Candida Foods

Hi. I'm just learning about candida and yeast, and am pretty sure I am allergic to yeast. One thing that is daunting is the number of foods to avoid, not just things made with yeast but everything from beer to vinegar to aged cheese to soy sauce.

I know if I try to cut out all these things from my diet at once, I will never be able to stick with it. I am not a cold turkey sort of person. So far I have noticed that foods with actual yeast in them like bread, pizza, soups with yeast extract cause the most violent reactions in me.

However, vinegar, cheese and wheat foods without yeast such as pasta seem to be ok, or at least I don't react as extremely to them.

My question is this: Is there a ranking of candida-causing foods in order of strength? If you had to pick two or three foods to avoid at all cost, what would the top ones on your list be? Thanks for your input.


Another thing to consider, is that there are many different strains of yeast, and you might not be allergic to all of them. Cheese for example can be made with different cheeses.
I think there are some tests for strains that can give some clue as to which yeast to avoid?
Good luck!


Thank you. That's something I didn't know. That might explain why something like gruyere or parmesan seems ok, but I experience symptoms with camenbert (with its moldy crust) or most blue cheese.

Cheese is one of my primary dining pleasures. I would have a very hard time giving it up completely.


This is a little tough, as often personal intolerances/allergic reactions will drive food choices as much as Candida doctrine does.

But, what I did is first I gave up all sugary foods, alcohol, vinegars and processed carbs. After a week or so, I moved on to eliminating all wheat products, but was stil eating corn (like tortillas). I also switched from white potatoes to yams and sweet potatoes. After a while of that I eliminated the corn products (all grains by now, so I am basically grain-free now, except for some rice on ocassion) and got my carbs instead from legumes, yams and squashes. All the while I upped my non-starchy veggies and greens, and limited fruit to once per day. I found the further I went, and the more good results I received, the easier it was to change the diet.


Thanks for your response. I was hoping there was some more codified list of foods to avoid, but I see your point about personal allergies and reactions.

I first began to suspect candida because I was so lethargic all the time and had strange mood swings. I googled these terms and candida kept coming up. I seemed to fit the profile in other ways too. A co-worker told me she had inexplicable bouts of rage that were eventually traced to a wheat allergy, so that is when I began to wonder if my symptoms might be food related.

I only eat dairy, eggs and fish, no other animal products, and no refined sugar, and the thought of having to restrict my diet even further is quite discouraging. However, I have been cutting back on foods with yeast for about a month and my last bout of PMS was the mildest I've had in years. I have more energy. I take a little yoghurt and soy every day and that seems to help too.

Thank you again for your post. Any further suggestions are most welcome.