When I don’t know what picture suits the post, I just go with flowers
Last post, I told you all about the basics of candida cleansing. But since there are a lot of different opinions on what is allowed on a cleanse and which supplements should be taken, I am here to share with you the exact details of what I am doing for the next few weeks as I go on a homicidal yeast killing campaign.
First of all, what am I eating?
Okay, so as I said, all forms of sugar are the biggest candida culprits, followed by moldy, and yeasty foods. Fungi are also an issue.
So my menu at the moment consists of this:
All non-starchy, non sugary tasting vegetables, organic meat, organic eggs, homemade milk kefir (made from what I believe is raw milk), most soaked nuts and seeds, quality butter, avocados, coconut products and coconut oil, olive oil, lemons, limes, and sea salt.
Foods that are not allowed on the menu during a candida cleanse are:
Sugar in all forms, food additives and processed foods, fruit, cheese, most dairy products, peanuts, pistachios, mushrooms, gluten grains, bread, sugary vegetables like carrots, beets, corn, and sweet potatoes, white foods like potatoes or white rice, vinegar, most fermented foods unless you made them yourself.
To be honest, non gluten, non sugary tasting grains like brown rice and quinoa are where I’m getting hung up. Lots of candida diets will allow these, but many people say that all starches will metabolize into sugar in the body, so they aren’t allowed. At first I had intentions of having no grains or starches at all, but I think I may have small portions of them once a day. The problem is that this diet is extremely low carbohydrate, and personally, I don’t want to go into the state known as ketosis – where your body burns its fat stores as energy instead of the carbohydrates you’re eating. This is great if you are trying to lose weight, but I really don’t want to lose any weight!
Alright, so what supplements am I taking during my cleanse?
- First of all, I’m taking a yeast killer I got from the naturopath called Canplex. It contains three potent yeast villians – grapefruit seed extract, pau d’arco, and calcium undecylenate. Apparently it’s quite powerful and the three different antifungals ensure that you are getting all the yeast and you aren’t missing any strains that may be resistant to one or two of them. I’m not clear on whether or not I should take a break from it or switch it up with something else in order to be sure it won’t stop working. I’ll have to think about that some more.
- Second, I am taking a liver support supplement that I got from the naturopath called Liv Tox. It’s a blend of milk thistle, turmeric, and some other liver enhancing herbs. You see, the liver is the major detoxification organ of the body, and when you have yeast creating all kinds of toxic by-products, it can get overworked. Liver support is not generally a supplement required for candida cleansing, but it is important to help support it as it goes to work detoxing all the soon to be dead yeast that need to be passed out through the body.
- Third, I am taking a good quality probiotic called HMF Forte in order to get in there and repopulate my guts with the good guys. These probiotics are grown from human strains of bacteria (as opposed to animal or plant strains) so they have a high chance of actually adhering to the intestinal tract. I am also taking homemade milk kefir which is another powerful probiotic to help along this process.
- Fourth, I am taking a soluble fiber supplement called psyllium husk. This is the gelatinous seed shell of the psyllium plant. Your body can’t digest them, so they go through your body unchanged. They gel up once inside you and they absorb water, toxins, yeast, and impurities as they move through your digestive tract. They add bulk to your stool and aid peristalsis, which inevitably relieves constipation and other digestive issues.
- Fifth, I’m taking Carlson’s Cod Liver Oil. Not that this has anything to do with yeast, it’s just awesome and I think it’s really helped my skin. I plan to take this every day for long after this cleanse is over.
Okay. So there you go. That is what I am doing! I will update soon with notes about how my progress is going 🙂
[UPDATE] – Check out my official candida cleanse program!
one question about the carrots being “sugary” — how are they so? the sugar content is really low, isn’t it?
how is this so? I’ve started to eat a LOT more carrots, and it’s helping my skin a whole ton! (or is it just because of the bad bacteria cleanup?)
Everything I read always says they are quite high in natural sugars! It doesn’t mean they are bad for you… they are also full of beta carotene and other vitamins and minerals that can be helping your skin. I’m just not eating them while I’m doing the cleanse, but I plan to eat them again soon.
This diet sounds similar to the Weston A Price diet (author of Nutrition and Physical Degeneration). Basically this super cool dude studied native diets of non-Westernized people in the 40s and published his findings…meat, veggies, fruit, nuts/seeds, bone broth, “good” dairy (raw/fermented), soaked grains (not sure what is meant by that) and traditional fermented food (kombucha, kimchee, sauerkraut). When you mentioned you were taking the cod liver oil this reminded me (couldn’t remember what I was going off on this spiel about haha). I can’t wait for the results of ur candida cleanse!
Yes! I have read all about Weston A Price, and his diet, primal diets, and candida diets all seem so similar, seem to get the best results for the most people, and just make sense!
Hey tracy.
Great post, but don’t forget garlic as well. – Great to cook it with your quinoa. It has therapeutic effect and well recommended by Donna Gates if you heard of her. She wrote a fantastic book on Candida.
Anyway, why do you say peanut’s bad? Ain’t they nuts? (no pun intended)
Hi Jeremy!
Peanuts aren’t good on the candida diet, mostly because they are very highly susceptible to mold, even organic peanuts. Although I have heard that there is a kind of peanut… valencia peanuts that are grown in such a dry environment, they aren’t prone to mold. So maybe though would be okay…. but anyway, the second reason is because they aren’t actually a nut at all! They are a legume masquerading as a nut.
How knowledgeable, Tracy. Valencia? Mmm, I heard there was another one called “Jungle Peanut”.
Damnit, roasted peanuts are one of my favourites. I’ll research further into this, but thanks. Any thoughts on Almond and Cashews?
I’m curious Tracy, how do you deal with eating out while you’re in college? Do you packet your own food? There’s like ZERO shops over at my country that sells “healthy food”. That sucks, lol.
Well, you don’t need to eat lots of weird health food…. just do your best to eat as many fruits and vegetables and “real” food as possible within your situation. Also, I’m not technically in college (I’m taking my nutrition program by correspondence), but I feel for those who are… I know it’s not the most welcoming time to try and be healthy, especially if you’re living in dorms. But all you can do is your best and make sure your other areas of health are really up to par to make up for it!
Since I stopped eating sugar I haven’t had a new pimple, but I’m still not that happy about my skin (lots of stubborn inflammation). I think it’s because I don’t eat enough so I have some deficiencies, but how can I eat enough on a candida diet? You think eating tons of meat and eggs is good? I already eat 6 eggs, 200g red meat, 200g fish every day. With coconut oil to cook, and some fish oil as supplement. Also a lot of vegetables of course, almost with every meal.
I don’t eat nuts anymore as they’re hard to digest, and soaking them doesn’t seem to help (it makes it worse for me).
Maybe I’m not being patient enough. After all, I ate 2 apples and two slices of bread 4 days ago. Didn’t give me a zit, but it probably slowed some things down.
Hi Bruno… I seem to be feeling quite satisfied on my candida diet so far! But I am a small person, so it’s hard to say… you may need more food than me. I don’t eat heaps of meat, like one portion of it on my plate, and then a whole heaping plate of salad and veggies. I put some butter and seeds on top too…. and in the morning’s I’ve been having a handful or two of nuts with avocadoes and kefir and a bit of coconut and greens and cod liver oil in a smoothie……. yes to be honest, I think it’s the nuts and seeds that are keeping me fuller, so that is too bad if they don’t agree with you :/ I’m not really sure if they agree with me either, at least not in large amounts. I’m not sure what to suggest!
Thanks for sharing the details – so interesting!
Back in February I did a low carb thing to help straighten out my diabetes and it totally worked – but after two weeks I noticed the effects of ketosis, which was not fun at all 🙁 so then sweet potatoes, carrots and brown rice all came back into my life!
But I’m happy to have done it because I know more about just how many carbs I personally need… And I reduced my insulin requirements loads – wahoo!
I hope it all goes well – look forward to hearing how you get on 🙂
hey so what did you actually find were the symptoms of ketosis for you, Alissa? I’m curious
I was permanently tired and lethargic – and it took a lot of effort for my muscles to function. I swear every time I exercised I could feel how much my body was struggling trying to find some energy! I didn’t feel like my normal self at all 🙁
One of the good things though is that all my other sensitivities became more alert – I knew when I was full, and my body became much quicker to react to everything, sort of super aware really.
But that has only just started to dull weeks after going back to eating more carbs. Perhaps that’s why intermittent fasting is so important?!
How are you finding it?
Well, I don’t know if I’ve hit ketosis or not! I’m not really having any symptoms of it… I think I’m feeling slightly more lethargic than before although not significantly… (although “before” was mostly just a less strict paleo diet with sweet potatoes and some rice and stuff so I already was feeling pretty good)…. perhaps I’m just eat so much veg that it’s enough carbs to keep me out of it.
You probably eat way too many carbs, ketosis is when you eat less than 75g of carbs. I got the same tired feeling.
Tracy! After taking the yeast health quiz it seems that I too have a yeast overgrowth problem, which makes sense after being on birth control for a number of years and the fact that I was on a round of antibiotics for acne before I knew better. I want to take the supplements you’ve mentioned, but I’m curious as to how you’re taking them. Do you rotate them? Are you taking them before or after meals? Which ones do you take together if you are in fact rotating? How long are you taking all of these?
Thank you!
-Chelsea
hmm I try to take the canplex between meals, and the probiotics with meals… and the psyllium some time when I am not taking other supplements so that it doesn’t absorb them… and the cod liver oil and Liv-tox I usually take in the morning with the kefir, but that doesn’t really matter when you take these, just take them with food. it’s actually kind of annoying juggling them all, but I won’t be taking all of them forever, so I just deal with it.
Also, I found this great website that seems to have some awesome candida diet recipes!
http://www.thecandidadiet.com/recipes.htm
-Chelsea
Hey Tracy!
I started with the candida cleanse/diet 3 days ago cause I had one too many symptoms that pointed that direction, and I’m already experiencing breakouts 🙁 is that normal? I would assume it is considering my body is detoxifying but I dont know…Also I’m feeling weak/fatigued, did you go through that face too??
Yes! It definitely sounds like you are just detoxing. Try to relax and don’t get too anxious about the results. I know it’s hard, but it’s not helpful! 🙂
Also, honey doesn’t get absorbed into the body through the skin, so don’t worry about that.
and also,would you still wash your face with honey during the cleanse or would the body absorb it through the skin and still be bad for the candida elimination?
Tracy, how about mushrooms in general, not talking about candida diet?
Yep mushrooms are fine to eat, and there are some really beneficial mushrooms out there in the world – buuut… I need to look more into that before I write about different mushrooms and their benefits
ok so over a year ago i had an eating disorder and i went on an “all fruit” diet for like 3 months. anyways i had really bad acne, its not so bad now, but i cant get rid of it. do you think its possible i have candida from all the fruit bingeing? and would it be bad to go for a 30 minute jog daily during the cleanse? or no exercise? help will be greatly appreciated, thanks (:
Yes, I think it’s definitely possible that you have candida from all the fruit – plus I hear it can really mess up your blood sugar controls. How is your diet now? It’s not the end of the world – it can all be reversed!
And yes, I would definitely recommend exercising during your cleanse… exercise will help you detoxify way faster! A candida cleanse doesn’t mean you aren’t eating anything and therefore would have no energy. You can still eat lots of food, just no sugary foods (even natural sugar) or junk foods.
well people kept telling me my skin would calm down once i got food in my stomach, but well it got sorta better, but i cant get rid of it. and i was told that not enough carbs can deplete muscle and make you feel weak. what foods can i eat more of?
and thank you soooo much for answering my comment 🙂
Well just eat lots and lots of vegetables… you can also eat meat, eggs, raw kefir, nuts, seeds, avocados, some brown rice or quinoa…you’ll get more than enough carbs 🙂
okay, thank you soooo much tracy! 🙂
What are all the supplements and vitamins you take daily? Thanks! i <3 your blog!
My supplement use comes and goes…. right now, nothing except cod liver oil. I don’t really like the idea of being stuck on supplements for the rest of your life (cod liver oil is a replacement for an essential whole food though that is way depleted from our modern diets – omega fatty acids, so I consider it to be different). I feel that supplements can be useful to bring your body back into balance so that your body can take it from there…. however, everyone is very different as to what they actually need for their body at any given time so its hard to recommend supplements
Hey Tracey,
First of all, thank you so much for the incredible work you are doing, your site has really been an eye opener for me! I am gearing up for a candida cleanse (hopefully I will still be going strong to join you with yours in a few weeks!) and was wondering if organic store bought kumbucha and raw goat kefir would be okay instead of making it on my own? Im going to make some kraut but just dont have time to make everything. I noticed you have vinegar and store bought fermented foods on your no-no list. Why not vinegar? I usually buy Braggs raw apple cider vinegar. Thanks again!
Hi Amber!
I’m ALMOST done the candida program, and i maaaay be announcing it tomorrow and opening sign up. I think. Tomorrow or wednesday.
To answer your questions: kombucha, I’m iffy on. After reading more about it because I wasn’t sure whether to recommend it or not – it’s one of those things that some people with candida think is great, and others it doesn’t go very well… so I decided to leave it off the list, but it’s not to say you can’t drink it if you don’t want to. I don’t mean that it’s bad in general, I just don’t know for the initial phase of a candida cleanse. But either way… yes, store bought kombucha is okay if it isn’t unnaturally sweetened. You can also use store bought to actually grow your own starter. Store bought kefir is okay too as long as it’s not sweetened, its’ just no where near as powerful. Make sure you also use a probiotic supplement too.
Also, raw unpasteurized apple cider vinegar is the exception. You can use that, because it has some candida fighting properties.
Hey Tracy, I’ve been away & missed you candida cleanse, will you be hosting another? My naturopath wants to put me on a anti-candida diet/cleanse. It’s in 3 stages with supplements (weed, seed/feed & speed). After processing it all, I started to get concerned that I could break out on this cleanse. Is it possible? Thanks, Andrea.
Hi Andrea,
Yes I will be hosting another! Every 4 to 6 weeks, I think. The next one will start on April 10th (click on “candida cleanse” on the menu bar at the top if you want to sign up). The current one is going great… a really good group with lots of support going around.
As for breaking out on the cleanse, most do see a slight worsening of acne in the beginning of the cleanse, because your body is releasing all these toxins as you improve your diet and kill off the yeast. But, its so worth it because then it gets a lot better after. Lots of people on the current cleanse are seeing massive results with the diet.
oh forgot to ask about your cod liver oil. Does the oil ever make you feel queasy? I take a Metagenics EPA/DHA oil & I find it really difficult to take. I would much prefer capsules, but I know liquid is better….
Do you notice that you have a hard time taking other oils or fats? Some people need digestive support to get their gall bladder to release bile to break down fats.. so that might be a reason for the oil making you queasy.
Another reason is if the oil is rancid? I don’t know anything about that brand, but it needs to be in a dark bottle and kept refrigerated, as omega fats go bad really easily
Hi Tracy,
I have been battling hand eczema for 2 years. Had eczema all my life. Found your site and decided to try a candida diet and use some coconut oil and probiotics. Cut way down on sugar too. It has been 4 days and I already see improvement. My hands are healing! Is pasta OK to eat or is it too starchy? I will continue on this for a couple more weeks, then go back to eating normally. If it flares up again I will get the Canplex and liver support. Thanks!
Hey Karen! That’s awesome… I know how terrible hand eczema is… so painful. I’m stoked it’s starting to heal already!
Anyway, I would say definitely no to the pasta, and you really shouldn’t be eating any wheat or gluten if you’re candida cleansing (I don’t really recommend it in general either!)… but hey, if what you’re doing is working for you, then maybe it doesn’t matter!
Thanks for telling me about the pasta. Couple of more questions for you. It seems like I am getting a flare-up. Do you think that is a die-off reaction? Also, coconut oil seems to be a double-edged sword for me. If I use it too much I get tiny blisters. What other oil can I moisturize with?
It’s normal for detox flare ups to come and go as you heal, so I wouldn’t worry yet. As for oils to use, read this article here: https://thelovevitamin.com/3103/that-oil-is-ours-basic-skincare-with-oils/
Hey Tracy,
The candida diet allowed me to see that one certain food was causing my flare-up and that was potatoes. My hand eczema is completely gone now that I have cut out all “nightshade” veggies. (Potatoes, peppers, eggplant and tomatoes). Thought this info. may be helpful to others who read your site. Guess I am allergic to potatoes.
Are you allowed to have cooked vegetables on the diet, or only raw?
It seems that most of the meals basically protein and vegetables..?
I am just trying to figure out if I will be able to do this! It seems hard but do-able.. I’m worried about the organic meat.. I am Jewish and we have kosher meat.. that is when the animal is cut a special way etc… I don’t think there is organic meat as well as being kosher…? : / is it bad if we cant get organic meat?
Hi Tracy,
I’ve been looking all over!! Where can you buy canplex?
Thanks,
Jessica 🙂
You know, I don’t really know. I have only ever gotten it from my naturopath, and it used to be available on Amazon, but it doesn’t look like it is anymore. So.. not sure :/ I know this is the people who make it: http://www.signaturesupplements.ca/ but it doesn’t seem to give much info
Thanks Tracy. I’ll keep hunting 🙂
Hi Tracy, I’m in the same kind of situation as you were, not wanting to lose any weight while on these extremely low carb diets. I don’t know what to do because I think I have candida, parasites AND leaky gut which are all contributing to my acne. You see all of these require nearly the exact same diet, low carb/starch and its going to be very hard not to lose any weight on these diets but I really want to get rid of my acne. It’s like catch 22 lol.. Any suggestions? I also don’t want to be spending a lot of money on naturopaths and tests because im only 14 and cannot afford it.
Hi Chloe, check out this article: https://thelovevitamin.com/926/healthy-eating-for-skinny-people/
Hi Tracy,
You mentioned in another article that coconut products were ok on the Candida Cleanse, but does that include coconut water and coconut milk? Coconut water is pretty sweet, but my Ayurvedic doctor recommends it for my constitution. I was hoping I could use it to make avocado smoothies while doing the cleanse.
Hello Tracey, my GP told me I have thrush on my tongue. I’ve probably had this for years without me realising. My question is what foods should I avoid to get rid of the thrush once and for all? Do I avoid green speckled lentils, chick peas, aduki beans, red and black kidney beans, cannelloni beans, sweet potatoes and all other types of potatoes including the purple majesty potatoes, beetroots, carrots, apples, bananas, mixed berries, porridge oats, short grain brown rice? And I usually have a chicken vindaloo curry every Saturdays with white rice, tandoori roti and poppadoms as well as a take away pizza. Should these two be avoided too? I have a strong feeling the dry skin around my mouth is connected to the thrush and so once it’s gone, the dry skin around my mouth would hopefully go too. Thank you!
Hello Tracy,
I just completed my first candida cleanse about two weeks ago. I took candigone and followed a very strict diet for almost three weeks. So, it definitely helped my acne but I developed the Herxheimer reaction with a small eczema patch on my cheek and I wanted to know if I should do another candida cleanse? Or what can I put on the red patch to help it go away?
Thank you so much in advance
I am just about to embark on my first candida cleanse, I was wondering if vega one all-in-one nutritional shakes would be ok to consume during this. I know it has listed stevia as the sweetner, gluten free so I assumed it would be ok. I looked again and there are lots of vegetable blends that include things like beet, strawberry etc into the powder which i know are not allowed. I kind of thought that due to the vast amount of things in there that it would probably be small amounts, maybe it would be ok? These shakes are my go to breakfast weekdays, hoping you might have some thoughts on it.
Hi Laura – most things will have some natural sugar in them and a small amount is ok.. I say if it has something like more than 4 to 5 grams of natural (or otherwise) sugar in it per serving then don’t use it on the cleanse
I am doing the candida cleanse and some sites specify the types of fish I can and cannot have. It would be nice to know I can mix up my fish options rather than just eating salmon. Also, how do I mix up my antifungals? I am taking ZAND quick cleanse candida. It has most of the things you listed in one pill. So how would I mix it up? I did a candida cleanse with the pills from “purely holistic” and took those for 2 months. I did not do a candida diet because I found out I had fatty liver and so I went on a diet for healing fatty liver and have been on that diet for 6 months now along with taking a liver tonic. The diet for healing your liver is actually VERY similar to the candida diet except for a couple of things since you stay away from sugar. (I haven’t had fruit or potatoes in 6 months.) using your clear skin program now !!! Thanks X
Hi Madison, I think if you have a large variety of antifungals in one pill, it’s less necessary to switch it up. So you’re probably good with that one for a while. As for fish, I think it’s because a lot of fish have mercury in them? I can’t quite remember off the top of my head what the reason is for not more variety there. Anyway, good luck!