Canned Tomatoes and the Candida Diet
Tomatoes are a very important part of my life and while I would love to always have fresh ripe tomatoes on hand, it doesn’t always turn out that way. I use fresh tomatoes in my cooking, but keeping them close by and in usable condition is a daily chore or at least several times a week. If I buy too many at once, surprise surprise, they go bad. This leaves me frustrated that I have now wasted money and still don’t have the tomatoes I need to cook with. That is why it is essential to have canned tomatoes in the kitchen. However, using canned tomatoes becomes very tricky when you are trying to follow the candida diet. A candida diet is used to treat a condition called candidiasis, an overgrowth of yeast (candida) that can be caused by a variety of external factors. The symptoms of this condition vary widely, but are usually characterized by a multitude of seemingly unrelated symptoms. These symptoms can range from something as vague as fatigue to mood disorders.
The problem with canned tomatoes and the Candida Diet is that canned tomatoes contain preservatives that have been found to feed yeast infections and therefore exacerbate yeast symptoms. The most frequently prohibited ingredients found in canned tomatoes are citric acid and calcium chloride. Since citric acid is the biggest and widely used culprit and since I have found very few brands of canned tomatoes contain calcium chloride, I will only discuss why citric acid is problematic for candida dieters.
Citric acid is used to flavor and preserve food. It exists naturally in citrus fruits, but the type used in commercial food products often causes problems for candida dieters. Most commercially used citric acid is produced by fermentation, a process in which yeast is added to convert a sugar form into an alcohol form. This whole process is contrary to the candida diet since it is forbidden to add yeast, sugar and alcohol. Therefore, it is not the citric acid itself that is problematic, but the process by which it is created. I have seen canned tomatoes with naturally occurring citric acid in their ingredient list, even though it is naturally derived from citrus fruit sources, it still goes through the fermentation process.
So what are we candida dieters to do? Should we live with rotten tomatoes and constant frustration? The answer is no. Fortunately, I have found some brands of canned tomato products that do not contain citric acid, calcium chloride, or any other preservatives. These brands are fine for the candida diet. I have found most brands of tomato paste to be safe. Pomi brand tomatoes have no preservatives and come in sauce and chopped. Cento makes a variety of tomato products without preservatives. Stop & Shop’s Nature’s Promise line also has some preservative-free canned tomato products. Although I use these brands regularly in my candida diet kitchen, I urge you to always read product labels as things can change. Hope this helps other candida dieters who were experiencing the tomato dilemma. For more information on the Candida diet, visit Yeast Free Living.
