Can You Drink Alcohol on a Candida Diet
Which Low Carb Alcoholic Drinks Can You Have?
What do you do if all your colleagues and friends invite you to a pub or cocktail bar after work? Sounds like a nice way to end the day. But what if you're on the Candida Diet?
Can you even drink alcohol?
And what happens if you do give into temptation and go out on the lash…?
Valid questions because let's face it – going out and having fun is a huge part of life.
Of course you can lock yourself into a room and refuse to go out.
But realistically, there are only so many excuses you can come up with and only so much willpower to be mustered before you have to realize – sooner or later it is going to happen anyway.
You'll be at a pub, party, business event or family do… and what then?
You'll have to find a way to go out, have fun and still stick with the Candida Diet.
Now I don't mean you can go out on a 3-day bender and expect to get away with it.
So, Why Is Alcohol Bad For You?
You've got to realise that alcoholic drinks just contain oodles of sugar. Even pure spirits like vodka, gin and so on get metabolised to sugar in your body.
Alcohol = Sugar = Candida Rocket Fuel
By all means have a sip … just don't do anything I wouldn't do 😉
… like offloading your drink onto someone else later on.
Alcohol + Stress = Dangerous Combination
So regardless if the drink tastes sweet or not it will make it harder for your immune system to fight candida, which very likely would mean you'll feel worse for wear the next few days – and I don't mean just a bit of a hangover.
There unfortunately is no such thing as an anti candida diet friendly cocktail.
- On top of that smoky environments will put a dampener on your immune system.
- And all the excitement and hectic and naughty nibbles will all contribute to Candida growth. Fact!
- And there just is no sure way to know beforehand how much Candida problems this might cause.
What Can You Do to Minimise The Damage from Alcohol and Stress?
You might be able to heroically stick to bottled water all night at a family get together. But this is going to be much harder if you get dragged to your local by your colleagues after a hard day's work.
Then it's more about damage minimisation. About picking drinks that don't do you much harm.
I'm going to show you my favourite low carb alcoholic drinks in a minute. But first of all I'll tell you how I survived several do's, festivals and family meals without giving up on alcohol completely.
Here's my Beverage Battle Plan for You (Including The Best Alcohol For Candida Diet and Paleo):
If you stick to these guidelines you'll be able to enjoy a drink or two while you're on the diet, regardless whether you follow the Candida or the Paleo Diet. The core values of eating healthy & low carb remain the same.
Tips Before Going Out/Preparation:
- Be Good Most Of The Time
If you don't go out most of the time, slipping up once isn't so bad.
- Eat Well
When you do go out, eat well beforehand; stock up on good vitamin/mineral pills and drink plenty of water before during and after
- Have Some Lush Food Ready To Go For The Next Day
Coming back from the event you are likely to get ravenous, so make sure you have something hearty and healthy ready to go.
Or if you're eating out pick something semi healthy of the menu.
It's just too tempting otherwise to get an unhealthy takeaway or find something else convenient to munch that's not in line with the candida diet.
Double tricky if you're still with your friends who might be getting a pizza or something like my boyfriend in the photo above…
In those moments you'd be glad if you had prepared a nice stew or something to help you resist those extra temptations when you don't feel like cooking or eating out.
- Rest Before Going Out
Organise the day so you're not rushing around like mad before going out. Go for a walk, take a power nap or listen to some chill out tunes.
- Fresh Mint Tea Is The New Coffee
Whenever people around you drink lattes and cappuccinos – be strong and order a loose leaf mint tea or green tea
- A Flask of Hot Stuff
If you go to an outdoor event or house party see if you can sneak in a flask of mint tea, ginger tea or broth – very flavoursome and invigorating
- Nibble Some Semi-Healthy Snack Foods At Your Friends House
If you're all meeting at a friend's place before going to a club or watching a movie together and everyone is eating crisps and chocolates here's what you can do:
- Your best bet is to take hummous and veggy sticks with you to nibble on.
- Another good semi-alright anti-candida snack is slightly salty crisps made from maize meal/ corn.
Everyone loves nachos – your friends will dig in as well, and you don't have to go completely hungry. I found this worked very well for me.
- Useful Paleo Diet Info & What Alcohol Is
If you want to delve deeper into what alcohol is and about the pro's and con's of its consumtion, especially on the Paleo Diet – here's a great article by Sébastien Noël :
Tips For Your Night Out – What Low Carb Alcoholic Drinks You Can Have?
- Less Is More
On special occasions when you do have a latte or alcoholic drink, just have the one drink, no more (binging really kickstarts candida)
- Stay Away From These Highly Sugary/ Yeasty Drinks:
Champagne, Vodka Redbull, Baileys and other cream liquors or shooters, Coke mixers, Creamy or fruity Cocktails and beer. All those things that I used to very much enjoy before I knew I had Candida… Like a refreshing "Weizen Bier" here in my holiday snap from Venice a few years ago (served with yeasty white bread – no wonder that I developed a yeast problem!)
- Sneak In A Bottle Of Acv Mix
If you can sneak in your drink from home mix 1 teaspoon natural apple cider vinegar in a glass of water. It's healthy, looks like cider or ginger ale and you won't get any funny looks.
- Choose One Of These Low Carb Alcoholic Drinks:
If somebody else is buying you drinks and you cannot get around having an alcoholic drink without causing an awkward moment pick one of these drinks: 
vodka lime or pure gin (eek!) Dry white wine on the other hand still has a small amount of sugar and fermentation, but overall it seemed to agree better with me than beer. Cider, as delicious as it is, can have up to 25-30g sugar, so although you'll feel fine while you're drinking it, you are likely to experience some symptoms a few days after the event.
- Stay Well Nourished
Make sure you regularly eat something nutritious to keep your energy levels up and drink volvic or similar good quality water throughout the night.
- A Little is Better Than Nothing – Don't pile the pressure on
Sometimes it's better to have a sip than to miss out completely and get depressed about it.
The first few months on the candida diet I followed the guidelines to the t and felt thoroughly deprived of all fun and happiness in life. Wallowing in self pity like I did then is not good for your immune system. It's actually stressful and detrimental to your health.
You might be thinking "I'm not eating what I want. I'm not drinking what I want. What's the point of all of this? I feel really horrible. That's not fair. I'm doing all the things the Candida Diet asks me to do. Why don't I feel better?! I might as well tuck in now if I feel crap anyway. What difference does it make?
Sound familiar? Have you ever caught yourself thinking that? I have – plenty of times. And I've learned that sometimes "instead of just trying harder" and obsessing about sticking to the guidelines of the Anti Candida Diet hundred percent it's better to let go.
- Allow yourself to let your hair down.
Take your mind off things and enjoy yourself like you used to before you had candida.
Hey, within reason – you don't want to start at square 1 again.
But… tomorrow is another day 😉
Which Low Carb Alcoholic Drinks Worked Best For Me (with the least amount of side effects)
When I've been out and about with friends and I have given into temptation I tried to stick to cider, preferably half a pint. That worked well for me.
Clever Happy Hour Trick You Should Try
Another good way to enjoy socialising with friends without feeling left out is to order 2 of your favourite drinks with your friend. Mine is a Mojito by the way as you can see in the pic with the guitar below – best alcohol For Candida Diet hands down, well minus the cane sugar, uhm….
Great way to make the most of the happy hour 😉
It gives you a chance to sip a few times, enjoying the lovely taste and getting a bit tipsy. Then generously giving the rest of your drink to your friend.
Your friend won't complain to have a bit more to drink and you don't suffer the consequences for breaking your candida diet.
Tips For After Your Night Out – Including Hangover Remedies:
- Chill It Out Afterwards
Drinking calming & anti-inflammatory loose leaf chamomile tea after the party promotes good sleep.
Hangover Cures:
- Take Milkthistle
Milkthistle and vit/ mineral supplements help to get rid of the hangover symptoms the next day – because sometimes one drink `can' just lead to another! Also, even with just a little alcohol it can multiply the yeast in your system making you more tipsy or drunk than someone without candida.
- Get Your Metabolism Going
Other things that help you get back on track are sauna, getting lots of fresh air and movement to help your body eliminate the extra toxins from the booze and candida byproducts.
- Eat Avocadoes
Snacking on avocadoes the next day helps to keep your mood stable and combats cravings
- Do a Cleanse
After a big night out, say New Years Eve or after a festival – if you can face it – do an enema or book a colonic to flush your system out. And you'll be back on track in no time.
- If You're On Antifungals – Take Less Before Going Out & The Day After
Less is definitely more here. When I went out I thought I could just take more antifungals. This would take care of the possible candida overgrowth from partying. Mistake! It doesn't quite work like that.
More antifungals means more filtering to do for your kidneys and liver which are already working overtime with breaking down alcohol…
- What Happens If You Take A Lot Of Antifungals While Drinking Alcohol?
There would just be more poisonous stuff going round your blood stream – causing you to feel hungover and rough the next day.
Or in other words this will encourage harsher die off symptoms. On the day of your event and on the day thereafter take less AF than you'd usually do.
When Is The Best Time To Go Out During The Candida Diet?
What About Partying in Phase 1 of the Diet?
In phase 1 during the candida cleanse you shouldn't really go out at all – your body needs rest. But I know how it is – events are rarely coordinated around diets – they generally happen at the most inconvenient times.
I Tested It For You
In my case there was a 2 day music festival right after my fast, woot! Well, predictably irrational I ended up going (despite best intentions).
I was fine at the festival. Hardly drunk any alcohol and ate pretty sensibly. But of course I didn't get much sleep and all in all the small amounts of sugar in the bought drinks and food did add up.
Here's What Happened
So the next 2 days I had pretty bad die off symptoms, sneezing, feeling bloated and so on… the whole works.
Which was to be expected of course. Partly brought on by the fact that I ate some delicious hot curry when I came back – not a good idea. Too spicy – killed all the good bacteria.
I trust you are a bit wiser than me 😉
What About You?
Do the Candida Cleanse and be sure not to undo all the goodness you've done by drinking alcohol and staying up late… Moderation really is the key here…
But don't be too hard on yourself either. You can't deny yourself even microscopic amounts of sugar 24/7. After all you'll have to live as well. You can't just put your life on hold because of Candida. Who knows how long you might have to follow the diet?
So if you do enjoy foods and drinks that are not allowed on the Candida Diet then cherish the moment and don't beat yourself up about it. With antifungals and natural remedies you'll have any possible candida relapses back in check in no time.
Seize the moment. – Living with Candida is stressful enough.
You deserve to take your mind off things for a few hours!
What's your experience with alcohol during the Candida Diet like? Tell me in the comments below 🙂
Can You Drink Alcohol on a Candida Diet
Source: https://candidadietplan.com/best-alcohol-for-candida-diet/