Tag Archives: diet

Dietary Changes For Candida Overgrowth

by immune system,

Candida is a yeast-like fungus which can cause a wide range of health issues. It is actually a range of organisms with candida albicans as one of the most prevalent. Many people may experience the symptoms of candida overgrowth without realizing it.

The Effects of Candida Overgrowth

Candida overgrowth, or imbalance in the gut, can be the root cause for a wide range of symptoms which may include:

  • Chronic fatigue
  • Joint and muscle pain
  • Memory loss and concentration issues
  • Brain fog and focus problems
  • Anxiety and depression
  • Mood swings and irritability
  • Gut and digestive issues
  • Recurring vaginal infections
  • Skin and nail infections

While candida is a normal part of our body state, it is typically kept in check by a healthy immune system. When we are out of balance, candida can be very opportunistic and essentially takes over, leading to the issues mentioned above. While some low level imbalances can be treated with over-the-counter medications (such as fluconazole for yeast infections), chronic overgrowth needs to be addressed through dietary changes, nutritional support, and possibly antifungal medications.

Causes of Candida

There are a number of reasons why the body gets out of balance.  Overgrowth can be caused by poor diet, nutritional deficiency, high levels of antibiotics (which kill off not only bad bacteria but beneficial ones as well), certain medications, a weakened immune system, even excessive levels of stress can contribute to an imbalance in the system.  It’s not always easy to pinpoint a specific reason why the overgrowth is happening.

Because the symptoms mimic symptoms of many other health issues it can be challenging to identify. Taking a good look at the combination of symptoms and ruling out other causes is a good way to start identifying if you may have a possible overgrowth. If you’re working with  a nutrition professional they may have tests and tools to help you see if you have an imbalance.

Changing Your Diet

Changing your diet can be a good start when dealing with candida issues. Even if your diet is not the reason why you developed an overgrowth, there are a number of foods which can contribute to the overgrowth once it starts.  Removing those foods from the diet can, in essence, “starve” the candida so that it does not continue to grow and take over your system. 

You’ll want to add foods which are supportive for your system while at the same time removing those foods which feed the candida.

What To Stop Eating

Those foods which contribute to a candida overgrowth situation are those which feed the yeast.  This includes:

  • Dairy products - dairy contains a form of sugar called lactose.  It can also be somewhat inflammatory.  So it’s best to avoid all forms of dairy.  Ghee, or clarified butter, is allowed, but that is the only form of dairy recommended and only if your system can tolerate it. 
  • Fruits - these are a form of sugar
  • Fermented foods - when you have an overgrowth you don’t want to add in other yeasts or ferments because they will support the candida.  This include kombucha, kefir, vinegars, anything made with vinegar such as mustard, etc
  • Grains - these are high in carbohydrates and processed grains convert easily into sugars making them another great food to feed the candida.  For this reason you need to avoid all forms of grain.
  • Mushrooms - these are a fungus and can support the candida yeast culture
  • Refined or highly processed carbohydrates - junk food, pasta, etc
  • Starchy vegetables - things like potatoes, corn, beets, and legumes
  • Sugars - Unfortunately sugar is something that feeds the candida.  So we need to avoid it completely.  You know it’s in things like candy, cookies, baked goods, ice cream, etc.  But you also want to read labels and avoid sauces, condiments, dressings, and other packaged foods that may have added sugar.

Healthy Choices For Candida Support

You want to be sure you’re adding nutrient dense, anti-inflammatory foods.  You can still enjoy lots of delicious foods while on your candida protocol 

  • Healthy fats - healthy fats are good for you, things like avocado oil and olive oil. One fat in particular, coconut oil, is highly beneficial because it contains compounds that can help fight the candida. 
  • Protein - You want to make sure you’re getting enough good quality proteins.  Whenever possible choose pastured or free range poultry and beef.  If you’re choosing fish be sure it’s wild caught.
  • Spices - Some spices are not only delicious, they have anti fungal properties and can be highly beneficial when it comes to helping with candida.  These include: Cinnamon, cloves, garlic, ginger, oregano, pau d’arco (usually found as a tea), and turmeric.  Be sure to include more of these in your diet.
  • Vegetables - choose low-starch veggies like leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables.  Asparagus, carrots, jicama, and zucchini are also delicious and nourishing choices.

Food Reintroduction

By making healthy choices it is possible to get the candida under control.  Sometimes you may need to consult with a doctor for additional anti fungal support if you have a significant case of overgrowth.  But eventually, you should be able to start reintroducing some foods back into your diet.

Obviously not the highly processed and high sugar foods.  You don’t want to go back to bad habits and eventually find yourself back at square one.  But mushrooms, beets, and facto-fermented foods can be good for you when you’re not dealing with candida overgrowth.

Adding foods back in is a slow processes.  But when you do this step by step you are making sure you are not overwhelming your system.  

Start by choosing one food which you would like to add back in:

  • Have one serving on day one
  • You will then wait five days before having another serving.  
  • Using your food journal note any symptoms from the list below that might indicate sensitivity to that food
  • After five days try the food again and wait another five days, being mindful of possible symptoms. 
  • If after two exposures there is no reaction this food can be added back into the diet 
  • It is recommended that foods be added back in gradually.  Once you’ve successfully reintroduced a food you can enjoy it in moderation.  Keep in mind that we are supposed to have a varied diet and not eat the same ten foods every day.

Nordic Diet

by dairy, fats and oil, fruit, gluten free, gmo, grains, health, meat, probiotics, ,

There's a new diet trend that appears set to take the world by storm, the Nordic Diet. It appears to be a Scandinavian take on the concepts of the Mediterranean Diet.

According to a study published in The Journal of Internal Medicine, it lowered cholesterol and inflammation among study participants who followed the plan for 18 weeks.  Without a doubt, there will shortly be a book, a cookbook, several websites with recipes, and a new crowd of enthusiasts.  That's not necessarily a bad thing but it may not be the right thing for everyone.

The diet does allow for whole grains, primarily rye, barley, and oats, as well as low-fat dairy, fish, poultry, game meats (like moose), fruits, berries, vegetables, and canola oil. While new diet plans always garner a lot of excitement it's important to remember that there is no one size fits all diet. We are bio-individual creatures and what works for one person doesn't always work for another. If someone is gluten intolerant they need to avoid the rye and barley (and source gluten free oats) allowed in this nutritional plan. Just because it's part of the diet doesn't mean it's the right choice if your body can't handle it.

I do have a couple of thoughts about this diet and about food trends in general:

The Nordic Diet calls for canola oil.

In the United States this is not a good choice as the vast majority of it is contaminated by GMO. Some estimates of contamination and cross-contamination are so high that there are those who believe there is no unmodified canola to be found in the U.S.

The diet calls for low-fat dairy.

This is not a healthy option. Starting with the fact that dairy is one of our few food sources of vitamin D. Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin (meaning it needs to be consumed with fat in order for the body to properly utilize it). Vitamin D is also important to help the body properly make use of calcium. When it comes to the old notion that high fat diets cause obesity, recent studies have shown that the opposite is true. In measured studies, those who consumed whole-milk dairy products had reduced risk for obesity.

The diet does not, as far as I've been able to find, specifically talk about sourcing of food.

While game meat is unlikely to be adulterated with added hormones, antibiotics, and pesticides, poultry and fish need to be sustainably sourced.  It's interesting to note that game meat in general may be gaining some prominence as people seek to avoid meat from animals raised in confined operations.

Vegetables and fruits still need to be sourced without pesticide residue and GMO contamination.

I imagine that there will be more of a call for root vegetables.  This is a good thing as root vegetables are high vitamins, beta-carotene, and fiber.  [side thought: I'm always surprised when I buy parsnips at the grocery store and the checkout clerk wants to know  what the "white carrots" are.]

Expectations

With food trends in general, I expect we'll face a year ahead with more, New, BETTER (read tongue in cheek) superfoods that convey all sorts of health benefits.  I'm not a huge fan of seeking those out and quite frankly we have superfoods that are local and easily accessible, there's no need to keep chasing the latest super ones.

I imagine there will still be some sort of push to get bugs onto the menu and into the grocery stores.  They're cheap and easy to raise, a quick, convenient source of protein.  I'm not a fan but that's a personal preference.  I also don't eat things like squid or eels that doesn't mean I think they're dangerous or bad for you.  With anything that we eat we have to look at how it's raised. Remember, you are what you eat includes whatever the animal you're eating ate.

I still believe there's not enough focus on fermented foods.  These are in a category referred to as functional foods, they have a specific health benefit.  In the case of fermented foods such as kefir, kombucha, and lacto-fermented vegetables they add beneficial probiotics to our intestinal tract, helping us to break down our food, boost our immune system and stay healthy.  While I see more and more evidence of some fermented foods I believe we would all benefit from eating more of them.  Ideally we'd learn how to make them at home.

I'd like to believe we'll continue to see a growing influence of tip-to-tail consumption that will encourage us to eat more fully from the whole animal.  Learning to eat organ meats again, consuming more bone broths, getting away from the white-meat-only-chicken-breast diet that so many of us have become accustomed to.

Whatever nutrition plan lies ahead, let's remember that we need to eat according to the needs of our bio-individual bodies.  Our dietary needs change over time.  We don't eat the same in our 40's as we did when we were a toddler or an adolescent.  But however we choose to eat, whatever we're eating, let's focus on clean, healthy, sustainably sourced foods rather than jumping from one popular diet plan to another.

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What About The DASH Diet

by fats and oil, habits, health, questions,
A recent question came in from Eden asking what I thought about the DASH diet. DASH stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. Here is my reply: I think the concept of the diet is certainly a good one; low sodium (most of us eat too much already) and lots of lean protein, fresh veggies, fruit, and whole grains. This is the basis of a good dietary approach for all of us. However, I do not believe that DASH goes far enough.

Concerns About Low Fat and Healthy Fats

One issue I have with the DASH diet is its focus on low fat. While reducing fat intake can be important for many people, the emphasis should be on the types of fats we consume. I do not consider margarine or other fake fats to be healthy choices. Instead, using healthy fats, as I wrote about [here], in moderation is a much better option than relying on trans fats.

The Importance of Fiber for Blood Pressure

Another concern is that the diet does not specifically address how increased fiber content can help lower both blood pressure and cholesterol. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition showed that "bean consumers had lower systolic blood pressure in comparison to non-consumers." Incorporating beans and other high-fiber foods is essential for everyone and can be particularly beneficial for reducing blood pressure.

Holistic Considerations: Stress and Relaxation

The DASH diet does promote exercise but falls short in addressing stress management and other holistic concerns. Teaching people how to breathe or engage in active relaxation techniques has been proven to lower blood pressure. Practices like meditation, Qi Gong, Yoga, and other mindful exercises also offer techniques that help reduce blood pressure. Lastly, the DASH diet does not mention or strongly promote foods that are specifically helpful for lowering blood pressure, such as garlic, onions, hibiscus, and foods rich in magnesium and potassium. Nor does it caution against foods that can raise blood pressure, which I wrote about [here]. Overall, I think the DASH diet is a good starting point for lowering blood pressure, but there are additional changes and considerations that can further enhance its effectiveness.