Young woman picking at a bowl of nuts

Candida is a fungus that grows in the mouth, throat, gastrointestinal tract and vagina. When Candida overgrows in the body, it can cause illnesses such as thrush and candidiasis, which is essentially a yeast infection.  There are ways to avoid Candida growth, including changing your diet.

If you suffer from Candida or yeast infections, you should avoid certain foods.

First, cut out all sugars and sugar-containing foods.  Yeasts feed on and derive their energy from sugar.  The yeast can ferment the sugars to produce ethanol or alcohol, as well as a more serious toxic chemical, acetaldehyde.  By reducing the amount of sugar in your diet, you will be able to reduce the amount of sugars available in your intestines.  Starches, carbohydrates, and alcohol, which also break down into sugar in the body  should be avoided.

In purchasing foods you should be aware that there are many different substances that are high in sugar.  You should avoid the following ingredients:  fructose, glucose, lactose, maltose, mannitol, sorbitol, and sucrose, along with honey, maple syrup, and molasses.

Many processed and packaged foods, since as readymade meals, canned dinners also contain an exorbitant amount of sugar and should be eliminated from your diet.

Other products that should be avoided are food items that already contain yeast or mold.  If you already have an intestinal overgrowth of yeast, your immune system reactions will not be able to deal with the intense levels of yeast.  These yeast containing products include:

• Alcoholic beverages
• Cheeses, buttermilk, sour cream, and sour milk products
• Condiments – vinegar and vinegar-containing foods such as mayonnaise, mustard, pickles, relishes, and soy sauce
• Dried fruits – apricots, dates, figs, prunes, raisins, etc.
• Edible fungi – all types of mushrooms and truffles
• Malt products – candy, cereals, and malted milk drinks
• Packaged fruit juices (may contain mold)

The following should be eaten in moderation only:

• Grains – corn, barley, millet, oats, rice, wheat
• High carbohydrate vegetables – beans, parsnips, peas, potatoes, squashes, sweet corn, sweet potatoes, and turnips
• Fruit juices

So with all these limitations, what are you supposed to eat?  While it seems like you are removing many things from your diet, there is many stuff you can eat.  Stick with the healthy foods:

• Vegetables
• Nuts and seeds
• Whole grains
• Eggs
• Yogurt (one of the best kind for this case might be Dannon Activia)
• Meats, poultry, and fish
• Butter
• Fresh fruit

As this is a normal healthy diet, it may be something you want to stick with.  However, to reduce yeast overgrowth, it is important to remove yeast inducing products for at least three to four weeks.  In doing so, along with removing the immediate yeast infection, you may also be able to eliminate the underlying problem which makes your infection reoccurring.