Can I Eat Tomatoes on the Candida Diet?

The Candida diet is sometimes followed by people trying to limit their risk for recurring yeast infections and other problems related to an overgrowth of Candida albicans, the organism responsible. There are a number of versions of this diet, but none has been proven effective. The diet typically eliminates most fruits, cheese, baked goods containing yeast and fermented foods and focus on protein, dairy, gluten-free grains, vegetables, nuts and seeds.

The idea of this diet is to limit yeasts, molds and the sugars that help feed these organisms. Tomatoes are generally allowed, but only in small amounts in the beginning phases of the diet because they contain more sugar than many other vegetables. Tomato paste, on the other hand, is sometimes not allowed at all because it is a more concentrated source of sugars. A medium tomato has only 3.2 grams of sugar, and a cup of chopped tomatoes has 4.7 grams. Just 1/4 cup of tomato paste, however, has 8 grams of sugar.