- With Mayo Clinic internist
Brent A. Bauer, M.D.
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Brent A. Bauer, M.D.
Brent A. Bauer, M.D.
Brent Bauer, M.D., is board certified in internal medicine. He is a consultant in the Department of Internal Medicine and director of the Department of Internal Medicine's Complementary and Integrative Medicine Program at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Dr. Bauer, a native of Madison, Wis., is also a professor of medicine at Mayo Medical School and a graduate of Mayo Medical School.
He serves on the editorial board of the Mayo Clinic Health Letter and is medical editor for EmbodyHealth Newsletter. He has been on staff at Mayo Clinic since 1992, first practicing at Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Ariz., before joining Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., in 1996.
Dr. Bauer's principal research focus is the scientific evaluation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies that patients and consumers are using with increasing frequency. He has authored several book chapters and papers on this topic, and is the medical editor of the "Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine." Dr. Bauer also spearheaded collaboration between Mayo Clinic and Gaiam in the creation of a series of 10 DVDs (Mayo Clinic Wellness Solutions). These DVDs address common health problems (for example, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure) with integrative medicine approaches that empower people to take charge of their health. His work is at the forefront of the emerging field of integrative medicine which combines the best of conventional medicine with the best of evidence-based complementary therapies.
Dr. Bauer has served on the NIH-NCCAM study section and is currently collaborating on over 20 studies being conducted at Mayo Clinic evaluating CAM therapies ranging from acupuncture to valerian. He is also a member of Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society; the American Federation for Medical Research; the North Central Cancer Treatment Group and other professional organizations.
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Question
Candida cleanse diet: What does it treat?
What is a candida cleanse diet and what does it do?
Answer
from Brent A. Bauer, M.D.
Some complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practitioners blame common symptoms such as fatigue, headache and poor memory on intestinal overgrowth of the fungus-like organism Candida albicans, or yeast syndrome. To cure the syndrome, they recommend a candida cleanse diet, which includes no sugar, white flour, yeast and cheese, on the theory that these foods promote candida overgrowth.
Unfortunately, there isn't much evidence to support the diagnosis of yeast syndrome. Consequently many conventional practitioners doubt its validity. And there are no clinical trials that document the efficacy of a candida cleanse diet for treating any recognized medical condition.
Not surprisingly, many people note improvement in various symptoms when following this diet. If you stop eating sugar and white flour, you'll generally wind up cutting out most processed foods, which tend to be high in calorie content and low in nutritive value. Within a few weeks of replacing processed foods with fresh ones and white flour with whole grains, you may start to feel better in general. That, rather than stopping the growth of yeast in the gastrointestinal tract, is the main benefit of a candida cleanse diet.
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- Crook WG. The Yeast Connection Handbook. Garden City Park, N.Y.: Square One Publishers, 2007.
- Bennett JE. Searching for the yeast connection. New England Journal of Medicine. 1990;323:1766.
- Dismukes WE, et al. A randomized, double-blind trial of nystatin therapy for the candidiasis hypersensitivity syndrome. New England Journal of Medicine. 1990;323:1717.
- Lacour M, et al. The pathogenetic significance of intestinal Candida colonization: A systematic review from an interdisciplinary and environmental medical point of view. International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health. 2002;205:257.
- Jobst D, et al. Candida species in stool, symptoms and complaints in general practice: A cross-sectional study of 308 outpatients. Mycoses. 2006;49:415.
- Hobday RA, et al. Dietary intervention in chronic fatigue syndrome. Journal of Human Nutrition and Diet. 2008;21:141.
- Bauer BA (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Aug. 5, 2011.
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