If you suffer from candida overgrowth, chances are you’ve begun to research different types of diets which can help combat this problem.  Unfortunately, true information often times becomes buried in the internet jungle, while mis-information seems to flourish.

In fact, a simple google search for “the best diet for candida overgrowth” will yield thousands of pages all recommending to up your fruit and vegetable intake.  These same websites also often discourage the consumption of animal products since they’re “bad” for the human body.

Yet, there is more to the story that is not being told.  In actuality, many of these diets being recommended by pro bloggers and health professionals alike can actually worsen a candida overgrowth.

By the end of this post, we guarantee that we will convince you of the importance high quality animal foods have in the diet when trying to combat a candida overgrowth.

Eat More Fruits and Vegetables for Candida?

Whenever trying to improve the health of the body, the number recommendation that often gets rehashed and reused is “eat more fruits and vegetables.”  From a young age we are lead to believe that fruits and vegetables are magical super foods that can make us practically super human.

Heck, who doesn’t remember Popeye guzzling down spinach and then fighting off all the bad guys due to the super human strength the spinach blessed him with.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the case in reality.  All plants foods, including spinach, contain high amounts anti-nutrients which can severely irritate the digestive lining.  Those promoting raw fruits and vegetables are deceived into thinking that they are doing their body “good” by consuming such foods.

Raw plant foods will contain the highest amount of gut irritating anti-nutrients when compared to any other food.  This is disastrous for those with candida overgrowth since intestinal inflammation is typically high in those suffering with this pathogenic fungal overgrowth (1).

Interestingly, it’s common knowledge that vegans (especially raw vegans) and vegetarians are more prone to developing digestive disorders due to the high amounts of anti-nutrients being consumed.  The vegan and vegetarian community is filled with individuals suffering from poor digestive health who often times have their voice shunned by “leaders” of these movements.

How Anti-Nutrients Make Candida Overgrowth Worse

The last thing you want to do if you suffer from candida overgrowth is consume copious amounts of fiber rich plant foods that are going to further irritate the gut.

As mentioned before, plant foods contain an abundance of anti-nutrients that can destroy the health of the gut if not balanced with high quality animal foods (more on this below).  For those unaware, candida has the ability to naturally destroy the health and integrity of the mucosal intestinal lining.

The mucosal lining serves as a barrier of protection and helps control inflammation in the gut.  Unfortunately, candida has the ability of burrow itself into the intestines which can destroy the integrity of the mucosal lining.  It also releases small amounts of alcohol and over 70 different toxic byproducts which all have a negative effect on the health of the mucosal lining and the intestines.

To add fuel to the fire, the anti-nutrients present in plant foods can naturally strip away the protective mucosal lining as well.  Overtime, the individual suffering with a candida overgrowth will eventually have a intestinal tract that is so inflamed that only certain foods are well tolerated.

To be clear, anti-nutrients present in plant foods are there to help protect the species.  Plants cannot run away; instead, they use chemical warfare to protect themselves.  It’s for this reason that tribes and cultures throughout history have always used special preparation methods for plant foods in order to make them more digestible and easier on the gut.

Sugars, Candida, and Plant Based Diets

During your research for the best diet for candida, it’s highly likely that you came across several sources promoting “plant based diets” as the cure all.  Again, mis-information and fad diets unfortunately are being pushed upon individuals looking for real answers to their health problems.

However, knowing the metabolism in which candida operates, following a “plant based diet” could cause disastrous health effects.

Candida operates on a sugar metabolism.  This means that this pathogenic fungus needs sugars in order to survive and replicate.  Interestingly, plant foods are going to contain the highest concentration of sugars than any other food.  In fact, many fruits and vegetables are extremely concentrated in sugar which can feed candida in the body.

Sadly, these are the types of diets being recommend to those with candida overgrowth.  Not to mention that many of the plant foods bought at the grocery store have been overly hybridized and contain far more sugar than its plant ancestors.

The banana is a great example of a fruit that has undergone heavy amounts of hybridization and contains huge amounts of fructose (sugar) that is not present in wild bananas.

The Importance of High Quality Animal Foods

We’ve said it before; high quality animal foods are the most nourishing and healing foods an individual can eat if they suffer from candida overgrowth and intestinal inflammation.

Unlike plant foods, animal foods contain ZERO anti-nutrients.  As a result, they do not irritate the gut or strip away at the mucosal lining.  Also, animal foods contain no sugar.  As mentioned before, sugar is the main fuel source for candida.

The best way to inhibit the growth of candida naturally is by cutting off its fuel source; sugar.  As a result, high quality animal foods should make up the base of the diet in order to accomplish this.  For a complete diet outline, check out our Candida Diet Protocol Page.

It should be mentioned that animal foods contain all the necessary vitamins, minerals, and amino acids needed for both internal and external repair of the body.  They are perfect for restoring the health of the digestive system and reducing intestinal inflammation. 

In fact, gelatinous cuts of meat and bone broths will have the most beneficial effect on restoring the mucosal lining and restoring balance to the gut.  When the diet contains high quality animal foods and little to no sugar rich plants foods, the growth of candida can naturally be inhibited.

Where to Find High Quality Animal Products

Finding high quality, organic, grass-fed, and pastured raised animal products can be a daunting task.  Although some super markets have begun to carry grass-fed and organic animal products, this is highly dependent on where you live.

Those living in the countryside will have a greater opportunity of finding a local farm where they can obtain high quality animal foods.  However, this is of no use to those not living close to such farms.

Luckily, we have found that Grassland Beef is an amazing resource to utilize.  In fact, even though we have farms local to our area that provides high quality animal products, we still frequently use Grassland Beef (US Wellness Meats). The picture above and to the left of this text is of our recent order.

Your food will literally be shipped right to your doorstep cold (frozen).  All orders are delivered within a day and contain state-of-the-art tetra packs to keep the food cold.  We have NEVER once had a problem with food arriving bad or “thawed.”

We highly recommend you order over one-hundred dollars’ worth of food so that you can get free shipping.  Orders less than one-hundred dollars will result in extremely high shipping costs and will cost you more in the long than buying in bulk.

For those interested, here is the link:

US Wellness Meats sells quality grassland meat products – Visit us Online!

Cook Anti-Candida Meals

For those suffering with candida overgrowth, we highly recommend our Crush Candida Diet Recipe Cookbook.  We have over 20 different mouthwatering recipes that can be both great for the gut and inhibiting the growth of candida.

All the recipes within this cookbook are naturally low in carbohydrates and sugars.  You will be amazed at how good these meals taste!

Also, for more information on candida, you can always visit our homepage for more information.