I was just recently diagnosed with an allegy to mold and was placed on a mold free diet by the allergist Dr Hardy of Saskatoon, Sask which includes;

• All cheeses including sour cream, cottage cheese, sour milk, yogurt, and buttermilk,
• Beer and wine (no alcohol),
• Pickled and smoked meats including sausage, pickled and smoked fish, hot dogs, corned beef, pastrami etc,
• Vinegar and vinegar containing products such as mayonnaise, salad dressings, ketchup, chili and shrimp sauses, pickles, olives, and souerkraut,
• Soured breads (e.g. pumpernickle),
• Fresh rolls,
• Coffee cakes,
• Other foods made with large amounts of yeast
• All dried and candied fruits such as raisins, dates, prunes, figs, apricots, melons including cantaloupe, watermelon, muskmelon, honey dew etc, soy sauce, tomatoes other then fresh or home canned,
• Canned or frozen fruit juices,
• Ground meat that is [more] then 24 hours old (must be frozen or cooked within that time frame),

Canned food [must be] consumed immediately after opening, left over more then 24 hours old should be avoided.

Hope you can find this of use.

After years of extremely painful bladder problems and many antibiotics for UTIs, I was diagnosed with interstitial cystitis (IC). I tried eliminating many of the foods which the experts said could cause flare-ups but nothing seemed to help. One day I ate the most delicious portobello mushroom sandwich and boy, did I pay! A half hour later, I had the most excruciating "attack" that lasted for 4 hours. I finally took two pain pills and went to bed. When I awoke the next morning, the pain was gone and I was pain-free for almost a month afterwards. It was as if I had been inoculated. Needless to say, I haven't eaten mushrooms since and I do believe that fungus, mold, and yeast have been the cause of my problems, which started with the mold. I lived in the south for 15 years and part of that time I had a temporary office in a basement that turned out to be mold infested. I also had half a lung removed due to aveolar cancer, which can be caused by mold spores. I'm still working on what I can and cannot eat but I do know that anything with yeast, mold or fungus will trigger an IC flare-up. I feel best when I do a liquid fast and keep everything else out of my system. Best of luck to all and Happy New Year.

I was given a yeast and mold elimination diet (along with flonase and antibiotics for my sinus infection), and thought I'd share what I was given:

Food to Avoid

Alcohol, vinegar (incl. salad dressings, mustard, catsup, pickles, etc.), cheese, bread (including pita), most crackers and pretzels, yeast extract (found in many commercial soups, boullions and sauces), dried fruit, commercial fruit juices, fruit spreads, fermented foods including those made with soy sauce, miso soup, malt (found in many breakfast cereals), mushrooms.

Nuts, seeds, beans and fruits (especially berries and grapes) are usually colonized with mold or yeast, especially on standing, and are best avoided. Tomato sauce is usually full of mod and yeast. Chocolate and coffee are made from beans and tend to have high mold content. Tea is made from dried leaves and may have high yeast or mold content. Smoked meats and fish, bacon and sausage and luncheon meats may be moldy.

Whole organic foods are more likely to be colonized by mold then refined, preserved foods are actully less well tolerated by some mold-allergic people.

Sugar stimulates the growth of yeast in the mouth, stomach and upper small intestine and should be avoided. Avoid foods with added sugar, corn syrup, corn sweetener, dextrose, fructose, sucrose, fruit juice, honey or maple syrup. Naturally occurring food sugar also can stimulate yeast growth. This includes the sugar lactose, found in milk, yogurt, soft cheeses and cream, and fruit sugar. Fruit conserves and purees and juices should be avoided; whole fruits should be avoided or naturally limited (2-3 per day).

Acceptable Foods

Fresh lean meat, fish and poultry, eggs, fresh and frozen vegetables of all types, oats, rice, corn, millet, barley (not malted), potatoes, and buckwheat. The safest beverages are water, seltzer spring water. A few ounces of freshly squeezed orange juices may be onsumed each day. Up to two piees of fresh fruit a day may be consumed (avoid grapes, plums, berries, and melons). Fruits and vegetables should either be peeled or washed carefully. Some butter or margarine may be tolerated. Cooked beans, chic beans and tofu are usually safe. Oiles are acceptable: the healthiest are olive or sesame for cooking and olive or sunflower or safflower raw.

For salad dressing use oil and lemon juice; fresh onion, garlic basil or fresh herbs can be used for flavoring. Tomato sauce homemade from fresh, peeled tomatoes is OK. Rice cakes and crackers, popcorn, matzoh and tortillas are usually OK. Noodles and pasta may be tolerated, if the sauce is made from fresh tomatoes, olive oil and herbs only and no cheese is added. Nut butters and even nuts may be acceptable as snacks, but should not be used during the first week of the diet.

Hope this helps!