Sugar and White Flour - How They Affect Candida Yeast

Research studies have shown that the yeast population in mice will skyrocket (and become infectious), if the mice are fed a high-sugar diet.

The same thing happens in humans, and most of us in the Western world do eat a diet that is high in refined sugar and simple carbohydrates.

What are refined sugars and simple carbohydrates?

All types of sugar (white, brown, powdered, raw, Turbinado, etc.), white flour, corn syrup, maple syrup, and white rice are the most common. Simple carbohydrates are found in any flour made of grain that has been refined to remove the nutritious germ and high-fiber bran.

Honey is also a simple sugar, but small amounts of honey may be beneficial to the important bacteria in your gut. For this reason, a teaspoon or two of honey every day may actually be good for you.

Many people find their chronic yeast infections clear up when they just stop eating anything containing sugar or white flour. This is a simple change that is fairly easy for most people to do. As a bonus, this one change helps you lose the extra pounds you’re carrying around.

Sugar and white flour are full of calories, but have almost no nutritional value at all, so your health is certainly not at risk if you give them up.

White flour, which is used in most commercial breads, pastas and pastries, is almost as inviting to yeast as plain sugar, and has almost as little nutrition.

Both sugar and white flour should be avoided like the plague if you currently have a yeast infection, and you should seriously consider cutting down or eliminating these products permanently to keep your yeast infection from coming back.

High-calorie diets also lead to obesity, which may in turn lead to insulin resistance and diabetes or a pre-diabetic condition. One of the most effective things you can do for your long-term health is to grab a good, well-researched book on nutrition and learn as much as you can about maintaining a healthy diet. Two of the best books on nutrition (for overall health, and not just yeast infections) are Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, MD and Eat More, Weight Less by Dean Ornish, MD.

If you have trouble staying on a low-sugar diet, you may want to read Weight Loss: How to Keep Your Commitment, a book that has helped hundreds of people overcome their addiction to sugar and refined carbohydrates.

If you still aren’t convinced that diet matters, try this little experiment.

Although bakers’ yeast is not invasive and does not cause infections, it can help us understand the conditions that encourage an overgrowth of Candida albicans.

Pour ¼ cup of warm (not hot) water in the bottom of three clear glasses or clean plastic drink bottles. Add a package of bakers’ yeast to each glass and stir.

1. Leave one glass with just water and yeast.
2. Add a teaspoon of sugar to the second glass.
3. Add a teaspoon of white flour to the third glass.

Stir or shake the mixture after these additions, and then leave the glasses in a warm place for ten to 15 minutes.

When you come back you will find the yeast has expanded far higher in the glasses or bottles that contain their favorite foods – sugar and white flour. You can see from this experiment why eating sugar or white flour is not a good idea if you suffer from chronic yeast infections.

Just a note about the difference between white flour and whole wheat flour – the fiber in whole wheat flour cannot be broken down by yeast and the bran on the wheat seed itself has mild anti-fungal properties.

For these reasons, bread made with whole wheat flour does not rise as much as white bread, and bread made from whole flour does not encourage an overgrowth of yeast as much as white bread. Whole wheat bread also contains all the nutrients that are lost when the bran and germ of the wheat are removed to make white flour, so it’s much better for you.

Unfortunately, true whole wheat bread is hard to find unless you bake it yourself – many of the “wheat breads” on the market are made of colored white flour, and bread made from true whole wheat flour often contains large quantities of sugar. Until you are free of yeast infections, it may be best to avoid bread, or make your own.

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Disclaimer: The information presented on this page and other pages on this site is based upon the opinions of the author, and on the author's interpretation of published reports and articles. It is not intended to replace your relationship with a qualified health care professional, and is not intended as medical advice.

The author encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon knowledge of the issues of nutrition and health, and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.