Up until about 3 months ago, I thought that candida was a made up diagnosis given to people when nothing else could be figured out. That was all until it happened to me. Holy cow is candida a very real thing, not only is it real, but its terribly unpleasant.
In desperation to get rid of this yeast overgrowth I have tried everything. Some remedies helped, others made the situation worse. Here are some basic do’s and don’t that made a difference for me.
Do:
- Drink green juice everyday! I drink up to 40 oz each day of fruit free- green veggie juice (recipe below).
- Take Supplements such as: Oregano Oil, Gi- Synergy (by apex energetic) Candex and Colloidal Silver.
- Take Probiotics. They are essential in balancing gut bacteria and the overall system. Make sure your probiotics are alive!
- Take Magnesium Citrate with a lower dose of calcium citrate. Doing so will help keep your digestion in working order (Candida die off can cause constipation!)
- Take your supplements at the same time each day. Consistency is key!
- Eat a diet filled with Meat, Veggies and soaked non moldy nuts. (soak nuts in lemon or lime juice!) For those able Eggs, Cultured Goat and Sheep plain yogurt can be a great addition as well. Think high protein low carb!
- Request a script for Diflucan from your MD if the yeast is spreading to more than one area of your body.
- Eat lots of freshly minced garlic and coconut oil.
- Keep a solid sleep schedule and avoid stress. Adrenal fatigue and candida can run rampant together. Keeping your adrenals balanced is crucial in overcoming candida. One can cause the other and they can quickly make each other worse.
- Take your vitamins. Make sure your immune system has everything that it needs to aid in fighting off the infection.
- Avoid any foods that you are intolerant or allergic to like the plague.
- Drink lots of water!
- Balance blood sugar levels- If you are experiencing adrenal fatigue or blood sugar issues Acupuncture may be hugely beneficial.
- Fight your way through the die off period. It can be intense, and you may feel like you have the flu. But it means you are headed in the right direction. Brave your way through it. Understand that you may feel discouraged, depressed or too sick to do much of anything. This is normal, and it won’t last forever!
- Be patient and resilient! It might take time- months even. It also may get worse before it gets better! Keep up the hard work and you will make progress.
- Take the time to learn what works best for you! We are all different, and understanding which foods trigger the yeast to grow is the most important tool you have in overcoming the infection.
Don’t:
- Consume ANY sugar. Even low glycemic fruit- especially in the early stages of trying to get the infection under control.
- Consume grains and starchy foods. This includes the avoidance of Carrots, Parsnips and other starchy veggies. The Paleo Diet has worked best for me.
- Avoid Coconut Water. Though coconut is anti fungal the water contains sugar and will feed the yeast beast!
- Do NOT take Nystatin unless it has been compounded to remove sugar. YES, sugar.. why they put it in an antifungal is beyond me. It caused more problems for me than it helped.
- Avoid moldy nuts such as peanuts and pistachios.
- Avoid all vinegar except for Apple Cider Vinegar. Limit even the apple cider variety.
- Don’t skip doses of your medication or supplements.
- Don’t cheat on your diet. One starchy, sugary treat can set your progress 10 steps backwards. You may find that you have extreme cravings for sugar and carbs! Don’t give in!
Research shows that many health problems, including yeast and cancer flourish in an acidic environment. Green juice helps to create a much healthier alkaline internal balance- one that does not allow the yeast the flourish. I know I noticed a difference in my symptoms right away when I started to guzzle my green juice. Not only did I feel the yeast subsiding, but I also felt my system start to effectively detox. My die off symptoms were not as brutal! My energy levels came back to a much better place, and my adrenal and blood sugar issues quickly balanced out. Fresh green juice is a powerful healing tool- one that I’ll be clinging to for a long time to come!
Lime Green Juice
1 Large Cucumber
1/2 bag of celery
Lettuce/ Collard Greens/ Kale/ Swiss Chard
Handful of Parsley
Green Pepper (optional)
1-3 tbs Lime or Lemon Juice
Stevia to taste
Pinch of Sea Salt.
Juice veggies, stir in stevia and sea salt and serve over ice! Do any mix of vegetables that suites you. I find using a hefty dose of cucumber and celery makes for a nice and mild tasting juice. Add enough lemon/lime and stevia and it will start to taste like lemon or limeade.
-Brittany-
{ 23 comments… read them below or add one }
I really do think I’m suffering from this now, but I’m completely out to sea on how to make myself well. It seems as though there is endlessly conflicting information.
I think I’m headed for paleo and will keep your “do’s and don’ts” handy. Do you have any other resources that you trust?
Everything for me has been trial and error! We are all different, but this is just what seems to be working for me! My candida was crazy out of control- it was spreading everywhere. And now slowly but surely Its going away little by little. I don’t have any 1 source that I completely trust..
Ok, well thank you for the reply! I guess I’ll just have to start trying things. The fatigue is KILLING me. I just can’t seem to get enough sleep. uuuuuuugh.
I so agree with the trial and error statement. And yes, it is frustrating to have all of the conflicting information. I have also found that what works one time doesn’t always work another time there is a flare up. I think everyone around me is sick of my food issues because of the Candida, leaky gut, and delayed food reactions. My diet evolves constantly even with the “OK” foods. Have you found that GAPS(with the bone broths and fermented foods added to the Paleo diet) seems to help heal the gut and get rid of Candida? I am not sure what else to try. I hate living like this. It wouldn’t be so bad if I could just freely eat ANY vegetable, nut, and fruit without a reaction or Candida issue. Thankfully I can eat all meats.
I went through this a few years ago and followed Doug Kauffman’s anti-fungal diet! Life changing!
This is a super helpful summary on what to do for candida. There are so many different types of anti-candida diets (and so many sources now!), but I know I can trust you because you also have Hashimoto’s and use that wonderful book by Dr. Kharrazian. Thank you for using your difficult struggle to help others heal faster and more efficiently. Wishing you happy, healing thoughts!
Kate
I know! It can be so overwhelming. Following the advice from various sites I sometimes got worse rather than better. I really believe getting under candida is a trial and error thing, and maybe what works for me won’t help others quite so much. But I thought I would share either way
Having Hashimotos, Adrenal Fatigue, Metabolic Syndrome AND Candida I had to really attack this thing from all fronts to make any progress!
This is such a great post! Those are excellent tips! I’ve been on the Body Ecology Diet for 2 months to combat candida. You’re right about the die off — horrible. I had fevers of 104 for a 48 hour period. Nightmare for sure. Best of luck in your healing!
Ohh yeah! I never got a fever.. but the headaches were unbelievable! I also got extremely dark and depressed for a few weeks (which is SO not me). I was so dizzy I could barely stand up, extreme digestive upset, exhausted and all the while my candida symptoms were barely going away. It can be such a discouraging confusing time! I don’t wish it on anyone. Once I started juicing the die off symptoms became much more manageable!
I’m so glad you’ve got things under control now, Brittany! I agree entirely that the specific diet has to be tailored to each individual. It took me several months to find what really worked for me, and what worked for me is different from what worked for you (and what might work for other people). I think the constants, in the beginning at least, are NO sugars (I also avoided all fruits at first) and lots of alkalizing foods. I know a lot of people who were able to beat it without prescription meds, but I wasn’t one of them, either. It’s such a tough diet, but thank goodness it works in the long run!
Yeah.. I just tried going off diflucan again and it started to flare up. Like you I think I’ll be on a script for awhile to come! I think it all depends how bad it is- for both us it seems it became systemic! Thankfully I’m so used to eating paleo that the diet isn’t too hard for me! I wasn’t able to eat nuts for awhile and since I have them back everything feels ok In the world
How did the both of you track your candida symptoms, flare ups, and trigger foods? Certain tests? A food journal? I am keeping a food journal right now, but sometimes my symptoms are not as obvious so it gets more difficult to figure out what exactly causes a reaction. Thanks!
I’m one of those “lucky” people that gets symptoms within 30 minutes of eating a problem food. If my body’s not thrilled I end up with joint pain for a few hours. It makes it really easy for me to track what caused it most of the time. I’m also really disciplined about only trying 1 new thing at a time. I’ll mix something new with my safe foods.
Also- my candida is severe enough that I can tell its gotten worse as it will begin to feel like I have a bladder infection. Another easy sign to follow.
Oh dear, good luck with that. My habit for this month is to write down a food journal so I can track symptoms. In the mean time, I am loving the green juice and cucumber smoothies!
Thanks for this. Although I have to be the first to say that your diet doesn’t need to be “filled with meat” to do this. I was able to stay vegan and get better. I know many others who have too. Also staying away from antibiotic-laden meat is really important.
I am glad you mentioned the nizoral having sugar as now I switched back to diflucan. I do think it still helped me but after awhile it was giving me nausea, maybe from the sugar. I also take pau d’archo tea nightly, which really helps, and just started grapefruit seed extract too, in capsules because I heard the drops are nasty tasting. Have not done oregano oil yet but I might start.
We are all different! Meat is really important for me- nothing else balances my blood sure quite like it. I’m
Borderline diabetic.. So the vegan diet would be a death trap for me.
But again- we are all different and the most important thing in overcoming candida is taking the time to learn what works and doesn’t work!
Great post (and recipe), Brittany! I will add this recipe to my diet immediately. I always do a green smoothie for breakfast (can’t live without it) but I like the addition of lemon/lime and the celery and cucumber. I just met with a health coaching client today who also has Candida and sent your post to her right away! Appreciate any and all information I can find as this is still a learning process for me only being diagnosed a month ago. I’ve been taking collodial silver (mixed with aloe vera juice) and it has done wonders! I think I need to implement the Magnesium and Calcium Citrates as well. Thank you for your continued help!! xo
You seem to be doing amazing! So impressed with your hard work and dedication. Keep it up girlfriend!
Hi all,
I was recently diagnosed with a candida issue. My symptoms are more skin, bad breath and headache related. I am just about 4 weeks in to the diet with no grains and no sugars. It was hard at first but I feel it is helping. I am excited to try the Green juice this week. I love kale smoothies but haven’t made any yet without a banana. I am starting this week with no fruits. Wish me luck! Good luck to you all. Thanks for the posts and Brittany for the great recipes!
Can you recommend probiotics?
Brittany, I have been diagnosed with Hashimotos but not candida. I have just found your site and am learning lots. You are right about having lots of information out there. It is sad that a person can’t go to a doctor and find this stuff out. And it has been more error than trial. I used to be the person who could eat anything, not gain weight, and didn’t have problems. Then I hit menopause and now I am all mixed up inside.
Good for you!! Good luck