FOOD INTOLERANCE NETWORK FACTSHEET
Candida, Yeast, Sugar, Hypoglycemia
- bakers' yeast is failsafe
- brewers yeast, sold as a supplement in health food stores, and used in food products such as beer, wine and Vegemite, is not failsafe (contains salicylates, amines and natural MSG)
It is counterproductive to try to combine failsafe eating with a candida diet which excludes yeast and sugar. People who are failsafe 'but not 100%' and swear they react to sugar have almost certainly failed to reduce their salicylate level enough.
Sugar and yeast free diets exclude so many processed foods and natural foods high in salicylates or amines that most people improve when following them. Unfortunately, though, they are very hard to follow and many people come to us after months or years of a candida diet having failed to achieve the improvements they wanted, still not knowing which food chemicals affect them, and completely fed up with the idea of doing any diet. In our experience, it is easier and more effective to go failsafe.
Contrary to popular belief, sugar does not cause children's behaviour problems. If you have a look at the ingredients lists in confectionery displays, you will find that at about 95 per cent of confectionery sold in Australian supermarkets contains nasty additives such as artificial colours (compared with the reverse in Italian supermarkets where the figure is more like 5 per cent) and of the remaining 5 per cent, most contain salicylates through mint or strong fruit flavours. Toffees, butterscotch, caramels, white marshmallows and honeycomb can be failsafe when nasty additives and strong flavours are not used, for example, Darryl Lea Butterscotch.
When mothers swear their children are "sugar addicts" whose behaviour is affected by sugar, they are generally surprised on going failsafe to find that their children are actually reacting to salicylates. Sugar craving can be a salicylate-induced reaction. See Salicylates factsheet.
Q. I have observed that small amounts of salicylates seem to disrupt my child's ability to regulate his blood sugar. Is this possible?
A. Yes, there is a condition called salicylate-induced hypoglycemia or ketonic hypoglycemia which was relatively common in children 40-50 years ago, when children were often given aspirin (salicylates) and became rare when aspirin was no longer recommended for children. One of the children in our network was diagnosed with it - the recommended treatment of a caloric supplement such as Poly Joule powder (which is failsafe) throughout the day as well as failsafe foods made a huge difference to him.
Similarly, feeling tired, weak and shaky can be a delayed reaction to food chemicals such as salicylates, rather than low blood sugar.
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Factsheet: Introduction to food intolerance
Factsheet: Sugar and hyperactivity
The information given is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with your doctor for underlying illness. Before beginning dietary investigation, consult a dietician with an interest in food intolerance. You can see our list of experienced and supportive dietitians http://fedup.com.au/information/support/dietitians
© Sue Dengate update December 2005.
