Re: How important is the candida diet?

Diet is not near as important that maintaining the flora, which maintains a slightly acidic terrain that controls the Candida.  Keep in mind that everyone has Candida, it is a natural part of the body.  But not everyone has Candida overgrowth.  All the areas of the body that Candida normally reside in also contain beneficial bacteria (flora) that produce acids that turn off the Candida growth gene and keep the Candida in a more benign yeast form.  When the flora are killed, such as with antibiotics the Candida growth gene is turned on and the Candida goes fungal forming tissue damaging hyphae.

The biggest mistake people make is that they try to kill of the Candida with antifungals.  But this just leads to rebound growth, especially with cellulase and hemicellulase enzymes.  

A restrictive Candida diet does not work either because it does not address the cause of the Candida overgrowth, which is the lack of flora leading to an alkaline terrain that the Candida thrives in.  Think about it.  People can eat all sorts of junk food and not have Candida overgrowth.  Why?  Because the flora are keeping the Candida controlled.  With candidiasis something disrupted the balance between the acid forming flora and the alkaline loving Candida.

Restoring the flora will do more to getting the Candida under control than any antifungal or Candida diet.  Probiotics are a good start, but you want a variety of strains, not just acidophilus.  You also want large quantities of flora.  The easiest and cheapest way to do this is with homemade kefirs and other cultured foods.  Just remember to allow them to ferment long enough to destroy all the sugars in them before ingesting them.

You will need to feed the flora as well so they will reproduce and generate their beneficial acids.  The flora feed on fibers such as brans and gums.  I prefer rice bran and oat bran because they are soft fibers and very nutritious.  They are not harsh to the intestines like wheat bran and psyllium, and do not cause bloating like psyllium.  Gums, such as konjac gum and guar gum, are also excellent foods to feed the flora.