Candida Overgrowth

Ok. I have been unable to eat yeast bread for YEARS until recently. I am going to share my great new discovery....shortly. First, I’ll explain why I couldn’t eat yeast and a few other facts about candida.

What is Candida?
Candida is a type of yeast that is a common member of the human gut flora. It doesn’t live outside the human body. Healthy candida levels are vital for proper nutrient absorption and helps protect the intestinal tract from other infections. It can, in some people, be thrown out of balance, causing an overgrowth yo happen. Symptoms can be anywhere from mild to severe. There are many possible causes, including diet, a round of strong antibiotics, diabetes, cancer treatments, hormonal imbalances and so mush more.

Some sites I found helpful for information were:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candida_(fungus)
https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/diseases/candidiasis/index.html

I do suggest you be careful about some sites you visit, as they love to use scare tactics and mix fact with fiction, just like most search results when checking google.

My experience with Candida Overgrowth:

As some of my readers know, I have a condition called Endometriosis. Research has shown that for many people Ruth Endometriosis, they often battle Candida imbalance and Overgrowth because of the hormonal imbalance, chronic pain, and strains of living with Endometriosis. I am one of those people. When Candida is out of balance, bakers yeast is a big painful no-no. The bakers yeast feeds and helps the candida keep growing. Personally, I bloat and become extremely gassy. The quick increase in gas causes pain as my body tries to deal with and get rid of the quickly increasing gas pressure... not a fun or pleasant thing to go through for sure.

So, I stopped eating anything with bakers yeast. I was quickly amazed at what has bakers yeast in it!!
Pitas
English muffins
Bread
Pizza
Flat bread
Some pastries
Donuts
Plus, some stores add yeast to things like muffins to make them poof more.

It was a bit of a harsh learning curve, but I am so glad I made the change. What I didn’t know, though, is that there is such wonderful things as wild yeast breads.

While doing some other searching, I came across this article, and it got me to thinking:

http://www.candidacrusher.com/can-i-eat-sourdough-bread-on-candida-diet.html

Hmmmm....maybe I can eat some bread. I went looking for recipes and tried some out. I found out that I do not like baking aids bread...I find it not a pleasant taste at all. I learned that yes, there is baking power bread but it just isn’t the same as normal white bread. Think banana bread but as a plain white bread. I was discouraged and once again giving up on bread for my diet.

Then, I recently started attending an Aquafit class, and met some great ladies there. One of them heard my story, and introduced me to a bread that has NO TRADITIONAL BAKERS YEAST IN IT!! I have texted some sourdough and not succeeded because most starters have traditional yeast in them to start off with. This bread, called tartine bread, is just a few simple ingredients and no added yeast. I have been blessed to be able to test the bread and so far, no issues with the bread!! I am still dealing with Candida issues, but the bread only affects me in regards to how many carbs I intake in a day. Candida LOVES carbs, and I know that I can eat carbs as long as it is sparingly.

I had beef dip on Sunday with this bread and it was AMAZING! I haven’t had beef dip in so long. Wraps just do not work for a beef dip at all...trust me I tried.

Today, I get to add a couple different varieties to my morning toast choices. The wonderful baker dropped off a fresh loaf with sesame seeds in it, and a loaf with sunflower seeds in it. Plus, they encouraged me to let my family try it too!! I’m excited to try some, so it will be toasted egg sandwiches for breakfast tomorrow morning for the family.

I’ll keep you posted on how this goes, and where you can find this delicious bread once they finish fine tuning the recipe and start selling these specialty loaves.