Candida and painfull periods

Common Causes Of Candida (And How To Stop It)

December 13, 2010 10:29 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅ ladykaye

For women who suffer from persistent yeast infections considering the Candida Diet as a natural alternative to expensive and ineffective over the counter medications can be a wise choice in helping to prevent it from reoccurring.
What’s happening ‘down there?’
Candida Albicans (a.k.a. yeast infection) is a form of naturally occurring yeast in the body, on the skin and in moist areas like the mouth and vagina. Under normal circumstances it can be totally harmless. However, yeast infections happen when there is an overgrowth of yeast in the area relative to the amount of healthy bacteria or when the immune system is compromised. Pregnancy, diabetes, oral contraceptives and deodorized feminine hygiene products also increase the chances of developing a yeast infection.
It is important to understand that a yeast infection is not a STD (sexually transmitted disease) and should not be considered an source of embarrassment. Although inconvenient and uncomfortable, it can be cleared up relatively easily simply by starving the body of what fuels the yeast growth…sugar.
Common symptoms of candida:

• Burning
• Itching
• Vaginal Discharge (similar to the consistency of cottage cheese)
• Odor
• Pain During Intercourse

The basics of the Candida Diet is eliminating the foods that the yeast thrives off of, starving it to death, so to speak. Now I will warn you, this is a very radical change for those used to subsisting off of the S.A.D. diet (Standard American Diet of highly refined, highly processed, sugar-laden foods). But if you can manage, or at least find the balance, you can successfully eliminate this pesky life disruptor.

Foods To Avoid On the Candida Diet:

• Dairy Products (milk, cheese, butter, etc.)
• Alcohol
• Caffeine
• Vinegar (watch out for your salad dressings)
• Sugar (including all products that contain sugar like high fructose corn syrup or any other ingredient ending in -ose)
• Artificial Ingredients & Preservatives

This will be quite a challenge at first because our Standard American diet is chocked full of these ingredients in an effort to stretch the food dollar and extend store shelf life. But with practice, it will get easier as you discover whole-food substitutes for the common foods we are used to. The good news is that you can slowly introduce some of these categories back into your diet once the candida is under control. Although, it is best to always avoid some categories like dairy and refined sugar.

Foods To Eat:

• Whole Grains (Gluten-Free)
• Vegetables
• Low Sugar Fruits (i.e. berries)
• Nuts & Seeds (except for peanuts)
• Proteins
• Probiotic Supplements (like Lactobacillus acidophilus)

A lot of people will recommend that you also eat yogurt because it contains Lactobacillus acidophilus, which is very helpful for treating Candida. However, because dairy foods cause so many other ill-effects, I do not recommend it. Besides, acidophilus is also available in pill form as a natural supplement. Look for a one that has the least amount of additives and also has ‘live active cultures’ in the billions. To read Linda Allen’s personal story about how she healed her candida yeast infection naturally, hope on over to her site…