The Effects Of Sugar On Candida Diet

To be clear, when we refer to a candida diet we are talking about a diet for reducing candida in the digestive system. In particular, candida in its more virulent form where it dominates the intestinal flora, pushing out probiotics (friendly bacteria) and changes into a fungal form which can cause damage to the digestive system and significantly upset the normal digestive process.

To fully understand the effects of sugar on candida diet we need to investigate the mechanism of candida overgrowth. The presence of candida in the digestive system is not in itself a problem and is widespread. Problems occur when candida is given the opportunity to grow excessively and in turn change into a more virulent fungal form which is said can grow 'roots' into the digestive tract.

Supposed effects of this candida overgrowth are a greatly reduced ability to digest food correctly. Nutrition from food is stolen by the candida and blocked from being absorbed through the digestive linning into the bloodstream. Instead, the by-product toxins produced by the candida are passed into the blood. Further by-products are gases which cause bloating.

By far the biggest contributor to candida overgrowth is sugar and in particular sugar in refined form. Why is this? Find out more below.

Sugar in refined form is the best fuel source for candida whilst being less supportive of probiotics due to its acid-forming nature. Excessive consumption of sugar which is commonplace in Western diets shifts the balance of power to candida which is then able to dominate the probiotics.

Also, once the candida begins to change into a more damaging fungal form it becomes increasingly difficult to treat and a vicious downward health spiral is created.

The refined sugar content in modern diets is much higher than might at first be thought due to the huge increase in pre-prepared foods rather than cooking from raw materials. A quick check of ingredients labels will show that sugar is present in a huge variety of foods including savoury foods which you would consider would not contain it. Not only that, sugar often appears high on the list of ingredients signifying that there is a lot of it in that product.

Probably the most overlooked form of sugar is in soft, fizzy drinks and in alcoholic drinks. The percentage in these drinks is extremely high in most cases and the quantities drunk are usually fairly high too.

For a candida diet the best results are obtained by considerably reducing sugar intake. There are other forms of sugar which are normally acceptable but should be considered to be reduced for a candida diet. Read more below...

It is easy enough to identify sugar when looking at ingredients labels and by the taste of it in drinks, but there are other sources of sugar which could be reduced to assist a candida diet.

Fruit is a very obvious source of sugars. Although not in the same form as sugar added to foods and normally considered 'good sugars', for a candida diet it is counted as sugar and should be avoided. Good quality vegetables contain all the necessary nutrition for a temporary candida diet.

A much less obvious source of sugars is milk and milk-based products such as cheese. These contain a form of sugar which again is not normally a problem for most people, although there are people for whom there is an intolerance mainly due to the presence of this sugar type. For a candida diet milk-based products should again be considered a form of sugar and avoided.

The effects of sugar on candida diet are by far the most important to consider. It is impossible to completely remove sugars from a diet but steering clear of these main sources discussed is likely to achieve good results within a few weeks and, once candida is under control, a normal diet can return.

Reducing the amount of sugar in the diet will starve the candida and weaken it whilst to actually treat candida there is growing popularity for "Threelac" which is a product that can be used restore the balance of good bacteria to force out the candida.

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