The Yeast Infection Diet – Not For the Faint of Heart

Despite it’s name, the yeast infection diet strives to accomplish the exact opposite of what it sounds like. It isn’t a diet to encourage yeast infections; it is intended to help eliminate and prevent infections. Most people that prefer natural remedies to medicinal ones will often say that your diet has a large impact on all aspects of your health and general well being. With this theory, the yeast infection diet is no different.

If you’ve ever made bread at home before, you already know that yeast doesn’t become active until certain conditions are met. It feeds off sugar and carbohydrates and it likes to be in a warm, moist environment. Now you may be wondering how on earth what you eat could make a difference in the bacterial/fungal balance in your vagina but it does. Different parts of your body require different nutrients to function properly and the vagina is no exception.

The logic behind the yeast infection diet is that if you don’t eat foods that supply food to the yeast, then it will be starved to death. While this is a good idea in theory, it may take quite a bit of willpower to accomplish. Depending on your source of information, the restrictions on the diet ranges from only a few restrictions to what seems like only a few allowances.

One variation of the yeast infection diet suggests that refined sugars and refined grains be completely eliminated from your diet. Natural sources of sugars are allowed and increased intake of probiotics is encouraged. Aside from these rules, there’s nothing else to this version of the diet other than eating as balanced of a diet as possible.

Another much more intensive version of the diet could leave you wondering what is allowed since so many things are excluded. This version of the diet states that none of the following should be eaten while trying to rid the body of a yeast infection:

• Refined Sugar

• Sugar Substitutes

• Egg Substitutes

• Butter Substitutes (Including Margarine)

• Breaded Meat

• Fruit and Fruit Juice

• Potatoes

• Grains of Any Kind (Including Corn, Barley, Wheat, and Pasta)

• Coffee

• Tea

• Diet and Regular Sodas

• Peanuts or Peanut Products

• Yeasts of Any Kind

• Vinegar (Except Apple Cider Vinegar)

• Certain Types of Fish that have High Levels of Mercury

Although this yeast infection diet may be extremely limiting, it does offer one benefit that other forms of treatment don’t offer–weight loss. Of course you need to make sure to eat a balanced diet and include as many fresh vegetables, lean meats, and natural dairy products as possible. If you can do this, you may just shed a few unwanted pounds in addition to clearing up your yeast infection. What’s better than a two-for-one special?

View the original article here