Diet for candidiasis

Diet for Candida – Is It Really Necessary?

Candidiasis is a common pathology caused by the vigorous activity of a yeast-like fungal infection on the mucous membranes and skin. The pathogen Candida may well be present in the body of a completely healthy person, without causing harm or showing itself in any way. Strong immunity and stable, undisturbed flora in our intestines and other areas of the body do not allow the fungus to grow and multiply. However, in some cases, when the defense system fails, the infection is activated, and, frankly speaking, an unpleasant disease occurs - candidiasis.

Since the causative agent of fungal infection is often present in a healthy organism, it is unlikely that Candida will be completely eliminated. However, special therapeutic measures and a diet for Candidiasis will help keep the infection under control and prevent it from developing in the future.

[ 1 ], [ 2 ]

Treatment of candidiasis with diet

Why is dietary treatment for candidiasis considered effective?

The fact is that the candida fungus feeds on some of the products that a person consumes, which allows it not only to maintain its vital functions, but also to actively grow and reproduce. For this reason, the main principle of dietary changes can be called the exclusion from the diet of products that Candida feeds on. Without nutrition, the fungus will lose the ability to reproduce and be fully active.

When following a diet, you should “forget” about the following products:

• alcoholic beverages;
• sugar and sweets (candies, cookies, cakes, chocolate, pastries, ice cream), as well as sugar substitutes;
• baked goods and white bread (or even better, give up bread altogether, or eat yeast-free bread);
• sweet fruits;
• honey, jam, preserves, condensed milk, syrups;
• vinegar, sauces, marinades;
• fresh milk.

What is allowed to be consumed for candidiasis:

• any types of meat and offal;
• any types of fish and seafood, including seaweed;
• eggs;
• any vegetables, especially all types of cabbage, carrots, beets, cucumbers;
• green apples, lemon, plums, berries;
• rice and millet, as well as other cereals;
• nuts;
• fermented milk products (only fresh);
• green;
• legumes (beans, chickpeas, mung beans, lentils, peas);
• spices (cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf);
• garlic and onions;
• vegetable and butter;
• sugar-free drinks (mineral water, green tea, herbal tea, rosehip infusion).

The amount of tea you drink should be reduced, or you should brew a weak drink. It is advisable to exclude coffee for a while, especially instant coffee.

Diet for esophageal candidiasis

Esophageal candidiasis is a rare and difficult to diagnose disease. It manifests itself as a fungal infection of the mucous membrane, which gradually penetrates deeper, penetrating into deeper layers of tissue, forming inseparable films. Such formations eventually cover the entire esophageal lumen and make it difficult to swallow pieces of food.

Of course, you can't do without antifungal therapy. However, if you follow a diet, the treatment will be faster and much more effective.

In order to feel comfortable, the fungal pathogen needs the presence of sugars, yeast and mold. For this reason, you should exclude high-carbohydrate foods from your diet, mostly simple sugars: sweets, buns, sugar, honey and jam, alcoholic beverages. Whole milk should also be excluded - lactose is one of the fungus's favorite delicacies.

You should pay more attention to natural yogurt, kefir, fermented baked milk, homemade cottage cheese, as well as foods rich in fiber.

If esophageal candidiasis was caused by prolonged antibiotic therapy, then not only fermented milk products, but also greens (especially parsley and dill), low-gluten cereals (rice, buckwheat, millet), as well as legumes and berries will help restore the balance of flora in the digestive tract.

The so-called “kombucha” has an excellent effect - a medicinal and preventive drink that strengthens the immune system.

When switching to a diet for esophageal candidiasis, weakness and unmotivated fatigue may occur: this is caused by a sharp restriction of simple carbohydrates entering the bloodstream. This period will not last long, and soon you will feel that the disease is retreating, and you will begin to feel much better.

[ 3 ], [ 4 ]

Diet for gastric candidiasis

Gastric candidiasis is a fairly rare disease that appears mainly against the background of atrophic gastritis or gastric ulcer. When candidiasis develops, patients often complain of aching pain in the epigastric region, occurring mainly immediately after eating.

What should be the diet of a person suffering from gastric candidiasis?

Firstly, the majority of the diet should consist of foods that have not been heat-treated, that is, fresh vegetables, herbs and berries.

If you eat meat or fish, it is preferable to boil or bake them.

Secondly, be sure to consume fresh fermented milk products containing live bacterial cultures several times a day. It is especially useful to drink natural yogurt (without additives, dyes and, especially, sugar) or starter.

Try to eat more foods with fiber, including bran.

Drink enough clean, non-carbonated drinking water.

The diet for gastric candidiasis should not contain sugars and yeast, otherwise the fungus will constantly and actively multiply. You will have to eliminate alcoholic beverages, pastries and other yeast baked goods, sweets (including dried fruits), vinegar, honey, and also fruits for the first time from the diet.

Add garlic and onions to your dishes, which have a detrimental effect on bacterial and fungal infections.

[ 5 ]

Diet for intestinal candidiasis

Intestinal candidiasis is one of the most common manifestations of candidiasis. The diet for intestinal candidiasis should be complete, the diet should contain enough fiber and microelements.

• You should avoid simple carbohydrates and alcoholic beverages.
• The amount of bread in the diet should be reduced to a minimum, and it is better to give it up altogether.
• It is necessary to exclude from the menu initially harmful products, such as chips, salted crackers and nuts, semi-finished products, sausages and bacon, smoked meats, donuts, etc.
• The list of prohibited items also includes vinegar and products containing it: pickled cucumbers, canned salads and vegetables, sauces, olives.
• Try not to eat a lot of foods with a high starch content: bananas, potatoes, corn, etc. When cooking potatoes, it is recommended to soak them well in water.
• When choosing food, choose mainly fresh vegetables, dairy products, eggs, greens, lean meat and fish.

It is useful to consume garlic and onions, as well as hot spices like chili peppers.

Avoid store-bought juices, carbonated drinks, kvass, blue cheeses, pasta, sugar and its substitutes.

If you are having lunch in a cafe or restaurant, do not order a dish if you do not know its ingredients, or ask the waiter about it.

[ 6 ], [ 7 ]

Diet for oral candidiasis

Even in a healthy person, the oral mucosa may be inhabited by various types of yeast-like fungi in the form of saprophytes. With decreased immunity, with some chronic diseases, and also after long-term therapy with antibiotics or corticosteroids, the balance of the oral microflora may be disturbed, which directly affects the development of candidiasis.

What should you eat at the first signs of oral thrush?

Prepare dishes from lean meat and fish, eggs, vegetables. Fruits and nuts are allowed, but in small quantities. Buckwheat is the most acceptable cereal – it contains a small amount of carbohydrates, a sufficient amount of proteins, amino acids and vitamin B.

What meat to prefer: lean beef, chicken, turkey, quail. Fish – preferably sea fish, lean. Not recommended: sausages, smoked meat and fish, herring, lard.

Dairy products: natural yoghurts without chemical additives and sugar, cottage cheese, kefir, low-fat sour cream.

The most suitable vegetables are all types of cabbage, greens, lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers, garlic and onions, and bell peppers.

Potatoes, beans, peas, and carrots are allowed, but in smaller quantities, 1-2 times a week.

As for eating fruits with oral candidiasis, this is an individual matter: some patients eat any fruits without problems and feel great, while others report an exacerbation of the disease when eating sweet or sour fruit. Monitor your feelings: if eating fruits does not cause you problems, then they can be included in the diet. However, it is recommended to do this no earlier than 5-7 days after the start of candidiasis treatment.

In case of fungal infection of the oral cavity, it is recommended to eat warm, pureed food, with the addition of less salt than usual.

[ 8 ]

Diet for skin candidiasis

Skin candidiasis is a complex disease that requires qualified differential diagnostics. The fact is that this disease can outwardly resemble other similar dermatological pathologies. You can treat a skin disease for a long time without result, and only laboratory tests will indicate the fungal nature of the pathology.

The diet for skin candidiasis is not much different from the diet for other forms of candidiasis. The first and main rule is to stabilize blood sugar levels, exclude fast carbohydrates and alcohol. It is highly recommended to use spices: garlic, pepper, oregano, cumin, which are natural antibacterial and antifungal substances.

What does it mean to exclude fast carbohydrates from your diet? This means that you should not eat sugar, sweets, as well as glucose, lactose, fructose, powdered sugar, brown sugar, honey, and products containing them: store-bought packaged juices, soda, store-bought sweet yogurts and cottage cheese with additives.

Make your own yogurt at home, or buy natural yogurt without additives with a limited minimum shelf life. Eat homemade cottage cheese, fresh sour milk, homemade cheese. It is better to exclude fresh milk: lactose is food for fungal infection.

Lean meat products, fish, vegetables (non-starchy), cereals, and greens are not prohibited.

Diet for candidiasis in women

Unfortunately, candidiasis occurs in women much more often than in men. What could be the reason for this?

• with the anatomical features of the female body (women most often develop vaginal candidiasis - thrush);
• with frequent douching;
• using spermicides;
• with an excessive love of sweets;
• with a weak immune system, caused, in most cases, by frequent adherence to too strict diets.

Having reviewed the causes of the disease, it is possible to establish several basic principles that make up the diet for candidiasis in women.

• Completely give up sweets (it’s difficult, but you have to).
• Refusal or maximum limitation of consumption of processed foods.
• Elimination of fast food.
• Refusal of strict diets and fasting, bringing the diet to a balance of fats-proteins-carbohydrates (due to complex carbohydrates).
• Eating foods that are 60-70% fiber.
• Consumption of fresh (!) fermented milk products as an additional source of beneficial bacteria.
• It is essential to include vegetables and greens in the menu as a source of essential vitamins and microelements.

As practice shows, careful adherence to the diet significantly accelerates the healing of candidiasis. The main goal of the diet for candidiasis is to restore the balance of microflora in the body and increase immune protection.

Diet for candidiasis in men

Candidiasis in men is less common than in women, and the factors that cause the disease are also somewhat different. Among the causes of fungal infection in men, the most common ones are:

• failure to observe personal hygiene rules;
• casual unprotected sex;
• regular alcohol consumption;
• frequent unjustified use of antibiotics.

Dietary restrictions for men with candidiasis primarily concern those dishes and products that are usually most preferred by the male population. These are mayonnaise, soy sauce, mustard, ketchup, vinegar, alcoholic beverages, beer, soda, strong coffee, fast food (hot dogs, hamburgers, shawarma, etc.). You will also have to give up sweets, even tea with sugar.

Allowed: meat (preferably boiled or baked), fish, vegetable dishes, beans and peas, cereals, dairy products, freshly squeezed juices, as well as garlic, chili peppers, and onions.

In case of chronic candidiasis, you should follow this diet for 12 months, only in this case a positive result can be guaranteed.

[ 9 ]

Candidiasis Diet Menu

If we take all of the above as a basis, we can create a very diverse diet menu for candidiasis. We offer you an approximate weekly diet for adults with a fungal infection.

Day 1

• Breakfast. Scrambled eggs with cucumber salad, whole grain bread, tea with lemon.
• Snack. Green apple.
• Lunch. Vegetable soup, meat casserole, compote.
• Afternoon snack. A cup of kefir.
• Dinner. Baked zucchini and carrots with beans, beetroot salad, rosehip infusion.

Day 2

• Breakfast. Cottage cheese with sour cream, carrot juice.
• Snack. A cup of yogurt.
• Lunch. Cabbage soup, baked fish with herbs, tea.
• Afternoon snack. Yeast-free crackers with tea.
• Dinner. Vegetable stew, whole grain bread, compote.

Day 3

• Breakfast. A portion of omelette with cheese, orange juice.
• Snack. Apple with cottage cheese.
• Lunch. Tomato soup, chicken breast with carrot salad, cup of tea.
• Afternoon snack. A glass of yogurt.
• Dinner. Potato roll with sour cream, cabbage salad, compote.

IV day

• Breakfast. Cottage cheese babka with sour cream, carrot and apple juice.
• Snack. Kefir.
• Lunch. Pea soup, fish casserole, cup of tea.
• Afternoon snack. Whole grain bread sandwich with homemade cheese, tea.
• Dinner. Cabbage rolls with sour cream, compote.

Day 5

• Breakfast. Two soft-boiled eggs, tomato salad, tea.
• Snack. Cottage cheese soufflé.
• Lunch. Buckwheat soup, lentils with meat and vegetables, compote.
• Afternoon snack. Sour milk.
• Dinner. Eggplant with rice, apple juice.

Day 6

• Breakfast. Fruit salad, cup of tea.
• Snack: A handful of unsalted nuts.
• Lunch. Beetroot soup with sour cream, steamed cutlets with vegetable salad, tea.
• Afternoon snack. A cup of fermented baked milk.
• Dinner. Carrot pancakes with sour cream, compote.

Day VII

• Breakfast. Yogurt with fruit, tea.
• Snack. Orange.
• Lunch. Chicken soup, shrimp with rice, compote.
• Afternoon snack. Green apple.
• Dinner. Lazy dumplings made from dark flour, kefir.

Tea or compote, as well as other dishes and drinks are prepared without adding sugar. At first it will be unusual, but soon you will feel that it is even tastier.

You should end each day with a small glass of kefir or natural yogurt, about half an hour before going to bed.

Candida Diet Recipes

Carrot and Apple Salad

Ingredients for the dish: 2 apples, 2 medium carrots, sour cream for dressing.

Peel the apples, remove the core and, if desired, peel the carrots. Grate the apples and carrots on a fine grater, season with sour cream. You can sprinkle a little raisins on top. Enjoy.

Fish in sour cream and broth sauce

We will need: fish fillet, cleaned from bones – 100 g, flour – 1 teaspoon, butter – 1 teaspoon, some grated Swiss cheese, salt. For the sauce: 2 tablespoons sour cream, 100 ml fish broth, salt.

Cut the fish fillet into strips, salt, bread in flour and simmer in a frying pan or steamer. Then put it in a saucepan and pour in the sour cream sauce. To prepare it, mix the sour cream with the broth and add salt. You can, if desired, add a little flour. Mix thoroughly.

Bring the fish in sour cream to a boil. Keep it on the fire for about 6 minutes. Sprinkle with grated cheese and put it in the oven for a few minutes until golden brown. Enjoy!

Potato cutlets

Ingredients: 5 medium potatoes, 1 onion, 1 medium carrot, 100 g peas (optional), half a glass of raw rice, 2 eggs, vegetable oil, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, parsley.

Soak the peeled potatoes in water for 1-2 hours, drain the starch, boil in salted water, and mash. Finely chop the carrots and onions and simmer in a frying pan with vegetable oil. After the onion has softened, add the peas to the vegetables and simmer. Meanwhile, boil the rice and mix it with the vegetables removed from the heat. After the vegetables and potatoes have cooled, combine them together, add 1 egg, finely chopped parsley, and spices. Form cutlets, roll in breadcrumbs and beaten egg. These cutlets can be fried with a small amount of vegetable oil, baked, or steamed. Enjoy!

Reviews of the diet for candidiasis

Today, many patients are thinking about proper nutrition for candidiasis, putting their previous eating habits on the back burner. Many understand that health comes first, especially since, according to numerous reviews, a diet for candidiasis really helps recovery. It is enough to just give up some useless or even harmful foods and try to eat only natural, fresh and healthy foods: boiled meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, greens, etc. Of course, it is ideal to make such a diet a way of eating for life: in this case, you can forget about fungal infections forever. Of course, the diet must be supported by other components of a healthy lifestyle: this includes moderate physical activity, no stress, immune support, and hardening.

Reviews of the diet for candidiasis are overwhelmingly positive. When eating the right food, immunity is improved, which allows the body to cope with the negative fungal flora itself. In addition, with the help of correctly selected products, we create such an environment inside the body that the fungus becomes uncomfortable to live and reproduce, but beneficial bacteria, on the contrary, begin to feel good, gain strength and help the body destroy the fungal pathogen completely.

The diet for candidiasis proves that the simpler and better quality the food we eat, the less risk there is of developing an unwanted infection.