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Easy Candida Cleanse: Diet And Supplements To Beat Candida

August 02, 2022 6 min read

Easy Candida Cleanse: Diet And Supplements To Beat Candida - Balance ONE

Getting rid of a Candida overgrowth doesn’t have to be an uphill battle. The trick is to approach it from multiple angles. That means targeting all the areas of your body that may have been affected by the overgrowth. For most people, this includes the gut and the liver.

Your gut is usually where the Candida albicans yeast starts off. Your liver is the organ that has to process the toxins it produces and flush them out of your body.

The benefits of doing a Candida cleanse include a healthier gut microbiome, better immune system function, improved digestion, reduced inflammation, and higher energy levels. Best of all, your mood will improve, too!

Diet Tips For Beating Candida

Foods to eat

Low-sugar foods

Reducing your sugar intake is the first step in beating Candida. Candida albicans thrives on sugar; it’s what helps the yeast to grow, spread, and create the biofilms that protect it from your immune cells. Cutting sugar out of your diet as much as possible will help to stop Candida in its tracks. 

Of course, it’s difficult to avoid all sugar. But you can start by investigating the sugar content of the foods you do eat. You’ll soon find that there are lots of hidden sugars in foods such as condiments and processed snacks.

Low sugar foods that won’t fuel your Candida include non-starchy vegetables, certain fruits (such as berries), non-glutenous grains, lean proteins, oils, and herbs.

The good news is that once you eat less sugar, you’ll crave it less! This is partly because you’ll be starving the Candida yeast of its main source of fuel.

Non-glutenous grains

Gluten is a major contributor to dysbiosis, inflammation, and Candida overgrowth. The worst offenders include white bread, white pasta, and most cereals.

Gluten causes chronic inflammation in the gut and destroys the bond between the cells lining your intestinal wall. (1)

There are plenty of delicious gluten-free grains and pseudo-grains. Some great options include buckwheat, quinoa, teff, and millet. You can also enjoy non-starchy vegetables which are naturally gluten-free. Some vegetables can even be substituted for grains in certain recipes. Try zucchini noodles or a cauliflower pizza base!

You can also substitute most flours for gluten-free alternatives, such as coconut flour, almond flour or buckwheat flour.

Anti-inflammatory foods

Fungal infections such as Candida overgrowth often worsened by chronic inflammatory responses in the body. That’s why it’s vital to avoid the foods that contribute to inflammation.

These include processed foods, sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, caffeine, artificial trans fats, vegetable and seed oils, refined carbohydrates, alcohol and anything containing artificial ingredients.

As well as avoiding pro-inflammatory foods, it’s really important to include lots of anti-inflammatory foods in your daily diet (2).

Many studies have found that certain components of foods or beverages can have powerful anti-inflammatory effects on the body. These will help your body to recover faster from Candida.

The most powerful anti-inflammatory foods include:

  • Extra-virgin olive oil
  • Leafy green vegetables such as spinach, kale, and collards
  • Raw nuts and seeds such as chia seeds, almonds, and walnuts
  • Oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, and sardines
  • Low-sugar fruits such as blueberries, cherries and raspberries
  • Avocados
  • Tomatoes
  • Peppers
  • Broccoli
  • Turmeric

Foods To Avoid

It’s often what you DON’T eat that helps you beat Candida! The best way to improve the health of your gut microbiome is to eliminate the foods that fuel the Candida yeast or increase inflammation.

Aim to minimize or avoid these foods:

High-sugar foods

Sugar allows Candida to build special protective biofilms that act as a kind of protective shield against your immune cells (3). These biofilms are composed of 32% glucose.

Excess sugar in the bloodstream can allow yeast to colonize more readily.

Foods with the highest sugar content include processed fruit juices, candy, baked goods, desserts, cereals, condiments, chocolate, and dried fruit.

Glutenous foods

Avoiding gluten is recommended regardless of whether or not you have celiac disease or gluten intolerance.

Research shows that gluten has the tendency to cause inflammation in the gut and increase the risk of intestinal permeability. It can also worsen the symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome and Candida overgrowth.

Gluten stimulates the release of a protein called zonulin, which damages the gut lining by loosening the junctions between cells in the gut (4).

Many of us experience inflammation when we eat wheat due to the amylase trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) it contains. These can cause an inflammatory immune response in the GI tract.

Try to avoid wheat, barley, and rye. Many breads, cereals, and other foods also contain added gluten, so check the labels carefully.

Pro-inflammatory foods

Refined vegetable oils contain high levels of pro-inflammatory omega-6 fatty acids. These can cause an increase in inflammatory markers in the body if they outnumber your anti-inflammatory Omega 3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, many of the foods we eat are high in Omega 6.

Alcohol and caffeine also promote inflammation in the body, as well as irritating the gut lining.

Foods containing artificial additives should also be avoided. These include processed meats, fried foods, white breads, pasta, soybean oil and processed snacks such as chips.

Supplements for beating Candida

Liver support

There are plenty of natural supplements that can assist your liver in processing and expelling the toxins caused by Candida overgrowth.

Molybdenum helps your body to produce enzymes that convert the neurotoxin acetaldehyde into acetic acids. These acids can then be either flushed out of the body or converted into useful digestive enzymes.

Milk thistle is renowned for its ability to protect the liver and support your body’s detoxification pathways. Milk thistle’s seeds contain a powerful flavonoid called silymarin, which has been found to optimize liver function and detoxification, while also helping to repair damage to liver cells.

Milk thistle also increases production of glutathione, your body’s most important antioxidant. Glutathione helps to ward off damage from free radicals that are generated by our environment or from within the gut.

Our liver support supplement contains a range of liver-supportive minerals and herbs, including molybdenum and milk thistle.

Probiotics

Up 70 percent of your immune cells reside in your gut. That’s why restoring your healthy gut bacteria should be a priority. The most effective way to do this is by taking a high-quality probiotic supplement.

The best probiotic strains for restoring gut microbiome include:

Lactobacillus plantarum

L. plantarum is a powerful strain of probiotic bacteria that ‘clings’ to the intestinal wall and helps to promote gut healing. It’s also very effective in fighting pathogenic bacteria and yeast such as E. coli and Candida albicans. It works by protecting the membrane that surrounds your gut.

Lactobacillus acidophilus

L. acidophilus can significantly inhibit the rate at which the yeast grows. It produces lactic acid which helps to regulate acidity in your gut, boost your immune system, and prevent Candida albicans from switching to its fungal form (5).

Our Probiotic contains 12 probiotic strains, including the two mentioned above. It also uses special time-release tablets that deliver 15 times more bacteria to the gut, compared to regular probiotic capsules.

Antifungals

Antifungals help to break down the biofilms that Candida creates so that your immune system can eliminate it. Natural antifungals are often the best option for Candida sufferers, with fewer side effects than prescription antifungals.

Oregano oil

Oregano oil is the concentrated extract of oregano leaf. Research has shown it can inhibit a variety of pathogens including Candida yeast infections.

Oregano’s active constituent, carvacrol, can attack pathogenic fungi. Carvacrol has also been found to inhibit a range of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, viruses, and parasites, which can give your immune system the boost it needs while it deals with Candida yeast.

At the same time, carvacrol can prevent Candida toxins from releasing harmful substances and creating protective biofilms (6).

Caprylic Acid

This powerful antifungal is often used in Candida treatment. It is derived from coconut oil, which contains caprylic acid and two other antifungal compounds.

Caprylic acid can kill Candida cells and restore normal acidity levels in the gut. Taking caprylic acid during your treatment can get your intestinal tract back in shape and help to inhibit or reverse your intestinal Candidiasis (7).

Berberine

Berberine is the active ingredient in barberry, Oregon grape and goldenseal. It harbors antifungal action against Candida overgrowth and can also prevent the spread of drug-resistant yeast and fungal organisms.

Berberine works by activating an enzyme in your body called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). This enzyme regulates metabolism and has a major influence on your immune system. This antifungal action is particularly important for warding off various Candida species.

Garlic

There’s a huge amount of scientific evidence supporting the use of garlic as an antifungal, particularly against Candida albicans. Garlic contains ajoene, an organosulfur compound formed from allicin and the enzyme alliinase. Ajoene appears to have the strongest activity of all garlic compounds in inhibiting the growth of Candida albicans. Studies have shown that it can halt the growth and spread of the yeast and prevent it from returning.

It’s usually best to start taking your natural anti-fungal supplements once you have made the appropriate dietary changes. Most health practitioners recommend taking two or three antifungals at any one time as this helps to prevent Candida from adapting to a single compound. For example, garlic appears to be most effective when used in combination with other natural antifungals, such as oregano and caprylic acid.

Our antifungal supplement is named CandAssist. It contains a range of powerful natural antifungals, including the ones listed above.

Katie Stone, ND
Katie Stone, ND


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