It can seem like a complete contradiction, to be encouraged to eat honey while you’re on the candida diet. After all, sugar is notorious for aggravating candida and is a strict no-no on the diet, and what’s more packed with sugar than honey?
But you may be surprised to learn that honey is a powerful tool against candida. This is due to the natural antifungal and antibacterial properties of this superfood. Not only that, treating candida with foods like honey is thought to be much better for the body than using drugs and other prescribed medications.
So, why is honey recommended when it’s so sugary? And does it matter what kind of honey you eat? All this shall be revealed as we discuss the interesting benefits of honey on the candida diet.
Nature’s Cure-All
Humans have been using honey as medicine for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and the ancient Egyptians were just two huge civilizations whose medical practices revolved around honey, as it was used to treat infections, fevers, and even ulcers.
Its effectiveness both externally and internally was well documented and liberally prescribed, and today it’s no different. While we may not naturally reach for a jar of honey when we’ve cut ourselves, it’s been proven that covering a wound with honey can prevent infection from developing.
Not only that, but women who suffer from candida in the vagina, or vaginal thrush, are encouraged to apply honey as a topical ointment to the affected area to calm the symptoms of, and kill off, the candida fungus.
Honey has antibacterial, antioxidant and antifungal properties, and it’s this last one that makes it so good for inclusion in the candida diet.
Why Consider Honey if Drugs Will Work Against Candida?
There are several reasons to consider using honey as a treatment against candida, and they include the ones just listed. But there’s another reason, too.
Hospitals are seeing huge increases in the number of patients developing candidiasis, where there’s an overgrowth of candida. The number one culprit is Candida Albicans and left untreated can take over with a vengeance.
This is because we’re becoming more and more resistant to drugs, and candida is, too. Fungus can work like a virus: as it’s threatened it can begin to reprogram itself in order to fight the treatments that try and kill it.
So, not only could you end up taking more and more medicines in order to get on top of the candida growth, but you could end up taking them for nothing, or at least with very little effect.
But nature and humans have continued to use honey in its various forms as a treatment against all manner of ailments but particularly against fungus or candida. And those who have used honey as a candida treatment have been very pleasantly surprised by the results.
Are there Different Kinds of Honey?
The crux of the matter certainly lies in the type of honey used. It’s not simply a case of heading down to your local supermarket and buying the cheapest jar of honey they have on the shelves, or indeed even the most expensive.
It helps to know exactly what you’re looking for in the kind of honey you should use in your diet in order to fight candida, or you could end up with an excess of sugar that feeds your candida and provides no benefit.
LEARN THE STEPS I TOOK TO CURE MY CANDIDA
After several years of being really sick, I discovered that I had Candida. Candida makes you feel terrible, and can rob you from the joy of living your life. I set out to build a blueprint to cure my candida for good. You can learn the exact steps that I took with the Candida Warriors program.
Many modern-day, commercial brands might produce delicious-tasting honey that goes perfectly well with a slice of toast or even spooned into a cup of hot tea, but that doesn’t mean that it has the antioxidant and antifungal properties you’re looking for when fighting candida.
Plenty of store-bought honey is packed with added ingredients in order to bulk out the contents and in many cases is not 100% pure honey. Syrup, molasses, and regular old sugar are often added to jars of honey to top up the volume. But all of this has an adverse effect on the otherwise powerful superfood, sadly rendering much of the whole product worthless.
So, avoid poor-quality honey at all costs.
Does it Have to be Raw Honey?
Often the honey that we eat has been pasteurized, like the way milk is pasteurized, in order to kill off any bacteria and remove traces of pesticides that were used in the cultivation process.
It involves heating the honey at super-high temperatures, and while we wouldn’t usually care too much about this process for the honey we eat in regular, everyday meals, it has huge implications for the candida diet.
Heating the honey might kill off bacteria but it’ll also destroy any of the active, candida-fighting properties that we’re trying to get in the first place. So, only look for raw honey for use in your candida diet. And, in particular, hunt down Manuka honey, the crème de la crème of medicinal-grade honey.
Why is Manuka Honey So Special?
Manuka honey is honey made by bees primarily in New Zealand who collect nectar from a tree whose scientific name is Leptospermum scoparium, and whose name in Maori is Manuka.
This honey is such a superfood because the bees have managed to take the Manuka tree’s nectar and create an anti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-fungal, immune boosting wonder substance that all the other honey in the world can only look at in envy.
Now, there is some research that suggests that Manuka honey’s cousin, Kanuka honey, might be even more effective in its incredible properties. It’s early days, though, and plenty more work needs to be done. It still doesn’t take away from how amazing Manuka honey is, though, or the reasons you should absolutely incorporate it into your candida diet.
But how do you go about that, exactly?
Incorporating Honey into the Candida Diet
Just because Manuka honey is highly effective at battling candida doesn’t mean that you should immediately buy a jar and begin chugging down ladles of the stuff. After all, it does still contain sugar, and lots of it.
The age-old adage of ‘everything in moderation’ particularly applies to honey, and Manuka honey is no different. Your aim is to eat the right amount, so that you get all the benefits without slipping into the high-sugar levels that will give the candida in your gut the chance to thrive.
A couple of teaspoons mixed into live yogurt and eaten for breakfast is a great way to get honey into your diet without overdoing it. Remember to go for the raw Manuka honey, too, as opposed to anything that’s been pasteurized.
Don’t use the honey in cooking, or you risk cooking or burning off the enzymes that make the honey so effective in the first place.
A teaspoon of honey with avocado or a couple of teaspoons mixed into a smoothie that also incorporates green vegetables like spinach and some extra immune-boosting turmeric are great ways to get Manuka honey into your diet without overdoing it. Not only that, but they can make your kale smoothies that little bit more palatable.
Don’t Wait Until You Develop Candida to Use Honey!
Prevention, as we all know, is still better than cure. And there’s no reason to wait for an attack of candida before taking advantage of a superfood like Manuka honey.
Candida often gets the chance to attack because of a low immune system, so the probiotic and immune-boosting facets of Manuka honey can go a long way to giving your body a head start.
Continue to cut down (or, better still, cut out altogether) processed and synthetic sugars, but make room for some Manuka honey in your diet. Up your honey intake especially in the winter, as you give your immune system a fighting chance against all the colds and viruses that surround us in the colder months.
Manuka honey can be expensive though, as it’s so rare. If you’re looking to boost your immune system without it hitting your pocket, then look for a good quality, raw honey that won’t break the bank.
Are there Better Candida Killers than Honey?
Not all of us like honey, and for those on vegan diets even the superfood that is Manuka is out of the question.
It’s thought that coconut oil is still one of the best ingredients for the candida diet. It’s very effective at controlling the growth of candida and is packed with fatty acids, including lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid, all of which work to not only keep the growth of candida in the gut from getting out of control but balance out the overall health of the gut.
Healthy fats are always encouraged on the candida diet, and these are also found in abundance in avocados, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, and in oily fish such as salmon and mackerel.
Ultimately, whether you’re suffering from candida or not, a healthy gut is often the first and most controllable thing in our lives to attain. And you can help give your gut a fighting chance against candida with a little boost of honey!