The 10 Strongest Antifungal Foods For Cleansing Candida

5. Yogurt & Other Cultured and Fermented Foods

My advice regarding fermented foods is different than what you’ve likely heard elsewhere.

I’m not a fan of giving kefir, kombucha or sauerkraut to patients with gut problems. I've seen too many patients get aggravations from eating these foods when their gut wasn't in great shape yet.

I’ve seen this with kefir in particular.

If you’re got a dysfunctional gut and you start drinking kefir every day, you can actually create a bigger problem than you’re trying to solve. You can actually get a strain of Candida from kefir.

This is because kefir is a ferment and not a culture. The difference is it contains yeast and not just bacteria like yogurt and other cultures to.

And this yeast can overgrow if you don't have high levels of beneficial bacteria to keep it under control. I’ve seen this happen many times with stool testing. Same with kombucha. It’s a ferment and ferments can play up your gut if you don't have high levels of beneficial bacteria yet.

So what foods do you eat instead you ask?

Two of my favorites are miso and tempeh. Tempeh is very effective at increasing your levels of beneficial bacteria. Tempeh is basically tofu that’s been inoculated with friendly bacteria. It’s got an almost meaty like flavor to it.

I know a lot of people out there think eating soy is like pouring toxic nuclear waste into the digestive system. Lots of websites these days tell you to avoid tofu and soy products for gut health. But this isn’t what I’ve observed from working with gut disorder patients and doing thousands of stool tests.

You don’t need to avoid soy products. I’ve seen hundreds of patients recover while eating these foods. The only soy products you should avoid are the highly processed ones full of junk like artificial colors. Regular non-gmo soy beans don’t cause leaky gut or harm your gut in any way.

Other cultured foods that boost beneficial bacteria are buttermilk and yogurt. Look for a natural sour Greek yogurt sourced from full fat grass-fed organic milk. That’s the best kind.

If you're new to these foods, start with yogurt. Most patients can tolerate yogurt perfectly fine. If you can't tolerate the cow milk or goat's milk yogurt, try coconut yogurt. I find it quite tasty and easy to make at home.

Start with these foods and then you can work your way up to kefir and sauerkraut once your health improves.