Why I don’t recommend “ad hoc” Candida diets

Over the last few articles, we’ve taken quite a detailed look at Candida and other kinds of fungal overgrowth. If you haven’t seen these articles, you can find them here: Article 1 | Article 2 | Article 3

I’ve described why fungal overgrowth happens, and the many symptoms and disorders it may trigger or play a part in.

You’ve also learned that the medical system recognizes fungal overgrowth in your mouth (oral thrush), vaginal tract (vaginal thrush) and on the skin

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, Candida and fungal overgrowth/infection in the digestive tract is not considered by medical doctors to be a problem.

This needs to change, but it probably won’t.

Having worked with hundreds of Candida cases, and having had mold overgrowth in my own gut, I can tell you with 100% certainty that Candida and other fungal organisms can cause health problems.

Let’s look at some solutions

So far, I’ve outlined all the Candida problems, but we haven’t yet looked at solutions.

Let’s change that and start by looking at how you can change your diet to fight yeast and fungal overgrowth.

If you look on Candida websites, or read books on the subject, you’ll often be told that in order to get rid of Candida, you’ll need to follow a special “Candida diet.”

Because Candida is believed to thrive on sugar, these diets usually tell you to eliminate ALL sugars.

If you don’t eliminate these sugars, the authors say, you will NEVER get rid of Candida.

As a result of this advice, people stop eating all forms of sugar, including grains, fruits, root vegetables, table sugar, honey, etc. (you get the picture).

But is this wise?

Well, in my experience, it can be helpful for some people, but might cause significant problems for others.

Let’s look at the pros and cons of this so-called “Candida diet”

Nic’s story

When Nic contacted us, he suspected Candida overgrowth based on his symptoms.

Having read about Candida on the Internet, he had vastly cut his carbohydrate/sugar intake down.

He had stopped eating all fruit, all root vegetables and almost all fruit.

But he felt absolutely lousy.

For reasons outlined below, I recommended that Nic add back in either one tablespoon of root veggies (e.g. sweet potato) or a piece of fruit as dessert.

Literally overnight, Nic’s symptoms improved: his energy and mood came back and he slept well for the first time in ages.

We then used a potent herbal protocol to knock out his Candida, and the job was done.

Adding root veggies and fruit back into the diet when Candida is a problem is frowned upon by many functional medicine practitioners, nutritionists, and authors.

But it is sometimes the best thing you can do!

What did Nic do wrong?

Nic didn’t do anything wrong.

He just followed the general opinions of ill-informed bloggers on the Internet.

Unfortunately, quite a few people writing online don’t work with patients in the real world.

They just assume that as a yeast/fungal organism, Candida loves sugar and carbs.

Therefore, if you cut your sugar intake down, Candida will starve, then die, and everything will be hunky dory.

This DOES achieve results for some people, but by issue is that nobody bothers to write about what to do if it. DOESN’T work.

Don’t starve your own cells of essential fuel

The #1 problem with “Candida diets” is that people focus on Candida and not on themselves.

If you eat a very low carbohydrate diet in an attempt to starve Candida, you also starve your own cells of the very fuel they need to function properly.

Each of us requires an individualized balance of protein, fat and carbohydrate in the diet to achieve optimal function.

I personally do really well on a higher protein and fat diet, very low in grains and sugars.

But not everyone thrives on this diet. My business partner, for example, thrives on a vegan diet.

If your unique body requires relatively more carbohydrate, but you cut too many of these foods out of your diet, you will feel awful.

This is exactly what Nic did, and boy, did he pay for it.

It took just one spoonful of unprocessed carbs/sugar (root veg and fruit) to vastly improve his energy overnight.

The moral of the story? … Don’t rob Peter (your body’s needs) to pay Paul (killing Candida).

It is more important to feed your cells than to try to starve Candida.

Of course, if you have a very hard time when you eat certain foods, it’s wise to avoid them.

If sugars, fruits, etc. worsen symptoms, then you must listen to your body.

But if you’re minimising your sugar and carb intake and getting nowhere, it’s a very bad idea to limit your foods for the sake of killing Candida.

Candida doesn’t need sugar!

Here’s the real kicker: Candida can switch its food preference and live on ketones from fat and protein.

If you try to starve Candida by avoiding sugars, it just sticks two fingers up at you and switches its metabolism to consume other fuel sources.

So much for the low sugar Candida diet.

It gets worse…

Studies have actually shown that Candida overgrowth – and the production of hyphae (Candida’s tentacles, which can invade the intestinal lining – can be triggered by fasting, or ketone production.

Ketones are produced through fasting, very low carb diets and eating a lot of fat.

Did you know that…

• Neutrophils (a type of white blood cell) are less able to kill Candida when ketones are present.
• Diabetic patients with ketoacidosis (i.e. a lot of ketone production) can develop Candida overgrowth.
• Serum drawn from fasting patients is less protected against Candida than serum drawn after meals.

You can’t starve Candida. It is too clever for that.

It has been on earth much longer than you and I and it knows how to adapt to a changing environment in your intestine!

And finally…

There is some evidence that when you try to starve Candida, it chats to its microbe buddies in the GI tract and builds biofilms to protect itself (see article 3 for biofilm details).

This is a bit like a mammal going into hibernation: as soon as the environment becomes inhospitable in winter, the mammal shuts down, sits it out, and then emerges when the hard times are over.

Candida and other fungi can talk electrically and chemically to bacteria and parasites (quorum sensing) and they can all live under the same roof.

While these bugs are living under their biofilm cocoons, you can’t kill them with regular medications or herbs.

Thus, by attempting to starve them and making life tough, they may respond by hibernating and then emerging as soon as you go back to eating carbs.

Recurring and chronic Candida infections

At all times, please remember that Candida is meant to be in people’s digestive system.

It only becomes problematic when the status quo is upset.

Stress, antibiotics, steroid drugs, poor diet, smoking, alcohol, etc. compromise your immune system and allow these organisms to overgrow.

To gain control over Candida – and other bad bugs – you have to work on yourself as well as simply trying to nuke the bugs with drugs or herbs.

It might be tough to get rid of Candida if your own cells are not functioning optimally, if your stomach acid, enzymes and bile levels are not optimal, or if you keep eating toxic foods.

So, what diet should you eat?

Although it isn’t wise to cut carbs and sugar too much, it is definitely wise to get rid of processed carbs and cur right back on high sugar fruit juices.

These include:

• Bread
• Pasta
• Breakfast cereals
• Pastries
• Cakes, buns
• Cookies, biscuits and crackers
• Sweets
• Desserts
• Be careful with beans and legumes
• Be careful with potatoes
• Juices (small freshly squeezed juices can be ok if taken with a meal)

It’s not wise to overdose on carbohydrate-based foods, but it is wise to experiment with quantities.

• Do you feel best on one tablespoon of sweet potato or two?
• Do you do well on a half-cup of berries, or a whole cup, or one banana versus half?
• Does your body respond best to raw vegetables and fruits, or cooked ones?

Only YOU can feel the effects of the foods you eat – nobody else can sit inside your body and gauge your responses to different foods.

Thus, it’s either wise to perform your own experiments at home, or work with a practitioner who can assist.

I realise it’s confusing, but optimising your diet according to your unique needs is very important.

Knocking out Candida

If a Candida diet isn’t going to cut it when it comes to killing off Candida, how do you do it?

We’ll look at this in the next article, including some specific dietary hints and tips, and drugs/supplementation.

The journey to knocking out Candida is not the same for everyone.

• Some people do great using dietary changes only
• Some folk respond very well to antifungal drugs or herbs
• Some folk find great relief taking probiotics

Ideally, the approach should be individualised according to what is going on in each person’s unique body.

It’s vital to know what you’re up against

As I’ve stated many times, Candida isn’t the only problem!

Food intolerances and other bad bugs can cause similar symptoms. In fact, there is tremendous overlap between the different problems caused by all these factors.

The overlapping symptoms make it really hard to know what you need to do as a unique individual.

• Do you have Candida?
• Could you have a different fungal organism like I did – Aspergillus, Geotrichum?
• What about H. pylori?
• Are you harboring one or more parasites?
• Do you have SIBO as well as, or in place of, Candida?
• Is your immune system flat and non-functional?
• Are your “good” bacteria levels optimal, or imbalanced?
• Are you digesting food properly?
• Are your stomach acid and digestive enzyme levels optimal?

Answering these questions provides you with a foundation on which to fine-tune diet, lifestyle and supplement protocols customized to your needs.

I cannot begin to tell you how important this is – if you don’t figure out exactly what’s going on, you’re playing guessing games.

How do you know what to do if you don’t even know what you’re up against?

When I felt unwell in 2007-8, I’d want to know why.

And, as I am always going to great pains to explain, a home stool test is a perfect starting point.

Yes, it’s a grim thought to send your poop to the lab, but how else will you uncover what’s been making you feel unwell for so long?

You deserve to feel better than you do now, and a stool test can really take away a lot of stress and strain of trying to figure things out by trial and error.

It’s not for everyone, I know, but I’m certain you can benefit.

Anyway, you can click here to learn more about a stool test and how to order one.

Remember, in the next article, we’re going to look at ways you can knock out Candida using specific foods,  herbs, antifungal meds.

All my best,

Dave.