Although alternative medicine practitioners sometimes include conventional or natural antifungal medications in severe cases of yeast infection, diet is always an important part of the cure. While the dietary dose does not eliminate yeast, it makes it difficult for harmful bacteria to grow.
Traditionally, anti-candida diets are based on avoiding all sugary products, since yeast thrives on sugar, alcohol (made up of fermented and refined sugar), white flour, aged and fermented food products, and anything else. containing yeast. As meat, poultry and dairy products may contain traces of the antibiotics that are commonly administered to conventionally raised farm animals, the consumption of organic meat and poultry (without antibiotics or hormones) is recommended. For allergy sufferers, it is wise to avoid foods with yeast-stimulating molds (cheeses, grapes, fermented foods, and fungi), as well as environmental molds to which you may now be more susceptible.
The following program has been helpful in treating yeast infections and easier for patients to follow than some of the more restrictive diets.
Beneficial foods: chicken, turkey, lamb, cold-water fish such as salmon, halibut, and mackerel; all kinds of dried beans, lentils, and peas; live culture unsweetened yogurt, milk substitutes such as rice milk, nut milk and soy beverages; white potatoes, sweet potatoes; brown rice, tapioca, buckwheat, gluten-free products made with millet, corn, soybeans, and arrowroot; fresh or frozen fruits without sugar, canned fruits packed in water; almonds, cashews, walnuts and walnuts and butters made with these nuts; pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds and spreads made from these seeds; unrefined canola, linseed and olive oils, expeller-pressed; all vegetables and fresh vegetable juices.
Foods to avoid: beef, pork, cold cuts, hot dogs, hot dogs, canned meats; eggs; milk, cream, cheese, ice cream, non-dairy creamers; all products made from wheat, wheat gluten, wheat flour, oats, spelled, kamut, rye, barley, amaranth, quinoa; coffee, black teas, cocoa, postum, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, citrus juices, sweetened fruit juices, strawberries, nuts, citrus fruits; misery; margarine, vegetable shortening, refined oils; bottled salad dressings and spreads, butter (unless clarified); soups and vegetables canned or in cream; and fried foods.
Herbal Attachments: A formula called Candacin, which contains grapefruit seed, black walnut, goldenseal, and bear berry leaf extract is also helpful in removing yeast. Chlorophyll tablets can chemically create an internal environment that is not conducive to the growth of Candida. The herb pau d’arco has also been shown to be helpful in fighting candida, as have aloe vera and biotin, a B vitamin (taken with the other B-complex vitamins).
Some doctors give their patients with candidiasis caprylic acid, a fatty acid found in coconut oil, before turning to conventional antifungal medications. However, many alternative medicine practitioners find that pharmaceuticals like Diflucan are the best treatment for primary overgrowth. If you are taking antifungal medications, it is recommended to supplement with the probiotic cultures Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium befidum.
