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How To Cure Candida Naturally and Permanently – Without Antibiotics

This post: How to cure candida naturally and permanently, without antibiotics.

Treating a yeast infection is no picnic.

If you think you might be dealing with candida overgrowth and are looking for solutions, this post is for you.

I invited my friend Meagan to share her best natural remedies for candida, and the story of how she overcame yeast infections while pregnant.

Meagan is a registered nurse, herbalist, and passionate natural mama. Her blog, Growing Up Herbal, is one of my favorite resources for info on holistic health, herbs, and being a healthy mom.

Megan’s tips on treating a yeast infection naturally are completely safe during pregnancy; but as always, please consult your midwife or OBGYN before taking any of the candida supplements recommended here.  

And here’s Meagan’s story-

Treating a yeast infection and other candida-related issues is the pits! It can be a long, hard battle to get the body back into balance.

Now don’t worry, mama. It can be done… and naturally too!

Today, I wanna share a bit with you about treating a yeast infection naturally.

In this post I’ll share:

  • what candida is
  • the most common reasons people develop candida overgrowth
  • my story of how I got rid of yeast while I was pregnant

Are you ready to learn so you can live well? Let’s go!

What Is Candida?

Candida is yeast, and it naturally occurs on our skin and in our GI tract.

It’s part of the normal community of microbes that live on and in our bodies, and when balanced it works with all the other microbes to help our bodies function in a healthy manner.

The problem for most people is when this yeast gets out of balance and a candida overgrowth occurs.

Candida overgrowth can result in a wide array of symptoms… most so common that many people don’t even recognize something is off.

Things like

  • bloating,
  • occasional constipation or diarrhea,
  • fatigue,
  • brain fog,
  • mood swings,
  • and sugar cravings

can all be signs of candida overgrowth. It’s not until bigger symptoms start showing up that candida is identified as the problem.

What are these “bigger symptoms” you ask?

Well when it comes to women, the most common symptom is recurring vaginal yeast infections. (Eczema can also be a sign.)

Both of these things are signals that something isn’t right in the body. People notice these symptoms and wonder what could be causing them.

Candida overgrowth can!

What Causes Candida Overgrowth?

There may be many reasons that candida gets out of control in a person, but from my research it seems that candida overgrowth is most often linked to some sort of gut imbalance.

Remember that community of microbes I mentioned?

Well, the body works hard to keep these microbes in balance so that they are beneficial to the body instead of harmful. When the beneficial microbes get out of balance, the more harmful microbes (yeast included) can start to mutate or reproduce and get a bit out-of-control. This leads to the above symptoms.

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The symptoms start small at first, and as I said before, people don’t recognize these symptoms as signs that something is wrong. It’s not until the bigger symptoms start showing up over and over again that people pay attention and start looking for answers.

What Leads To Gut Imbalance?

Have you heard the saying “all disease begins in the gut?” Well the more I learn about the body, the more I see truth in that statement.

It seems that if our digestive system is in good shape, our bodies have a better chance of staying healthy. I’m not gonna branch off into good gut health much here because this would be a LONG post, but I will highlight a few things as we go along.

First off, things like

  • antibiotic use (for infections or prevention for group-b strep),
  • long-term use of NSAIDS (ibuprofen),
  • hormones imbalances (think birth control and pregnancy/postpartum hormones),
  • warm, moist environments (mouth, vagina, skin folds),
  • diet (high carb, high sugar),
  • and gut disorders (irritable bowel, Chron’s disease, ulcerative colitis, etc.)

can all lead to gut imbalance which in turn can allow candida to overgrow and cause problems.

As you can see from this list of things, the majority of people are susceptible to candida overgrowth.

Next, I wanna share my candida story with you, the short and sweet version, and then I’ll talk about what I did to get rid of candida naturally.

My Story of Treating a Yeast Infection Naturally

With my first pregnancy, I was so excited, and I did everything right. I took my prenatals, ate very healthy, and went to all my doctor/midwife appointments. When I was pregnant with my second baby, I did the same things, but I was a bit more lax with my diet. Sure it was healthy, but I wasn’t as strict on myself as I was with my first pregnancy.

With my third pregnancy… I was tired… all. the. time. I didn’t feel like taking my prenatals every single day, cooking was a huge task so eating out was way more appealing, and doctor appointments–why on earth did I need to drive an hour to have my blood pressure checked, my belly measured, and asked if I had any questions again. This was my third pregnancy, and I’m an RN. I figured I’d know if something wasn’t right. I really didn’t feel like going to every single doctors appointment while dragging two little kids along.

Now don’t get me wrong. My third pregnancy was an uneventful and healthy one, thank the good Lord. I’m so grateful that my biggest issue during all of my pregnancies was with this one and it only involved candida.

During this pregnancy, I had my first-ever yeast infection, and I was miserable.

Now I’m a natural mama and all for using herbs and natural remedies for little things, but this caught me off guard. After consulting with my midwife on what to do, I opted to use an OTC cream for yeast infections. You know, one of the mild ones that takes 7 days instead of the strong 3 day or 1 day treatments.

Thankfully it worked, but not for long. I got another one right after that except this time I recognized it coming on, and I used an herbal anti-fungal cream instead of the OTC cream.

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I knew that my diet had to be what was causing these infections. I’d never had one before, and it was the only thing I could think of that could be causing this–that and the fact that I was pregnant which meant my hormones were making me more susceptible to yeast infections at the moment. At that point I began to research what I needed to do to deal with candida overgrowth from a natural perspective in order to prevent another yeast infection!

The Candida Diet

In my research I came across a diet called “The Candida Diet,” and I’ll just be honest with you–it’s a tough diet of limiting certain foods for 30 days in order to rid the body of excess yeast.

Instead of going on an extreme cleanse/diet while pregnant, I chose to focus on supporting my healthy gut flora instead of trying to drastically eliminate the yeast.

I learned about foods that I needed to increase in my diet like cultured and fermented foods in order to replenish the beneficial microbes in my gut.

(Here’s Kristy’s favorite probiotic shake recipe.)

I also learned about foods I needed to cut back on such as too many processed grains and sugars seeing as how those things fed the candida.

I began eating more homemade yogurt and sauerkraut, and I limited myself when it came to carbs and sugars… even healthy ones like sweet vegetables and natural sweeteners.

Read: 7 Easy + Completely Natural Remedies for An Upset Stomach

Candida Supplements

As far as supplements that would help me with my candida overgrowth, I chose to increase my daily probiotic supplement from 1 pill to 2 pills a day, and used a candida cleanse from Nature’s Plus.

In doing all of this, my hope was that my body would be flooded with beneficial microbes in an effort to get the overgrowth back under control.

In the end, it must have worked because I didn’t have any other yeast symptoms for the remainder of that pregnancy.

“An Ounce Of Prevention Is Worth A Pound Of Cure”

Benjamin Franklin hit the nail right on the head when he said “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” It’s so much easier to prevent sickness than it is to cure it!

After my experience of dealing with candida overgrowth during my third pregnancy, I’ve learned to take better care of my gut on an ongoing basis by knowing what foods to eat a lot of and which foods to limit.

I’ve also learned that the healthier my digestive system is, the less I’ll need to worry about candida.

So what about you?

 Have you ever dealt with yeast infections during pregnancy?

If so, tell me all about it in the comment section below. We mamas can use all the tips and advice we can get, right?

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31 Comments

  1. Hi i currently
    Have a severe skin fungal infection that i had before i was pregnant and has seemed to of got alot worse and is spreading rapidly all over my body I regularly get bv also could this be due to candida overgrowth

    1. Shaneece, I’m not an expert or a nurse so I can’t give medical advice. But I do know that candida overgrowth can cause skin infections like the one you described. It might be worth looking into the protocol Megan shared – let me know how it goes!

  2. I just found out I’m pregnant and have been taking NOW candida support. I don’t have many yeast infections, but have many other symptoms of a candida overgrowth. So worried to continue my vitamins, it’s hard to know for sure, because many docs don’t study nutrition. This is my 8th pregnancy, and this last year has changed my perspective on so many things health related. At this point, I don’t even know who has good info or who to trust.

    1. Hi Melissa, I understand where you’re coming from. I’ve personally found it helpful to work with a naturopath or functional medicine doctor, alongside an M.D. For me, it’s been a bit of a trial-and-error but over the years I’ve found several holistic practitioners who support our family’s health journey.

      As far as brands to trust, the two I’ve used over the years (during five pregnancies) for supplements are Beeyoutiful and Mountain Meadow Herbs. Both were recommended by my midwife. 🙂

      Best wishes on your health and pregnancy!

  3. I have one week to prove I can control my gestational diabetes with diet. The problem is everything I am eating is showing up on my sugar. Cheese and dill pickles…. My friend mentioned that maybe I was fighting a candida overgrowth (her son just went through it). Just wondering if you have ever heard of them being connected and harder to control the GD for candida? I have yeast infections constantly even when I’m not pregnant.
    Thanks for your thoughts.
    Danielle

  4. Thank you for your post! It’s very helpful. In my first trimester I got a yeast infection and tried a bunch of topical natural remedies but it only got worse. I did the 7 day antifungal cream in my second trimester and it came right back. Now I’m in my third trimester and a new OB I went to said it’s the worst yeast infection she’d ever seen. It made me cry because I eat very healthy already and I had no idea what else to do besides take an oral medication for 3 days. It makes me so sad that my last option is taking medicine and it makes me feel scared for my baby. I wish I would have known that I could have added certain foods and avoided foods to keep the infection from getting so bad. I think since the overgrowth got so bad the diet change would not have been as effective. I know for next time to watch out for certain foods now while I’m pregnant because I’m more likely to develop a yeast overgrowth. For the remainder of my pregnancy I’ll add on some better foods and avoid some so the yeast infection doesn’t come back I’m hoping.

    1. Mieriam, I’m so sorry you had to experience such an awful overgrowth! It’s absolutely miserable. Best of luck + health on the remainder of your preganancy- hope this post gave you some helpful tools. xoxo

  5. Has anyone taken caprylic acid while pregnant ? It literally comes from coconut oil and I would think it would be fine but everything I read basically says “not enough information”. If it’s for prevention and you aren’t getting crazy die off symptoms why would it be bad. I even asked the Obgyn and was told not enough info it’s at your discretion. Like that is not exactly helpful. Anyway have experience or input with this ? I have been taking it and I think it is helpful! But not I’m pregnant and am worried..

    1. Jess, my midwife prescribed caprylic acid for me during my last pregnancy. I took it for several months. Hope this helps!

      1. hi kristy, thanks for this info! i’m 26 weeks pregnant and dealing with candida (dermatitis on my face) i was told the same about caprylic acid and been debating taking it. do you know what dosage you took or any good reputable brands? thank you!

  6. Have you ever heard of Candida causing Migraines? Thanks

    1. I haven’t specifically heard of Candida causing migraines, but I know it can be the “mother” of many health issues. I have heard of food allergies and gut issues in general triggering migraines.

    2. It causes mine. Candida can cause leaky gut which allows it to distribute throughout your body and cause a multitude of problems. My normal plan of attack is taking SF722 to kill the Candida, apple pectin and DGL to heal the gut. But I’m currently looking for a more natural or safer approach as I am currently pregnant.

  7. i am currently pregnant and got my first ever yeast infection, what has helped me is cranberry juice and showering daily with using natural non fragrance soaps! i also had to clean myself down there to get all the yeast out.

    1. Thank you for the ideas, Shell! Cranberry is such a great remedy. I love it too.

  8. Currently nursing my 9 month old daughter (3rd child) and been battling what I thought was mastitis for about a month now. Went on antibiotics on and off and finishing up Diflucan currently. I have significantly altered my diet but have lost a lot of weight. Do you have any suggestions on diet while nursing? Also I still have slight redness, Dr says yeast rash on breast and starting to go spread to chest and other side. Any topical recommendations for this? Thanks!

  9. Hi, ladies! I’m 13 week pregnant and this is my 3rd pregnancy battling yeast infections. What probiotics do you use and recommend? I started the spoon full of coconut oil, notice it helps when I eliminate dairy (cannot have milk-get a yeast infection automatically within 3 days!) and will be modifying my diet ASAP. Any supplements and probiotics you can recommend would be appreciated! Thanks!

    1. Kate, I have personally used and highly recommend Garden of Life raw probiotics. They are very high quality. Also, you might consider a daily regimen of a fermented drink, such as kombucha or coconut milk kefir.

      1. Thanks so much! Funny you mention the Kefir drink because I was gonna as ask about that too! Will do!

    2. what helped me was drinking cranberry juice! you should really try it! it did wonders for me. also try to shower daily to prevent from bacteria from growing.

  10. I am currently 24 weeks pregnant and battling yeast. I noticed the supplement you were taking had caprylic acid and oregano oil in it. Did you have any problems with this while pregnant? I know its not technically approved during pregnancy due to “lack of research” but I’d rather take a supplement over a drug any day!

    1. Morgan, my midwife prescribed both caprylic acid and oregano oil for me when I was pregnant and breastfeeding. I never had any issues with either.

      1. Thank you for confirming it’s safe. I use the yeast cleanser detox and it usually works for me but I was iffy to use while pregnant.

      2. What was the dosage of oregano oil that she prescribed for you?

      3. Hi Jessie, I simply rubbed a single drop of oregano essential oil on the bottom of my feet – the oil absorbs into the bloodstream this way.

  11. Girl!! I had the yeast beast this last pregnancy. My midwife said to use an OTC but I told I’d stick with my garlic. I ate it raw daily and used a clove as a suppository..yep, you heard me, and it did the trick!

  12. I enjoyed reading this article tremendously. I’m in my second trimester with baby seven and this is the first pregnancy I haven’t been plagued with yeast infections. What have I found most effective?

    A spoonful of virgin coconut oil daily and replacing all sugar in my baking/cooking with unrefined (while also slowly working to limit sugar intake). I feel so much better!

    1. I’m so glad you’re feeling better, Lisa! What a blessing. I found coconut oil to be very helpful in my own battle against candida, as well.

    1. I had quite a struggle with candida a few years ago… would have loved to have read Meagan’s helpful article back then!

      What candida cleanse are you using, Jill?