Candida Diet Guidelines – Overview of The Yeast Free Diet
The yeast free diet – (also know as the anti Candida Diet) is intended to inhibit the overgrowth of Candida yeast within the body while replenishing the good bacteria needed to regain system balance.
This is accomplished by following certain dietary guidelines and taking anti-fungal supplements as part of a natural cleanse.
Altering Your Diet
One of the most important steps you can take in combating recurring or systemic yeast infections is to alter your diet in order to lessen the growth or overpopulation of the Candida Albicans yeast. Processed and sugary foods promote yeast growth and it is important to change your diet if recurring or systemic Candida infections are to be defeated.
The most important foods to avoid are those containing yeasts and molds, all forms of sugar, dairy products, fermented foods, alcohol, processed and overly starchy foods, and fruit (due to the high natural sugar content). For a more complete list of foods to avoid and those that are safe for the diet visit the Candida Food List page.
Yeast Free Diet Recipes
Finding recipes that align with the rules of the yeast free Candida diet can be time consuming and frustrating when you are getting started. Finding a yeast free recipe cookbook can help you save time and ensure that you don’t accidentally eat something on the restricted list that may set you back while you do the cleanse.
Follow the link to find the yeast free recipes that I personally use when I feel like my body is getting off track. Easy to prepare meals that take the guesswork out of successfully completing the yeast free diet without prescription medicine.
https://www.theyeastdiet.com/candida-diet-cookbook.html
What To Expect
For best results, the yeast diet should be followed strictly for at least three to six weeks while taking an anti-fungal supplement to help rid the body of the excess yeast stores. In the first few weeks, you may experience a massive die-off of yeast within the system. Unfortunately, this has the effect of dumping many yeast toxins into the intestinal and vaginal tracts, which can cause flu-like fatigue, weakness and irritability. Drinking lots of water during this phase helps to flush the toxins from the system.
Energy levels are also usually effected in the beginning of the cleanse, especially with those that are used to eating lots of carbs and sugars. As the body begins to adjust to the diet changes energy levels should even out and become much more steady.
As your body adjusts to a new diet and more natural sources of energy, you will likely begin to look and feel much healthier and notice the lessening of the symptoms associated with yeast overgrowth. In order to maintain long term health and prevent recurring yeast problems you should continue to avoid yeast, sugar and dairy products when coming off the cleanse. Gradually adding fruit back into your diet is a good way to slowly reintroduce a normal food plan once the initial phase of the anti yeast diet is complete.
Helpful Tips
- Drink lots of water to flush out the toxins during the cleanse.
- Focus on healthy fresh foods and avoid anything that is pre-packaged or that has additives.
- Choose an antifungal supplement to help kill off the yeast overgrowth in conjunction with the diet. This can shorten the timeframe of the cleanse and help create a much longer term benefit once the cleanse is over.
- In addition, probiotics, which are pills with live beneficial bacteria, may be introduced either during or directly after the diet to help restore a more normal balance among your internal flora to help your body fight off Candida naturally in the future.
- Once you finish the cleanse, add only one new food back into your diet at a time and track your body closely to see if that food causes particular problems for your system or creates a setback or flare up of symptoms. If your symptoms re-occur you will know you need to continue to avoid that item.
- A moderate exercise program can also help to improve your well- being. A twenty-minute session of walking, swimming or other light exercise two or three times a week is enough to make a difference, especially if you do it outside in the sunshine and fresh air.
- Most importantly is a conscious effort to maintain the health of the body through food intake. By implementing a yeast free diet and making a conscious effort to rely primarily on basic unprocessed foods, the body will be healthier and many of the undesirable symptoms of yeast overgrowth may be reduced.
Causes of Yeast
There are hundreds of species of yeast in the world, found on virtually every organic surface. Of these, six are commonly found in or on the human body. One species in particular, Candida albicans, is very common in the moist areas of our bodies: inside the mouth, the digestive tract, the urinary tract, and the vaginal canal.
Most of the time, the other microorganisms in our systems (primarily bacteria) – feed on the yeast and keep its growth in check. However, when something throws off the balance between bacteria and yeast, Candida can get wildly out of control.
What upsets the balance? When you take antibiotics to fight off harmful bacteria, the good bacteria (which feed on yeasts) are just as susceptible to antibiotics as the bad ones you are trying to kill. Birth control pills and cortisone medication can also affect relative levels of bacterial colonization, as can fatigue, stress, a poor diet or anything else that weakens our immune system.
Symptoms and Complications
If the beneficial bacteria do not build back up to a healthy balance quickly, yeast can gain a foothold and cause a widespread overgrowth. Candida yeast overgrowth on the tongue or in the mouth is known as “thrush”. Yeast overgrowth in the vagina is commonly known as a yeast infection but may also be referred to as “vaginitis” or “candidiasis”.
Constipation, bloating and gas are very common symptoms of the occurrence of candidiasis in the digestive tract. An overgrowth of yeast can cause a person to feel full even when they have not eaten a sufficient number of calories, and since yeast can also interfere with the extraction of nutrients from the food a person does eat, fatigue, low energy and hunger headaches are common.
Yeast infections usually remain localized upon a moist surface, but in prolonged cases the yeast can shift to a fungal form which sinks root-like rhizoids under the surface of the mucosa. “Leaky gut syndrome” happens when these toxins penetrate the surface of the intestinal lining.
A systemic infection such as described above can cause a wide variety of other symptoms including a yeast infection, gastro-intestinal problems painful gas and bloating, diarrhea, rectal inflammation, and even worse, the body’s immune system may begin fighting against itself. This can cause fatigue, loss of concentration, muscle and joint pain, spells of dizziness, menstrual problems, skin rashes and eczema, acne, hives, psoriasis, insomnia, irritability and other immunological reactions within the body systems that may seem unrelated to the source of the problem.
A further complication is known as “invasive candidiasis” or “candidemia”, which occurs when yeast or yeast toxins enter the bloodstream, usually as an aftermath of injury or surgery. Yeast infection in the blood causes fever and chills that are unresponsive to antibiotics, and can spread to kidneys, liver, spleen, joints or eyes, causing additional damage.
Talk to your doctor about whether your symptoms may be yeast related and whether a yeast free diet may be the right course of action for you to regain your health and vitality.
Sources:
http://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/candidiasis-yeast-infection
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidiasis
