Red Wine Candida Diet

Millions of microorganisms live in your body, helping you digest food, prevent disease and absorb important nutrients. Some of these microorganisms, such as the yeast species Candida albicans, can be harmful to your health. Alternative medicine professionals claim opportunistic candida yeast causes infections characterized by fatigue, pain, weight gain and digestive problems. A corrective diet that excludes red wine and other foods supposedly kills candida yeast and benefits your health. Discuss your symptoms with a physician to determine whether the candida diet is appropriate for you.

Candida yeast feeds on the sugars in red wine. (Image: Medioimages/Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images)

Candida Diet Foods

Candida dieters attempt to minimize their sugar consumption, which supposedly kills excess candida yeast in the intestines. Foods that contain sugar, mold, additives or preservatives must be eliminated from the diet to prevent yeast growth. Acceptable candida diet foods include non-starchy vegetables, whole-grain products, lean protein and yogurt. Followers must eliminate red wine for at least the beginning of the candida diet to prevent a relapse of "candida syndrome."

Red Wine Nutrition

Winemakers create red wine by allowing grapes to ferment. The process of fermentation converts the sugars in grapes into alcohol. Yeast added to the grapes promotes this fermentation process. As a result of fermentation, wine contains some sugars and a relatively large amount of alcohol. These molecules can affect candida syndrome, which is why the candida diet prohibits red wine.

Red Wine and Candida

Candida dieters cannot drink red wine for the first six weeks of the plan. Candida yeast eats the sugars in red wine, causing them to multiply in number. According to Lawrence Wilson, a nutrition consultant, fermented foods such as wine also fuel candida growth. After a stricter diet phase in which you cannot eat fruits, high-carbohydrate vegetables or other foods with sugar, you may reintroduce wine into your diet. The Candida Diet website recommends drinking small amounts of wine to determine the effect of alcohol on your candida syndrome symptoms.

Expert Insight

Mainstream medical providers question the validity of candida syndrome as a medical diagnosis. According to Stephen Barrett, a physician and writer for the health fraud website Quackwatch, no scientific studies suggest candida syndrome is a true medical condition. Restricting your alcohol consumption and cutting sugars from your diet may help you lose weight or improve your mood, but the candida diet does not affect your intestinal yeast population. Discuss your red wine consumption with a physician to determine whether it is appropriate for you.