Candida Recipes

trustno1

Hi all,

I have been told I have Candida (went to a Kinesiologist after having stomach problems for the past few years) I need to follow a strict diet of no wheat, sugar or dairy for the next 5 weeks. I am prepared to follow the diet if it means the possbility of getting rid of the constant bloating, headaches, stomach pains etc. My question is - has anyone else followed this strict diet and I was wondering if anyone had any recipes they could share for the likes of dinners and perhaps bread recipes - I don't think I am going to have a problem with breakfast and lunch (as I currently make homemade soup for lunch) but feel that the dinners are going to be the hardest.

Appreciate any feedback!

EileenG

I did the candida diet years ago when I had thrush in my milk ducts. It worked but it was horrible. If I knew then what I know now, I'd have had a much easier time.

Basically, a candida diet is a very strict low carb diet, and there are plenty of people and links around here who can help you with that.

The core diet is oily fish, fresh meat and chicken, eggs, lots of green vegetables, olive oil, a small amount of raw natural yogurt, and nothing else.

No bread, rice, pasta, sugar in any form, rice cakes, fruit, grains of any sort (no cereals), milk, root vegetables, pulses, refined food of any sort.

The one thing is not to try to go low fat while you are on such a low carb diet. You can have butter and olive oil, and make sure you use full fat cuts of meat etc.

Typical meals might be something like an omlette for breakfast (add spinach and peppers or other veg to bulk it out). Chamomile tea is good.

Lunch could be fish with a big green salad and an olive oil and lemon juice dressing.

Dinner could be steak or chicken and a huge pile of broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, aspragus, etc. Mashed cauliflower is a good substitute for rice or pasta.

After a couple of weeks, you can add back in small amounts of root veg and fresh fruit, but no juice or flour.

You can make a sort of bread with flaxmeal, but I'd try to get used to not eating bread, at least for the first couple of weeks. The stricter you are, the quicker you'll get rid of it.

Dim

I've heard of alot of people who have been put on the candida diet without cause. If you have bloating it could be an intolerance. The candida diet is very strict .. no fruit, dairy (even butter), bread, alcohol.. this list is endless really. Alot of good websites give the exact list. Have you had oral candida or thrush? alot of symptoms go with candida over growth other than just bloating. Bloating, constipation/diarrohea and poor concentration can be quite often linked... but not necessarily with candida.
Cutting out wheat, dairy and sugar is a good place to start in case it is an allergy/intolerance rather than candida overgrowth. Try cutting out coffee and tea also.
Its difficult to stick to a totally new diet. I recommend cutting out dairy for the first week so that you are comfortable with the replacements such as soya butter, rice/soya milk, natural soya yougart is nice with honey (honey would not be allowed on the candida diet), goats cheese is ok .. most allergies or intolerances are from cows milk. Once you are eatting happily without dairy remove wheat. Porridge, rice, oatcakes are good substitutes. I recommend removing coffee and tea from the beginning. Rooboos tea with soya milk and honey or ricemilk is a good substitute. Fennel or chamomile tea will help with your bloating. Mint is also a nice alternative. If you really need your caffeine kick green tea can help.

Baby steps is the best way to change your diet. Same with loosing weight. Most people fail at changing their diet because they change it too dramatically for quick results. Trust me when I say after 2 weeks you will be bored. Its easier to stick with it by changing little bits at a time.
Good luck with it

EileenG

If you are losing weight, then baby steps is fine. If it really is candida, then you need to be drastic. Just cutting down the amount of sugar won't work, as we tend to eat so much refined carbs that there will still be plenty for the candida to live on.

I made life very hard for myself by eating rice cakes (zero sugar, of course they are suitable, right?). If I had skipped those too, I'd have cleared the thrush weeks quicker.

jdivision

It's hard, very hard but start now and get it over with OP. eileen's advice is good. Dim, the stuff needs to be killed, no sense messing abbout it. Expect pains in your sides, pins and needles and other pain. you'll be irritable too but it's worth it. On the bread site, it's hard at the beginning but you get used to it. Anytime i eat the bread I'm allowed now it just feels weird in my stomach so I don't bother

Dim

My advice is just to make sure it is an overgrowth of Candida before putting yourself on such a strict diet. OP said she had "stomach problems" but no mention of thrush. Have you seen your GP? OP also said no wheat, sugar or dairy but as you know (people who have posted who have previously been on the diet), there is alot more to cut out, example given of rice cakes but also smoked fish, fruit, alot of different types of nuts, pre-ground pepper etc. I'm just saying if the only symptoms you have are digestive maybe you should try a simple exclusion diet first to eliminate intolerances before going full on in a candida diet.

trustno1

Thanks for all the advice, its very much appreciated. I have been told that its Candida of the stomach (I don't have thrush) and to be honest - I have had terrible problems with my stomach that I am willing to do this diet for 5 weeks to see if it works and then gradually introduce foods which should help me pinpoint which ones I am intolerant to. I stocked up at the weekend and I don't think its going to be too bad. Today I will have a boiled egg for breakfast, cereal that is sugar\wheat\dairy and gluten free with lactose free milk (I am presuming that this milk is okay as its the lactose that has the sugar in it?) and then I have made a big batch of homemade soup and have some crackers (free from everything!) and a pot of natural yogurt and then chicken and veg for dinner. I drink pu erh tea along with normal tea and coffee so it won't be hard to cut tea and coffee out. I was also told I could have two pieces of fruit a day (the one's lowest in sugar like apples and pears, kiwi's etc.) and I also have to take Dida tablets. I think the main problem will be dinners - I am going on a cookery course on Wednesday so I will have the instructer damned with questions!!.

I also read that I could have soft cheese, so if that is correct - happy days!

EileenG

You're making the same mistake I did. If it didn't contain sugar, I ate it, thinking it was okay. Doesn't work like that. Something like a rice cake (or sugar-free cereal or crackers) can have a staggeringly high GI, which means it turns to sugar as soon as it hits your stomach. Cut out all grains, of whatever sort. That means NO cereal (and when you start again, go for plain porridge which is low gi) or crackers.

I would also avoid fruit for at least a couple of weeks, and then re-introduce berries, not kiwis. Rhubarb is a vegetable which thinks it's a fruit, so you can eat some of that at this stage, as long as you don't put sugar (or honey or syrup) on it.

Cheese should be fine as long as it's unprocessed.

trustno1

EileenG wrote: »

You're making the same mistake I did. If it didn't contain sugar, I ate it, thinking it was okay. Doesn't work like that. Something like a rice cake (or sugar-free cereal or crackers) can have a staggeringly high GI, which means it turns to sugar as soon as it hits your stomach. Cut out all grains, of whatever sort. That means NO cereal (and when you start again, go for plain porridge which is low gi) or crackers.

I would also avoid fruit for at least a couple of weeks, and then re-introduce berries, not kiwis. Rhubarb is a vegetable which thinks it's a fruit, so you can eat some of that at this stage, as long as you don't put sugar (or honey or syrup) on it.

Cheese should be fine as long as it's unprocessed.

thanks for that - yeah, I am finding it very confusing as when I looked into the diet a lot of places were saying that rice cakes were fine - if you topped the rice cake with a low GI food doesn't that in turn make the rice cake a medium GI food?, is that how it works??. I don't know if I would be able to manage without the crackers or the rice cakes as they are ideal and handy for lunch (although I wouldn't eat them everyday). I am also getting a mixed view for fruit some websites are saying have two pieces of low sugar fruit and others are saying avoid.. again - I think I do need to eat some fruit!..

This whole Candida thing is confusing and not very set in sone..

EileenG

If you are doing a GI diet, then yes, a rice cake topped with cheese is medium GI, but you are trying to starve the candida, which means NONE of anything they can live on. Things like rice, which don't contain sugar or taste sweet, will still turn to sugar as soon as you eat them. Look for the carbohydrate content of your food, and if it's more than about 5g per 100g of food, avoid. Green vegetables are fine, so horse into those all the times you'd normally eat bread or crackers.

It's a bit like saying "If I dilute my brandy with some soda, it's not as alcoholic." True, but it still contains the same amount of alcohol!

If you go to some of the low carb websites, you'll find lots of recipes for food you can eat. Just make sure you choose ones suitable for phase 1 or induction, those will have the lowest amount of carb that can turn to sugar.

Honestly, I'd bite the bullet and cut out all the stuff that contains sugar or starch for a couple of weeks. Get it over with. If you base your meals on eggs, fish, meat, chicken and lots of green vegetables, with olive oil and a bit of yogurt, you won't starve. Cook big batches if you like, then reheat or even stirfry when you are in a hurry.

If you are just doing a low GI diet, then things like ryvita or kiwi are fine. The candida diet is much stricter, but luckily, much quicker. You should see a huge improvement in two weeks, which will make another couple of weeks much easier. It's just the first week which will be hell.

trustno1

Thanks for all your advice EileenG, I will go back to the drawing board and start again as you are right when you say you might as well do all or nothing!..