Tag: Candida

This is the strictest week, being carbohydrate free, and it affects people differently. When my wife and I did this jointly over ten years ago, she thrived on it and I felt like death warmed up! One important proviso is that people with M.E. or CFS should be aware that their energy may crash in this week, and if so they must eat some carbs mixed with protein in order for them to be able to function.

(O) denotes that the food should be organic.

(G) denotes that this food is a grey area.

Rather than formulate prescriptive recipes, this information takes the form of foods you can eat, and you are free to mix and match them to suit you and your tastes.

 

Proteins

Chicken (O); Turkey (O); Eggs (O) unprocessed organic ‘happy meat’ (O); sardines; cod; trout;

soya mince; haddock; seeds (pumpkin, linseed and hemp are best but all are OK; nuts (freshly

cracked); unsweetened soya milk( diluted with water 50/50); tofu (G); shellfish (G); mackerel (G); salmon (G); tuna (G).

 

Veg

broccoli; spinach; kale; runner beans; peas; courgettes; garlic; cabbage; sprouts;

cauliflower; onions; lettuce; watercress; alfalfa sprouts; celery; fennel; salad leaves etc.

 

Fats

Butter; extra virgin olive oil (do not use for cooking); coconut oil; palm oil; omega and seed oils (do

not use for cooking); ghee.

lentils; swede; broad beans;

Drinks

Water (filtered or bottled); herbal teas (not fruit teas); Rooibos tea (again not fruit flavours); caro;

 

Condiments

herbs & spices; yeast free stock; organic meat stock;

 

 

 

Weeks 2, 3 and 4

 

The foods included during weeks 2 to 4 can be a bit more varied; it is advisable to plan ahead to make this as easy as possible.

 

Proteins

Chicken (O); Turkey (O); Eggs (O) unprocessed organic happy meat (O); sardines; cod; trout;

soya mince; haddock; seeds (pumpkin, linseed and hemp are best but all are okay); nuts (freshly

cracked); hummus; unsweetened soya milk(diluted with water 50/50); quinoa; etc. Yoghurt

(unsweetened) (G); tofu (G); shellfish (G); mackerel (G); salmon (G); tuna (G).

 

Veg

Peppers; broccoli; spinach; kale; runner beans; peas; courgettes; garlic; cabbage; sprouts;

cauliflower; carrots; onions; lettuce; watercress; alfalfa sprouts; celery; fennel; salad leaves etc.

 

Fats

Butter; extra virgin olive oil (do not use for cooking); coconut oil; palm oil; omega and seed oils (do

not use for cooking); ghee (clarified butter).

 

Carbs – eaten in small quantities

Quinoa; beans (Kidney beans – Black eye beans etc); lentils; sweet potato; swede; broad beans;

beetroot; oats; oat cakes (try & avoid wheat and corn and keep it unprocessed); rice (brown

Basmati is best); rye crackers; oat milk. Pasta (G); Couscous (G); any type of grain (G).

 

Drinks

Water (filtered or bottled); herbal teas (not fruit teas); Rooibos tea (again not fruit flavours); caro;

Barley Cup.

Condiments etc…

Carob (sugar free); herbs & spices; yeast free stock; organic meat stock; coconut.

 

 

4 week maintenance plan

 

• Introduce fruit gradually (1 piece a day maximum and only if it doesn’t upset you). The best fruits to eat are apples and pears.
• Tinned Tomatoes can be used sparingly (only if it they don’t upset you)
• Remain off sugar and stimulants (If circumstances do force you to stray, up your dose of Custom Probiotics CP-1 for a week and be ultra careful with your food).

Proteins

Soya mince; chicken (O); turkey (O); quinoa; sardines; cod; trout; eggs (O); haddock; cottage cheese; unprocessed organic ‘happy meat’ (O); seeds (pumpkin, linseed, & hemp are best but all are OK); nuts (freshly cracked); hummus; chick peas; unsweetened soya milk (diluted with water 50/50); yoghurt (unsweetened)(G); tofu (G); shellfish (G); mackerel (G); salmon (G); tuna (G).

 

Veg

Peppers; broccoli; spinach; kale; runner beans; peas; courgettes; garlic; cabbage; sprouts; cauliflower; carrots; onions; lettuce; water cress; alfalfa sprouts; celery; fennel; salad leaves.

 

Carbs – still to be eaten in small quantities

Quinoa; beans (Kidney beans, Black eye beans etc…);lentils; sweet potato; swede; broad beans; beetroot; oats; oat cakes (try & avoid wheat and corn and keep it unprocessed); rice (brown Basmati is best);rye crackers; oat milk; Rice Dream (vanilla flavour is nice on the cold cereals);

‘Millet Rice’ cereal; sweetcorn. Any type of grain (G); Pasta (G); Couscous (G).

 

Fats

Butter; extra virgin olive oil (do not use for cooking); coconut oil; palm oil; omega and seed oils (do not use for cooking); ghee.

 

Drinks

Water (filtered or bottled);herbal teas (not fruit teas); Rooibos tea (again not fruit flavours); Caro; Barley Cup.

 

Fruit

Apples; pears; fresh tomatoes (G).

 

Condiments etc…

Carob (sugar free); herbs & spices; yeast free stock; organic meat stock; coconut.

 

It may be useful for you to obtain a pocket book on the glycemic index of foods. This will give you relative GI values – choose one with foods in a list form for ease and quick reference.

 

 

HELPFUL GUIDELINES FOR THE PROGRAMME

 

• ·      Organic is the best choice.
• ·      You should try to drink plenty of filtered/bottled water a day. Avoid drinking from a soft plastic bottle that has allowed to become warm.
• ·      Avoid drinking with a meal.
• ·      Tofu is a grey area so if you are not a vegetarian, use sparingly.
• ·      Eggs can be boiled, poached, scrambled or an omelette but not fried.
• ·      Poultry should have skin removed. All meat & eggs must be organic and as lean as possible in order to avoid ingesting hormones and antibiotics.
• ·      Tinned fish (if you can’t get fresh) should always be in brine or spring water.
• ·      Potatoes should be boiled or steamed.
• ·      Carbohydrates should not be refined e.g. – white
• ·      Water (filtered or bottled)should be tepid especially for taking supplements with. If you can afford it invest in a ‘Reverse Osmosis’ filtration unit. Also, read the book ‘Your Body’s Many Cries For Water’ (ISBN 1903571499)
• ·      Try & eat as balanced a diet as possible
• ·      There is no limit to the amount of veg you can eat
• ·      Eat as much variety as possible and learn to try new foods !
• Before initiating the diet, start the process of healing your leaky gut.

THE CANDIDA DIET – AARRGGHH !!!!!

The more books you read on anti-candida diets, the more that you come to realize no-one can fully agree on what you should and shouldn’t eat. There are definitely grey areas, but the crux of the matter is that you are trying to make life as difficult as possible for the fungal organism that are causing your health problems. Rather than be on a restrictive diet for years, our philosophy for getting rid of candida overgrowth is to hit it as hard as possible in a short space of time. It is important to remember that you will not rectify a fungal dysbiosis by diet alone, as there will always be substrate in the gut for it to feed on, but it is an integral part of the treatment strategy.

There are diets that are quite moderate in terms of the foods that they allow, and unsurprisingly, they give a moderate result.  Some well known Practitioners have had their clients on anti-candida diets for as long as five years with no end in sight! The stricter you are with your diet, the better and quicker the result you will get. It starts with a 4 week plan which should then be followed up with a maintenance plan.

The first week has, if possible, no carbohydrates in it and weeks 2 to 4 have small amounts of complex carbohydrates in them. (You will need to design your own menu plan.) If you are a vegetarian then your challenge is slightly harder, just do the best you can and remember it’s only for 4 weeks. Please note that the purpose of this diet is to get rid of the candida overgrowth, so it is a diet for a particular purpose. We don’t recommend it as a longterm healthy diet. As long as you keep off the foods that encourage the candida to grow and foods to which you are intolerant, you will do well. Above all, remember to check every food label. Please note that these lists of foods are not exhaustive and are given as guidelines for the sorts of foods you need to avoid. Foods which are considered a grey area are written in italics.

Sugar:

The first thing we need to do is to remove sugar from the diet – in whatever form. This is one of the most important foods to remove as sugar is a ready food source for the candida.

So avoid any food or ingredient ending in –ose because it is a sugar, e.g. fructose; maltose; glucose; sucrose; dextrose; lactose (as in products that come from a cow) etc… Make sure you check those food labels for the list of ingredients!

Also products like honey; dried fruit; fruit; tinned fruit; syrup; fruit juice; malt; desserts; cakes; canned drinks; tinned tomatoes; sweets; biscuits etc…

Stimulants:

Stimulants have a similar effect on the candida as sugar because they cause the adrenal glands to release glycogen into the bloodstream, which is quickly broken down into glucose, so these also need to be avoided.

Tea; green tea; coffee; sugar; alcohol; chocolate; tobacco; fizzy drinks; anything with caffeine in i.e. stimulant drinks.

Fungi & Yeast:

Stay off fungi and yeast products for the four week programme. After this, on the maintenance programme, they can be reintroduced in moderation. However, if you are intolerant to them you should stay off them for the maintenance programme too.

Bread; breadcrumbs; most stocks; Vegemite; Bovril; soya sauce; mushrooms; certain vitamin tablets; anything fermented (including alcohol); vinegar and associated products; Quorn; Monosodium Glutamate (If you have a Chinese meal you can ask for it to be cooked without this); peanuts and peanut butter. Malted products; anything that is smoked; nuts (nuts grow mould on them very quickly so if you have them at all make sure they are freshly cracked.)

Grains & Carbohydrates:

Avoid all grains that you are intolerant to along with processed carbohydrates. Learn to rotate your grains and carbohydrates and try not to make them the main part of the meal.

Avoid jacket potatoes as they have a high glycemic index (this depicts how quickly a food is converted to sugar in the body).

Bread; pizza; pasta; white rice; wheat; jacket potatoes; refined carbohydrates; grains you are intolerant to; corn.

Coming soon – the 2 month diet Plan!