Although alternative medicine practitioners sometimes include conventional or natural antifungal medications in severe cases of candidiasis, diet is always an important part of the cure. While the dietary dose doesn’t kill yeast, it makes it more difficult for harmful bacteria to thrive.

Traditionally, Candida diets are based on avoiding all sugary products, as yeast thrives on sugar, alcohol (made up of fermented and refined sugar), white flour, aged and fermented food products, and anything that contain yeast. Because meat, poultry, and dairy products may contain trace amounts of the antibiotics commonly given to conventionally raised farm animals, eating organic (antibiotic- and hormone-free) meat and poultry is recommended. For allergy sufferers, it’s wise to avoid foods with yeast-stimulating molds (cheeses, grapes, fermented foods, and mushrooms), as well as environmental molds to which you may now be more susceptible.

The following program has been helpful in the treatment of candidiasis and easier for patients to follow than some of the more restrictive diets.

Beneficial foods: chicken, turkey, lamb, cold-water fish such as salmon, halibut, and mackerel; all kinds of dry beans, lentils and peas; unsweetened live culture yogurt, milk substitutes such as rice milk, nut milk, and soy beverages; white potatoes, sweet potatoes; brown rice, tapioca, buckwheat, gluten-free products made from millet, corn, soy, and arrowroot; fresh or frozen fruits without sugar, canned fruits packed in water; almonds, cashews, pecans, and walnuts and butters made from these nuts; pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, and pumpkin seeds and spreads made from these seeds; unrefined, expeller-pressed canola, flaxseed, and olive oils; all vegetables and freshly prepared vegetable juices.

Foods to avoid: beef, pork, cold cuts, hot dogs, hot dogs, canned meats; eggs; milk, cream, cheese, ice cream, non-dairy creamers; all products made from wheat, wheat gluten, wheat flour, oats, spelt, kamut, rye, barley, amaranth, quinoa; coffee, black tea, cocoa, Postum, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, citrus juices, sweetened fruit juices, strawberries, nuts, citrus; misery; margarine, vegetable shortening, refined oils; bottled salad dressings and spreads and spreads, butter (unless clarified); canned or creamed soups and vegetables; and fried foods.

Herbal supplements: A formula called Candacin, which contains extracts of grapefruit seed, black walnut, goldenseal, and bearberry leaf, is also helpful in eliminating yeast. Chlorophyll tablets can chemically create an internal environment that is not conducive to the growth of Candida. The herb pau d’arco has also been shown to be helpful in fighting Candida, as has aloe vera and biotin, a B vitamin (take with the other B vitamins).

Some doctors give their candidiasis patients caprylic acid, a fatty acid found in coconut oil, before relying on conventional antifungal medications. However, many alternative medicine doctors find that pharmaceuticals like Diflucan are the best treatment for primary overgrowth. If you are taking antifungal medications, it is recommended that you supplement with the probiotic cultures Lactobacillus acidophilus and Bifidobacterium befidum.