Candida Cure & Diet

Candida Cure and Diet page - link navigation:

(Clicking on the links below will take you farther down this page to that particular section.)

When to Use Natural Remedies

Candida Cures may just seem like another "fad", but the reason that it's so popular right now is because more is being discovered about it.

Those discoveries are leading to Candida as being one possible cause for other ailments and syndromes such as Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, general chronic aches and pains, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), and many others.

This page doesn't go into all of those ailments and conditions (there will be links to them when those pages are complete), but we will talk about what Candida is and how you can take care of it.

Since one of the things that keeps Candida in an overabundant state is an acidic environment, taking prescription medication for this condition may not be your best course of action.

If you've tried anti-fungals and anti-bacterials for Candida, there's a good chance that it didn't work or that it only worked for a short time. Use natural remedies to take care of the problem for good.

List of Natural Remedies that Treat this Condition

(Clicking on the underlined name of the remedy below will take you the page that tells you specifically how to use it for this condition. It will open a new window.)

Bee Pollen

Cinnamon

Coconut Oil

Flax Seed

Garlic

Probiotics – These are essential in the Candida cure to restore balance in your intestines where Candida live. Make sure they are enterically coated to ensure that they make it to the intestines. Yogurt in this case is not good enough, first because it usually has a lot of other ingredients in it like coloring, MSG and sugar, but also because the bacteria cultures are not usually alive or "viable" by the time you eat it.

Wheat Grass

Wobenzym N

Symptoms

Symptoms of an overabundance of Candida Albicans are varied from person to person.

Below is a list of common things to watch for. Having only a couple of these symptoms will probably not mean that you have Candidiasis, but several of these symptoms lasting more than a week or two means that it is likely you should be on a Candida cure.

A word about the "Candida Spit Test"...

This is a very unreliable way to see if you have a Candida problem. Most people will test positive with this test whether they need a Candida cure or not because of the other bacteria and toxins expelled by your mouth.

The only accurate testing is done by a lab on your blood or saliva – there they will test for Candida antibodies. Talk to your health practitioner regarding these tests.

List of Symptoms - Again, you have to have several of these on a consistent basis for a preliminary diagnosis of Candida overgrowth.

Abdominal gas and bloating
Anxiety
Athlete's Foot
Chronic pain – not due to injury
Chronic Fatigue
Constipation
Cravings for alcohol – not due to alcoholism
Cravings for sweets
Depression
Diarrhea
Dizziness
Earaches
Eczema
Headaches
Inability to think clearly or concentrate
Indigestion
Irritability
Learning difficulties
Low sex drive
Migraines
Mood swings
Muscle weakness
Persistent cough
Poor memory
Pre-menstrual syndrome
Rectal itching
Sensitivity to fragrances and/or other chemicals
Sinus inflammation
Sore throat
Thrush (This one by itself is Candida)
Vaginitis (This one by itself is Candida)

As you can see from this list, determining whether you actually need a Candida cure can be difficult, as there are many other conditions that share these symptoms.

Candidiasis is commonly diagnosed as Fibromyalgia, IBS (Irritable Bowel Syndrome), Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and Celiac Disease or Gluten intolerance.

If you suspect you have an abundance of Candida, talk to your health practitioner about getting tested for it.

Causes

To understand what causes Candida, we need to first explore what it actually is.

Candida Albicans (the species commonly causing problems in a human near you) has been described as "bad" bacteria, yeast and a fungus.

So which is it?

The term "yeast" is actually used to describe a fungus that grows and lives only as a single celled organism.

Other fungi like mushrooms and molds grow in long multi-celled strands called hyphae. Candida Albicans is a single celled organism and is therefore a type of yeast which is a fungus.

So, Candida is not a bacterium (which explains why antibiotics will not kill it), but it does live in the same places in your gut that your "good" bacteria do.

These bacteria keep Candida in check, not allowing it to reproduce too much. This creates an ideal balance in your intestines.

The problems start to occur when the bacteria are killed off for some reason – either through antibiotic use (without accompanying probiotics), heavy use of other medications, a highly acidic diet (like that found in westernized cultures), or anything else that creates a highly acidic environment in the intestines.

Bacteria do not care for acidic environments and will die off if exposed to one.

This triggers a reaction in the Candida to multiply heavily and start breaking down and taking over its environment. This is Mother Nature's process in action.

Here's why...

The main purpose for fungi in nature is as a sort of disposal process.

When something dies, it is fungi that take over and essentially dissolve the plant or animal back into the earth for recycling (if it doesn't get eaten by something else first).

Candida fungus can be found in small amounts in any human or animal. But, when it is no longer being held in check by the rest of the intestinal flora, AND when it senses a highly acidic environment, it "thinks" death has occurred and starts doing its job as nature's recycler.

This is obviously a problem for those of us still alive who don't want to be recycled just yet!

Fortunately, for most, the Candida cure is a simple process, although for some it may not be so easy – Simple but not Easy, as the saying goes.

An essential part of this process includes a specific diet regimen, which for some people means a complete change in lifestyle.

Continue onto the next section where I'll explain the "Candida Diet" or "Candida Cure" you may have heard about already.

Nutritional and Dietary Support

The biggest part of the Candida cure is diet. You may have heard of the Candida cure or diet already, but I'm going to break it down here and also let you know what my own experience with it has been.

As of this writing, I've been on a strict Candida diet for more than 3 years. Yes, I had it really bad. (And I'm not quite done yet! Most people however, can kick the "critters" out in a few weeks to a few months; it depends on your particular case.)

Originally I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, and because I could still function for the most part, (and there was nothing the doctors could do at the time) I self medicated, and changed nothing else about my lifestyle. This all started for me in 1998.

As it turned out, I finally got sick enough in 2007 that I couldn't work anymore – I was close to bed ridden!

A year later, I asked an acquaintance of mine who happened to be a holistic health Chiropractor what he thought might be going on with me, and he told me that I had Candidiasis.

He put me on a strict diet among other things, and I also listened to my own body's reaction to foods. I have done a lot of research, and I've found that although there are some basic rules that everyone who is getting rid of their "critters" should follow, there are other things that will be more personal to you.

One of the biggest things about any Candida cure is that you allow yourself to be ok with set backs.

Get as much support from your family and friends as possible. The stress of being upset from a set back can create a more acidic environment (which Candida thrive on) as well as drain your adrenal glands, sapping whatever energy you may have left.

If that kind of support isn't available to you, there are online forums and groups that have been set up to provide emotional support for those who have Candidiasis. Simply do a search for "Candida Support Group" in your browser and choose one (or several) that you like.

Candida Diet (or Candida Cure)

Below is a partial list of what not to eat if you are on a Candida Diet or Candida Cure regimen.

The point of this diet is to make sure that you are not giving the Candida in your system more fuel to continue reproducing.

Candida don't actually "starve" per se, but along with other remedies that will kill the fungus, you will at least not be enabling them to grow faster than you can kill them off, because you'll be denying them foods that make them stronger.

In general terms, Candida thrive on simple sugars, yeasts, other fungus (like mushrooms and molds) and anything that would create an acidic environment like medications, or acidic foods and beverages.

Listen to your body! Pay attention to what you personally have reactions to and then stop eating it.

Talk to your health practitioner before changing any medication dosage.

Although I am not a proponent of regular or chronic use of pharmaceuticals, it can be dangerous to suddenly stop taking any medication without a professional's supervision.

That said, if your doctor insists on you continuing your medication, you can simply work a little harder to maintain a more alkaline diet than those who are not on medication.

What NOT to eat:

Sweeteners - This includes any sweetener, natural or artificial (except Stevia, Xylitol, Erithritol, and Luo Han Guo)

Simple Sugars - That would be most carbohydrates such as breads, rice, potatoes, corn, or cereals (I personally don't have issue when I eat baked potatoes or organic brown rice, but you might.)

Yeasts - Brewer's yeast and Baker's yeast both feed Candida.

Fungus - Mushrooms and molds or moldy foods such as Blue Cheese. (I have personally not had any problem with RAW [unpasteurized] cheese and milk.)

Alcohol - Sorry folks, alcohol is a favorite food of Candida. (I personally haven't had any trouble with Xylitol however, which is a sugar alcohol.)

Vinegar - This includes anything pickled or processed with vinegar. (Raw Apple Cider Vinegar is ok but will cause a die-off reaction which is good in the long run but can be painful. Use it in small amounts to help kill off Candida.)

Peanuts or Pistachios - They generally have small amounts of mold on them that is normally not harmful, but will feed Candida. This includes peanut butter. Although the mold is killed in processing, it has left a mold toxin in the nut itself that cannot be removed.

Fruit - This includes all fruit, fruit juice or things sweetened with fruit juice except berries (no strawberries though), green apples, grapefruit, lemon, and lime. This is because most fruit have a high natural sugar content.

High Glycemic Vegetables - like carrots and beets. Tomato sauce can also be a problem for some people.

Food Chemicals, Additives or Preservatives - This includes MSG, hydrogenated/partially hydrogenated oils, or any other hard to pronounce ingredient on the label. Read your labels! You will be better off for it. To save you some time, just know that almost anything processed will have something from this category in it.

What you CAN eat:

Complex carbohydrates - This includes most fresh vegetables except carrots (which are high in natural sugars) and corn (which is actually a grain and also high in natural sugars). Some people on a Candida cure regimen don't have an issue with carrots; I did (even raw), but listen to your own body to see if you have a reaction to them.

Protein - Meat is fine (even though it's acidic), just not breaded or seasoned with chemicals or doused in ketchup or BBQ sauce! I also feel it's important to eat organic grass fed beef, organic free range chicken, etc. whenever possible in order to avoid the antibiotics and growth hormones in factory raised animals. Fish should be wild caught to avoid the same thing as well as Genetic Modification found in most fish farms. Legumes (beans) are on the don't eat list in some places, but I have not had a problem with them. Organic Eggs, Raw milk and Raw cheddar cheese are other wonderful resources for protein.

Herbs and Seasonings - These are all great and some will even kill the Candida fungus such as Oregano, but make sure that they are Organic (to avoid poisonous pesticides and irradiation). Unprocessed Sea Salt should be used instead of regular table salt at all times. Regular table salt has chlorine in it and your body also can't process the salt without the minerals contained in sea salt.

I think the most important thing here again is to listen to your body.

Every person's physical make-up is different and although most Candida Albicans are the same (which creates the foundation for the Candida cure), that doesn't mean your body will necessarily process food the same as everyone else.

This would explain why there is some contradiction in Candida cures you see online and in books.

If you eat something that you're not sure of and it makes your symptoms flare up, it could either be a die off reaction or it could be something that makes the Candida stronger.

Any of the actual remedies listed on this page in the remedies section will cause a die-off reaction if you take too much of it at once.

Just back off on the dosage or take it every other day instead of every day so that your body is not overwhelmed with toxins from the die off of Candida.

About "Die Off"

"Die Off" is what happens when a large number of bacteria, fungus, or parasites die in your body in a short period of time.

During a Candida cure, you may experience this often as you kill off the excess Candida in your system.

While alive, Candida produce a toxic waste product from their natural elimination process. When they die, they produce a burst of this toxin – so when they start dying off in large numbers, they produce a lot of this toxin.

This explains why you will probably feel worse before you get better while on a Candida cure.

Be careful not to overwhelm your liver and kidneys because of die off toxins. They are working as fast as they can to rid your body of the "die off" so allowing them a little break here and there will be beneficial to you.

"Die off" feels like your symptoms that you already have are getting worse.

That's because the symptoms were being caused by these toxins to begin with, just in smaller amounts.

For me, I notice die off symptoms within an hour or two of taking whatever it was that caused it, whereas an increase in Candida because I ate something that made them stronger generally takes more than 12 hours.

I don't know if that's true for everyone, but listen to your body and see how it is for you.

Additional Actions You Can Take

Other support for the Candida cure can include:

Aromatherapy for stress relief

Body work such as massage, hydrotherapy, acupuncture, acupressure, and reflexology

Enzyme Therapy

Low impact exercise will increase blood flow and help reduce pain by cleansing your body of toxins. Ask your health practitioner what kind of exercise will work for you specifically.

Support Groups will help you relieve stress by offering emotional support and answers to your questions. You can do a search for "Candida support group" in your browser to find one or more that you like.

Infared Saunas (or even regular ones) are great for allowing you to sweat out the toxins that have built up in your body in addition to any sweating you may get from exercise.