Melt fat even faster!

Turmeric is powerful enough to work alone to eliminate an overgrowth of

Candida albicans, but for even faster results, consider adopting a yeastbanishing diet for three weeks. “I put almost all of my patients on a strict candida cleanse,” asserts integrative physician Leigh Erin Connealy, M.D. “This diet will help you feel less bloated and more energized as the yeast lose their foothold in your body.”

Dr. Connealy’s plan calls for loading each meal with protein (including meat, poultry and seafood), unlimited non-starchy vegetables and plenty of healthy fats from extra-virgin olive oil, butter, nuts and seeds. These foods provide the body with phytonutrients and amino acids that support the immune system’s ability to fight back against an overgrowth of yeast and filter out harmful yeast toxins.

To ensure candida can’t flourish, Dr. Connealy recommends limiting your intake of starchy foods, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, beans and whole grains, to one 3⁄4 cup serving per day. That’s because these foods have been shown to fuel the growth of candida. You’ll also cut out yeast-rich foods (beer, wine, vinegar, soy sauce, bread, pastries and mushrooms), which can weaken the body’s defenses against candida; as well as dairy (milk, yogurt and cheese, but excluding butter) and sugar-based foods (fruit, soft drinks, maple syrup, bottled salad dressing and bottled condiments), which can all fuel candida’s growth throughout the body.

During the three-week candida cleanse, it’s also key to pay attention to your drinking water. “Much of our tap water is treated with chlorine that kills both bad and good bacteria in the gut,” explains Dr. Connealy. The problem: Without good bugs to keep candida at bay, the pernicious yeast is more easily able to overload the body. As an alternative, Dr. Connealy suggests sipping filtered or spring water. Prefer flavored water? Stick with flavored add-ins sweetened with stevia, which doesn’t feed candida’s growth the way sugar and most sugar substitutes do.

For even faster results throughout the anti-candida diet, Michelle Schoffro Cook, Ph.D., suggests supplementing with a targeted probiotic supplement that contains Saccharomyces boulardii (like Renew Life Ultimate Flora Saccharomyces Boulardii, $13 for 20 days, VitaminShoppe.com). In lab tests, this strain has been shown to be especially effective at preventing candida from taking root.