When you’re looking to heal candida through food, the BED diet, one of the Candidiasis diet options available, follows a few simple principles which I will go through in this post. 

The BED Diet, or Body Ecology Diet, is a systemic candida diet that may help to restore gut health and replenish friendly bacteria in the digestive tract. One of the main goals of the BED diet is to eradicate candidiasis, but it can also be effective for immune conditions. 

BED is a good option to consider if you’re looking for a diet for candida. 

In this post, I’ll share my BED principles and steps for healing candida, as well as my tips for following this Body Ecology candida cleanse and a summary of the body ecology diet food list. 

What is the Candida Diet & Is It Right for You?

Candida diets, including the Donna Gates Body Ecology candida diet, aim to eliminate candida overgrowth from the body by stripping out foods and substances that feed the candida growth and restore a healthier digestive flora in your gut. 

There is a strict list of what candida diet foods to avoid and you will likely need to make significant changes to your diet and meals. You can find a list of foods to avoid with candida as well as what to eat on the candida diet below. 

Trying a candida diet is one approach to candida healing, and may especially be helpful if you feel that your candida is caused by food or you are experiencing other symptoms that are related to food intolerances and digestion. 

However, in my many years of helping people heal from Candida, I have seen that there is often an emotional root cause to Candida. While diets can be a helpful part of healing Candida, they do not address the emotional root cause of Candida.

Elicia’s Steps Towards Healing Systemic Candida with the Body Ecology Diet Guidelines – BED

BED works by helping to eliminate what feeds candida. These are my recommended steps when following the Body Ecology candida diet. 

1. Become aware of the core cause of your candida and condition
2. Eliminate what feeds it 
3. Detoxify and cleanse with food and supplements
4. Boost your immune system, health, and happiness by choosing health-promoting foods, a positive belief system, and emotional healing
5. Take possession of your body, power, and life-force energy as you release repressed emotions, victim consciousness, listen to your body and trust your intuitive heart 
6. Smile, cultivate an attitude of gratitude and experience the joy of self-love

Diet guidelines referenced from: The Body Ecology Diet, Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity by Donna Gates

Foods to Avoid on Candida Diet

• Alcohol – its sugars feed the yeast, wipe out nutrients and good bacteria (probiotics).
• Drugs -prescription, illegal, over-the-counter, tobacco, caffeine & stimulants: chocolate
• Sugars – including honey, molasses, corn syrup, dextrose, brown rice syrup, and barley
• Artificial sweeteners – these are just as bad for you as natural sugar in the sense that they still activate the yeast in the body. In fact, they are even worse than natural sugar because artificial sweeteners contain dangerous chemicals that can cause a host of disorders and illnesses in the body. 
• Fruit (whole, juice & dried) – is also to be avoided as it contains natural sugars, which have an effect on yeast overgrowth. 
• Refined salt – natural Himalayan salt is OK in small amounts
• Fermented Products – heated fermented foods (raw fermented vegetables are beneficial) will aggravate the yeast in your body. These include vinegar, soy sauce, including Braggs, soy products, pickles, and alcohol.
• Yeast – baking and brewer’s – cause allergic reactions. Nutritional yeast is allowed.
• Breads and flour products, grains, pasta (except allowed grains listed) – they create too much gluten in the body, and their natural sugars feed the yeast.
• Citric acid – found in many foods and teas (read labels).
• Legumes, beans, peanuts, pistachios– too difficult to digest, and they cause fermentation and sugars; peanuts and pistachios attract fungus during processing.
• Mushrooms – encourage allergic reactions (dried shitake OK).
• Oils (all except on the allowed list) – refined, bleached deodorized canola, soybean, peanut, toasted sesame.
• Dairy / Milk Products – milk products contain natural sugars which is why they have that slightly sweet taste. These products should be avoided and include all cheeses, cream, milk, and yogurt. Natural plain yogurt, preferably made from goat’s milk, is allowed (2nd stage) because it does not contain sugar (this is why it has a slightly sour taste). Natural butter/ghee is also allowed. 
• Smoked / Cured Foods – these include ham, bacon, sausages, smoked salmon, etc. If you’re wondering about smoked salmon candida diet options or, the best thing is to avoid smoked salmon. 
• Spicy Foods – the reason for removing these is that they can destroy the friendly bacteria in the gut.
• Meat and eggs – with hormones & antibiotics
• Undigested food – from improper food combining, under-chewing, over-eating, emotional eating, and stress

Candida Diet Foods allowed 

Following the diet BED guidelines, below you’ll find more information on what you can eat as part of this anti-candida diet, as well as the candida foods to avoid listed above. Candida diets mostly agree on which foods are and aren’t good to eat, but there can be some differences of opinion so do read these carefully. 

Animal Protein Foods You Can Eat

Fish is the preferred animal protein food.

Buy animal protein foods that are free from antibiotics and hormones.

Only 20% of your meal should be animal protein and 80% should be vegetables. 

Tip: Cayenne pepper stimulates the secretion of hydrochloric acid. Sprinkle it on your protein foods or cook with it.

Eggs

Eggs can help strengthen the thyroid and liver, which is often weak in people with candidiasis. Remember to combine them with lots of alkaline vegetables to balance their acidic nature.

Contrary to popular belief, it is the egg yolk that is most healthy. The yolk contains lecithin, which aids in fat assimilation. Eggs actively raise the level of HDL, which is the good cholesterol, and they have the most perfect protein components of any food.

Tip: Try a vegetable or ocean vegetable omelet, serve your eggs poached or over easy on a bed of steamed greens. Raw cultured vegetables (expansive food) make an ideal balance with the contracting power of eggs and will greatly enhance the digestion of the protein.

Vegetarians & Vegans

Vegans and vegetarians can eat soaked almonds, seeds, candida-friendly grains, vegetables, cultured vegetables, sea vegetables, and should pay special attention to powdered supergreen formulas with their high-protein micro-algae (chlorella, spirulina, dulse, and cereal grasses). You must be especially careful to eat well, not skip meals, and eat a wide variety of foods. 

Nuts & Seeds

Nuts are protein fats and are acid-forming. They are not on the Diet until the inner-ecosystem is restored, because they are initially too difficult to digest. Nevertheless, if you can digest them, you can enjoy raw soaked and sprouted almonds, which are alkaline and slightly expansive in nature.

Seeds allowed on the diet are flax, chia, hemp, sunflower, pumpkin, and caraway. 

Tip: Sunflower and pumpkin seeds (alkaline) are easier to digest if soaked/sprouted. Flax seeds help digestion; try boiling them to make a flaxseed tea. As protein fats, they combine ideally with non-starchy, steamed vegetables and leafy green salads with olive oil, lemon and herb dressing.

Nuts and seeds are concentrated food, eat them in small quantities.

Grains

The Diet allows four grains that are gluten-free and do not feed the yeast: millet, quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat. The first three are alkaline-forming. Buckwheat is acid-forming so cook it with a little sea salt and lots of fresh herbs to balance its acidity. All are high in protein. Pay attention to how grains make you feel, you may not do well with any grains if they cause you to feel tired, bloated, and binging (emotional comfort).

Tip: Combine these grains with vegetables (80/20 rule). Eating a grain entrée for your last meal is ideal. Like seeds and nuts, they should be soaked overnight, before cooking, to remove the enzyme inhibitor.

Vegetables

Vegetables are the most perfect foods nature has given us; they are rich in the vitamins and minerals needed to heal your body, and (the non-starchy) combine well with just about every other food. All vegetables are allowed, except the ones listed in the “not allowed” section, and should be 80% of each meal. Leafy green vegetables, which grow above ground (turnip green, kale, collards, beet greens), are rich in chlorophyll and help cleanse the blood. They also provide excellent sources of calcium and iron and should be included in every meal. Ocean (or sea) vegetables greatly enhance the functioning of the immune system. They are rich in minerals and strengthen the thyroid. They include Agar, Arame, Dulse, Hijiki, Kelp, Kombu, Nori, Sea Palm, and Wakame. 

Tip: Be sure to cook ocean vegetables with plenty of sweet vegetables, such as onions and carrots, to get a good balance between the sweet and salty tastes.

Vegetables Not Allowed on the Initial, Therapeutic Version of the Diet

• Beets (unless cultured), parsnips, sweet potatoes, yams – too high in natural sugars.
• Mushrooms – too expansive and moldy (shiitake are usually O.K.)
• Tomatoes – you may tolerate them raw occasionally with a green salad.
• Eggplant & green bell peppers – people who are highly sensitive or hyperactive should not eat them since they irritate the nervous system
• Green bell peppers – are red peppers picked early and are difficult to digest. Red peppers are OK.
• Russet Potatoes – too high in sugar, and feed the yeast. Red Skin potatoes, though, are allowed. 
• Indoor, tray-grown “wheat grass” – really a long sprout – too sweet, too expansive.
• Mung bean sprouts – typically have mold on them; sunflower & buckwheat are fine.

Raw vs. Cooked Vegetables

People with weak digestive tracts often find it difficult to digest raw foods (except cultured veg). So as you begin the Diet, lightly steamed vegetables may be best. Raw vegetables, however, are an essential source of enzymes, which aid digestion. It’s important to eat both raw and cooked.

Fruits

The only candida diet fruits allowed at first are lemons, limes (can be eaten with any combination of food), unsweetened black currant, and cranberry juice (should be consumed away from other foods except green superfood powders and kefir).

All other fruits are too sweet. Eating fruit too soon often brings back candida symptoms. It may take a year or longer for you to be able to eat fruits again. After your candida is under control and you start to introduce new foods into your diet, the first fruits to try are the sour fruits – green apple, grapefruit, and kiwi. Remember to eat them alone or on an empty stomach.

Dairy Products

The milk sugar (lactose) in dairy foods feeds the yeast. Therefore, dairy products are not allowed when you start the Diet. Unfermented and pasteurized dairy products are mucus forming. Once your symptoms disappear, you may be able to tolerate a small amount of cultured dairy foods (kefir and yogurt). Yogurt and kefir have very little milk sugar and are usually safe if you are lactose intolerant but are still mucus forming.

Herbs

Most herbs are welcome. If you can get organically grown herbs, so much the better. Ones that are particularly healing include cayenne, curry, ginger, and garlic.

Fermented Foods

Fermented foods and Candida are not a good combination in general and you’ll want to avoid heated fermented foods: salted and pasteurized sauerkraut, amasake, miso (at first), soy sauce, tamari, tempeh, and rejuvelac. You can have unheated fermented foods: fermented young coconut products and raw, cultured vegetables (see benefits listed at the end).

Sweeteners

The only sweetener allowed is Stevia. This shrub has a long history of safe and therapeutic use as an herbal sweetener and as an antifungal, anti-inflammatory, and antibiotic agent. It’s also calorie-free! You may want to avoid this sweet taste to curb cravings.

Teas

Several teas are especially healing and antifungal: mathake, echinacea, and pau d’arco. Also healing: Burdock and Dandelion root teas. Ginger tea greatly enhances digestion.

Avoid black (caffeinated) teas, fruit teas, and teas with citric acid as citric acid and candida are another combination to avoid

Oils

High-quality organic, unrefined seed oils, butter, and ghee are a definite and are critical for the healing process. The unrefined seed oils allowed are – safflower, sunflower, pumpkin seed, hemp, evening primrose, borage, and flax seed (richest vegetarian source of Omega-3s) – can be used in salad dressings; coconut oil, butter, and ghee are best for sautéing. Always buy organic, unrefined oils in dark glass light-proof bottles. All refined oils and margarine must be removed from the diet.

Benefits of Cultured Vegetables

• Reestablish your inner ecosystem with natural probiotics.
• Improve digestion with enzyme reserve to eliminate toxins, rejuvenate cells and strengthen your immune system.
• Control sugar cravings and ideal for appetite control.
• Ideal for pregnant and nursing women to alleviate morning sickness and to ensure their ecosystems will be rich in friendly bacteria.
• Raw cultured vegetables are both alkaline and very cleansing.

Make Juicing Work For You

• Juices are easily digested and nutrient-rich–within minutes juices send a quick source of fuel into the bloodstream, allowing the digestive organs to take a break.
• Most juices (fruit, carrot, beet, and fennel) have a high concentration of natural sugars and feed yeast, opportunistic organisms, and stress the liver.
• Stay away from cabbage, kale, and collards because in their raw form they suppress the thyroid.
• Wheatgrass juice is rich in sugar and is too expensive. It often causes nausea or dizziness. However, it makes a great implant after an enema or colonic.
• Drink juice only on an empty stomach and “chew them” before swallowing. Wait a half hour before eating other foods.
• Juices with only greens (celery, romaine, spinach, parsley, watercress, and cilantro) and non-starchy, low sugar, high-water-content vegetables (cucumber and zucchini) have a high concentration of chlorophyll and will help cleanse your blood cells.
• Add garlic, ginger, dulse, turmeric, cayenne, flax fiber, and lime/lemon to boost the healing, cleansing, and flavor

*Diet guidelines referenced from: The Body Ecology Diet, Recovering Your Health and Rebuilding Your Immunity by Donna Gates

TOP 3 Reasons Kombucha Feeds Candida 

1) Definition of SCOBY: Kombucha is brewed using a starter culture called a SCOBY. SCOBY stands for: Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast.

Did you catch that last word? YEAST?

Kombucha is a culture specifically designed to promote the growth of yeast. Anyone trying to control yeasts and Candida in their system should therefore avoid it.

2) Low acidity: Most fermented foods have a high acidity that kills yeast. Kombucha never achieves this level of acidity.

Similar to vinegar, Kombucha has an acidity level and fungal content that strongly increases the growth of Candida and other biological yeasts. If you put yeast in a petri dish and add Kombucha, the yeasts grow at an amazing rate. The same thing happens in your body. Enough said.

A study at Cornell University confirmed that Kombucha stimulates the growth of Candida, but decreases the growth of other infective organisms. Again, Kombucha does have some beneficial properties, but only for people whose diets are not high in sugar or who do not have pre-existing Candida overgrowth.

3) High use of fruit juice: In the US, most people can’t tolerate the taste of pure Kombucha and therefore dilute it with high levels of fruit juice.

The sugars in the fruit juice (fructose, especially) provide plenty of “food” for Candida to thrive on.

Per the previous points, plain Kombucha feeds Candida enough that adding fruit juice merely adds fuel to the fire.

If you love Kombucha, I recommend substituting coconut water kefir for it. Coconut Water Kefir is very easy to brew and provides high levels of antifungal probiotics. It is a much better option than Kombucha.