Foods That Promote Candida & A Leaky Gut

If you have studied Candida, you know that any and all sugars feed yeast. On the other hand, all whole foods contain sugars and every organism needs sugar to survive, including us.

The trick is to eat unrefined sugars that are contained in whole foods. These foods have a lower glycemic index because they contain sugars that have other nutrients bound to them and don’t create a sugar rush when they are ingested. An example of this is fruit rather than fruit juice.

Most everyone is looking for a healthy sweetener. If you’re suffering from an overgrowth of Candida, no sugar is good sugar. Stevia can be used as a sweetener if the pancreas is working well, but stevia has the potential to can cause problems to those who already have blood sugar issues.

Believe it or not, these “healthy” sugars are not so healthy:
1. Agave nectar
2. Coconut sugar
3. Maple syrup
4. Brown rice syrup
5. Sugar cane juice
6. Sugar in the raw

In order to heal the gut, sugars need to go. But other foods also promote Candida by either disrupting healthy gut flora, or directly feeding Candida.

These foods include:

1. Refined Foods - Breads, pastas, chips, flours, and other refined foods are out. Whole foods are in.

2. Juices - Sweet juices are just another form of refined sugar. Fresh pressed juice has lots of nutrition, but they don’t have fiber. All sweet juices feed yeast including beet and carrot juice. Vegetables that are not sweet, lemons, limes, and herbs like ginger and turmeric, make juices that do not feed yeast. Instead, they kill yeast.

3. Grains and Gluten - Gluten cannot be properly digested if you have an overabundance of Candida. Gluten sets up perfect conditions for parasites to thrive in the gut. Even worse, when the gut is permeated by Candida, gluten protein molecules can enter the bloodstream and cause an inflammatory response. When the gut is not healthy, any and all grains are more difficult to digest. This is why the Paleo diet that’s been so popular lately is known for healing the gut.

4. Fruits - Grapes, dates, figs, pineapple and other very sweet fruits have lots of terrific health benefits, but they are so high in sugars they need to be avoided until the gut heals. With very bad Candida overgrowth, all sweet fruits should be avoided or severely limited for a week or two.

5. Processed Meats and Pork - Processed meats contain nitrates and other preservatives and artificial colors that kill beneficial flora, which allows Candida to flourish. They also typically contain dextrose or other sugars.

Pork contains retroviruses that survive cooking and may be harmful to those with a weakened digestive system. In addition, conventionally raised animals (non-organic) are typically feed genetically modified foods that should be also avoided.

6. GMOs - GMOs kill beneficial flora, just like many of them destroy the gut in insects. But Candida doesn’t mind and neither do other parasites, or very opportunistic and dangerous viruses and bacteria. GMOs slowly destroy the whole digestive system.

7. Dairy Products - Dairy is high in sugar and therefore should be avoided by Candida sufferers, unless it has powerful probiotics that pass through stomach acid. Incidentally, when a baby has diaper rash, it is almost always Candida, due to formula or because the mother has Candida overgrowth, and the baby is drinking her milk. With healthy mother’s milk, the probiotics in the milk easily pass the baby’s weaker stomach acid and reach the intestinal tract.

8. Alcohol - Alcohol destroys healthy gut flora and damages gut tissue, leaving behind the perfect home for Candida.

9. Chemicals - Chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, artificial colors, artificial flavors, artificial sweeteners and preservatives all at least hinder, if not destroy, healthy gut bacteria.

10. Peanuts, Pistachios, Cashews - Peanuts, pistachios, and cashews are often contaminated with fungi. It is best to avoid them while ridding your body of Candida.

Conclusion:

Basically, your diet needs to be as healthy as possible while omitting sweet fruits and vegetables until your Candida overgrowth is gone. The healthiest diet is the 80% Raw Food Diet. Just withhold the foods listed above until your gut is healed.

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