C. albicans is not really difficult to get rid of.  It usually just takes perseverance, diet modification, and a few supplements.  Every author has their own approach to diet, and what I have finally distilled it down to is that every client should have their 'yeast control' diet individually tailored.  Universal ideas in these diets are: (1) no sugar in any form; (2) no fruit or fruit products; (3) no aged products like cheeses; (4) no fermented or vinegar containing foods like pickles, ketchup, mustard; (4) no yeast containing foods like cookies, breads, crackers, packaged foods; (5) no left-overs.

 Sugars, whether refined or from carbohydrates like white flour, feed yeast.  If you have ever made bread and softened the yeast in bowl of warm fluid with a little sugar dissolved in it, you know just how well yeast can reproduce using sugar as its fuel source.

 Fruit contains a high amount of natural sugars.  Fruit juice can be used in place of sugar when softening yeast to make bread.  Some fruit carries a high mold content on its skin (e.g.. cantaloupe, grapes, blueberries).  Mold can compromise the human system in just the same ways yeast does, and so it is important to control the amount of stress the body has to deal with by avoiding mold-carrying foods. Aged foods germinate mold spores also.

 Fermented foods and vinegar containing foods alter the pH of the body making it more hospitable towards yeast.

 Yeast-containing foods, which include most packaged foods, give off toxins which stress the body and can make getting rid of yeast much more difficult.  The yeast in foods is not at all related to the C. albicans.

 Left-overs that are stored in the fridge or at room temperature for more than four hours germinate mold spores.  If there are left-overs after a meal which the Candida-fighting person wants to consume later, the left-overs must be frozen immediately (preferably in individual servings).  When they are eventually used they must be defrosted very quickly and heated very thoroughly (not in a microwave because it does not heat evenly).

 It must be remembered that even when the yeast is under control, one cannot resume former dietary patterns.  The bad habits which allowed Candida to flourish once will probably allow it to flourish again.

 Foods to avoid

- all sugars, refined and raw

      e.g.. sugar, honey, molasses, maple syrup

- all fruit in all forms including dried and juices

      e.g.. especially melons, blueberries, tropical fruits

- all nightshade

      e.g.. potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplant

- all foods containing vinegar

- all foods containing yeast

      e.g.. bread, crackers, most processed foods

- all cheese, fermented foods, including alcohol

- all mushrooms

- all leftovers

- peanuts

- soy sauce

- coffee, tea

- tobacco products

- especially serious cases may also need to avoid wheat

Foods to focus on

- animal proteins

      e.g.. poultry breast, salmon, trout, lamb, eggs

- vegetarian proteins

      e.g.. lentils, legumes, tofu, nuts, seeds

- all vegetables not listed above

- nut butters except peanut

- whole grains

      e.g.. brown rice, millet, etc.

- red-skinned potatoes, in small amounts

- may include white milk, plain yogurt, sour cream, and plain cream cheese if not contra-indicated by other conditions

- herbal teas

 Menu Ideas

breakfast

poached egg on allowed pancake or rice cake

whole grain pancake with butter and cinnamon

lunch

homemade vegetable soup with whole grain baking powder biscuit

supper

chicken breast, steamed vegetables

stir-fry whole grain pasta with herbed oil dressing

 Supplements

 There are numerous supplements which can be helpful, along with diet, in controlling yeast.  The four that I focus on, depending on individual need, are acidophilus, garlic, tea tree oil and yeast-fungal detox.

 Yeast Fungal Detox from Nature’s Sunshine Products is the most effective anti-yeast products I have ever seen.  Using only 2 capsules per day, with diet corrections, can begin to bring an improvement in symptoms within two to three days. I have seen it reduce candida symptoms in people who were unwilling to change their diets.  Without dietary changes, they will be on the supplement forever, but at least they are more comfortable.

Lactobacillus Acidophilus is often used as the catch-all name for the healthy bacteria which should reside in our digestive tracts and on our mucous membranes.  These bacteria can kill C. albicans on contact.  I often recommend up to 40 billion active cells per day.

 Laboratory studies have shown garlic to be an effective antifungal in animal tests and in vitro tests. These same tests proved garlic to be more effective than nystatin, gentian violet, and several other antifungal medications.

 Tea tree oil, taken orally at the rate of one drop in 4 oz water, twice per day kills the fungus on contact.  It smells like turpentine but does the job quickly and well.  I have used it orally in weak dilutions with newborns who had thrush.

 Six weeks of strict diet and supplement adherence will usually produce definable results.  However, during the first six weeks especially, there will be ups and downs.  Symptoms may improve briefly only to return with a vengeance.  Within the six weeks the difficult times should become less intense and less frequent.  At that time, one must determine whether to introduce previously disallowed foods (one at a time, very slowly, like introducing new food to an infant) or to remain on the strict diet for another period of time.

 Candida can be beaten back into submission, but it does take perseverance and determination.

 Bibliography

 Encyclopedia of Natural Healing by Siegfried Gursche, MH and Zoltan Rona, M.D (Burnaby, BC: Alive Books, 1997).

 Encyclopedia of Nutritional Supplements by Michael Murray, N.D.  (Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing, 1996).

 Nutritional Herbology by Mark Pederson  (Warsaw, Indiana: Wendell W. Whitman Company, 1994).

 The Healing Power of Herbs by Michael Murray, N.D. (Rocklin, California: Prima Publishing, 1995).

Judith Cobb