Systemic Yeast Diet

Your body contains billions and billions of different organisms, many of which reside in your gut. When healthy, the majority of these organisms are beneficial bacteria; when yeast take over, problems can occur. The Henry Spink Foundation notes that yeast overgrowth can cause a variety of issues, from poor concentration to extreme fatigue, but that a specific diet can result in major improvements.

Systemic Yeast

Systemic yeast describes a condition whereby the problematic yeasts, such as candida or trichosporan, have colonized the intestinal wall and then translocated into the bloodstream. Dr William Crook, an allergist and the author of "The Yeast Connection," explains that the pathogenic organisms can then take up residence in multiple locations around the body, causing inflammation and discomfort as they do so.

Low Carb Intake

Problematic yeasts derive their nourishment from sugars, explains Dr Rodger Murphree, a physician who has formulated a number of treatment plans for yeast issues. He recommends the complete removal of all sugars for three months, including fruit and honey, but also suggests cutting down on carbohydrate-containing foods such as milk, potatoes and corn.

Yeast Killing Foods

While cutting back on carbohydrate intake can make a huge difference to symptoms, it rarely eradicates the yeast by itself. Jonny Bowden, a board-certified nutritionist and the author of several books on natural health care, highlights coconut oil, garlic, oil of oregano, grapefruit seed extract and pau d'arco as natural products suitable for eliminating the problem. Each compound demonstrates a measurable anti-fungal effect in the body.

Probiotics

Dr Murphree highlights the importance of introducing these beneficial probiotic bacteria into the diet, explaining that introducing bacteria such as lactobacillus acidophilus, bulgaricus, catnaforme and fermentum, together with bifidobacterium bifidum, can help with digestion and can control the growth of any pathogenic yeasts following the die-off.

Herxheimer Reaction

Yeast cells continually release fungal toxins such as acetyldehyde, which can cause irritation and inflammation. However, when you kill a lot of the organisms in a short space of time, you can cause a massive rise in the release of these toxins, which worsens the symptoms temporarily. Dr Murphree explains that you can alleviate this die-off reaction, also known as the Herxheimer response, with the use of baking soda or alka-seltzer tablets.