What to Eat When You Have Candida?
Filed under Raw Food Controversies by Frederic Patenaude
A lot of people ask me, “Fred, what should I do about all of that fruit in the raw food diet? I have candida and I can’t handle a lot of fruit.”
Others would like me to come up with a menu planner that includes only 2 or 3 fruits per day (instead of the several pounds per day featured in my menu planners).
I will talk a little bit about this now with a disclaimer: I am not making any promises or even recommending a specific diet to anyone. I am just giving my thoughts based on my experience and research.
Candida is not all that it’s claimed to be. It’s not “caused” by sugar but rather exacerbated by the consumption of sugar (even natural ones like fruit).
However, the sugar is not the *cause* of candida. Candida is much like a fungus that will proliferate in the presence of excess sugar in the blood stream. Some theories say that the fungus is actually doing you a favor by getting rid of that excess sugar.
The problem is: why do people end up with excess sugar in the bloodstream.
The obvious answer is “because they eat sugar”. However, it’s not really the case.
Why? Others can eat plenty of natural sugar in the form of fruit and not experience any candida symptoms.
Normally, when you eat sugar (in a banana for example), that natural sugar should be used up fairly quickly by your cells. It shouldn’t accumulate in the blood stream.
When that happens, you may end up with Candida (among other problems).
The real problem is that sugar is being “trapped” in your blood stream without getting to the cells, where it’s supposed to go.
If you want an in-depth discussion about this, please download my special report on the “Fruit Controversy” and you will understand everything. Click here to download it.
Here are some ways to bring this process back to normal:
Reduce the fat in the diet – People don’t get candida because they eat too much sugar. They get candida because they eat too much FAT and eat a lot of sugar on top of that. Increases fat consumption will affect your insulin sensitivity and cause blood sugar problems, candida being just one of them.
Go to www.fitday.com and enter all the foods you eat in a day. If your fat consumption (by calories) is over 30%, you’re in trouble. Ideally, you want to be closer to 10%.
So the key is to lower fat consumption. It’s counter-intuitive, but it’s what works. Reduce fat consumption to around 10%, and after many weeks, you may find that your ability to process sugar will dramatically improve.
Exercise to Increase Demand – If there’s no “demand” for sugar, then you’re just eating it in excess. Your body has to “need” it before you can “use” it. One way to improve your insulin sensitivity is to actually get in the habit of exercising before every meal. That way, there’ll be actual demand for the sugar you eat and it can be processed quickly and efficiently.
By the way, when I use the word “sugar”, I really mean the natural sugar and carbohydrates found in fruits and whole foods.
Consume More Greens — Even if you try everything I’ve talked about, there will be an adaptation period in which your body has to get used to a lower fat diet, while not being able to fully process the sugar in fruit. One way to get around that is to actually consume more green vegetables with your fruit. That means eating fruits in combination with green leaves such as celery and romaine lettuce.
A great way to do that is to get in the habit of making green smoothies. For sample recipes, sign up for a mini-course at www.fredericpatenaude.com/greenforlife.html
Just a tip: it’s not bad food combining to mix greens with fruit. Green vegetables are actually a separate class of food â€” not to be confused with other types of vegetables such as carrots, which contain starch.
So the key with candida is to reduce your fat consumption and exercise more. That’s what all credible health professionals recommend.
The *root* of the problem is not the sugar in fruit. It’s the excess consumption of fat.
Remember: Lots of fruit + physical energy = vibrant health
Lots of fruit + lots of fat = blood sugar problems.
Choose what works.
For more information and sample menus, click here.