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Candida Diet - Don't Follow Bad Information Until You Read This

Table of Contents

Updated 11/28/2022

Written by Dan Jackowiak Nc, HHP and Dr. Atmika Paudel, PhD

The Candida diet is a low-sugar, low carbohydrate, anti-inflammatory diet that promotes gut health and immune function while eliminating the sugars that fuel Candida overgrowth. Meats, fish, non-starchy vegetables, non-glutinous low carbohydrate grains, nuts and seeds, low-sugar fruits, some dairy products, and some fermented foods are all part of the diet.

The correlation of diet and Candida growth inside the human gut has been an issue of research ever since microbiome research has been on the rise. Scientists know that sugar and carbohydrates feed Candida yeasts and by limiting their intake through diet, treatment outcomes are improved.

Does the Candida Diet Really Work?

However, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention has never developed a diet for Candida yeast infections. This is why there are so many different yeast diets and ideas on how to treat Candida yeast on the Internet. As evidenced by the studies below, diet definitely helps when treating yeast infections.

A clinical study that was performed by S Otašević et. al and published at the National Library of Medicine in 2018 found that diet definitely had an influence on treatment success. 120 participants that all tested positive for intestinal Candida took part in the study. 80 of them followed the Candida diet while 40 of them did not. All were given the prescription anti-fungal Nystatin. The participants were stool tested at 10 days and at 90 days. There was no significant difference at 10 days but at 90 days those following the diet had an 85% cure rate. Those that did not follow the diet only achieved a success rate of 42.5%.

Another study that was performed by M. Jeziorek et. al was published at the N M. Jeziorek et. al was published at the National Library of Medicine in 2019 took a look at dietary effects on intestinal Candida presence. It was found that the participants who consumed high amounts of wheat products generally had Candida present in their intestines. Those that substituted low carb foods such as cheese in place of wheat products did not have Candida present.

In 2017 a study was performed by A. Man et. al and was published at the National Library of Medicine looked at the nutritional factors influencing the growth rate of Candida albicans in diabetics. It was found that glucose concentration in the body is directly related to the presence of C. albicans. The higher the glucose levels, the more likely you are to have recurrent infections.

Another study that was published in Frontiers of Microbiology in 2015 suggests refined sugars and lactose-rich dairy products may promote yeast growth by lowering pH levels in the digestive tract. The study these authors quote was originally published in 2014 on Springer Link.

Dr. Natasha Campbell - McBride MD, author of Gut and Psychology Syndrome, suggests that people with an intestinal yeast issue lack the beneficial flora required to break down sugars. The result is a never ending food supply for the yeast. I generally agree with this statement, and our Candida diet minimizes carbs and sugars to certain foods that are required to maintain immune function.

Dr. Atmika Paudel, PhD says...

With the advancement in science and technology, and awareness among people regarding infectious diseases, infections including candidiasis have been diagnosed and studies have focused on ways to treat such infections utilizing a wide variety of interventions. As Candida is becoming a chronic problem worldwide, so are ways to treat and restrict them. The correlation of diet and candidiasis gives us a hope that we can fight against them naturally by simply controlling our diet, all we need to follow is the right kind of diet.

In Order to Follow the Right Candida Diet, We Need to Know What Candida Yeast Needs to Grow?

It is a medically recognized fact that Candida yeast species all assimilate and ferment glucose as a carbon source for growth. So obviously you need to limit sugar and simple carbohydrates while following the Candida diet.

Vitamins Needed for Growth

Candida ablicans, Candida tropicalis and Candida parapsilosis need biotin to grow.

Candida albicans also likes thiamine, pantothenate, nicotinic acid, p-aminobenzoic acid and vitamin b12. Candida glabrata needs niacin and pyridoxine, Candida kefyr needs biotin and niacin pantothenate, and Candida krusei doesn't need any vitamins to grow.

The biotin requirement was confirmed by medical scientists Meyer SA, Ahearn DG, Yarrow DG in 1984 and re-confirmed in 2011 by Gaby Tiemi Suzuki, Juliana Alves Macedo, and Gabriela Alves Macedo and published in the Brazilian Journal of Microbiology. Knowing this, suggesting biotin as a way to control Candida except in very rare cases is giving you bad information.

Dr. Shalaka Samant has written a very good article on biotin's role in candida yeast infections that you can read here.

However, a study performed in 1988 by Vidotto V, Picerno G, Caramello S, Paniate G. with the National Ciudad University in Peru, and published in Mycopathologia in Dec 1998 , found that biotin, amino acids and particularly pH are not important factors in the dimorphism of C. albicans. The only factor of notable importance in the passage of yeast form to mycelial form in C. albicans was glucose concentration.

Ph and Candida

All species of Candida can survive comfortably in a pH range of 2.5 to 8.0. The body maintains blood pH at 7.365, and the stomach  has pH around 1.0 to 3.0. So Candida cannot survive in the stomach unless you suffer from a lack of stomach acid. The small intestine will run between pH 6 to 6.5, and the colon runs from pH 5.5 to 7.0. The body will do everything in its power to maintain the proper blood pH, so much that it is just about impossible to get the pH above 8.0. It will dump minerals like crazy to drop alkalinity if needed to accomplish this. If you are too acidic, it will take calcium and other minerals from the bones and teeth to boost pH levels.

Andrew Cutler PhD PE, in his book "Amalgam Illness," suggests that increased alkalinity actually promotes yeast overgrowth. If we look at the average vaginal pH of 3.8 to 4.5, in addition to what’s available on WebMD, a vaginal pH over 4.5 promotes bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, atrophic vaginitis and vaginal yeast infections. Thus, it is safe to assume Dr. Cutler is indeed correct. A high alkaline diet promotes yeast over growth. This has been proven further by C Monteagudo, et al in a study done in 2004 and subsequently published at National Library of Medicine.

So the websites out there promoting the alkaline diet, or trying to sell you alkaline drops, are once again... giving you bad information! I suggest you keep your meals neutral to the slightly acidic side. This is very easy to do by having a fresh vegetable, such as a salad followed by a cooked vegetable with a meat. While meat is acidic, the vegetables buffer that acidity and the meal will basically end up neutral.

Temperature Range & Oxygen Requirements for Growth

Candida grows in a temperature range of 68°F to 98.6°F. The body's normal temperature is 98.6°F with many people coming in slightly lower thus creating a perfect environment for yeast to grow. Evidence was also found that 98.6°F is the optimum temperature for Candida albicans and Candida tropicalis.

All species of candida grow best under aerobic conditions, which means that they prefer oxygen. They will however grow under elevated conditions of carbon dioxide although that growth is slowed. As a matter of fact, as S. Anand and R. Prasad found, under aerobic conditions candida yeast doubles its population in 2 hours.

However, as Microbiologists Raluca Dumitru, Jacob M. Hornby, Kenneth W. Nickerson from the American Society of Microbiology found that growth under anaerobic conditions resulted in enhanced resistance to antifungal medications.

Numerous publications also report that given the right conditions, C. albicans, C. tropicalis, and C. glabrata can double their population in an hour. Part of that doubling equation can be credited to an abundant food supply.

Should You Eliminate All Carbohydrates?

We know that Candida uses glucose as a carbon source for growth; so an effective Candida diet must limit sugar from all sources. This includes high carbohydrate grains because they are easily converted to sugar during digestion. However, studies have shown that very low carb Candida diets which result in low blood sugar to the point of ketosis, end up inhibiting the neutrophil mediated immune response against Candida.(National Library of Medicine - Clin Exp Immunol . 1986)(National Library of Internal Medicine – Arch Intern Med . 1989)

According to this study that was published in The American Journal of the Medical Sciences in 1990, fasting does not work either. The immune system requires some carbs to function correctly so don't cut off all carbs.

We also know that we really should substitute sugar with neutral sugar substitutes like Stevia, which is actually an herb.

A Few Candida Diet Conclusions

Taking into account all of the above facts that we now know about Candida yeast, we can rule out an alkaline diet as being an effective Candida diet. We can also rule out any product that contains biotin as an effective herbal treatment option. For the most part, alkaline water, pH drops, and sodium bicarbonate are also a complete waste of time, except in cases where you have very acidic water or overly acidic body pH caused by mineral deficiencies. I suggest a neutral pH of 7.0 for drinking water so it does not interfere with the digestive process. There isn't anything you can do about oxygen since you need it to survive but for goodness sakes, don't buy any oxygen supplements. 

It is also not a good idea to not eat any carbohydrates. Doing so suppresses your immune function which you need to help you get this under control. We suggest 50 to 60 grams a day but they must come from the right sources to avoid blood sugar spikes.

Will the Candida Diet Cure Your Yeast Infection?

Because we can only control one out of the five necessary requirements for yeast to grow, it is unrealistic to think that the Candida diet alone will resolve moderate to severe yeast overgrowth. But that doesn't mean you would not want to follow the diet. If you are doing so, you are encouraging the yeast by giving it all that’s needed for maximizing its population with a doubling time of an hour. The bottom line is,  you're going to need to take medically proven supplements to kill it and follow the diet if you want to get it under control.

Dr. Atmika Paudel, PhD says...

Candida is a part of normal flora in the human gastrointestinal tract. As it resides mainly in the GI tract, it has a direct relation with what we eat. In fact, the correlation of diet with colonization of Candida inside the gut has been scientifically recognized. In a study conducted by Gunsalus et al., it was found that diet directly affected the colonization of Candida in mice intestine. They found that when mice were fed coconut oil, not only was the Candida was less able to colonize, but also the preexisting colonization was reduced.(1)

In another study by Hoffmann et al., colonization of Candida was prevalent in people consuming diets rich in carbohydrates, while Candida colonization was reduced in the diets rich in amino acids, proteins and fatty acids.(2)

Therefore, keeping a balanced diet and consuming appropriate diets that do not promote Candida proliferation in the gut and restrict their growth would be a great choice to get rid of the bug naturally.

1. Gunsalus et al., Manipulation of host diet to reduce gastrointestinal colonization by the opportunistic pathogen Candida albicans. mSphere, 1,e00020-15, 2015. 
2. Hoffmann et al., Archea and fungi of the human gut microbiome:correlations with diet and bacterial residents, PlosOne, 8, e66019, 2013.

Candida Diet Food Lists

Below are links to the Candida diet Good Foods and Bad Foods lists followed by the basic do's and don'ts. After that list is a link to some Candida Diet Recipes and some suggestions on what to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

The Basic Candida Diet Do's and Don'ts

Expanded List of Candida Yeast Diet Good Foods

Expanded List of Candida Diet Foods to Avoid

Candida Diet Vegetable Recipes

Candida Diet Chicken Recipes

Candida Diet Beef Recipes

Candida Diet Fish Recipes

Candida Diet Desert Recipes

Vegetarian Candida Diet, Food Lists & Benefits & Risks

Commonly Asked Candida Diet Questions About Foods

How to Treat Candida Yeast Successfully by Email

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A Few Candida Diet Testimonials

 Hi Dan,

After 6 years, I finally managed to get rid of candida. I followed my doctor's advice and your diet and I finally got rid of it. I can't believe it. I repeated tests 4 times to be sure and candida is absent. I want to thank you again for all your support and advice.

Thank you,

Andreea

*****

Hi Dan,

Your diet changed my life forever. Because of it my husband after being chronically ill for 8 years is now working again! My mom has lost 11 pounds, I've lost 20, and I have 6 other people I'm coaching through your Candida diet.

Thanks so much Dan.

Lulu

*****

Hello Dan,

I have had Rheumatoid Arthritis for about 20 years I am now 47. I have been following your anti yeast diet for 7 weeks, except I have been using spelt bread and I haven't completely given up caffeine. I started out with a Maximum Living chiropractor (they practice different than most chiropractors) He also put me on a regimen in the morning or 3 hours before you eat. The remedy consist of paleo green drink, Vit A,E,D, Flaxseed and Udo's choice probiotic. I have been off all medications for 7 weeks (the first few weeks were rough)

I am doing great, no pain meds or toxic prescriptions. I think I am a little in shock, at the results...joints shrinking, I can lift my arms above my head...it's amazing.

Thanks for your information I really appreciate all the information you provide.

Thanks, Vicki

*****

Hi Dan,

Thanks to the diet, I feel really good. Without any hunger or difficulties I lost 5 kg.
Candida infection is 90% cured. I also forgot my headache which I had every Saturday. I learned a lot about the healthy nutrition and I have the feeling that I leave in different world.

Thank you very much for your advice,

Nadia

*****

Thanks Dan!

I followed your diet and now this candida thing is over. I did all the medical tests, including those to search for all types of candida and it's over :)
Thanks a lot for your help. I will continue on a healthy diet :)

Katia

*****

Hi Dan!

You have given us an effective way to maintain a normal life!!  We are
74....married in '63....wife is 5'5 and 100#...I am 6'1 and 180#.  We
use a strict version of your candida  diet ....no grains, dairy, plenty
of various vegetables, she eats lamb...I do not eat meat...and the list
goes on. 

For the first time in our memory we enjoy what feels like a perfectly
balanced digestive system and it is effecting our whole body!!!  For the
first time in two decades we feel in control of candidiasis ...slowly
gaining confidence that it will not be able to outsmart our weapons at
this level of prevention.

I think I would have lost my wife if you had not committed to the need
you new was out there...as of now we stand amazed at how our bodies have
responded to what they desperately needed and we had not been successful
in meeting that need until now.

Thank you again for all the help you have given us!!!
Anthony

Here are more Candida Diet Testimonials if you care to read them.

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