4 Tips To Get Through Christmas With Candida
It’s coming up to that festive time of year, but if you’re suffering from Candida you might have some mixed feelings about Christmas Day itself. It’s a time for us all to get together and have a great time with our friends and family, but Christmas dinner is usually loaded with refined carbohydrates, added sugars, and all kinds of other foods that can make your Candida worse.
So if you’re getting worried about your diet over Christmas, here’s some good news. With the right food choices, you can enjoy your meals and have a great time without having to stress too much about Candida. Here are my 4 tips for Candida dieters who want to stay healthy through their Christmas dinner.
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Buy Meats With No Sugar Added
Many Christmas dinners feature meats like sausage and bacon, as well as the traditional turkey or goose. Sometimes you even see them combined – cocktail sausages wrapped in bacon! These foods are never going to be great for a gut imbalance like Candida, but if you buy the right meat you can make it much healthier for you.
Many brands of sausage and bacon contain large amounts of added sugar. It usually won’t say sugar on the list of ingredients though – it will often be ‘evaporated cane juice’, dextrose, or high fructose corn syrup. Sometimes the list might include three or four different names for sugar, which can make it a real challenge to eat healthily.
Finding a brand that doesn’t contain sugar might not be easy in your supermarket. You might need to make a trip to your local butcher, where the meat will generally be fresher and contain fewer additives.
Make A Turnip Or Rutabaga Mash
Christmas dinner just wouldn’t be the same without a big plate of mashed potatoes, yams, or sweet potato sitting on the table. But that’s almost certain to derail your Candida diet, especially if it’s prepared with lots of sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Luckily, there is a delicious alternative that you can try instead.
As I’ve mentioned before, rutabaga (or swede) is a vegetable with strong antifungal properties. Although it is quite high in carbs, these antifungal properties mean that it is unlikely to make your Candida worse. It also has a high fiber content and is a good source of vitamin C and several important minerals.
Making a rutabaga mash couldn’t be easier. Just boil the rutabaga for about 45 minutes, then mash them up with salt, probiotic yogurt, and organic butter. Add a little stevia if you want to give them a sweet taste, and you’ll find that your relatives will love them!
You can also use turnip for your mash. Although it’s not such a good antifungal as rutabaga, many people prefer the taste and they have a similar carbohydrate and fiber content. Both turnip and rutabaga are on my list of anti-Candida, antifungal foods.
Sweeten Your Desserts With Stevia, Xylitol, Or Erythritol
If you’re preparing Christmas dinner yourself, you might find it hard to convince your family that desserts are off the menu! Instead of starting a riot in your own living room, keep them happy with some tasty, sugar-free desserts. That way, if you feel tempted to take a few bites you’ll know that you won’t be feeding your Candida.
Stevia, xylitol, and erythritol are your new best friends when it comes to baking. They can give anything you make a delicious, sweet taste without spiking your blood sugar. You can find them in most health food stores, but be sure to get the 100% pure varieties (not the ones with maltodextrin or dextrose added).
The same goes for drinks. You can try this delicious Candida-safe, low sugar eggnog, and do your best to avoid alcohol as much as possible.
Eat Your Vegetables!
Lastly, here’s the most simple tip of all to remember. Whether you’re making your own Christmas dinner or eating at someone else’s house, remember to eat lots of non-starchy vegetables. Usually there will be side dishes like Brussels sprouts and salads, so try to fill your plate with those before you even look at the mashed potato.
These healthy vegetables are high in fiber to keep your digestive system working properly. And they are also low in net carbs, meaning that they will not feed your Candida.
Confused about meal planning and recipes on your Candida diet? The Ultimate Candida Diet treatment program, which I wrote with Dr. Eric Wood, contains lots more tips to make healthy, filling meals that won’t make your Candida worse.
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Hi, I am a male from Norway, suffering with candida. However, I am getting better every week after starting the candida diet (strict) and doing supplements (2 different ones at the same time, rotating every week, a 4-week sequence before I start over). You write about rutabaga and turnip – however, what is the difference between these two vegetables? (I am international, from Norway, maybe thats why I ask) What does rutabaga look like? I have tried to google to determine this, but am still confused. Why is rutabaga so good against candida – what nutrient does it contain that candida does not like? Kind regards, Peder Sverdrup
Hi Peder! In Norway rutabaga is known as kålrabi or kålrot (according to wikipedia anyway!). It is larger than a turnip and is actually across between a turnip and a cabbage.
Rutabaga contains several phytoalexins – these are antimicrobial compounds produced naturally by plants as a defense mechanism. Another good example of a phytoalexin is allixin, which is found in garlic. Hope this helps!
Thanks a lot for great answer. We have lots of lots of kålrot / kålrabi in Norway, it grows well here. So easy to get.
In the US rutabagas are sometimes called ‘swedes’ and are a fall root that is yellowish flesh rather than white like turnips. A kohlrabi is a turnip relative. Rutabagas are wonderful mashed, roasted with other fall roots or eaten raw with dips (they are very crisp this way) and have 24 calories in a 3.5 oz. serving, 18 grams of carbs and 2.4 gms. of fiber. My family is of Swedish heritage and they are a fall/winter staple.
Haha I was just thinking I’ve only just realised I suffer from candida and it’s Christmas in a few days!! Thanks for posting this it is so appropriate and appreciated!! Merry Christmas to everyone who reads this!!
Thank you!
Thanks to you, this year I will be bringing rutabaga mash instead of the usual creamed corn to Christmas.
Hi, i have been diagnosed with candida about two months ago, well thats when i found out, i was doing well until yesterday when i drunk some sugar syrup by accident, lactulose resolution, whats best to do now?
Thank you
Julian
Each website and book on candida diets differ on allowed foods. How do I know which to follow?
I recommed too just eat all veggie for 3 month straight no sugar meat caffiene or any with yeast in it doo that and you feel btter it worked for me
I would like to Thank every one for the HELPFUL questions and answers and a Happy and safe 2013
I’ve eaten all veggies for 2 weeks & have lost weight & feel better. It’s not difficult once you set your mind to it ( and your grocery list). No Candida problems until I cheated at lunch yesterday. Mistake!!!
About 4 months ago I was bloating and having a lot of trouble digesting foods and I went to see my regular physician and he recommended a dermatologist who said I had Ringworm/Candida but I asked what type of treatment is involved …he wouldn’t give me a straight answer …only to not eat anything made of flour products …..when I asked him what about sugars or fruits ….etc..etc…etc…I just got fed up with his attitude and non productive answers . … plus my weight ballooned from 200 lbs to 238 lbs. …with no end in sight ….. I started to do my own investigations regarding this and I found your site ……I kept the no eat flour products …but added my own side weapons !!!! I started to use your system to improve my condition plus immune system which was going down hill…. I fired this BOZO and I have almost recovered from those nasty conditions …in addition I lost 32 pounds ….by eliminating the foods that your diet names plus synthetic sugars …… and using the simplest of natures best substitutes I can now say that I am so so so HAPPY again !!!!!!!!!!! I don’t eat fried foods…or preserve things like hot dogs…polish ….bacons of any kind especially pork ! My regular doctor saw my improved condition plus the loss in weight and he couldn’t believe what he saw …But I didn’t tell him about your site because I think he is also full of shit too !!!!!!! I wish to “Thank You” for your help and will continue to support your diet because it was a major “Blessing” for someone like me who never thought this could happen to me !!! Sincerely Louis Godinez/Chicago.Illinois
I made an absolutely delicious cake with coconut oil, almond flour and xylitol, with baked plums on top. My son made coconut ice cream to serve with it (also made with xylitol.) It tasted so good, I had two pieces. Unfortunately, two hours later I had extreme gasteral intestinal distress. Basically, the worse night spent in the bathroom of my life! So , enjoy, but DO NOT overindulge. Lastly, don’t let your dog eat any xylitol -possible deadly.