Title: Yeast Infections and Your Diet: What's the Connection? | Everyday Health
Headings: Yeast Infections and Your Diet: What's the Connection?
Yeast Infections and Your Diet: What's the Connection?
How Diet May Help
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Content: But can following a special diet cure or prevent an infection? By Chris Iliades, MD Medically Reviewed by Lindsey Marcellin, MD, MPH
Last Updated: April 5, 2011
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Medically Reviewed
Having a yeast infection is a common female problem — maybe in part because yeast infection causes are so wide-ranging. They include stress, illness, menstrual periods, pregnancy, and even being on medications for other conditions. Normally the fungus that causes yeast infection, Candida albicans lives in balance with the other microorganisms in your body. " Anything that upsets this normal balance can lead to an overgrowth of yeast and can cause a yeast infection," says Wiyatta Freeman, MD, a gynecologist at Baylor Medical Center in Irving, Texas. A common example is taking antibiotics for a bacterial infection. The antibiotics kill off many normal bacteria, and that allows yeast to multiply and lead to a yeast infection. Yeast grows best in a warm, moist environment, so providing those conditions can lead to an infection. For example, wearing tight-fitting jeans or spending time in a wet bathing suit can increase your risk of a yeast infection — and is a more likely cause than what you eat.