Candida can be a difficult condition to diagnose, some treatments are less than effective, and recovery can be prolonged. However, when candida is a problem (whether lab testing confirms it or not) and treatment is effective, there can be great health gains. Attempts at diagnosis are made through questionnaires, blood tests, and stool tests. Some doctors use a questionnaire only because of lab test confusion. A comprehensive approach to presumed or documented candida should include:

1. Eliminate the chronic use of antibiotics, steroids, immune-suppressing drugs, and birth control pills (unless there is absolute medical necessity).
2. Follow the candida control diet suggestions given below.
3. Enhance digestion. Check for hypochlorhydria and pancreatic adequacy.
4. Enhance immune function. Consider thymus-containing products.
5. Enhance liver function.
6. Use nutritional and herbal supplements that help control yeast overgrowth and promote a healthy bacterial flora. Many combination preparations are available, and rotating products gives you the opportunity to see which are the most effective and reduces the likelihood of the yeast becoming resistant. Therapy may need to continue for 6 months or longer. Acidophilus supplementation has been shown to be ineffective in candidal infections when used by itself, but can be helpful if a deficiency exists or could be helpful when used in combination with other agents.

Suggested diets are a variation on these basics:

1. Avoid sugars. Some doctors strongly recommend you cannot have ANY sugar or grains at all on a program and should also eliminate all fruit until the symptoms resolve. Others are less strict and suggest avoiding foods high in simple carbohydrates such as refined sugars (sucrose, fructose, corn syrup), fruit juices, honey, and maple syrup. Limit intake of high carbohydrate vegetables such as potatoes, corn, yams, and parsnips. How strict you need to be will have to be discovered.
2. Avoid foods with a high content of yeast or mold including alcoholic beverages, cheeses, dried fruits, melons, and peanuts.
3. Avoid milk and milk products with a high content of lactose.
4. Avoid all known or suspected allergic foods.

Foods that can be eaten freely include all vegetables, protein sources (legumes, fish, poultry, and meat), and whole grains. Two to three one-cup servings of the following fruit can be eaten per day as well: apples, blueberries, cherries, other berries, and pears.

The most severe cases seem to be associated with the presence of mercury amalgam fillings.

Documenting and diagnosing candidal overgrowth can be very confusing as different doctors interpret lab tests differently. Despite this confusion, many people treated properly for a suspected infection improve significantly over time.