Most candida diet plans that you encounter recommend eliminating regular milk, cow’s milk, due to the high level of lactose, milk sugar, that it contains. The concern is that lactose will feed the candida thereby hindering your diet efforts to eliminate it. Milk however is such an important part of our lives providing numerous health benefits with its high levels of calcium and vitamin D. Many people also just enjoy the taste of cow’s milk. The question that candida dieters are confronted with is are there any milk alternatives out there that can adequately replace the taste and health benefits of cow’s milk and are of course candida diet friendly? I am not sure that any milk alternative can replicate the taste of cow’s milk but there are a few pretty good candida diet friendly milk alternatives that will provide similar health benefits to that of cow’s milk. To reap the full benefits of these milk alternatives be sure to choose varieties that are fortified with vitamins and minerals and are unsweetened. As always it is a good idea to read labels when exploring new products to ensure that all ingredients are yeast free.
Unsweetened Soy Milk
This is the milk alternative that I use the most in my candida diet kitchen. It took me a little time to get used to soy milk but it seems to work out well in the majority of my recipes and I have gotten used to the taste. It has a smooth and creamy texture similar to that of cow’s milk which makes it an ideal substitution in cooking. I also enjoy it with my puffed rice cereal. The two varieties of soy milk that I use are Trader Joe’s Soy Essential and Kikkoman Pearl Organic Soy Milk both of which are unsweetened.
Unsweetened Almond Milk
I have not used almond milk in my cooking because my children are allergic tree nuts but I have heard great things about it. I have however tasted almond milk and it is delicious. I truly believe that if my children were not allergic to tree nuts that I would be using. The Almond Dream and Almond Breeze varieties both come unsweetened.
Unsweetened Hemp Milk
Hemp milk is a newer milk alternative that I believe will gain increased popularity over time. Hemp milk also has a smooth and creamy texture that makes it ideal for cooking. One of its greatest assets is that it is an alternative tree nut milk alternatives. I have used hemp milk in a few recipes and in my cereal and I do enjoy it. Since hemp milk is fairly new it is a little pricey and that is why I continue to stick with the soy milk most of the time. Hemp Bliss and Living Harvest both make unsweetened varieties of of hemp milk.
I have been following your blog for several months and it has been very informative and helpful. My daughter has some sort of intolerance that we can’t pinpoint so I have her on a gluten free, yeast free diet (as much as I can anyway). I also switched her to lactose free milk which seems to have helped a lot. But my question is: What about lactose free milk? Why would that not be ok on the candida diet if it is the lactose that is the problem?
Hi Danielle,
I am glad that you have been finding useful information here on Yeast Free Living. Thank you so much for taking the time to comment as you posed a great question. Since lactose is the problem lactose free milk should be okay for the candida diet provided it does not have any other troublesome ingredients. I don’t know much about lactose free milk because I pretty much jumped on the soy bandwagon when I started the candida diet. I did a quick search to see what I could find on lactose free milk and candida but I didn’t find much. It seems that candida dieters also avoid milk because it is hard on the digestive system which is already impaired in those with candida overgrowth. I know that many people experiencing candida also develop allergies to many foods and may stay away from milk if they suspect an allergy to milk and/or milk protein. This is all just speculation and the thing about the canidida diet, at least to a degree, is that what works for one might not work for another. If you daughter seems to be improving with the change this is working for her. I will add lactose free milk to this post as a possible candida diet option and hopefully others with more experience with lactose free milk will chime in. Thanks again for the great question.
Be well,
Tennille
Hi there.
Lactose free milk is what I use and I find it perfectly fine. I don’t drink much milk but do like a cuppa now and then. This diet is one you really need dedication for. My cup of tea with Lactose free milk is my treat-something normal! I struggled also with bread. Again I dont eat much bread but love a slice in the morning-Thank god for soda bread! I have done this diet before as have suffered with Candida for as long as I can remember. I would get terrible bouts of Thrush that would not go away. It worked the first time around and then I fell pregnant-(I think the diet helped with this too) I unfortunately let the diet completely slip as pregnancy cravings became too strong. My little girl is 9 months old now and since having her the bouts of Thrush are back! So back to the diet it is! I have found myself put on weight this time-I dont understand why as I am eating more healthy than ever. I shifted all my baby weight and really dont want to start gong back the other side of the scales now!