Is There a Link Between My Diet and Yeast Infections? 

About 70% of women will have a vaginal yeast infection during their lifetimes. While many women have infections once or infrequently, nearly 30% have yeast infections regularly, dealing with the itching, burning, and unpleasant odors associated with yeast overgrowth.

Several factors can contribute to yeast infection recurrence, including your diet. In this post, our team at Feminine Urgicare explains the basics of yeast infections and how some simple dietary changes could help you find the relief you need from bothersome symptoms.

Yeast infection basics

Your body is home to millions of tiny organisms, including bacteria, viruses, and fungi like yeasts. Yeast infections are most commonly caused by an organism called Candida, a family of yeasts that includes more than 100 yeast species. 

Yeasts are found naturally in your vagina, mouth, skin, and gut. In most cases, they don’t cause any problems — your body’s natural defenses keep them in check. However, if yeasts start to multiply too rapidly, you can develop an infection.

As with any type of infection, the circumstances need to be right for yeasts to overcome your body’s defense system and initiate an infection. Factors can combine to create the ideal environment for yeast overgrowth, including hormonal fluctuations, long-term use of antibiotics, recent illness, or a weak immune system. 

For some people, diet plays a potential role.

The potential impact of food choices

Yeasts are fungi, and like many fungi, they thrive on carbohydrates. That includes sugars and carbs in refined and processed foods, like sweets and white flour.

When you consume sugar foods, those carbs enter your bloodstream, traveling throughout your body. When they reach areas colonized by yeasts, the tiny organisms use them as a food source to support their colonies and promote growth.

In a healthy microbiome, your body has the resources and tools to contain that growth. But if your blood sugar is high, that system can be overwhelmed, leading to an increased risk of yeast overgrowth and infection.

This relationship between blood sugar and yeast growth explains why women with diabetes are far more likely to experience recurrent yeast infections compared to women who don’t have the disease. 

If you have recurrent yeast infections, cutting back on sugar intake may help reduce the incidence of infection by cutting off the food source yeast needs to thrive.

Probiotics and other foods

You might also find relief by incorporating probiotic foods into your diet. These include fermented foods, like sauerkraut, kimchi, and yogurt with live cultures. Probiotics contain beneficial bacteria that help your body manage yeast populations and prevent overgrowth that can lead to infection.

Garlic and onions contain natural antifungal agents that could improve your symptoms. However, diet changes alone probably aren’t going to be enough to stop recurrent yeast infections. That’s because — as noted earlier — several factors are at play.

Keeping yeast infections at bay

Following a balanced diet rich in whole grains, lean and plant-based proteins, low-fat dairy, and plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is one of the best ways to maintain overall health and sustain a healthy gut microbiome. But to keep recurrent yeast infections at bay, you need medical treatment aimed at reducing overpopulation of yeasts, too.

If you experience yeast infections and the uncomfortable symptoms they cause, we can help you find a combination of medical treatments and lifestyle changes to optimize your body’s natural balance and finally find much-needed relief. 

To learn more, request an appointment online or over the phone with the team at Feminine Urgicare in Paramus and Clifton, New Jersey, today.