How to Add Probiotics to the Candida Diet

The recently popular Candida diet was developed to combat candidiasis, the overgrowth of the naturally occurring fungus Candida albicans, which grows in the intestinal tract and on the skin. Probiotics have been suggested as a companion to the Candida diet as means of restoring the body’s microbial balance, which limits the food sources for candidiasis to thrive.

A Candidiasis infection can develop unseen in the intestines or visibly in the mouth (thrush), nails and skin, and the vagina (yeast infection). According to the Centers for Disease Control, its most dangerous form is known as invasive candidiasis, which spreads the infection throughout the body via the bloodstream, causing damage to bones, muscles, and organs.

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While there is no one all-encompassing Candida diet, nutritionist Yuri Elkaim told U.S. News and World Report that he had to cut out all forms of sugar — processed and natural — to get rid of his own candidiasis infection.

“Essentially, the only things you can eat on this diet are certain meats, green veggies, and some nuts,” Elkaim said.

But Dr. Debora Gordon at Madrona Health Care in Ashland, Oregon, recommended fermented foods as a good source of probiotics to complement a Candida diet.

“Adding probiotic foods to your diet such as yogurt, kimchi, and kefir that contain beneficial bacteria as well as supplements such as acidophilus will hasten the process of restoring the balance of flora in your intestinal tract,” Gordon said on her website.

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Lisa Richards, a self-proclaimed expert on the Candida diet who has written extensively on the topic at TheCandidaDiet.com, suggests chicory root to feed pre-existing intestinal probiotics.

“Chicory coffee is caffeine free, has a similarly bitter taste to normal coffee, and contains an excellent prebiotic named inulin that will help the colonies of beneficial bacteria flourish in your gut,” Richards said.

Another often recommended prebiotic to restore your healthy probiotics is raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, which can be found incorporated into many Candida cleanses or detoxes and versions of the Candida diet.

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