Tuesday, June 15, 2010

anti-candida

Candida, or common yeast overgrowth, is a very serious health condition.  For many people it can cause a wide range of symptoms from stomach upset and pain to skin problems such as acne or eczma to headaches and intense cravings for sweets.  Often triggered by an imbalance in the gut bacteria due to excessive sugar consumption or frequent antibiotic use, candida requires a serious dietary shift to remove all trigger foods from your nutritional plan.


While some of the changes are easy to understand such as avoiding fruit or dairy, modifying recipes can be difficult.  Especially recipes for sweets and treats.  A large part of the difficulty in going on an anti-candida diet is the initial increased urge for sweets as the candida organisms are starved out of your system in a process called "die-off."


Anti-Candida Feast: Holiday and Special Occasion Recipes for an Anti-Candida Diet  by Ricki Heller, Ph.D. is a good little book with some great recipes that are both delicious and satisfying.  The crimson salad on page 9 was a fun, pink color sensation at our recent barbeque, the splash of lime really perked it up.  The sesame crackers made a delicious snack while the lemony almond pancakes were flavorful and delicious.  The choco-carob frosting looks interesting and might even pair well with the almond pancakes to make a chocolate crepe-type dessert.  There are more delicious recipes to try, these are just the ones that I have made to date.


While I would have liked to see a table of contents to make it easier to find the individual recipes this is definitely a good little book for anyone looking to work within the confines of an anti-candida diet.  At a low cost of only $5 through her website, it's definitely worth adding to your collection.  Don't pass up the opportunity to check out her blog for other great recipes as well.

1 comment:

Ricki said...

Thanks so much for this lovely review! I'm so glad you liked the salad (one of my faves). And the frosting would be great rolled into cold pancakes--yum! :D