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Yeast: We Are What We Eat
Yeast foods—and environmental mold—can stimulate allergies, which in turn can be detrimental to your health.

There is no published research that proves diet can actually cause yeast. But Dr. Atkins and other practitioners at his medical practice saw numerous cases that convinced them that the wrong foods encouraged the continuation and expansion of a Candida albicans (yeast's medical name) overgrowth.

The worst offender is sugar. It is a major growth factor for yeast, and candida patients are invariably warned to stay away from such foods as ice cream, candy, pastry, corn syrup, maple syrup and molasses. If you're following the Atkins Nutritional Approach™, there's certainly no possibility you would eat any of that. You'll also be avoiding the natural sugar in fruit juice and lactose in milk.

However, if you do have a yeast overgrowth, there is another category of food that you will need to avoid: yeast- and mold-containing foods. This includes cheese (except for mozzarella and cream cheese), vinegar, soy sauce and other fermented condiments, plus mushrooms, sauerkraut, sour cream, peanuts, cashews and pistachios (all nuts are subject to mold, but these last two often contain the greatest amount). The list also includes smoked or cured foods, yeast-containing vitamins (make sure the label says they are yeast-free) and wine, beer and spirits.

If you have allergies, be aware that yeast and mold are coreactors—meaning that if you react to one, you react to the other. Therefore, if you have a yeast problem you should do your best to avoid not only yeast and mold in food but also places that harbor environmental mold. This includes office buildings with “sick building syndrome,” your damp basement and bathrooms with poor ventilation. (See Good Housekeeping.)

If you are subject to hay fever or other seasonal allergies, such as those stemming from ragweed or pollen, your system is already stressed, making you more vulnerable to an even greater yeast sensitivity. One way to reduce mold exposure is—at certain times of year when mold counts are high—to cut out the yeast and mold in your diet. This may decrease the degree of symptoms you experience.

It is important to remember that yeast overgrowth stresses the immune system, undermining your total health. When it comes to weight loss, a yeast overgrowth in combination with mold sensitivity may lead to a suppressed metabolism. This may deplete your body of the energy it takes to burn fat. Of course, there may well be other causes that have not yet been identified. Researchers and doctors still don't fully understand what candida overgrowth does to the human body.

What Can You Do?
If you think you might have excessive yeast in your system, your best bet is to cut out all yeast- and mold-containing foods and wait to see if your symptoms clear up. Give it four to six weeks. If your symptoms do not improve, your problem may not be yeast alone. If you improve in some of the areas mentioned earlier, then you may have identified a yeast problem or you may have conceivably removed a food to which you're allergic (see ..Page Food Intolerances: We Are All Individuals not found..). If you do improve after four to six weeks, cautiously reintroduce some of these foods to see if your symptoms return. It is possible that you may always have to consume yeast and mold foods in moderation.

Probiotics, or beneficial bacteria, are essential in dealing with yeast. If Candida albicans has overgrown, then repopulating the insides with the good bacteria that competes with candida is certain to be helpful. Find a probiotic compound that contains not only acidophilus—which is a direct inhibitor of yeast overgrowth—but such other beneficial bacteria as bifidobacterium and bulgaricus. Preparations that do not need to be refrigerated are preferable. The best products are sold in dark glass or plastic light-screening containers. Make sure that the probiotics are not in a milk base. It's worthwhile to pay a bit extra to get a really good product.

Other nutrients that can have a favorable effect on a yeast overgrowth include caprylic or undecanylic acid, oil of oregano and olive leaf extract. For a full discussion of these and other natural remedies, refer to Dr. Atkins' Vita-Nutrient Solution (Simon & Schuster, 1999).

It's advisable to take yeast seriously. Like any allergy or infectious overload, it puts a great strain on the immune system. If it undercuts your weight-loss program, it will also impair your relationship with Atkins—and that is one relationship you should maintain for a lifetime.