An anti-candida (anti-yeast) diet is based on starving the yeast. In order to “starve” the yeast, you will want to cut out sugar, wheat, and dairy which yeast thrives on.
Anti-Candida (Anti-Yeast) Diet Tips
I’m going to give you some foods you should avoid eating to help starve the yeast, as well as some good options you can incorporate into your diet to help combat candida overgrowth. Let’s start with foods to avoid, number one being the worst culprit – sugar!
Foods to Avoid When Starving Yeast
- Sugar
- Fruit juices
- Simple (starchy) carbs such as white flour, potatoes, and legumes
- Grains (wheat, rice, quinoa, barley…)
- Yeast-containing foods (baked goods, alcohol, products containing hydrolyzed yeast…)
- Vinegars and pickled or fermented foods (pickles, olives, soy sauce, hot sauce, many condiments, and salad dressings…)
- Peanuts, pistachios, cashews, mushrooms (often have mold residues)
- Hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils
- Acidic and acid-forming foods (including alcohol)
- Milk (contains lactose sugar)
Foods to Eat When Starving Yeast
- Lots of fresh vegetables; preferably raw, steamed, or juiced
- Plain Yogurt (watch for sugar), sour cream, cream cheese, and butter
- Stevia and Xylitol
- Unpasteurized apple cider vinegar
- Organic and herbal coffee and tea
- Coconut, olive, grape seed, and flax oils (cold-pressed)
- Lemon juice
- Raw nuts and pumpkin seeds
- Herbs and natural salt
- Eggs
- Meat
- Fish and seafood (be aware of mercury content)
- Poultry
- Alkaline or alkalinizing foods
Be aware when following this anti-candida (anti-yeast) diet that you may feel worse before you feel better, as the candida yeast die off and release toxins. After two weeks you can start reintroducing some starchy vegetables and low-carb fruits back into your diet, but pay attention to how they make you feel. For a healthy gut microbiota, it’s good to just keep carbs, fruit, and sugars low on an ongoing basis – you’ll feel better and will likely lose fat and gain muscle too!
A Wholistic Approach
I spoke to my good friend Dr. Carolyn Dean – medical doctor, naturopathic doctor, herbalist, acupuncturist, nutritionist, lecturer, consultant, and author – about the safest ways to clear candida overgrowth (candida yeast infection) and detox your system. Dr. Dean states that the basis of yeast treatment is:
- An anti-candida (anti-yeast) diet that avoids sugar, wheat, and dairy
- Taking some form of antifungal (olive leaf, caprylic acid, oregano oil)
- Detoxification with psyllium and bentonite
- Supplementing with probiotics (the good bacteria)
People with inflammatory bowel disease (and even irritable bowel syndrome) must be very careful when trying to clear infections or detox, including a candida cleanse. Since their systems are so sensitive, protocols that are fine for most people will trigger a flare. Therefore we want to stick with very specific supplements that have already been trial-tested by thousands with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease and proceed at a slow, gentle pace.
This mixture of probiotics, bentonite, psyllium, and caprylic acid, combined with an anti-candida diet, (and of course, addressing the underlying emotional causative agents) is an effective candidiasis protocol for just about everybody.
You can find my full anti-candida (anti-yeast) protocol here.
Jini Patel Thompson is an internationally recognized expert on natural healing for digestive diseases. She healed herself from widespread Crohn’s Disease and has remained drug and surgery-free for over 25 years. Jini has appeared on numerous podcast, TV, and radio shows throughout the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia, giving people hope and vision for how they can heal their Colitis, Crohn’s, Diverticulitis and Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS), using entirely natural methods. Her books on natural healing for digestive diseases have sold worldwide in over 80 countries.
