Tomatoes and the Candida Diet

Tomatoes, once thought to be poisonous and grown only for decorative purposes, are today one of the world’s leading vegetable crops. Tomatoes have always been a part of my diet as I am huge fan of marinara sauce and salsa. Fortunately, tomatoes are permitted on the candida diet which I currently follow. The candida diet also known the anti-candida or yeast free diet is the cornerstone of treatment for a medical condition known as candidiasis. Candidiasis is an overgrowth of yeast in the body which causes a wide variety of seemingly unrelated health problems. Research suggests that a variety of foods and ingredients can exacerbate this condition. The candida diet seeks to eliminate or greatly reduce the intake of such foods.

Tomatoes seem to be pretty well tolerated by most candidiasis sufferers. I believe the use of tomatoes allow you to create a variety of tasty meals which is extremely helpful on a diet that restricts so many foods. Tomatoes are delicious both raw and cooked which is another reason that they are the main ingredient in so many dishes. Tomatoes are the main ingredient in many of my favorite Italian and Spanish dishes. The taste of a tomato depends on ripeness and variety. Commercially available types of tomatoes include vine, beefsteak, cherry and plum. In addition to their great taste tomatoes are a great source of vitamins A and C, folate and potassium. They are also a great source of lycopene, an antioxidant which protects against certain types of cancers, most notably prostate cancer. It is thought that cooking tomatoes may actually increase the level of lycopene.

So how do you incorporate tomatoes into the candida diet? Incorporating tomatoes into your candida diet plan is easy. You can use fresh tomatoes in your recipes freely. I use fresh tomatoes in salads, as toppings for yeast free sandwiches and to make yeast free salsa and sofrito. Occasionally a recipe will call for canned tomatoes or tomato paste and substituting fresh tomatoes will not work. When you are choosing canned tomatoes be sure to choose varieties that do not contain citric acid or other additives which may pose problems to candidiasis sufferers. Look for canned tomato products that contain tomatoes only. Although tomatoes are extremely tasty and they have additional health benefits they may not be right for everyone. Tomatoes are a common cause of allergies. Many people who suffer from candidiasis have developed allergies and sensitivities to foods over the years and tomatoes may be one of them. All in all I believe that tomatoes are a good choice for the candida diet.