Yeast Infection Diets

Saturday, July 30th, 2011

Candida are yeast that live in our bodies that can cause adverse reactions like rashes but is it true that they can also cause you to crave unhealthy food? Yes! Some of your unhealthy eating habits and food cravings could be down to an overgrowth of candida bacteria and the more candida gets, the more it wants. A yeast infection diet can require some strict dietary habits for at least a month to help you starve that bacteria out of your body but it can be worthwhile and result in not only a yeast infection free body but one that no longer craves excessive refined carbohydrates, sugars and junk food.

Candida albicans feed on sugar and the more your body eats the food candida wants, the more rapidly it will grow which can result in many unpleasant symptoms. Stop feeding your candida and you’ll stop it from growing. Continue feeding the unhealthy bacteria the foods that help them proliferate and you’ll continue to deal with adverse problems such as cravings, mood swings, rashes, sinus problems and weight gain. There is a long laundry list of possible health problems as a result of this type of bacterial overgrowth and more time and research is being dedicated to this condition than ever.

What should you eat on a candida starvation diet?

It’s good to eat healthful food but it’s most important to avoid specific foods while trying to starve the albicans out of your body. Cravings can be difficult at first but if you consider the long term health benefits, it can make the battle much easier. Once you’ve helped your body return to a better pH level, you can slowly reintroduce some of the foods in moderation. Be wary of going back to your old eating habits full tilt as you can encourage new growth and be back where you started if not careful. Look for more alkaline food and less acidic food to achieve a better pH.

Foods to avoid include: vinegars, fungi such as mushrooms, sweeteners such as sugar, syrup and honey, refined carbs and food with high levels of gluten, caffeine, alcohol, dairy food and junk or fast food. Minimize dairy food, especially ripened or aged cheeses.

What should you eat while starving out the bacteria?

Organic apple cider vinegar is an exception to the rule about avoiding vinegars. The organic version that contains the mother (a cloudy looking substance in the vinegar) can be very healthy. Bragg’s Apple Cider Vinegar is a popular brand available at many health food stores for a reasonable price. Probiotic cheese or yogurt are dairy exceptions because they contain live bacteria that can overpower the unhealthy yeasts and create a more harmonious environment. Eat healthy food and drink plenty of water to cleanse your system. It’s also a great idea to exercise as sweating helps your body release toxins as well.

Once your digestive system has a better balance of flora, you will not only see your yeast infection symptoms disappear but you will quickly find that you no longer have heavy sugar cravings. While you might find the beginning days of your candida starvation diet to be a struggle, the benefits can be very worthwhile.

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

External yeast infection normally happens on the parts that we can see easily such as your skin, around the vaginal or penis area and mouth etc. Although the yeast is found outside, it can multiply and lead to other parts of infection such as digestive tract if it is not treated properly.

Apple cider vinegar, garlic and certain yogurts can prove beneficial yeast infection treatment methods but you would need to use these items on a regular basis to see any results and even then you are only weakening the candida infection – it will come back sooner or later.

This will encourage heat trapping beneath the clothes and produce moisture when you sweat. This will provide a very good bedding for the yeast to stay. Observe proper body hygiene and make sure your clothes are clean. Try to avoid wearing heat trapping material like wool when you are suffering from any yeast infections. This will only worsen the condition. Your diet can play an important role in eliminating these fungus. Foods that can encourage growth of Candida albicans are sugary and starchy foods. Always reduce the intake of the unfriendly food until your body can keep the fungus under control. Instead try to eat more protein foods which are free of sugar and starch.

A yeast infection diet usually attempts to detox the body. The first step in detoxing and eliminating disease causing toxins is to properly hydrate. Drinking six to ten eight ounce glasses of water a day will help the body flush out various toxins from the body. Although fresh orange juices and certain herbal teas in addition to white or green tea can be consumed, it is always important to ensure that you drink adequate amounts of water daily.

They can also be consumed orally, but vaginal contact is key. Yogurt can be inserted into the vagina using a suppository, blunt syringe, or finger. Many women also freeze yogurt, often in the fingers of a latex glove, and then insert the frozen piece of yogurt. Garlic can be inserted directly, or a sachet can be created by wrapping cloves of garlic in cheesecloth.

This is widely used to treat yeast infections. It contains antiseptic, anti fungal and anti bacterial properties. A great way to use it is to apply a few drops of it onto a tampon and insert. You should remember also to coat the top half of the tampon with a lubricant such as K-Y Jelly or even olive oil. This prevents the tea tree oil from being absorbed into the tampon.

Monday, July 18th, 2011

Prevention is always better than cure. Just by sticking to some simple dietary rules you can help to prevent yeast infections naturally. Here you’ll learn which foods to avoid and which you can eat as part of your yeast infection diet. Plus, you’ll also get the facts on other issues that you need to address to prevent infections.

To understand how you can prevent yeast infections naturally through diet, you need to know what causes yeast infections, or Candida, as they are also called…

The thing that causes the actual symptoms is a naturally occurring yeast-like fungus called Candida albicans. We all have this type of fungi in our bodies but they are usually kept in check by our friendly bacteria. When this healthy balance between the fungi and your good bacteria is upset then the Candida can ‘overgrow’ into a yeast infection.

One of the key triggers for this imbalance is high levels of sugar in the blood. This is because sugar feeds the fungi. Another key issue is your friendly bacteria becoming depleted. This can happen by the taking of antibiotics which can kill-off the good bacteria as well as the bad bacteria. But how does adjusting your diet affect these underlying issues?

Well, the sugar is obvious. So you need to avoid or to seriously reduce your sugar intake. And bear in mind that this includes things like artificial sweeteners, honey, jams, sweets, chocolates, etc., and most tinned fruits and foods. Another source of sugar are refined carbohydrates which eventually produce sugar as they break down in your digestive system. So avoid or reduce things like white flour and rice, pasta, refined breakfast cereals, corn-flour, etc.

Much farmed meat and poultry has added antibiotics and other additives that can aid Candida growth. So it’s best to change to organic meat, poultry, eggs, fruit, vegetables and fish. This includes everyday dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, milk, etc. So eat only organic dairy produce; soya milk, almond milk, oat milk, soya-based cheeses, and natural yogurt. Unsweetened natural yogurt with active cultures is especially good. These cultures are actually beneficial bacteria and can help replenish the good bacteria in your gut.

This is just a short ‘snapshop’ of one particular facet of preventing yeast infections naturally; diet. But there are other key issues for you to consider because other triggers, or root causes, of infections are hormonal imbalance, some drugs and a lowered immune system. You need to get to know these things, and act on them, to have the very best chance of preventing Candida…

Wednesday, July 13th, 2011

Having an infection is one thing; actually avoiding yeast infections is another. You see, when you have such an infection you can get over-the-counter or prescribed medications to treat it. Unfortunately, these tend to address the symptoms of your infection rather than the underlying root cause(s). Here, you’ll learn how you can address these underlying causes and avoid yeast infections with diet

You may already know that your symptoms are caused by a yeast-like fungus called Candida albicans. These fungi naturally occur in your body, but normally don’t cause you any problems, because your body’s good bacteria keeps them in check. But when they fail to do this, the fungus can ‘overgrow’ into a yeast infection.

When drugs just address the symptoms, and not the root cause, there is nothing to prevent your infection returning. Although the Candida fungi cause the symptoms, the underlying issues that set-up the conditions that allow the fungi to grow are things such as; high blood sugar levels, a lowered immune system, reduced beneficial bacteria numbers, hormonal imbalance and certain drug therapy.

Let’s concentrate on high blood sugar. Yeast feeds on sugar and the more sugar available to it, the more it can grow. So if you have high sugar levels, then you are more at risk of infections. To reduce this risk you need to reduce your sugar intake and so avoid yeast infection with diet. This means avoiding certain foods.

Clearly, you need to avoid all sugars. This includes jam, sweets, artificial sweeteners, fructose, sucrose, dextrose, glucose, chocolates, dried fruits, canned fruits, baked beans and other canned foods. But there is another source of sugar, and that is refined carbohydrates. These break down into sugar in your digestive system. So avoid these types of foods as well, e.g. pasta, white flower and rice, breakfast cereals, etc.

Another food type to avoid are dairy products. This is because farming methods nowadays regularly use hormones and antibiotics, and these can end up in dairy products. So, because antibiotics can kill the good bacteria in your body, and hormonal imbalance is also a trigger for infection, you need to avoid cow’s milk products.

Because of space constraints I have only given a brief summary of some foods to avoid in a healthy yeast infection diet. But there are other issues to address to improve your chances of preventing yeast flare-ups, unfortunately too many to go into here…

Tuesday, July 12th, 2011

Any diet designed to reduce or eliminate an overgrowth of yeast must restrict sugar. Sugar is what keeps this organism alive. When it doesn’t have access to sugar it basically starves and dies. Restricting these foods goes beyond avoiding foods that contain sugar. There are many foods, namely simple carbohydrates like pastries, which convert to sugar after they are consumed. As a note of caution, you should not follow an anti-yeast infection diet without first consulting with your doctor. Once you are cleared to continue the diet, you should follow the steps to slowly progress through the diet.

It is a good idea to start the diet very aggressive and slowly taper off. The aggressive step helps to detoxify your system quickly. This step should last for a couple of weeks. Your symptoms should start to subside and you should feel an improvement in your well-being. You should then start introducing some of the avoided foods back into your diet. Introduce foods slowly so that you can detect if certain foods are causing you a problem. Once you’ve successfully introduced these foods into your diet, you should then focus on stabilizing your diet. A recommended approach to keep yeast infections at bay is to follow a diet that includes mostly vegetables, modest amounts of protein, and very little carbohydrates.

The foods that you should avoid and enjoy in order to eliminate a yeast infection are listed for each of the following groups:

Sugar Avoid: All refined forms (i.e. honey, maple syrup, raw sugar) Enjoy: Stevia

Fruit Avoid: All dried fruits, melons, apples Enjoy: Berries, lemons, grapefruit, limes, green apples

Vegetables Avoid: Corn, carrots Enjoy: All fresh varieties, including raw garlic

Meats Avoid: Pork Enjoy: Seafood, fish, all lean meats

Dairy Avoid: Aged cheese, soy milk, cow’s milk Enjoy: Yogurt, cream cheese,

Yeast Avoid: Green olives, pastries, pickles, mayonnaise, bread, brewer’s yeast Enjoy: Apple cider vinegar

Nuts Avoid: Peanuts, pistachios Enjoy: Almonds, walnuts, cashews,

Starches Avoid: Potatoes, pasta Enjoy: None

Beverages Avoid: Black tea, fruit drinks, alcohol, all types of soda, coffee Enjoy: Bottled and distilled water, herbal tea, vegetable juice, grapefruit juice

Other Foods Avoid: Mushrooms, packaged foods, processed foods, chips, crackers, spices, foods containing gluten

The degree to which you should restrict foods depends on the depth of the condition. If your condition is mild, a short-term diet may be beneficial. However, a long-term exposure to yeast infections requires a longer treatment plan. In both cases, it is recommended that you establish a highly nutritious diet after the yeast has been contained. In many cases, the foods that people enjoy eating the most can provoke a yeast overgrowth.

In addition to the foods listed above, it is a good idea to take oral supplements. Probiotics and a multi-vitamin are recommended on a daily basis. The probiotics will help to rebuild the natural flora of your digestive tract. This is essential since a yeast infection indicates that there is an imbalance. The multi-vitamin will provide you the essential nutrients that you may not consume through the strict diet.

Although this is just a glimmer of a candida and yeast infection diet, this guide will get you started along the way. A full program and diet for eliminating yeast and candida is best.

Monday, July 11th, 2011

Looking for alternative remedies to yeast problem? Then these recipes should work perfectly for your recurring yeast infection problem. A recurring yeast infection problem could mean that your Chronic Yeast Infection Treatment is not working effectively.

The food you eat and the diet you follow can also be used to treat your candidiasis problem. If your yeast problem is now chronic, then the following recipes which are part of a yeast infection diet should be able to help you out in no time:

Garlic and Butter Basted Salmon

Ingredients
1 Clove of Garlic
Fresh Salmon Steaks
2 tablespoons of butter

Chop the cloves of garlic finely and then keep them aside.

Wash and clean your salmon steaks and add little cuts of slits on its tip.

Insert the finely chopped garlic inside these slits and prepare your baking pan by melting the butter inside it.

Put your salmon steak with garlic mixture in a dish and brush it using the melted butter.

Next, bake the preparation in your oven at 350 degrees for at least 15 minutes.

You can enjoy your Garlic and Butter Basted Salmon. You can also add freshly steamed vegetables to make it a lot healthy.

Candida Diet Egg Omelet (perfect to eat during breakfast)

Ingredients
Cinnamon
4 Eggs
1 to 2 oz. of cream
1 Cloves of Garlic
Sprinkle of Xylitol

This recipe is actually very similar to a regular omelet preparation. Just beat all 4 eggs together with your 2 oz. of cream.

Chop the garlic finely and add it to the mixture.

Add a sprinkle of Xylitol and cinnamon.

Cook the same way how you cook an omelet.

Thursday, June 30th, 2011

When fighting recurring yeast infections, your diet and lifestyle are important tools. Knowledge is also important and knowing what your candida triggers are can help you manage this problem in your life.

There are candida foods to avoid and foods that you can and should eat that will help you or that will hurt your efforts. yeast infections thrive on yeast foods and on sugar and certain foods and beverages can work either for you or against you in your quest to normalize your body’s chemistry.

We all have a certain amount of yeast in our body. As a matter of fact we have all sorts of different types of microorganisms swimming inside us and some of them have very important roles. The candida albicans need to be there but when they overpopulate your body, that’s when the problems start.

Some people are very prone to excessive bacteria of this sort and those people can find that they need to look at diet and lifestyle very carefully to be able to manage the yeast population in their body. The alternative could be discharge, bloating, food cravings, sinus problems, insomnia or listlessness and other symptoms. Candida is a growing health concern that is becoming more mainstream as people recognize it as a recurring infection in their bodies that can become more than bothersome.

Chemistry plays a big part of your body’s health and factors like your pH level can impact how fast unhealthy yeasts can thrive and grow. Consuming alkalizing foods and drinks can be a big help and you might need to follow a strict diet for a time to learn about what your candida triggers are.

What about beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages?

Alcohol contains two things that candida love. Yeast and sugar. Because of that, you could create a candida feast inside your body if you are already at high level of albicans or low body ph level for various reasons. It’s very advisable to refrain from drinking beer, wine or any fermented food or liquid when you are dealing with yeast infections.

Can I ever drink beer again?

You don’t’ necessarily have to remove these beverages from your diet forever but while you’re discovering what makes your candida infections flare up it’s wise to remove all yeast infection diet prohibited foods and drinks for at least four weeks. Many experts will suggest that after that period, you begin adding one restricted food at a time to your diet in order to see what impact it has on your body.

Another way to ensure that a small amount of a candida diet restricted food or drink is not going to have a big impact on you is to follow a list of approved foods and drinks as well as work with other natural remedies so that your body is continuously working towards a harmonious environment. In a case like this, it could be that your body is at such a healthy level that an occasional splurge with alcoholic beverages won’t be detrimental to your body chemistry.