Some alternative medicine practitioners attribute common medical symptoms to a condition called candidiasis. Candidiasis occurs when levels of a naturally occurring yeast called Candida albicans suddenly begin to rise. Following a special anti-candida diet may return elevated candida yeast levels to normal, improving your health. The claims of candida diet proponents are not verified by scientific research. Discuss your symptoms with a physician before beginning the diet.
Symptoms
Alternative medicine practitioners attribute a variety of symptoms to the condition candidiasis. Many symptoms involve the gastrointestinal system, including abdominal pain, bloating, gas and indigestion. Other physical symptoms include fatigue, joint pain, white film coating the tongue, weight gain, fungal infections such as athlete's foot, urinary tract infections, rashes, itchy eyes or acne. Some people with a diagnosis of candidiasis experience intense food cravings, depression, mood swings, irritability and anxiety in addition to physical symptoms.
Diet Purpose
The purpose of the candida diet is to reduce the Candida albicans population in your gut. Candida yeast feed on sugars found in your digestive tract. Removing this food source causes the yeast to starve to death, lowering the overall candida population. The candida diet eliminates sugary foods, additives and preservatives, fungi and other foods that trigger candida growth from your meals. Starving candida yeast returns your gut flora to normal, eliminating symptoms of candidiasis.
Diet Foods
The candida diet eliminates sugary fruits, processed foods, mushrooms and other fungi, starchy vegetables, alcohol, caffeine and glutinous grains from your diet. Instead of these foods, dieters eat large portions of non-starchy vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, avocados, cabbage, onions celery, Brussels sprouts, leafy greens, eggplant, peppers and zucchini. Eating beef, chicken, fish and other animal sources of protein is also acceptable. Dieters replace glutinous grains with quinoa, brown rice, buckwheat and millet. After two weeks on the diet, you may reintroduce starchy vegetables, beans, apples, pears and berries into your meals.
Considerations
Alternative medicine proponents use the diagnosis of candida syndrome to cover a variety of medical problems. However, little scientific evidence suggests that candidiasis is a legitimate medical diagnosis. Brent Bauer, an internist at Mayo Clinic, says that the candida diet may improve certain medical symptoms by boosting your consumption of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients found in vegetables and whole-grain products. These general dietary improvements, rather than an effect of sugar reduction on your gut's candida yeast population, may reduce your symptom severity. Before beginning the candida diet, talk to a medical professional about your symptoms. Certain symptoms attributed to candidiasis could be due to a serious condition that requires professional attention.
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