away if you have a bad problem. Also, don't eat without protein.

13. Red skin potatoes - NO. The red skin is probably ok. The potato itself is high glycemic index.

14. Butter or other butter-like spreads - MAYBE - mixed reviews on butter. I personally think a little is ok. Butter-like spreads often have starch fillers or sugars added, so are a no.

15. Watermelon - NO. pure sugar.

16. Cantaloupe - NO, too much sugar

17. Red skin Grapes - NO, one of the worst fruits for yeast very very high glycemic index.

18. White or brown rice - NO, but some wild rices are ok. Also, long grain brown rice could be ok if you are maintaining. Same rule as oatmeal, instant is always bad and the longer it takes to cook the better it is.

SUGGESTIONS
Fruits - granny smiths, pears and berries in small amounts may be ok for you

Remember you are human and need to adapt it to yourself. Find foods that you can "cheat" with that aren't that bad, like a handful of blue berries.

Discover new comfort foods. For me, it's the cream top Brown Cow yogurt.

Dark chocolate lover? Lindt makes an 80% cocoa dark chocolate bar. It's low in sugar for chocolate, and you get satisfied with one square because it's so heavy on cocoa. About 3 grams of carbs per square I think.

Sparkling water at least gives you consistency changes

Almonds are a great snack to get you through to the next meal.

Glycemic index is a good way to gauge things.

eggs-big yes, especially the yolk, it's high in lecithin

butter-natural fats are extremely good do not use imitation butter or margarine

yogurt-only full fat plain-I like Stonyfield

Any food with partially hydrogenated fat is very bad

Natural fats are important-olives, olve oil-extra virgin best, nuts, probably not peanuts which are not a nut but a legume

No artificial sweeteners

Brown rice but not white and only later

milk-no

soups-read the label

Lots of veggies- a rainbow each day- many colors of veggies

organic is always best

There is a Big Books worth of Good
info on the above posts.

Very Clear Picture
on the diet some One Should Fallow
to get over candida. Good Job --

--Jay--

If you need/want chocolate, you can get it totally sugar free. Do a search for Yamate chocolatiers, it is is 70% dark chocolate sweetened with maltitol a totally natural and yeast freindly alternative. You can buy it on line. I did at first, then brought the wrapper and a row of the chocolate to my local health food store, and they now carry it, with great success for otheres buying it too. Do not eat any chocolate with sugar ( or with sucralose, etc...)

Brown rice and red potatoes are limit foods, ok in moderation for most people after the first bit of time. I always had a bit of brown rice even initially, but kept mostly to the good grains, millet, quinoa and buckwheat. I used brown rice crackers with almond butter all along with success, in moderation.

If you want dairy type foods try the soy alternatives while doing the candida diet. Ie., soy yogurt with live cultures, make sure to get sugar free. Soy cheese and tofu are considered good by most lists.

You want foods that are gluten free and low glycemic index.

Here's what works for me:

Absolutely no fruit, sugar, flour, grain except occaisional white rice. Nothing artificial or processed.

Lots of vegetables. I've gotten very creative at preparing them and eat many different kinds. You need to eat a lot of vegetables to fill up. This is healthy. I have some as salad, some sauteed, some with eggs (frittata) etc.

Protein at most meals, organic meat (I like buffalo burgers), low mercury fish. I eat more meat than I used to. Small portions several times a day work best for me.

I eat beans several times a week.

I eat organic eggs & nuts frequently (I never eat peanuts because of allergy). Almonds are best for me. These are my survival foods when I travel, bags of nuts, boiled eggs, celery sticks). I got stuck in traffic on one long trip and ate a pound of snow peas!

I eat a little cheese but feel better when I eliminate all other dairy except a little goats milk yoghurt. I'm OK with a small amount of soy sauce and I use vinegar on salad. I've experimented with other foods on the wholeapproach list (very useful) and some are OK for me.

When I eat the wrong thing I get a funny taste in my mouth right away and my tongue gets coated. Vegetables that have triggered this are, turnips, rutabaga, parsnips, sweet potato, carrots. I'm OK with a little potato, sweet potato or carrot.

I eat only all natural products organic whenever possible: butter, ghee, coconut oil, olive oil. No sweeteners of any kind and I really don't miss them.

When I switched meds in May the yeast got worse so I completely eliminated the things I was having a few times a week: rice, potato, cheating with anything else). At this point cheating will result in an immediate itchy, nasty yeast infection so I don't even consider cheating any more.

The first days & weeks are the hardest but cravings will go away and you will adapt to new food patterns and styles of cooking.

I'm going on vacation next week and will bring lots of nuts, boiled eggs, celery, tomatoes, peppers, salad greens, canned beans and feta cheese so I can eat a healthy breakfast. This is the toughest meal when travelling since almost everything is grain based.

Do your best with this diet and you will start to feel better.

hatsnscarfs

If you develop food sensitivities as a result of yeast and leaky gut, your diet will need to be even more restiricted for awhile. First you eliminate every possible trigger, then you gradually add back specific foods to see if they are a problem.

How are you feeling today? Are you up and about or still wiped out?

Aniek - I've also heard and read the same about soys, ketchup, sauces and tofu.

I find this true for myself with the above. I can't do hummus, chick peas, tofu and soys.

My husband makes an awesome grilled steak and the soybased marinade will set me off--big time. I was hugging my knees all night with cramps.

I eat a lot of almonds, no peanuts. (I LOVE peanut butter on a toasted bagel... whimper, whimper)

I can tolerate and do one non-fat unsweetened plain yogurt (wasn't easy). Minimal fruit, usually 1/2 apple--particularly not dried fruits.

Many anti-candida websites talk about using corn and corn tortillas, but I thought it was high on glycemic scale? I was shocked but I ate it anyways and it was yummie.

Anyone know about CORN and candida?

I'm somewhat OK at the moment. However, for most of the day I've felt rather miserable. Today it was extreme exhaustion and a lot of other things that just generally made the day rough.