Yeast free diet

I have recently started a yeast free diet but I have to cut so much out that I don't know what I can eat! Any suggestions so I don't starve!?

You, um, didn't plan this out much did you?? 

Oh dear, I have to agree with RS on this one though!! Never start a new diet unless you have at least a basic food plan and an idea of what you should be eating, it seems structured but it's good to get you started. There's plenty you CAN eat, avoid bread and yeast extracts for starters.

Vegetables, unprocessed nuts and seeds, meat, yogurt, eggs, fish, wholegrains, beans, pulses and oats are all fine. A lot of flat breads should be yeast-free as they don't need it to rise. Fruits are a bit hit and miss. Are you following the 'candida diet', or just elimiating yeast containing foods? There's a difference as the candida diet will eliminate pretty much anything that contains yeast or causes the body to process it as sugar (no chocolate, sweets or simple/refined carbs and minimal complex carbs unless it's veg).

A good google search with a notepad would be the first step, work out what you shouldn't be eating then try to devise a menu of suitable foods.

That's great -that gives me a few options, although it will be tough! No tea or alcohol! Stupid fermentation! I didn't think you could eat dairy/sugar though, so that's a no for yoghurt? I hate that I can't eat fruit, it just feels odd.

It sounds like you're following the candida diet (Detox, Elimination, repopulation) which is the super-strict yeast killing diet. Are you yeast intolerant or suffering from candida issues? For example, do you get a lot of recurring yeast infections such as mouth thrush, or errm... 'lady garden' thrush?

Yogurt should be OK as long as you aren't going for the kiddies options or low-fat (usually high sugar) varieties. Natural full-fat yogurt shouldn't pose a problem as it's not sugary. If it's an imbalance causing the issues then natural yogurt can actually help with the level of good bacteria in your gut. You might not need to be as strict as you're trying to be.

My girlfriend had a food intolerance test and it came back that she has a yeast intolerance, so has tried to stick to a yeast free diet, but she really struggles.

I don't, thankfully, get yeast infections no. I have decided to follow this diet for one month, as well as taking the Dida supplement, as I have been told I am intolerant to yeast, and want to reduce the symptoms of chronic bloating. Am I doing the wrong thing? What advice would you give?

The candida diet is intended to kill off excess yeast in a body that should otherwise be healthy. Yeasts feed on sugars and consumption of yeast containing foods adds to the culture. If you're just yeast intolerant, cutting the yeast out will simply remove the symptoms. A sensible diet will eliminate your symptoms once the trigger food has been removed. Cutting out foods that contain yeast should be sufficient, taking a decent pre/probiotic will help with normal gut culture. You don't need to be on the strict diet so most fruit should be OK (do a google search for the yeasty fruits and avoid them as much as possible, grapes are 1). It's likely that many of the foods you think you need to cut out are fine to eat. Obviously keep your sugar consumption down as much as possible but this goes without saying for most diets. Too much sugar just isn't good for you :)

Great advice, thank you. I've heard about grapes, and I think the same goes for melon? So, because I don't get yeast infections, I don't have an over growth of yeast, just an intolerance? So far I've cut out fermented foods like alcohol and tea, but also sugar, fruit and bread. I've limited dairy to just some lacto-free milk each morning, and also taking the dida supplement three times a day. I hope it works as I have been suffering for this for 5 years and I'm miserable!

Have you tried getting a cook book for the candida diet? There are loads on amazon which look quite good.

That's a good idea, thanks! I have just bought some soda bread as it doesn't contain yeast, but it does contain sugar and treacle! I can't win!!

I think you can get sugar free soda bread- maybe from a health food shop? I'm sure it exists!

There's always something snuck in, isn't there! Hope you find some

There's loads of stuff on the internet if you don't want to buy books, one quick search brought up loads of recipes

I didn't know there was so much you couldn't eat on a yeast-free diet, I would have only thought of bread and beer... Are you still following the diet? How's it going?

I followed the diet for about 2 weeks properly and didn't notice a big difference to my symptoms. I am now going to try a wheat free week and then a dairy free week while keeping a food diary.