Foods to Avoid to Halt Candida Yeast Infections

You have probably heard the saying, “Food is medicine.”  This is particularly true when it comes to preventing and treating yeast infections because yeast is a living organism that can only thrive if you feed it the foods that it loves such as -

• Aged cheeses such as smoky Gouda, old cheddar, Oka
• Alcohol of all kinds
• Chocolate – even the dark chocolate that is usually good for you
• Dried fruits including raisins, dried apricots, acai berries etc.
• Gluten-rich foods such as store-bought muffins and pasta
• Foods with nitrates such as packaged meats, hot dogs and ham
• Honey
• Ice cream
• Nut butters including peanut butter, cashew butter and almond butter
• Pickles
• Raw mushrooms
• Soy sauce
• Sprouts
• Sugar in anything!
• Yeast including healthy yeast products like milk brewer’s yeast.

The above is a list of foods that are known to make yeast infections worse if you have one. If you are being overcome by an acute attack of yeast or have as severe condition like thrush or bacterial vaginosis then you should also avoid fruits such as –

• Oranges
• Grapefruits
• Lemons
• Limes
• Pineapple
• Tomatoes

You will be able to add this foods back slowly into your diet after the inflammation caused by your yeast infection has lessened and you are no longer suffering severe symptoms

Avoiding the foods on this list might seem very difficult because candida manages to burrow into the intestinal wall and spread, like a wild fungus throughout the entire body.  You may find yourself craving, yeast, flour, sugar and pasta simply because the candida yeast you are hosting in your body needs to be fed.

Candida is actually the main cause of many carbohydrate food cravings and the weight gain that can result from it.  Candida yeast can also cause bloating, gas depression, a rounded belly, fatigue and brain fog.  However, this is not the worst thing that candida does to your body. It also creates an environment in which other organism can live. These parasitic organisms act like leeches in the intestines, consuming nutrients meant for you and causing you hunger and uncontrollable cravings.

Dandelion Greens for Detox

One way to fight back is with food. Thinking of it as medicine, keep it mind that food is most effective if eaten raw. It is also a good idea to consume vegetable and produce that is a bit riper as they contain the most candida-fighting enzymes.  Herbs that can help fight candida include echinacea, golden seal, tea tree oil, barberry, chamomile, cinnamon, dandelion, fennel, marshmallow and peppermint.

It also helps to drink as much water as you can possibly tolerate in a day, far beyond the recommended ten eight ounce glasses of water a day. Make sure that the water you are drinking is purified or distilled water or you will just be “watering” the garden of yeast thriving inside you with more toxins.

Here at the Pinewood Natural Health Center we understanding how overwhelming and tiring a chronic yeast problem can be. We are experts in helping our clients fight the tyranny of candida yeast that has taken over the body. We can, using our special programmes of detoxification and recovery help you easily conquer this problem and they other health issues, such as bad breath and obesity that often go with it.

For more information or to book a consultation about our restorative diet and weight loss programs  visit the Pinewood Natural Health Centre website that has a list of full services and products at www.pinewood.ca or call our Toronto Office at  (416)-656- 8100.  We also have an office in Pickering, Ontario at (905)-427-0057. You can also email us at info@pinewoodhealth.ca and we would be happy to answer any question that you have about our holistic health services.

Natural Treatment for BV

Vaginitis is a common and very persistent condition that can be very difficult to cure, especially if you have bacterial vaginitis.  Bacterial vaginitis, or BV as  it is known describes a chronic inflammation of vaginal tissues that never seems to go away.

The Vicious Cycle of BV

When you have bacterial vaginosis it seems almost impossible to get rid of and most women find themselves repeating these steps again and again

• It starts with itching and burning, along with a discharge with a strong odor.
• You treat it with over-the-counter remedies and a douche
• The odor, “slimy feeling” and discomfort remains
• You visit the doctor and he writes you a prescription for an antibiotic
• You take the antibiotic but before the course is finished you have develop a yeast infection and maybe even a urinary infection as well
• You are then prescribed an anti-fungal cream and antibiotic for the yeast infection and possibly a urinary track infection.

You are cure, but it only takes a few weeks until the whole painful, annoying and expensive cycle starts up again

Different Types of Vaginitis

There are three main types of vaginitis that women suffer from and at Pinewood Natural Health Institute we are experienced ridding you of the infection for good.

There is the bacterial vaginosis that is caused by bacteria and that usual evolves from a first episode of regular vaginitis.

Regular vaginitis can be caused by a number thing including fungus, vitamin B deficiencies, intestinal worms, irritation from douching, and the overuse of deodorant sprays, tight clothing, pregnancy, diabetes, antibiotics and oral contraceptives.

There is also as atrophic vaginitis that occurs in both menopausal women and in people who had their ovaries removed.

Often you are treated with antibiotics for these conditions. Unfortunately, antibiotics have all kinds of side effects including depression, fatigue, nausea, suppression of the immune system and most importantly – Candida yeast overgrowth.

The Role of Good and Bad Bacteria

Every time you use antibiotics, the good bacteria in your gut is diminished and needs replenishment. Otherwise, you are creating a breeding ground in your intestines for further illness. This is because antibiotics kill off lacotbacteria, which is your natural defense against candida yeast overgrowth.  Every time you take a course of antibiotics to treat a bacterial yeast infection it allows the candida to spread everywhere in your body.

If you are not actively replenishing your intestinal bacteria after a dose of antibiotics, both with supplements and contributing foods, you indirectly are providing to the recurrence of future health problems. An intestinal tract devoid of friendly intestinal bacteria is breeding ground for future illness. It also does not help that candida infections suppress the immune system which opens the door for the next bacterial infection to take hold.

Friendly bacteria is also necessary for the colon to maintain a proper pH or acid-based balance and if the PH is not under control then antagonistic bacteria can take hold and cause chronic difficulties

Antibiotics are chemicals that relieve immediate symptom but do nothing to eliminate the root causes of bacterial vaginosis. Women grow dependent on these drugs and use them as a quick fix for infections repeatedly until they develop a tolerance to them. The doctor continually switches the antibiotics often until none are effective at all.

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When no antibiotics work and when infections are not even showing up on cultures or in urine tests is squally when most women decide to treat their BV in another way, usually by visiting a naturopathic doctor. At Pinewood, we welcome your questions about treatment for this very common problem and we understand how you got to this point.

For more information or to book a consultation regarding any health problem that you may have, visit the Pinewood Natural Health Centre website that has a list of full services and products at www.pinewood.ca or call our Toronto Office at  (416)-656- 8100.  We also have an office in Pickering, Ontario at (905)-427-0057. You can also email us at info@pinewoodhealth.ca and we would be happy to answer any question that you have about our holistic health services.