Dietary considerations
The Four-Day-Rotation-Diet
Systemic Candidainfection often goes hand in hand with food allergies and Leaky Gut Syndrome. Many patients will also be sensitive to individual foods, additives and preservatives. When beginning your treatment program, it's particularly helpful to use the rotation diet to stabilize and improve your eating habits in such a way as to support your recovery process.
The central premise of the Four Day Rotational Diet, is to structure your food intake in order to allow your body a period of recovery between subsequent exposures to specific foods that may be causing cyclical food reactions. In addition, the rotation diet is a helpful tool in identifying sensitivities; and may help prevent new food allergies from developing.
Advantages of the Four Day Rotation Diet
• It allows the body's immune system to recover from the effects of a challenging food, current food allergies begin to mitigate.
• Helps to reduce the chance of developing new/additional allergies
• Encourages diet diversity by providing a wide range of nutritional choices.
• Discourages the over-indulgence of one food to compensate for the removal of another.
• Aids in identifying foods that could be causing problems.
When following the Rotation Diet, a specific food is eaten on a particular day of the rotation and this is not repeated until that day comes in the next 4-day rotation. Four days is generally long enough, but persons with chronic constipation may need to cycle longer than 4 days until regular bowel movements are achieved. For example, the quinoa and broccoli consumed on day 1 of the 4-day rotation is not eaten again until day 1 of the next cycle.
The Rotation Diet also helps with feelings of deprivation that often occur when starting a Candidadiet. When we eliminate favorite foods from the diet, we sometimes compensate by over-eating a substitute for a food we are missing. This can cause new food allergies or sensitivities to surface. Eating a wide variety of foods not only keeps the diet more interesting, it is packed with a variety of nutrients that are essential to recovery.
Allergies
Systemic Candidainfection contributes to suppressed immune and intestinal health, which can result in an increased vulnerability to allergic disorders. Reactions to a wide variety of foods, chemicals and seasonal allergens are common and it can be very overwhelming. Some people are so sensitive or hyper-sensitive, that they may react to foods they normally tolerate (ALLOWED foods) but that they haven’t eaten for a long time. There will be a short-term allergenic reaction and weakening of the immune system and a small relapse. In this situation your gut and immunesysteme first has to rezognice and approve them again before they are accepted. These ALLOWED foods that you earlier in the diet could eat without problems, will soon be accepted again if you add small amounts of them to every meal you eat during the day. Typically after 1-2 days they will be fully accepted.
Most of the sensitivities that may develop during the systemic Candidainfection are temporary and will resolve themselves as your infection is resolved and your intestinal balance is restored. Having said this, it is also not unusual for long-standing allergies to be identified for the very first time during Candidainfection recovery as a result of the health awareness that the recovery process necessitates. Your long-standing allergies and intolerances may be permanent.
On this homepage when referring to problematic substances in general, we call them “allergens". There are a number of factors that will be helpful to keep in mind as you work through your personal allergic mysteries.
Too much of a good thing? The frequency with which you eat a food can affect whether you have a reaction to it or not. Some foods may be tolerated if eaten infrequently (every 4-14 days). The more often you eat it, the more likely it is to cause a problem. In addition, you will discover that it is not good for bowel function to eat the same foods all the time, it increases the risk of diarrhea. The rotation diet is a great help in this context.
Cooked or Raw? You may tolerate a cooked food while the same food eaten raw can produce symptoms, or vice versa. Most Candidapatients better tolerate cooked food than raw, for instance vegetables. By boiling or blanching vegetables or nuts, you kill allergenic substances (fungi, bacteria, chemicals etc.) that may occure on the surface of them. The disadvantage with cooking is that the content of vitamins and minerals typically is lowered, because they are destroyed by heating or lost to the boiling water. Boiling, has a tendency to make the starch and sugar more accessible and therefore too much boiling can be a problem for Candidapatients. Frozen blanched vegetables are ideal and well tolerated by the majority. Eat them thawed or you can put them in the microwave or fry them on the pan with oil and spices.
What season is it? You may become more sensitive to certain foods during a particular time of the year due to the additional stress of inhalant allergens. You may even find that some allergies are only a concern for you at one time of year. Hay fever season can trigger certain food allergies as can the indoor winter season, when we are breathing more dust and indoor pollutants. A high-quality air cleaner with a charcoal and hepa filter can help to reduce the additional stress of inhalant allergies.
You may dislike foods that you are allergic to, or you may crave them uncontrollably, experiencing several days of fungi-withdrawal when you avoid them. Eating these foods can even produce a sort of high. Stay alert to your most urgent cravings, as well as to altered states created by eating certain foods. Chances are, if a food leaves you feeling noticeably stimulated or sedated, you have sensitivity to it.
Often there may be so many foods you react to, that it can be difficult to remember them all. Therefore, write down in a diary if you have allergies so you can keep track of it. Especially the rotation diet can be a great help, as it will detect any allergies and contribute to a more balanced diet and less nutrient deficiency.
Food Combinings
To have an effective digestion of the food you eat is a key topic as Candidapatient. Among others, this ensures optimum absorption of nutrients so nutrientdeficiencies are avoided. Initially, it is important that you eat food of a high quality. We have in our netshop a wide selection that meets these requirements.
But even food of the best quality will not necessarily help build up your health, if you do not digest them well. Equally important is combining the foods in the right way. As Candidapatient your intestinal system is very sensitive, and you will quickly discover that certain types of food and some combinations of food can cause bloating or diarrhea. Conversely, the combination of certain foods support or complement each other in the digestion and thus make the digestive system more efficient. If you feel that some foods gives you indigestion, it may often be necessary to take them out of the diet or combine them with other foods. Reactions from bad food combinations usually include fatigue, gas, bloating, pain or dizziness. Some or all of these reactions can also be explained by food intolerance, overeating or by eating food that nourishes your Candida.
Tips for better digestion
• Don't eat concentrated proteins like meat, dairy, fish, cheese, protein powders etc. with concentrated starches like grains, sugars or fruits.
• Don't combine beans or nuts with dairy or meat.
• Too much vegetable oil often leads to indigestion. Lower your intake for a period if you have problems.
• Too little or even bad taste can be a problem on the Candidadiet. Add herbs or spices, they will stimulate your appetite.
• Eat as much raw vegetables as possible so the gut gets something to work with and you get a maximum of vitamines and minerales. Cooking is less suitable.
• Rotation diet improves digestion. You then avoid to eat foods that cause indigestion/diarrhea for several days in a row. It also ensures that you get more essential nutrients. In general eat as many different vegetables and foods as possible.
• Use probiotic capsules (good intestinal bacteria) daily to increase your digestive system's power and higher nutrient uptake.
• Herbal tea - To aid digestion, try sipping a small cup of herbal tea during your meal (netshop). Simmer one to two teaspoons of grated or sliced fresh ginger root for ten minutes in one cup of purified water to relieve nausea and bloating. Steep one teaspoon of dried peppermint leaves or three teaspoons of fresh leaves in one cup of boiled water to help dispel intestinal gas.
• Walking to prime digestion - A brisk twenty to thirty minute walk after a meal helps activate digestion.
• Eat only when you are hungry – eating extra when you're not hungry, will as a Candidapatient on the diet with its very high fibercontent, just push food further ahead in your digestive system and thus create more faeces and possibly diarrhea
• Don’t nap right after a meal - It will just slow down your digestion
• Investigate the possibility of food allergies - Repeated episodes of indigestion may be a signal that you suffer from food sensitivities or allergies. Try eating a four-day rotation diet, and tracking what you eat and how you feel in a food diary.
Stress and Digestion
Psychological stress has a major impact on your digestion. If your body is in alarm mode, as is the case with psychological stress, most of the energy and oxygen in the body become directed to where it’s needed, and that is in particular in the muscles. Other important body functions will on that expense be neglectet, including bowel function and digestion. In this situation you will only have little resources avaible to digest the food in the gut and to direct the nutrients to where they are needed. The result will often be physical discomfort such as poor digestion, including gas, pain, fatigue and heartburn. At mentally stress you will often experience poor sleep because you can’t relax and stop thinking about the things that stresses you.
It is also important to remember that you experience the maximum starvation of the Candidafungus when you sleep, because nutrient turnover in the body is minimal at sleep. So relax and get the good sleep, that is so important for your digestion, immune system and fight against Candida.
Eating Organic and vegetarian
Vegetarian or vegan eating, may not be the best way to recover from systemic Candidainfection. Vegetarians have a particularly high risk of suffering from various nutrient deficiencies because they choose to leave out healthy and nutritious foods like meat, fish, eggs and dairy products. These food groups contain many essential nutrients that can be difficult to get enough of on a vegetarian diet. The consequence of this may be nutrient deficiency diseases and a weakening of the immune system. The result could be a worsening of the systemic fungal infection. Especially B-vitamins play a crucial role in the development of systemic fungal infections, as they are necessary for the function of the gastrointestinal tract and hence the immune system. B-vitamins are especially found in meat products. Vitamin D is one of the most important vitamins for the immune system and is found mainly in fatty fish products. Important minerals include iron, zinc and iodine are mainly found in animal products. In addition, animal foods contain complete protein sources and complete proteins contain all essentiel amino acids in contrast to vegetable protein sources. Vegetable protein sources typically have to be combined in order to obtain a complete coverage of the amino acids. In addition, the protein digestibility is normally lower in vegetable proteinsources. Finally, animal products are often very tasty, which is important to stimulate the appetite.
We have carefully chosen some of the healthiest, most digestable and most nutritious foods available on the market. All foods and brands in our netshop have been tested on Candidapatients and should be tolerated by most patients. Some of them are organic others non-organic. Organic products are not a requirement for Candidapatients, but with organic products you are on the safe side, as some conventional meat products may contain antibiotic residues and vegetables may contain spray residues. With organic products you also support sustainable agriculture in terms of environment and nature.
Pregnant/breastfeeding
Can you start the Candida diet while you are pregnant or breastfeeding? The quick answer is no – the full Candida treatment plan is not suitable for pregnant women. You need plenty of calories and a very varied diet to secure that your child will grow and develop optimal. However, if you make a few changes to the treatment, you can develop a plan that will be safe for both you and your baby. While this may not eliminate your Candida, it will at least keep it at bay and reduce your symptoms, until you can start the Candidadiet again. In addition to the ALLOWED foods:
- Eat high quality carbohydrates with low GI like beans, whole grain rice, whole grain cereals, sweet potatoes, parsnips and winter squash are great sources of complex carbs. Eat also minor amounts of berries, apples, pears.
- Avoid added sugars (fructose, corn syrup, glucose, sucrose or anything else that sounds like an added sugar)
- Eat quality protein like fresh beef/veal, poultry and lamb. Avoid processed meats.
- Eat fat dairy products such as yoghurt naturel, cream, crème fraiche 8-38% (provide both calories and lactic acid bacteria).
In addition, you as pregnant/nursing should be very careful with supplements, both in terms of antifungals, immune stimulators, probiotics and die-off products. Some of them may have adverse side effects during pregnancy. In contrast, a supplement of high quality vitamins and minerals can be an advantage, as it will support you and your immune system in your fight against Candida and help to ensure that your child develops optimally. In our netshop we have some very gentle vitamins and minerals, that will benefit both you and your unborn child. Also note that you should consult your doctor or midwife before beginning any new diet plan during pregnancy.
Eating out and social life
The Candidadiet kan make your social live rather challenging when you are eating out. You can usually get good support from the wait staff if you just ask them for their help in avoiding some food intolerances that you have. In most cases your server will be compassionate and helpful and look upon making sure you get the right food as an interesting challenge.
In the unfortunate circumstance where you find yourself at a restaurant that has very few "safe" choices on the menu, you may have to hand your server a list of the foods that you can eat and ask them or the chef to recommend something appropriate. You can provide specific instructions.
Different types of restaurants will pose different types of challenges for you. For example, (for inst ethnic restaurants) in both Chinese and Thai food, look out for sugar hiding in the sauces and dips etc. Quality restaurants that produce the menu from basic foods are the best. Steamed veggies, fish, rice, scrambled/boiled eggs or chicken. If you are really stuck and there is nothing but deep-fried, battered chicken or fish, you may need to just pull the skin off and hope for the best.
The situation can be particularly challenging if you are hyper-sensitive and also respond to airborne allergies. Here, the molecules in the air will be taken up through your lungs and into the bloodstream. Especially tobacco smoke and in some cases alcohol vapor from breath in sealed rooms with poor ventilation can be a probleme. Fortunately smoking policy in public places have been tightened significantly the last years.
It's a little easier if you are invited out to a dinner with friends or family. Here you can bring your own food from home in a plastic box. Be always open about your disease and especially about your diet. For example, when visiting friends/acquaintances or meet new people. It will make it much easier for them to handle it correctly. Ask your loved ones to participate in some of the diet with you or, at a minimum, to respect your choices and diet restrictions.