anti-candida diet

[nichole]

any one on here seriously on this? my question is what CAN you eat? i am nursing and very hungry! so far all i can think of that is filling and easy is yogurt, oatmeal, nuts, meat, eggs, brown rice??

also sometimes i see conflicting advice. dairy or no dairy? wheat or no wheat?

how long should i stay on this diet? just til my symptoms get better?

[nichole]

i'm sorry i thought i was in health and healing...can a mod move this please??

thanks! sorry!

[myrrhmaid]

also sometimes i see conflicting advice. dairy or no dairy? wheat or no wheat?

I just started this diet and I'm on my 3rd day.
as far as dairy or wheat-it depends on if you have a sensitivity. I can tell if I eat something I am sensitive to-my neck aches as soon as it hits my stomach.
I do fresh dairy-farmers cheese, cottage cheese.
I found this site and it has been invaluable.
wholeapproach.com
i hope i got the link right.
it has a 3 stage diet with a list of all the foods + recipes.
my favorite thing right now is almond butter on rice cakes-mmmm and avocadoes.

[stafl]

I am on a diet similar to the candida diet, because I have found it to be helpful with problems associated with my having endo. I have no trouble finding food that doesn't contain dairy, sugar, or wheat. That still leaves you with any sort of fruit or veggie, and meat, beans... Watch your body for reactions, it will vary from person to person. I can't eat yogurt or eggs, which are on your list, but maybe you can without any problems.

I allow myself to cheat. I find it lots easier to stick with a diet if I'm not too hard on myself every time I stray a little. If I try to completely deny myself something (especially sweets) I end up going nuts and binging on the forbidden yummies, like sitting down and eating a pound bag of m&m's or something similar.

[myrrhmaid]

That's great you are active with a diet to help your endo stafl.
Unfortunately with the candida diet any sort of cheating-like a binge on m&m- really puts you back to square one. you have to starve off the yeasts and eliminate them from the g.i. tract for symptoms to subside. It is such a strict diet -you can't have beans or potatoes, vinegar or even fruit or other things that most people find healthy food-for the 1st 3 months. I'm taking it a month at a time-hoping to detox and get the growth muscled out by the friendly flora.
I can't eat broccoli or even whole wheat bread- foods most people find very nutritious!
The candida is very challenging and takes lots of support to accomplish. It's not easy and the cravings for the foods that feed the yeast can get so extreme that it borders on the obsessive. If you can start the diet with no cheating at all, I've found it much easier to stay on track then to waffle back and forth (OOh waffles sound awfully good! )

[nichole]

so for example what did you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in a typical day?

yesterday

breakfast: yogurt, peanut butter, banana
lunch: salad w/ egg and olive oil, taco
dinner: meatloaf, spinach, grean beans
snack: lots of oatmeal

hmmm and i don't really feel that was enough, just all i had time to prepare

[stafl]

Originally Posted by myrhhmaid

That's great you are active with a diet to help your endo stafl.
Unfortunately with the candida diet any sort of cheating-like a binge on m&m- really puts you back to square one. you have to starve off the yeasts and eliminate them from the g.i. tract for symptoms to subside.
It is such a strict diet -you can't have beans or potatoes, vinegar or even fruit or other things that most people find healthy food-for the 1st 3 months. I'm taking it a month at a time-hoping to detox and get the growth muscled out by the friendly flora.
I can't eat broccoli or even whole wheat bread- foods most people find very nutritious!
The candida is very challenging and takes lots of support to accomplish. It's not easy and the cravings for the foods that feed the yeast can get so extreme that it borders on the obsessive. If you can start the diet with no cheating at all, I've found it much easier to stay on track then to waffle back and forth (OOh waffles sound awfully good! )

I have also suffered with chronic candida problems. I think the fact that the two diets are almost identical isn't a coincidence. I was just sharing with the op that if I'm too strict with a diet, I set myself up for failure. If I allow myself one chocolate kiss maybe once a week, I won't eat a pound of chocolate in one day. I manage to successfully keep intestinal candida (and thus my IBS symptoms) at bay with diet, and I almost never have any other problems with candida. For me personally, a strict diet is futile because then all I can think about are the things I can't have, and I go and binge on them. That's the point I was trying to make. I know so many people who try to change their diets just give up on it when all they really needed to do was to give themselves permission to cheat a little bit.

[myrrhmaid]

Originally Posted by nichole

so for example what did you eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks in a typical day?

yesterday I had-
upon rising-3T. psyllium husk in 10 oz. of water taken with 4 'oo' capsules of bentonite clay, 800mg. garlic, 15 drops grapefruit seed extract(in a gel cap).
lemon essence mineral water

breakfast-sauteed fresh garlic and onion with zuccini-3 eggs-all scrambled together after the veggies lightly cooked, topped with avocado/cilantro.

snack-1/4 cup raw almonds, mineral water

lunch-romaine salad with grated carrots, cucumber, green onions, white onion, cottage cheese, sunflower seeds, parsley, lime juice/olive oil dressing, cayenne pepper, salt.

snack-roasted almond butter on rice cakes (2)

dinner-baked chicken, spinach, cauliflower 'mash potatoes', steamed cabbage with garlic, olive oil and salt/cayenne.

drink plenty of water throughout the day-if you don't like plain water add fresh lemon or lime juice. You can also have mineral water-plain or with lemon, orange or lime essence.

snack-steamed artichoke
before bed-acidophilus caps

the key to success with the candida diet is to plan, plan, plan! I cook what I can in one day. I'll steam up 4 artichokes, bake 2 chickens, grate a bunch of carrots in the cuisinart and use lots of frozen vegies-like spinach, green beans, brussel sprouts, corn (if tolerable).

I make a mixture of butter and olive oil-linseed oil can also be used-4 cubes butter softened-add the processor with steel blade, add 2 cups oil, 1/2 tsp. salt-blend until homogenized-pour into a wide mouth qt. jar and keep in the fridge. This is great for cooking, spreading on rice cakes, veggies, etc.
Really up your oil intake to get your caloric needs met.
When putting seeds on your salad-like sunflower seeds, use 1/4 to 1/2 cup-really pile them on-this is your meal/nutrition.

If you can tolerate soy make tofu a staple. It can be scrambled with veggies just like eggs, baked, grilled etc.

And CHEW CHEW CHEW-make your food count by masticating it to very fine bits before swallowing. This makes meals more satisfying too.
Try not to eat on the run. Sit down and eat when it's time for a meal or snack. if you have to get up to tend to babe that's fine-just sit back down when done to finish.

If you go to the health food store look for corn chips that are just corn and oil-preferably organic-those are a great snack! and they go great with avocadoes. or if you are real ambitious-make your own corn chips from fresh tortillas.
find a dressing recipe you want to try and make it in advance.
i use equal parts lime juice/olive oil with sesame seeds, dry parsley, garlic granules, celery seed, basil and thyme.
i know it's overwhelming! Especially since you feel worse before getting better when the yeast starve and die off. this doesn't mean you have to starve. the 1st few days/weeks-you may have an empty, sinking feeling in your gut-even after you eat. this is typical and will pass as your gut detoxs. Keep your bowels moving!!!! Major Important! Don't autotoxify yourself with your own waste! Do enemas if you have to!
Clean up your environment too. No more regular store bought deodorant or household cleaners that are polluting you. No perfumes, dryer sheets, air fresheners-all that poison just exacerbates your symptoms.
Bathe/shower frequently-using a luffa or similar scrubby on your skin to rid the toxics that are leaving your body.
If you are craving a food-it may be a allergy trigger food for you.
Get plenty of rest.
If you have to go out of the house-bring corn chips or almonds/mineral water-something safe to snack on so you're not tempted to go through the drive thru and cheat.
If you do find yourself out and needing to eat-eat a burger w/o the bun, or beans with no cheese/sauce.
For me to be successful with this diet I have to do a whole mindset change. I use to see myself as a freak of nature! How weak to you have to be to not be able to eat BREAD-for goodness sakes!? Good Grief! Just remember-this too shall pass!! Keep saying to yourself-It's only temporary! My mantra right now is 'It's not permanent, fatal or contagious!' :LOL Keep your sense of humor and one eye on the horizon and the other on the immediate task.