I would play it safe if I were you and stick to decaf. I did read that caffeine kills of some of your good bacteria. I have stuck to decaf the whole time on Atkins, strictly because he says caffeine can mess up your insulin levels. Everything I have read about caffeine lately is negative, and if your system is overburdened already (from Candida), you would do well to eliminate it.

Also, some diets say no cheese at all, Atkins says cream cheese and mozzerella are okay. For some reason, and I always have loved cheese, cheddar cheese tastes bad to me lately. I have been eating cream cheese, putting cream in my tea, and have had parmesian occasionally, and my yeast symptoms are lessening.

I would like to stress that the only sweetener that is "legal" on a candida diet is Stevia. Stay away from aspartame, Splenda, etc. These all feed the yeast. You might notice incredibly strong cravings for sugar while you are on the candida diet. Just don't give in, tell yourself that it is the yeast that wants the sugar, not you, and you want them to DIE! So, don't feed them!

You might want to get some molybdenum, a nutrient that helps with die off symptoms. Drink ALOT of water. Peppermint tea helps with nausea for some people. I felt much worse before I felt better, but don't give up.

Good luck, let us know how you are doing!!!!

-Jess