We discuss why a restrictive “candida diet” is unnecessary, why the concept of “candida overgrowth” as packaged and sold by wellness culture is largely pseudoscience, how this dubious diagnosis gained traction, and evidence-based ways to treat frequent yeast infections.

Resources Mentioned

• Subscribe to the weekly newsletter, Food Psych Weekly 

• Submit your questions for a chance to have them answered in the weekly newsletter

• My online course, Intuitive Eating Fundamentals

• My first book, Anti-Diet: Reclaim Your Time, Money, Well-Being, and Happiness Through Intuitive Eating

• My forthcoming book, The Wellness Trap: Break Free from Diet Culture, Disinformation, and Dubious Diagnoses and Find Your True Well-Being

• Subscribe to the podcast

• My list of providers specializing in disordered eating

• Evidence-based treatments for vaginal yeast infections

• Mixed evidence on probiotics and vaginal yeast infections, with some studies showing probiotics may offer some short-term help in treatment, while others have found that probiotics don’t seem to help with treatment or prevention

• Fact sheet on invasive candidiasis

• American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology paper describing so-called candidiasis hypersensitivity syndrome as “speculative and unproven” 

• 2006 study (CW: nutritional minutiae) showing that consuming a large amount of sugar didn’t raise vaginal glucose levels 

• 1999 study (CW: nutritional minutiae) showing that sugar intake had no effect on candida colonization or infection of the mouth or gastrointestinal tract among “healthy” participants

• 2017 study (CW: nutritional minutiae) showing that among patients with recurrent vaginal yeast infections, blood sugar levels weren’t any different between people who responded to oral antifungal medication and those who didn’t