Yeast Free Living

Posts Tagged ‘Candida Diet Information’

I was delighted to see  that on my last visit to Trader Joe’s that they made a version of Stevia, a 100% all natural sweetener that is permitted on the Candida Diet.  I was very happy as is was of course cheaper in Trader Joe’s than it had been at Whole Foods or my local health food store.   Tonight I finally grabbed some as I out of the Sweet Leaf brand that I usually get. 

As I was preparing to make my herbal tea I grabbed the Trader Joe’s Stevia.  I never even thought to read the ingredients but I was appalled to see other ingredients Milk.  I am really kind of angry as I do not understand the need to put milk in Stevia.  It is however totally my fault as I just assumed that there would not be any additional ingredients.  Lesson learned.  Read every label carefully.  Even products that you have bought before as sometimes things do change.  I will try to return the Stevia.  I know it will be a loss to them but I am a loyal Trader Joe’s and I will just turn around and spend it right in the store.  I just hate to waste that money. I hope that they are understanding. 

So just to recap, today’s lesson is to Read Labels every time.

Let’s be honest.  It is hard to find tasty snacks on the Candida Diet.  So what are we to do?  Must we give up snacking?  While I do not think that we need to give up snacking we do need to reevaluate what we snack on.  Most snacks that have we have chosen prior to starting the candida diet are characteristic of the other processed, sugar/salt laden,  and carbohydrate heavy foods that we once ate.  It may be difficult to resist that box of cookies, box of cheese crackers and potato chips.  There are some delicious snacks that you can still enjoy while following the candida diet.  The following are 10 of my favorites: 

Air Popped Popcorn
Invest in an air popper and you can continue to enjoy this terrific snack in a much healthier way.  Add a small amount of clarified butter and sea salt and I promise that you will enjoy this more than the microwave varieties.  Ready-to-eat Air Popped Popcorn can also be found in various stores such as Whole Foods or CVS, just make sure to read the label carefully to avoid any prohibited ingredients.  Some  microwave varieties may be okay but again just make sure to read lables carefully.  Popcorn is high in carbohydrates, so be sure not to consume too much in one sitting. 
 

Brown Rice Crackers
There are many different varieties of brown rice crackers and not all are good.  There will be a little trial and error to find the ones that you like. I like the Hol Grain variety and often eat these with a can a tuna, egg salad and chicken mixed with homemade mayonnaise.

Hummus
I love hummus!  I eat it with raw veggies, tortilla chips or a sliced warm brown rice tortilla.  A lot of the varieties in the store are preserved with citric acid so you may not find a candida friendly commercial brand in your supermarket.  I buy Trader Joe’s garlic hummus.  It has all candida diet approved ingredients.  Alternatively, you can find a recipe and make it from scratch.  Hummus is actually very easy to make.   

Nuts
Both of my daughters are allergic to several different types of nuts so for a while I did not keep them around much.  Now that they are old enough to know why they can’t eat them I do keep some around.  Nuts are a “superfood” of sorts.  They are packed with monounsaturated fats, protein, fiber, vitamin, nutrients and antioxidants.  Additionally, they have cholesterol lowering effects. 

Rice Cakes
Even before I went on the candida diet I enjoyed rice cakes only I loved the sugary apple cinnamon or caramel ones.  I am actually pretty shocked that I have come to really enjoy the plain no salt type.   This make a great bread substitute for a quick sandwich.  Another idea is to spread them with nut butters.  They also taste pretty good plain. 

Salsa
There are many varieties of salsa in the supermarket.  Unfortunately many of them are not compatible with the candida diet.  There are some like Whole Foods 365 brand salsa.  The most common ingredients that trip us up here are vinegar and citric acid.  If you are having trouble finding a brand that works find a simple salsa recipe and substitute any troubling ingredients.  I usually enjoy my salsa with store bought or homemade tortilla chips. 

Tortilla Chips
These are high in carbohydrates so you must limit your intake but if you have the willpower a few of these make a tasty snack.  Garden or Eatin, the brand featured in the picture are one of my favorite varieties, although a little pricey.  I buy them because they are all natural.  There is a new brand, Sage Valley that I have been purchasing lately at Shoprite.  They too are all natural and not as expensive.  You can also make your own with this homemade Tortilla Chip Recipe.  Enjoy them with salsa, hummus or plain. 

Vegetables
 Vegetables have become such an important part of the candida diet for me.  I was accustomed to cooking everything or rather overcooking everything.  To actually eat a vegetable in its raw form is not only healthy but suprisingly tasty.   

 It took me a little while to be able to enjoy yogurt plain.  I used to really enjoy the once with the fruit at the bottom.  Blueberry was actually my favorite.  Plain yogurt however is a very good candida snack.  Yogurt contains live and active cultures that help to restore the balance to you digestive tract.

Yogurt

I never realized how much I used soy sauce until I was no longer allowed to consume it.  At one point in my life soy sauce was a condiment that I reserved exclusively for consumption with my Chinese food.  In more recent years I have ventured out a bit and become aware of its power to marinate all types of meat, poultry and fish, on salads and of course in various Asian dishes. 

Although soy sauce is a prohibited ingredient on the Candida Diet there is a very good substitute.  Bragg’s Liquid Aminos can be substituted anywhere that you need soy sauce.  I have used it in various recipes including homemade beef and broccoli, homemade brown beef fried rice and in a chicken marinade.  Ingredients in Bragg’s Liquid Aminos are vegetable protein from soybeans and purified water.

I never thought to question whether or not black pepper was an allowed ingredient on the Candida Diet.  It was not until I came across the Candida Control Cookbook by Gail Burton, that I stumbled across a bullet point that explicitly stated that black pepper is hard to digest, so it is not recommended.  I was shocked and appalled because I had been seasoning many of my signature candida diet dishes with sea salt and black pepper.  I thought I had been following the diet so strictly but here was another potential no-no that I had missed.  I decided to see if I could find any evidence to support giving up black pepper for the sake of strictly following the diet. 

Fortunately, I could not come up with any evidence to support this claim.  The information I did uncover on the other hand was all pro black pepper.  I discovered that black pepper had numerous health benefits such as improved digestion, reduction in gas and antibacterial and antioxidant properties. 

So Yes, black pepper is allowed on the Candida Diet and may actually help you in ways other than just making your food tasty.  As always, I recommend that you read labels carefully.  The only ingredient that you want is black pepper, so just make sure that is what you are getting.   

What is it?
Paracan is a blend of several natural ingredients known for their internal cleansing properties.  It is used to cleanse the body of harmful organisms and in doing so seeks to promote a well functioning digestive system.  Active ingredients commonly found in paracan blends include but are not limited to: olive leaf, senna leaf, pumpkin seed, black walnut hulls, usnea, grapefruit (citrus) seed extract, gentian, pau d’arco, milk thistle fruit, wormwood, echinacea, barberry, garlic, thyme, cloves and chamomile.  Varying combinations and amounts of ingredients will differ significantly from product to product.   

How can it Help Candidiasis?
Many of the active ingredients in paracan have antifungal properties and help to combat Candida albicans overgrowth.  The ingredients that I have come across that have anti-fungal properties include garlic, olive leaf, citrus seed extract and pau d’arco.  In addition to its’ antifungal properties paracan also helps to eliminate parasitic organisms within the body.  When parasites are present in the body they present a barrier to effectively treating candida albicans overgrowth. 

Are There any Additional Considerations?
Some individuals may experience nausea, weakness and fatigue during the cleansing process.  This process is also known as die-off or the Herxheimer reaction.  Symptoms may get worse before they get better.  This is a very common occurrence when detoxifying the body whether it be from an overgrowth of yeast, toxic metals or parasites.  Customer testimonials tend to lean in favor of the liquid form over the tablet form in terms of effectiveness. 

Where and how can it be Purchased?
As of November 7, 2009 I have never seen a paracan blend in any drugstore or natural health food store.  It is however readily available online in liquid and tablet forms. 

Have I used this supplement?
I have not used a paracan.  I am taking a wide variety of other herbal antifungal products with good results and have not felt the need to try paracan yet.  There are a lot of customer testimonials online that may offer you some insight.  Remember to discuss the use of paracan and any other herbal supplements that you are considering taking with your healthcare provider.

Why is the candida diet so hard to stick to?  This question comes to my mind at about 5:45PM as I am trying to prepare a candida diet appropriate meal for dinner.  The thought vanishes pretty quickly as I am armed with the Candida Control Cookbook by Gail Burton, one of my favorite candida diet cookbooks, and am trying to find a recipe that may work for tonight’s dinner.  I find one that doesn’t seem too complicated, so I decide to go for it. 

Now the race is on to get dinner to the table as quickly as possible.  I begin washing, chopping, measuring, sauteing and turning, all while helping my second grader with her spelling sentences and my 2 year old with her ABC puzzle.  As I am tending to some minor recipe details a fight breaks out over a box of crayons, I think.  I find myself screaming at both children and wondering why I did not just grab some Hamburger Helper, Chef Boyardee or Kraft Macaroni and Cheese for dinner.  The time is now 7:30 PM and dinner is just about done.  We sit down and eat which takes about 30 minutes and then the race to bed begins. 

I dare not look at the sink full of dishes and hurry off to do baths, stories and tuck ins.  I make my way back to the kitchen and pack up the leftovers, load the dishwasher and make the kids lunches for the next day.  Finally, I am done but it is minutes to 10 and I am exhausted.  I put on the tea kettle so that I can prepare a cup of Pau D’Arco tea.  I sit on the couch with my tea in hand and as I begin to sip I think to myself again “Why is the candida diet so hard to stick to?”  Pondering this question leads me to thinking about how much easier the night would have gone if I had just prepared something quick.  You know a 30 minute Campbell’s meal, Velveeta, Stovetop Stuffing, Stouffer’s Skillet Sensations, Banquet Pot Pies,  frozen pizza and/or fish sticks.  These are just a few of my favorite quick meals that I, in the not so distant past and with the best of intentions, was preparing for my family.  Obviously I would add some frozen vegetables to make it “healthy”, but in the back of my mind I knew that I should be preparing better meals for my family.  Additionally, this behavior was only adding to my yeast problem and not setting a very good example on how to eat for my children. 

I am sure that there are many reasons that people find the candida diet hard to stick to but the most compelling reason for me is that it is just not convenient.  I am a single mother of two and I strive to make things as simple as possible in order to have the most possible quality time with my children.  This is usually how end up failing on this diet.  There may be a night that we get home late and I am just not prepared to make a candida diet meal.  Lack of ingredients, lack of time or just pure laziness may reign and I end up at the pizzeria, Subway, McDonald’s, Wendy’s or Popeye’s with the kids.  It it hard to get back on track after this.  Blatantly cheating once makes it much easier to cheat again and again.

So is there anything we can do to make the candida diet more convenient?   I do believe that there is something we can do.  We have to prepare for those moments of weakness.  I believe we still need to have convenient, candida diet friendly of course, foods around the house to be successful at this.  I realize that you may not think that convenient candida foods exist but after careful label reading I believe that at least a few do.   My new found favorite is the fully cooked, ready to eat rotisserie chicken found at many grocery stores.  You do have to read the ingredient label though.  Some of the brand name chickens have additives and flavoring that are not candida diet approved.  The only ingredient that you want is Chicken.  If the ingredient label includes anything more than this you may inadvertently be breaking the candida diet. 

My local Shoprite sells these chickens for $4.99 ($3.99 after 6 PM).  These chickens have saved me from cheating on the candida diet at least twice in the last 3 weeks.  I served the chicken with brown rice and vegetables.  As I continue on this journey to regain my health I will be posting other ideas for quick candida diet meals.  If lack of convenience is also your barrier to success on the candida diet I hope that my ideas will help you to suceed.  Please feel free to comment on other reasons that the candida diet is so hard to stick to.  I would love to hear your thoughts.   

Bon Appetite!

Tennille

 Sugars are enemy number one to regaining your health via a candida diet.  Yeasts thrive on sugar.  Most of us who have been experiencing candida related health problems crave sugar and find it extremely hard to completely eliminate this ingredient from our diets.   What makes matters worse is that sugar is in so many of the things we eat during the day.  I don’t mean the obvious snacks like cookies, candy or ice cream.  I mean all those prepared foods that we pick up to eat on a daily basis.   Start reading labels at the store and you will see exactaly what I mean.  Sugar is also a bit of a chamelon as it is not always labeled “sugar” on packaging.  Here are some of sugar’s alias.