Valentine's Day has come around yet again.
With the day of love coming up this Friday, couples, daters and friends across the globe are preparing for a night of sweet treats and sweeter tipples.
If plans are not to enjoy an indulgent dinner out, it’ll be cuddling up with a special Marks & Spencer dine in for two or digging into allll the movie snacks with gals and pals.
But it turns out that indulging too much on Valentine’s Day treats could harm more than just your diet goals.
With all the surplus sugar and refined foods being eaten on the special day, like wine, sweets and chocolate, the bacteria balance in our bodies can be disrupted and cause people to develop thrush.
MORE: Natural remedies for thrush
“This normally harmonious balance, can be disrupted if a person consumes too much sugar and refined goods which sends candida albicans into overdrive causing thrush, Dr Diana Gall, of Doctor-4-U, told the Metro.
“This is especially the case if a person has recently taken antibiotics, as antibiotics can cause an overgrowth of candida”.
“Thrush is an opportunistic infectious agent as far as the digestive pathway is concerned,” explained Dr Diana. “A diet with too many refined foods, loaded with sugar – such as chocolate and wine – can fuel thrush as it increases sugar in our urine.
“This overload of sugar feeds the yeast in the genitals”.
To avoid developing the condition, Dr Diana suggests trying to limit your intake of excess sugar as much as possible as well as avoiding fermented foods, especially if you are already prone to thrush.
“You can manage it by watching what you eat and avoiding other trigger foods,” she outlined.
“This includes bread, blue cheeses, vinegar, soya sauce, Marmite and mushrooms”.
And as for what to look out for?
MORE: Five common things that can increase your risk of developing thrush
“In women the symptoms of vaginal thrush include itching, irritation, discharge, soreness, redness and swelling of the vagina and vulva,” explained the doctor.
“Although less common, in men thrush can cause irritation and redness particularly on the head of the penis”.
Better put those heart-shaped truffles back on the shelf!
