A Candida Diet You Can Live With
You've decided you may be a candidate for yeast. You have enough of the symptoms to stop denying yourself. What next? Step two is to make a commitment to yourself to begin dealing with your yeast problems. The next step is to learn what feeds yeast and becoming conscious of your own cravings. Soon you'll find that the foods you crave are the same foods that feed yeast!
Frustration or resentment may begin to rear its head. Its okay. Give it a moment and then turn that energy into commitment to stop abusing yourself by feeding your yeast. Take a moment to realize that there are many healthy non-yeast foods that you could be choosing instead. Healing is all about choices. Do you choose to feed your yeast or nurture yourself? Within no time at all, you'll find that this diet is one that is easy to follow. For everything you cannot have there is a list of food you can!
After a while you may find you're cheating on yourself. It happens when we begin to feel better. Your cravings return and you realize you are not perfect. None of us are..and you won'te be either. Don't beat yourself up. Remember that healing is about consciousness.. knowing what affects us and what does not. When we are concioius, we naturally can make better choices and we are now accountable for those choices.
When you begin your yeast diet, there are two ways it can affect you.. you may begin to feel better right away.. or if you are full of toxins, you may feel worse for a few days before you notice improvement. Either way is the right way for you. As you begin to feel better, you may decide that it won't hurt to cheat a little here and there. And it may not. But it may. This is where you come in because only you know how you truly feel. And after you cheat, if you find that you feel awful, you will at least know what it is that made you this way. And then you can consciously make a decision if it was worth it or not. And you may decide that cheating once in awhile is not so bad. That's okay too. But you may decide that you like feeling good and that's even better! In any case, your healing will rest on your shoulders, and that is exactly where it needs to be.
Eventually, you will learn that you are in charge of how you feel by what you eat. And that's the beauty of this type of healing. It all comes back to being responsible for yourself.
So as you partake this new journey, let yourself know that it is a new adventure.. one that can be a truly enjoyable one. Because the better you feel, the more you'll do and the more you do, the more you'll experience life. And isn't that what we are here to do? Experience life so we can learn more about ourselves. What we like; what we don't like.. one experience after another. At times, it may be the "not so good ones" that are our greatest teachers.
The best advice I can give you is sit back and enjoy the journey..
Foods That Feed Yeast
With over 25 years' experience with candida clients and nutritional kinesiology, I believe that there are only certain foods that feed yeast. They are very specific and I have listed them below. That is not to say that some people cannot be allergic to other foods; you might be one of those people. But as you eliminate the yeast foods and pay attention to your body, any allergies to other foods will be revealed to you over time. Pay attention to your body language; it is your greatest ally when it comes to healing you.
Avoid all fruits (fresh, frozen or dried), EXCEPT you can eat grapefruit, lemon, lime, tangerines, strawberries, cranberries, kiwi, currants, mangoes, bananas & fresh pineapple. Oranges used to be a part of this list but I have found that they cause digestive problems in the stomach in many people, so I suggest you avoid them as well.
Do not eat walnuts or chickpeas. Any other nut, bean or seed is okay to eat. The only vegetables to stay clear of are mushrooms and sweet potatoes, so eat lots of fresh veggies (remember, organic is always better for the body). Try to keep fresh and steamed vegetables separate from one another. If digestion is compromised, they may cause digestive problems if consumed at the same time.
No chocolate or caffeine. Very important! Small amounts of natural chocolates from the health food store are okay on a very limited basis to get over the cravings, but carob would be better. Water processed decaffeinated coffee is okay, but limit to one cup per day. Even better would be a coffee substitute that can be found at the health food store, such as Kaffree Roma or other natural coffee substitutes. Teeccino helps kick the coffee habit. It is brewed like coffee and gives us that same ritual feeling. Stay clear of regular sodas, caffeinated tea & city water.
Water is essential. And the way we drink it is also important. Sipping water does not flush the system. A cup of water upon awakening re hydrates the system; a cup before each meal flushes the system and gets our digestion ready for th the next meal. Grapefruit juice or a natural lemonade is acceptable on occasion. Herbal teas are good as long as they don't contain the fruits that are not allowed on the diet. Echinacea tea and Pau D'Arco tea are good for the immune system. For a treat, a natural soda such as one from the health food store is allowed, but again, don't be abusive and watch the fruits! Mineral waters are fine, but again watch the fruits! One of my favorite morning ritual drinks is a decaf chai tea (Roobos) with a little pure maple syrup, topped with Silk soy creamer. It doesn't get better than that!
Your sugars of choice are pure maple syrup, barley malt, rice malt, molasses, agave, & stevia. For those who do not have a history of sugar abuse, organic cane juice crystals and sucanat are also allowed. Very small amounts of honey are allowed - make sure they are last in the ingredient listings. Stay clear of refined white sugars!! They serve no purpose.
Meats, poultry and fish are allowed, except for pork which aggravates digestion. Keep your meats to small portions, no more than 4 or 5 oz. per meal and no more than once per day.
Yeast of all kinds must be avoided! Read labels - it's in lots of ingredients including breads and crackers. Your bread of choice will be whole grain sourdough bread such as Baldwin Hill or French Meadow - up to 2 slices per day. Whole grain sprouted breads, such as Alvarado and Ezekial are also permitted - 1 slice per day.
Look for crackers that are whole grain and yeast free. You must avoid enriched foods, such as crackers, pastas, etc, as they usually enrich with yeast. Stick to whole grain or semolina pastas.
Avoid cow cheese. Instead, substitute with soy, rice, goat or sheep cheese. Soy & rice cheese now come in a variety of flavors, including mozzarella, Swiss, American, Parmesan, sour cream & cream cheese. And more and more markets are offering a variety of goat and sheep cheese. Experiment and find the ones that suit your taste buds!
Many people have dairy allergies, so be conscious of this if you use cow milk. Allergies to cow milk may include bloating, colon issues, sinus problems, bronchial problems, and ear infections. Real butter is usually acceptable unless you are dealing with severe dairy allergies.
Eating a goat yogurt daily is often helpful but do not combine it with fruits. Instead use plain, maple or vanilla flavors. Adding pure maple syrup to plain goat yogurt turns it into a wonderful treat!
Remember that anything that weakens the body will make the candida stronger, including artificial flavors, colors and especially artificial sweeteners, chemical preservative.
Note from Linda: I am finding the my clients who have had their tonsils and/or appendix removed are more likely to have chronic yeast problems. I suggest that these clients remain on a daily supplement of probiotics to help keep their systems in balance.