Candida

The Number One Enemy

The worse thing you can give your body in regard to the Candida Diet and in regard to health in general is sugar.   It weakens the immune system and gives yeast a spectacular feast.

Sugar is Candida's favorite food. If you remove nothing else from your diet, it must be sugar.

You may think that you don't eat much sugar, but you eat sugar unknowingly many times a day, because sugar is added to almost every food on the market in the traditional store and is even common place in the health food stores.  The health food stores usually carry items that contain organic sugar, but sugar is sugar when it comes to Candida and immune function.

To remove sugar from your diet you must read labels very carefully.  All forms of sugar should be removed from the diet. 

Forms of Sugar

-Beet Sugar
-Maple Sugar
-Date Sugar
-Organic Cane Syrup
-Organic Cane Juice
-Organic Cane Sugar
-Dextrose
-Maltose
-Lactose
-Maltodextrin
-Fructose
-High Fructose Corn Syrup
-Brown Sugar
-Powdered Sugar
-Honey
-Molasses
-Alcohol is the most refined form of sugar you can consume. 

Now granted, if you really must eat sugar, organic sugar is definitely a better choice, because it doesn't have pesticides in it and it hasn't been stripped of all its nutritional value, unlike refined white sugar.  But in regard to Candida, sugar is sugar.  It doesn't distinguish between organic or inorganic.  It will be quite happy to eat either one of them and proliferate equally. The same applies to honey.

Not only that, organic sugar will also lead to type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, neurotransmitter imbalances, addiction, hypoglycemia, depression, anxiety, hyperactivity etc., just like traditional table sugar.

The Candida Diet Basics

These Candida diet basics are essential to be successful in reducing or eliminating symptoms.

-No sugar
-No alcohol (alcohol is a sugar)
-No wheat
-No yeast
-No caffeine (Caffeine prompts the liver to dump large doses of sugar into the blood stream)
-No preservatives and additives
-No refined and processed foods
-No moldy foods
-No dairy (except yogurt and butter on occasion)
  Cheese and milk contain lactose (milk sugar) which the yeast will feed on.
  (some people can do small amounts of cottage cheese)
-Low in Carbohydrates


Foods to Eat

-Lean Meat and Fish 
-Eggs
-High in Protein and Vegetables
-Low in Fruit and Nuts

The basic and most successful anti Candida diet should consist of nothing but lean meat, eggs, and low carbohydrate vegetables. A small amount of whole fruit, nuts and seeds may be acceptable if they don't flare symptoms.

Meats to Include

-buffalo (is lower in fat and cholesterol than chicken or turkey)
-chicken 
-beef
-turkey
-lamb
-ostrich
-pheasant
-venison
-fish.( be careful because fish is contaminated with mercury and other pollutants- buy Wild Alaskan fish.)
-No processed meats like lunch meat, spam, bacon, sausage etc.

Low Carb Vegetables to Include

-cabbage
-kale
-lettuce
-cucumbers
-zucchinis
-cauliflower
-green beans
-spinach
-any green leafy vegetable is low in carbohydrates
-onions
-garlic 
-green peppers
-avocados (are excellent because they are also very good for stabilizing -blood sugar)
-tomatoes are low carb but high in acid and often aggravate yeast, you'll need to monitor your symptoms to determine whether you should include them in your diet.

High Carb Foods to Avoid or Eat Sparingly

-potatoes 
-carrots
-sweet potatoes 
-yams
-corn 
-beans
-winter squash

Grains

Grains should be avoided completely or reserved for special occasions on the Candida diet. Not only are they are highly allergenic and high in carbohydrates, but the human body does not digest them properly. They disrupt the gastrointestinal tract. 

-rice
-wheat
-oats
-barley
-spelt
-rye
-corn

Alternate Grains
-Kamut
-Quinoa
-Amaranth


Dairy and Eggs

-Yogurt is okay on occasion because it contains healthy bacteria, but it does contain lactose, which is milk sugar, so be careful.
-Cheese or cottage cheese should be restricted for special occasions, but they also contain lactose, so must be restricted.
-Eggs are a good protein and contain no carbs. 

Legumes or Beans

Legumes, also known as beans are very high in carbohydrates, so they should be eliminated  or reduced for most people. Like grains, they too are not processed properly by the human body. When you do eat legumes, they should be sprouted when possible, as these are healthier for your GI tract.

-lima
-pinto
-navy
-split pea
-garbanzo -black, etc.

Nuts

Some people can include nuts, while other's can't. Nuts are very good for you, so if you can include them in your diet, you should. However in the beginning phase of the Candida diet they are best avoided or reduced.

Nuts are moldy.  Some of them are also high carbohydrate. 

Cashews are high in carbohydrates.

Macadamia, Almond, Walnut Hazelnut are lower in carbohydrates. Peanuts should be avoided, they are actually a legume, not a nut.


Fruits

Most people need to cut down on fruit intake drastically while following the Candida diet.  This is because fruit is high in natural sugar.  Some fruits are higher in sugar than others.  

Some people can eat fruit freely and other people can't eat it at all.  On the other hand, some people can only eat fruit that is lower in sugar.


Fruit High in Sugar
-Oranges (very moldy as well)
-Bananas
-Dates
-Raisins

Fruit Medium level of sugar
-Apples
-Apricots
-Pears
-Melons (also very moldy)


Fruit Low in sugar
-Strawberries
-Blueberries
-Raspberries
-Blackberries
-Peaches


Special Occasions and Treats

* Please keep in mind that sweets should be extremely limited.
I've found that it's much easier to stay on the Candida diet if you allow yourself treats from time to time, so you don't feel deprived.  I allow myself to have something sweet, yet not too unhealthy a few times a month.

There may also be special occasions and holidays when you would like to indulge in something tasty and delicious.
 
More than likely you will experience cravings from time to time that are uncontrollable and you must have something sweet. 

For any of these occurrences it's best to indulge in healthier sweets that aren't as damaging to the immune system and won't make the Candida proliferate to the same extent as sugar.

Make your own dessert or buy some at the health food store that are sweetened with these sugar alternatives:

-fruit juice sweetened
-barley malt
-maple syrup
-brown rice syrup
-agave
-stevia
-xylitol

All of these alternatives are not quite as damaging as sugar, they will contain some nutritional value and will break down in the body a little slower than sugar. But, these should be consumed very infrequently. 

Stevia is a fantastic herbal sweetener.  It does not feed the Candida and it does not upset the blood sugar.  However stevia can be difficult to use and takes a little getting used to. You also can't find anything in health food stores that uses stevia as its sweetener.

Agave is another better choice. It will feed Candida, but it is much less offensive.  It also does not give you the spike in blood sugar that sugar and honey do.  

Xylitol will not have any impact on yeast, blood sugar, or insulin either, so its a great choice too. 

However, keep in mind that your sweets should come in the natural and whole form, called fruit, the majority of the time. 

Candida Diet Phases

There are 3 phases in the Candida diet. We'll call them, Beginning, Intermediate and Advanced.

Beginning
In the beginning phase you must be much stricter with adherence and your choices will be more limited.

Intermediate
In time, you'll see some improvement in your symptoms and as that happens you can bring back more fruit and nuts. You can be less strict with adherence.

Advanced
If you've made a lot of progress in reducing Candida symptoms, then you may move into a Candida diet that consists of more complex carbohydrates and even less strict guidelines.

It's also common for individuals to alternate back and forth between phases.  For example:  You may have reached a point where your symptoms are really under control and you have a lot more food choices and can tolerate quite a bit of carbohydrate and then a set back occurs and you have to go back to the beginning phase again for a period of time.  

A setback can occur in response to stress, hormones, you've overdone the sweets on a holiday, you've had the flu or some other illness or you've had to take an antibiotic. 


The Candida diet can be very challenging to live with, there's no way to candy coat it.  Pun intended. 
It also takes time for your body to adjust.  Initially you will feel tired and hungry as you adjust to the lower level of carbohydrates and your Candida screams for you to feed it. 

However, it's important to keep in mind that the diet that yeast will force you to eat, is actually a very healthy diet and the one you should have been eating any ways. The human body was not genetically designed to eat sugar, alcohol, caffeine, white flour, refined foods, grains, potatoes, beans etc. The diet that I outline on this page is basically a slightly modified version of the Paleolithic diet, which many health experts are now saying is the diet that we were supposed to eat and is what is needed to encourage optimal health on all levels. I encourage you to learn more about the Paleolithic diet, 

Dr Cynthia Kenyon

Cynthia Kenyon: Eat A Low-Carb Diet To Live Longer And Healthier

There’s a curious dichotomy at work between what is being said about low-carb diets and what the reality is. On the one hand we keep hearing from much of the media and the so-called health “experts” about how low-carb nutrition is just a passing fad, decidedly unhealthy for you, clogs your arteries with all that fat, ruins your kidneys from consuming too much protein, removes whole categories of foods, excludes fruits and vegetables from your diet, will give you cancer because of the red meat consumed, so forth and so on. Meanwhile, studies continue to pour in from the scientific community demonstrating the incredible health BENEFITS of livin’ la vida low-carb, including stunning blood sugar and insulin control, improvements in key heart health markers like HDL and triglycerides, reduced blood pressure, incredible energy and vitality, clear skin and so much more! It’s incredibly odd that there would be two so diametrically opposite viewpoints regarding a discussion of the same way of eating, but it is the reality that befalls the low-carb diet. Thankfully there is real science behind the concept of carbohydrate-restriction that trumps any propaganda and innuendo about it that may come from groups with a vested interest in seeing its demise (cough…vegetarians…cough…vegans…cough!).

That’s why I was delighted to see a column published in the UK-based Daily Mail this week entitled “Can cutting carbohydrates from your diet make you live longer?” highlighting the incredible groundbreaking work of biochemistry and biophysics professor at the University of California San Francisco Cynthia Kenyon, PhD. I first learned about Dr. Kenyon’s fabulous work about a year ago when I blogged about her research feeding worms glucose resulting in a 20 percent reduced lifespan. I’ve attempted to book Dr. Kenyon on my podcast for an interview, but I haven’t had any luck in this regard so far. I’ll keep trying because she is doing a great service to the world openly promoting a reduction in carbohydrates for the sake of longevity and vibrant health. Perhaps she could convince her colleague at UCSF Dr. Robert Lustig that it’s more than just the fructose that is the culprit in weight and health issues.

While many have been seeking the mythical concept of the “fountain of youth” for as long as I can remember, Dr. Kenyon says it is as simple as making some simple changes in your diet that will keep you feel young, being healthy, and living that way as long as you possibly can. This is shocking to people who think there’s some magic pill or potion that will make that happen, especially in the 21st Century when technological advances have progressed so much that people actually believe something like that is possible. Maybe…maybe not. What we do know is chronic disease is running rampant like never before in the history of the world and there’s one culprit that Dr. Kenyon believes is to blame–CARBOHYDRATES!

By limiting your intake of carbohydrates of all kinds–even the supposedly healthy ones like bananas, whole grain breads and pastas, potatoes along with the usual suspects of simple carbs found in cakes, cookies, candy and the like–you can be assured to be healthy and stay healthy for a very long time in your life. She discovered this by observing the genetic reactions happening in C.elegans roundworms which can be translated into what happens in humans as well. She discovered that controlling the gene activity dramatically slows down the aging process of the worms whose lifespan is usually about 20 days long. The mutations she performed in the worms allowed them to live to be 40 days–the equivalent of seeing someone who you thought was 30 and they’re actually 60 years old! More importantly, they “behaved like youngsters” which means they not only looked younger but felt younger too. Some of the worms have lived as long as 144 days–equal to a human being living to be 450 years old. While that is not even remotely likely, it shows you the power of altering your genes to maximize every chance you can to get healthier and stay healthier for a long and prosperous life.

Interestingly, many scientists have long believed the secret to longevity is a calorie-restricted diet, but compliance with a way of eating that leaves you constantly hungry and craving nutrition is not very high. Dr. Kenyon notes that a low-calorie diet is effective because it’s actually a low-carbohydrate diet that helps to control insulin production (which turns on the “Grim Reaper” gene) and is the primary hormonal culprit in the aging process. Meanwhile the “Sweet Sixteen” gene called DAF 16 is a sort of “elixir” that turns back the clock allowing for youthfulness to prevail again when the genes are both repaired and renovated due in large part to an increase in antioxidants which lessen the impact of free radicals which lead to many of the most common diseases associated with aging today like Alzheimer’s, cancer, and more.

Not surprisingly, with all her work looking at the heavy hand of the “Grim Reaper” gene turned on by insulin, Dr. Kenyon began cutting back significantly on her carbohydrate intake to control the insulin production and lower blood sugar. The makeup of her diet is enough to bring a smile to the face of most people who follow a healthy low-carb lifestyle: no starchy foods like potatoes, noodles, rice, bread and pasta, salads without sugary dressings, olive oil, nuts, cheese, chicken, eggs, bunless hamburgers, baked fish, very little fruit, no processed foods, and some 80 percent chocolate. She believes eating this way will help her stay healthy and fit for a much longer period of time than she would have had she continued eating the way she used to.

As for the “Sweet Sixteen” gene getting turned on by a reduction in insulin, Dr. Kenyon tested this theory by adding some glucose to the diet of some of her worms who were living longer and healthier. Almost immediately the worms showed signs of aging and health decline. This work in Dr. Kenyon’s lab piqued the interest of other researchers who began looking for this “Grim Reaper”/”Sweet Sixteen” concept in other animals as well as humans–and they found it! A remote village in northern Ecuador has no incidences of cancer, obesity or heart disease because the “Grim Reaper” gene that produces insulin is missing. Of course, they only grow to be four-feet tall because insulin is a growth hormone, too.

This column was amazing because it stated very clearly that raised insulin levels are “triggered by high carbohydrate consumption.” Shazam! Somebody stop the presses because this is huge news that deserves to be on the front page of health news publications and web sites around the world. Don’t count on that happening anytime soon, though. They also accurately report that consuming more carbs which raises insulin also leads to an increase in cholesterol, raises blood pressure levels, and releases triglycerides into the blood stream to significantly boost the chances of getting heart disease. But, as happens with virtually every positive article about science supporting low-carb diets, the pharmaceutical companies salivate at the opportunity to create a pill that simulates the diet changes. Thankfully, none are even close to hitting the market. Hey, how about this? Just go on a low-carb diet! Gee, what a novel concept!

The column also suggests exercise as a way to reduce insulin by increasing your sensitivity to it which in turns lowers the amount of it your body needs. Additionally, physical activity helps your body produce more antioxidants which fight the free radicals that lead to aging. It would seem obvious from Dr. Kenyon’s work that most anyone who is seeking to reduce insulin levels to live healthier and long would cut back on their carbohydrates, but conventional wisdom has long told us that a low-fat, high complex carbohydrate diet is necessary for proper energy and health. This is a debate that will not subside as there are powerful forces at work to keep the status quo regarding diet and health intact. And yet the impact of the work of Dr. Kenyon and others will eventually create this tsunami of public backlash about being lied to about how unhealthy dietary fat supposedly is and how innocuous carbohydrates are on the hormones like insulin that determine your health and how long you live.

The article alludes to awarding the Nobel Prize to Dr. Cynthia Kenyon and she’s certainly worthy of such an honorable distinction along with other researchers and practioners like Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut, Dr. Eric Westman at Duke University, Dr. Stephen Phinney at the University of California-Davis, Dr. Mary C. Vernon from the University of Kansas, and many others who are promoting the concept of low-carb nutrition for health. It’s interesting how the mainstream medical establishment will acknowledge that this work is indeed important but then they refuse to state that people should be eating low-carb because “I’m not sure the evidence for the benefit of cutting carbohydrates and keeping insulin levels down is strong enough yet.” HOW MUCH MORE EVIDENCE DO YOU NEED?! Sheez! It just amazes me how supposedly intellectual people could come to such ignorant conclusions when the evidence is staring them in the face!

The right food choices can give you a flatter, healthier tummy.

A bloated stomach is uncomfortable, embarrassing and can be very painful, but for many women, it’s something they would rather live with than discuss.

A survey this year of 1200 Australian women found that 83 per cent sufferedbloating, heaviness and abdominal discomfort.

A third of the surveyed women said their symptoms were strong enough to affect their social lives, but most disturbingly, almost a quarter of those affected were too embarrassed about their afflictions to seek help.

While bloating can simply be due to indigestion or overindulgence, it can also be a sign of a food intolerance. Food intolerances are behind most cases ofirritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects one in five people.

What is IBS?

IBS causes disturbances in the function of the gut without any identifiable physical features, such as ulcers, inflammation or thickening of tissues. Sufferers can experience a broad range of symptoms, including abdominal pain and discomfort, bloating, changes in bowel habits, heartburn, nausea and over fullness. Other symptoms include excessive wind, a noisy abdomen and pain in the rectum. Tiredness is also common and its severity usually depends on the severity of the bowel symptoms.

IBS is a serious condition that requires diagnosis by a doctor, but the good news is that symptoms can be controlled by avoiding foods that are high in certain types of sugar.

FODMAPs and your gut

Within foods there are indigestible sugars that cause symptoms of IBS. These sugars are known as fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAPs).

FODMAPs are poorly absorbed by the small bowel, which connects the stomach to the large bowel. To try to rectify this, the body forces water into the gastrointestinal tract. This can cause diarrhoea and affect the gut’s muscular movements.

When FODMAPs enter the large bowel, the bacteria that live there see these food molecules as “fast food” and quickly break them down, which produces hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane gases, causing bloating and wind.

Foods to avoid

FODMAPs are found in large amounts in certain fruits and vegetables, most dairy products and grains such as wheat and rye. They are broken down into five groups:

• Fructose: Found in honey, apples, mangos, pears, watermelon and high-fructose corn syrup.
• Fructans: Found in artichokes, asparagus, beetroot, garlic (in large amounts), leek, onion, radicchio lettuce, spring onion (white part), wheat and rye in large amounts (pasta, breads, biscuits and cereals).
• Lactose: Found in milk, ice-cream, custard, condensed and evaporated milk, milk powder, yoghurt, soft unripened cheese and margarine.
• Galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS): Found in legume beans (baked beans, kidney beans, borlotti beans), lentils and chickpeas.
• Polyols: Found in apples, apricots, avocados, cherries, lychees, nectarines, pears, plums, prunes, mushrooms and additives sorbitol (420), mannitol (421), xylitol (967) and maltitol (965).

The low-FODMAP diet

To keep IBS symptoms under control, try to avoid foods that are high in FODMAPs for at least two months. You can, however, take a breath test that will tell you if you have lactose and fructose malabsorption. If you don’t have malabsorption, you can include these in your diet.

If your symptoms have improved after this time, gradually reintroduce one FODMAP group at a time to see if you tolerate it. This diet is best done in consultation with a dietitian who specialises in gastrointestinal nutrition.

Breakfast

• Fruit smoothie (with bananas or strawberries, yoghurt and lite or lactose-free milk).
• Wheat-free cereal with strawberries and lite or lactose-free milk.
• Poached eggs and grilled tomatoes on wheat-free bread.
• Wheat-free bread with peanut butter or butter and natural berry jam. 
• Two-egg omelette with spinach and tomato and a slice of wheat-free bread.

Lunch

• Sweet potato, blue cheese, spinach and egg frittata.
• Toasted ham and cheese sandwich (with wheat-free bread) and side salad (tomato, lettuce, capsicum).
• Sliced beef, cheese, tomato and lettuce sandwich on wheat-free bread.
• Chicken, vermicelli noodle and vegetable soup.
• Grilled fish and roast vegetable salad.
• Olive and eggplant foccacia.

Dinner

• Grilled salmon with sweet chilli sauce and salad (lettuce, cucumber, green capsicum).
• Beef meatballs with mash potatoes and side salad (tomato, lettuce, capsicum).
• Risotto with chicken breast, baby spinach, tomatoes, parmesan and parsley.
• Gluten-free pasta with lemon juice, spinach and bocconcini.
• Barbecued paprika calamari with salad (lettuce, cucumber, capsicum, snow pea sprouts).

Snacks

• Fruit salad of banana, berries, grapes, honeydew melon and pineapple.
• Slices of carrot, celery, capsicum and cucumber.
• Two rice cakes with a slice of cheese and tomato.
• Handful of mixed nuts and seeds.
• One boiled egg.
• Half a cup of unsalted popcorn.
• Natural yoghurt (lactose-free if necessary) with berries.