It can seem like there are many foods to avoid on a candida diet. However, if you browse through some candida diet recipe sources online you will find that there are many foods you can still enjoy on the candida diet that will help you feel well and fulfilled plus allow you to fight candida albicans.
Foods to Avoid on the Candida Diet
At the beginning of the candida diet you will want to limit your sugar, carbohydrate and yeast intake. Likely foods to avoid on a candida diet will include: refined sugars (including honey and corn syrup), fruit, yeast, gluten (found in foods such as wheat barley and rye), vinegar, mushrooms, peanuts, pistachio nuts, alcohol, coffee, tea, some cheeses (particularly those that are aged, moldy or processed, some meats (particularly those that are processed, dried, smoked or pickled) and packaged, processed or refined foods. Dairy products should also be limited, although not completely avoided. After a few weeks, or after your symptoms decrease, you may start to slowly reintroduce some of these foods in moderation.
Candida Diet Recipes and Foods to Enjoy
It might seem like your food choices will be very limited but there are foods that you can enjoy on this diet. If you browse through some of the candida diet recipes you will notice that they focus on the following kinds of foods:
Vegetables: Most vegetables are ok although you want to limit the starchy vegetables like potatoes. You should eat your vegetables raw or steamed for maximum benefit. Vegetables such as cabbage, garlic, spinach, onions, broccoli, kale and turnips are particularly good choices.
Meat and Protein: You can continue to enjoy beef, chicken, fish, eggs and many nuts and seeds.
Yogurt: Live yogurt cultures help your system develop good bacteria which leaves less room for candida to grow.
Grains: Some grains that do not contain gluten are good choices. These include millet, oat bran and brown or wild rice.
It is easy to find recipes that exclude the foods you are trying to avoid and include the foods you can enjoy. Or you can plan your own meals including the items above. As with any diet, if you are going to succeed you need to enjoy what you eat. You might be able to use some of your favorite recipes with slight modifications. For example, if a recipe calls for vinegar consider using lemon juice. Or if a recipe calls for milk you can mix yogurt and water until you get the right consistency. Fresh vegetables can usually be substituted for canned vegetables and other things such as mushrooms can simply be left out. If you prefer, you might find some great online resources useful as you plan your meals. Many exist that can contain recipes that meet the requirements of the candida diet.
So, although the list of foods to avoid on a candida diet may seem long and overwhelming you can easily be successful on the candida diet by following some of the existing candida diet recipes or creating some of your own.