The Candida Diet: An Overview

If you want to get relief from your Candida symptoms, there are some key elements that you need to include in your treatment plan. This page has a brief summary of how the diet and other elements fit together, along with lots of links to more detailed explanations. And of course the full program, which I cowrote with Dr. Eric Wood, contains even more comprehensive instructions on how to create your own Candida-fighting plan.

The most important element in any Candida treatment plan is your diet. Switching to a low-sugar diet deprives the Candida of the food that it needs to grow and spread through your gut. You should also consider beginning your treatment with a cleanse, to clear out as many Candida toxins as possible and support your liver. As the diet progresses you can begin to reintroduce foods like beans and starchy vegetables.

The other elements are probiotics (to repopulate your gut with beneficial bacteria) and antifungals (to attack the Candida cells more directly). The key to designing a good Candida treatment plan is to introduce these three elements in different stages. Starting them all at once can lead to an unpleasant set of symptoms named Candida Die-Off.

Elements Of The Candida Treatment Plan

Here are the basic building blocks for a simple anti-Candida recovery plan. Implementing these three changes to your diet and supplement regimen will get you a long way down the road to a rebalanced gut and a healthier life. Just make sure that you don’t start everything at once – these changes should be introduced separately and your health monitored for any changes.

In the Ultimate Candida Diet program, we go into a bit more depth on these three elements. Plus, we describe how to use systemic enzymes (to break down the Candida biofilms) and detox supplements (to support your liver and prevent Candida Die-Off).

• The Anti-Candida Diet
  The anti-Candida diet is a nutritious, anti-inflammatory diet consisting of low-starch vegetables, healthy proteins, fats, some non-glutenous grains and pseudo-grains, and some low-sugar fruits. It’s a good, long-term eating plan that will promote good gut health and keep Candida in check.
• Probiotics
  Probiotics are one of the foundations of good gut health. They boost your immunity, improve your digestion, help to maintain a healthy pH in your gut, and much more. You can get them from foods, supplements, or both.
• Antifungals
  Antifungals take a more aggressive approach to fighting your Candida overgrowth. Most antifungals work by destroying the cell walls of the Candida yeast/fungus. Good examples are caprylic acid and oregano oil, plus foods like coconut oil and garlic.

What Can You Eat On The Diet?

Everyone’s experience of Candida is different, but there are certain foods that should be avoided by almost everyone. These include sugary snacks and deep fried food. The list of foods to eat contains lots of tasty, nutritious ingredients that you can use to make delicious meals for you and your family.

• The Foods To Eat List
  There are lots of delicious ingredients to eat on the Candida diet. Lots of non-starchy vegetables, some probiotic foods, proteins like eggs or white meat, and non-glutenous grains. Check out some of the recipes on this website and in our books too.
• The Maybe List
  These are foods that might be OK for some people, but not for others. You can also consult this list when you are thinking about reintroducing some foods to your diet, like fruits or starchy vegetables.
• The Foods To Avoid List
  The most important food to avoid is added sugar, which is found in a really surprising variety of foods. Other foods to avoid wherever possible include glutenous grains, processed meats, and alcoholic drinks.
• How To Reintroduce Foods
  How quickly should you reintroduce foods? And which foods should you reintroduce first? This page contains some tips on how to add back some of the foods that you eliminated from your diet, without ruining your Candida treatment plan.
• What To Eat During Your Cleanse
  In our program, we recommend starting your Candida diet with a cleanse. This page contains a list of the foods that you can eat during your cleanse, along with some tips on how to prepare your food.
• The Top Candida-Fighting Foods
  Did you know that some foods have antifungal properties? On this page, I’ve listed 10 of the most powerful antifungal foods, along with a few ideas for incorporating them into recipes and your diet.
• Recipes For Your Candida diet
  Here’s the fun part! Cooking with Candida-safe ingredients can be lots of fun. Check out these recipes for ideas on how to integrate probiotic, antifungal, and anti-inflammatory foods into a tasty eating plan.

More Information About Following The Candida Diet

Got a question about the Candida diet? Chances are, I’ve answered it in one of these blog posts.

• 3 Surprising Candida Remedies In Your Local Store
  Treating your Candida doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune on naturopath visits and expensive supplements. The fact is that there are plenty of simple, natural remedies that you can find in your kitchen cabinet or at your local supermarket.
• Are You Accidentally Sabotaging Your Candida Diet?
  If you are looking to start your Candida Diet soon, and you’ve finished reading through all the information on this site, I want to share with you three of the most common reasons why Candida sufferers like you fail to finish the diet.
• Following The Candida Diet On A Budget
  By making a few simple substitutions you can create a Candida diet that won’t break the bank, but can still have a wonderful impact on your health. The most important thing you need is your willpower, and that comes for free!
• Five Common Foods That Are High In Sugar
  Let’s look at some common foods that might have a much higher sugar content than you realized. These are foods that are often advertised as healthy, nutritious snacks, but read the label closely and you’ll see that they are packed full of sugar.
• Choosing A High Quality Coconut Oil
  Coconut oil is packed full of healthy saturated fats, can increase your energy levels and is a great addition to your diet. You can use coconut oil in place of your regular olive or vegetable oil, but choosing the right coconut oil is not as easy as you might think.
• 6 Tips To Quit Sugar Quickly And Painlessly
  Why does Candida need sugar? It uses it to construct its cell walls and expand throughout your gut. Use these tips to quit added sugar without any cravings or withdrawal symptoms.
• Three Great Reasons To Give Up Diet Sodas For Good
  You might think that switching from your sugary soda to a ‘diet’ soda might fix most of these problems. After all, it’s the sugar that is actually causing the problems, right? Unfortunately, this is simply not the case.
• The Surprisingly High Sugar Content In Vitamin Water
  Vitaminwater has consistently been marketed as a healthy alternative to other sodas and soft drinks. But if you read the label, you’ll see that it contains lots and lots of added sugar.
• 4 Awesome Tips To Beat Your Sugar Cravings
  When you crave sugar on an everyday basis and start to indulge that sweet tooth regularly, this can have many negative repercussions for your health. Eating a diet that is consistently filled with sugar can disturb your gut flora and contribute to a Candida overgrowth.
• How Omega-3 Supplementation Can Reduce Inflammation
  Candida overgrowth is a major cause of inflammation, both in your gut and elsewhere. Improving your diet and rebalancing your gut will help, but omega-3 supplementation is another way to reverse the damage.
• How to Buy “Real” Olive Oil
  Is your olive oil fake? You would be surprised at how many reputable brands have mixed their olive oils with canola or other cheap alternatives. Let’s take a look at a few simple tests you can do to verify that your olive oil is the real thing.
• Do You Recognize These 56 Names For Sugar?
  Do you know how to recognize all the different forms of sugar on an ingredients label. There are something like 56 different types of sugar that food manufacturers include in their formulations, and many foods contain more than one of them.
• How Much Sugar Is Really In Your Food?
  Many foods like breakfast cereals and ‘diet’ foods, are marketed as healthy choices. But the reality is that they are packed full of added sugars and other ingredients that undermine your immune system.
• One Man’s Unusual Method For Quitting Sugar
  Struggling to quit sugar? Take a look at how one Canadian man used the power of accountability to transform his diet.
• Are You Hungry? Try These 3 Filling, Candida-Safe Foods
  The Candida diet is not designed as a weight loss plan, you shouldn’t feel hungry. If you feel that you’re not getting enough filling food, try introducing these three ingredients into your diet.
• How Sugary Are Your Fruit Juices And Smoothies?
  Studies have shown that many fruit juices and smoothies can have a similar impact on your blood sugar as a can of soda. Including the wrong ones into your diet is likely to make a Candida overgrowth worse.
• Do Wild Fruits Contain Less Sugar?
  Do we eat sweeter, less nutritious fruits and vegetables than our ancestors did? Or is there even much of a difference? After a little investigation, you might be surprised by what you find.
• Antioxidants: Another Reason To Eat More Coconut Oil
  Did you know that those same fatty acids in coconut oil can help your body to absorb nutrients more easily? Recent research suggests that this is the case, and it’s another reason why you should consider adding coconut oil to your diet.
• Alkaline Diets And Candida Overgrowth
  Over-alkalizing your diet can upset the delicate balance that protects us from disease. In fact, if you are suffering from Candida then an excessively alkaline diet is almost certain to make your overgrowth worse.
• 10 Surprising Sources Of Sugar In Your Diet
  There are a few foods that contain a lot more sugar than you might have realized. If you can watch out for them, you’ll be doing your health an enormous favor, and you’ll avoid feeding a Candida overgrowth too.
• How To Start Your New Year With A Candida Diet
  New Year’s Eve is one of the biggest parties of the year. Can you make it through the night without deviating from your healthy diet? Follow these tips to stay on track and still have an awesome night.
• Why You Should Stop Eating Processed Foods
  They’re convenient, they taste good, and they’re bad for you. While processed foods might seem like a great solution when you simply don’t have the time to prepare a meal from scratch, they can wreak havoc with your health.
• The Ultimate Guide To Coconut Products
  Have you noticed how many recipes call for coconut flour, coconut milk, or other coconut products these days? The health-affirming benefits of the coconut have become widely known over the past 10 years. In this guide to coconut products, I’m going to cover the major foods that are derived from the coconut.
• Use A Spiralizer To Transform Vegetables Into Delicious Pasta!
  Aside from the fun that creating swirly vegetable shapes provides, the spiralizer is one kitchen gadget that really can make a difference in your health and eating habits.
• Why You Should Eat Organic Food On Your Candida Diet
  The British Journal of Nutrition, one of the most respected food science journals, has published results showing that organic produce contains up to 17% more nutrients than conventionally produced foods, and significantly less pesticide residue.
• Radish: A Naturally Antifungal Food
  There has been an increasing amount of research into radish as an antifungal, particularly over the last 10 years or so. The universe of antifungal drugs is much smaller than that of antibiotics, so researchers are constantly looking for promising new antifungal compounds.
• Teas, Juices & Smoothies On The Candida Diet
  Chicory root coffee is a tasty replacement for your morning cup of coffee, and there are many herbal teas to choose from, like dandelion or nettle leaf.
• Which Is More Helpful: Glycemic Index Or Glycemic Load?
  Most foods sit in a Glycemic Index range between 40 and 70. This means that the carbohydrates in those foods cause 40-70% of the change in blood sugar that pure glucose does. In general, the higher the number, the more likely the food is feed a Candida overgrowth.
• Infographic: 10 Reasons To Quit Sugar
  If you haven’t already decided to quit added sugar, this infographic might change your mind. Did you know that excess sugar is linked to asthma, tooth decay, heart disease, and cancer?
• Should You Avoid Artificial Sweeteners On The Candida Diet?
  It is astounding how many people still think they are choosing a ‘healthier’ option when they reach for Equal, Splenda, Saccharin, or Nutrasweet. While these sweeteners may not contain any sugar, they contain plenty of other things that should be equally worrisome for any health-conscious individual.
• 4 Easy Tips To Survive Christmas With Candida
  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 Candida-promoting foods.
• 8 Simple Tips To Reduce Your Sugar Intake
  According to the USDA, the typical American eats about 128 pounds of added sugar every year. Such a high sugar intake can leave you vulnerable to gut dysbiosis, Candida overgrowth, and yeast infections.
• Stevia Or Xylitol: Which Sweetener Is Best?
  Reducing your sugar intake is a crucial part of fighting a Candida overgrowth. Candida albicans needs sugar both for cellular growth and for its transition into fungal form. Stevia and xylitol can both help you to cut back on sugar.
• Are You Making One Of These Five Breakfast Mistakes?
  Are you eating breakfast at the wrong time, or not eating enough of important macro-nutrients like fiber, protein and fat? Let’s take a look at what a healthy breakfast should look like.
• Quit Sugar And You Will Improve Your Health In Just 10 Days
  When you quit added sugar, you will start to see the positive effects of this change within a few days. In fact, research has shown that it takes as little as ten days for these health-affirming changes to appear!
• Why Packaged Cereal Is Bad News For Your Candida Diet
  Many breakfast cereals are loaded with sugar and have a high gluten content, as well as including toxic ingredients like chemical preservatives and food colorings.
• The Health Benefits Of Dandelions
  Dandelions have been used for thousands of years, in both East and West, to promote liver health and aid detoxification. For anyone suffering from Candida overgrowth or other digestive disorders, dandelion could be a useful addition to your diet.
• Will I Ever Return To My Normal Diet?
  Many Candida sufferers quit the diet after a few days or weeks when they experience the symptoms of Candida Die-Off. Sadly, this is just when the diet is actually starting to work, but often they don’t realize and they go back to their old comfort food.
• Are You Experiencing Weight Loss On The Candida Diet?
  If you were skinny before you started the diet, or if you stay in shape already, then you may find that you’re losing weight too quickly on the Candida diet. If this is the case, there are ways to boost your calorie intake and make sure that you don’t slim down too fast while on the diet.
• How Can You Stay Motivated On The Candida Diet?
  Transitioning into a Candida elimination diet is not an easy journey to embark on. For many people, it means turning their lifestyle and eating habits upside down. Many Candida sufferers find this daunting, but you should think of it as a positive thing.
• How Long Should Each Stage Last?
  The Candida Diet is not a diet with a fixed duration. Some Candida sufferers have lived with their condition for years, maybe even decades, so to expect a quick and easy solution is often unrealistic. Some dieters might find permanent relief from their Candida symptoms within a few weeks or months.
• Five Easy-To-Prepare Meals For Your Candida Diet
  If you spend your mornings getting kids ready for school, work for long hours at your job, or are simply too tired to shop for and prepare your meals, the recipes on this page are for you.

For lots more information on the symptoms, causes and treatment of Candida, take a look at the Ultimate Candida Diet treatment program. I created it with Dr Eric Wood, and it contains everything you need to know about diagnosing and treating Candida overgrowth.

3-Month Candida Elimination Kit Start Your 3-month Candida Cleanse

This Candida Kit contains all the supplements recommended on the Candida Diet:
- LIVER ONE to process and remove the toxins created by Candida.
- CANDASSIST to inhibit and weaken the Candida colonies in your gut.
- PROBIOTIC to replace the Candida yeast with probiotic bacteria.
Plus... the CANDIDA DIET RECIPE BOOK with 50+ low-sugar recipes

Learn More