She's a keeper!

Let me just start out by saying that I LOVE my new doctor. I found her in October; a friend referred me to her. She is the one who diagnosed my Candida and told me what I should be eating and what I shouldn't.

I went back to see her yesterday and asked her what I could add back in and what I shouldn't. She told me that she didn't feel comfortable asking her patients to give up ketchup when she wasn't willing to herself. So, she gave me an updated list of Candida-friendly foods. Vinegar is OFF the list! Not that I have a huge desire to just consume large quantities of vinegar...but it does open up some new options for me.

And guess what!?! I can have BBQ sauce!! My doctor told me that condiments like ketchup and BBQ sauce won't really have a negative affect on my body so YAY! I'm so glad I went to see her. Oh and she also said that as far as introducing foods back in, I can. I should try one thing at a time for a week. If my stomach can tolerate it then it's OK to add it back to my diet. I'm not stupid though...I have no intention of eventually adding EVERYTHING back in. But it assures me that my plan to allow myself a few meals with yeast in them is OK. This makes me very happy!

So here is the updated list that I will be using:

Allowed Foods

Meat

Fish

Chicken

Eggs

Nuts

Fresh fruit - washed & peeled, 2-3 per day

Grains - brown rice, amaranth, buckwheat, corn (avoid gluten grains such as wheat, spelt, malt, barley, oats, rye, millet)

Water - Don't be afraid to go crazy on this one ;-)

Juices - fresh squeezed fruit or vegetable (dilute with water or seltzer) - no thanks!

Snacks - Air popped corn or Guiltless Gourmet Chips

Oils - Cold pressed olive, canola or walnut, and butter in moderation (no margarine)

Foods to Avoid

Sugar

Syrup

Malt

Fructose

Corn Syrup

*Yeast Foods* - beer, wine, bagels, bread

Juices not freshly made

I will say this...while I am glad that salad dressing is back on the menu (though I will still try to make my own without sugar or with Swerve), I am sad that my absolute favorite dressing Fat-Free Catalina has corn syrup in it. Of all the things I am trying really hard NOT to ingest, high fructose corn syrup is at the top of my list. I almost feel sick when I think about eating foods with corn syrup. While it makes things tastes incredibly good, our bodies were never meant to consume it.