Candida
is a fungus, which is a form of yeast, and a very small amount of it
lives in your mouth and intestines. Its main job? Helping out with
digestion and nutrient absorption. But when overproduced, candida can
break down the wall of the intestine and penetrate the bloodstream —
releasing toxic by-products into your body and causing leaky gut.
This can lead to many different health problems, from digestive
issues to depression.
_______________________________________________
Some
call it an invisible epidemic. When Candida albicans, a family of
yeast-like fungi that lives in our digestive tracts, multiplies out
of control, it causes mysterious symptoms and serious health woes for
women, men and children. Is it breeding in you?
COMMON SYMPTOMS
OF YEAST/FUNGUS OVERGROWTH
-
Skin
problems: hives, scaling, athlete’s foot, jock itch, diaper rash,
psoriasis, fungal nail infections
-
Muscular
and nervous problems: aches or swelling in muscles or joints,
numbness, tingling, burning, weakness, paralysis
-
Itchy
ears and nose; increased sensitivity to smells and chemical
additives
-
Migraine
headaches, brain fog or inability to concentrate
-
Gastrointestinal
problems: constipation, abdominal pain, diarrhea, gas, bloating,
heartburn
-
Oral
thrush, sore or itchy throat
-
Problems
involving reproductive organs: PMS, urinary tract and vaginal
infections, prostatitis, impotence
-
Respiratory
problems, congestion, fevers -Depression, low-mood, fatigue or
lethargy -Anxiety, recurring irritability
-
Slows
down weight loss process making it sometimes impossible to lose
weight.
GOT
YEAST?
Many
candida specialists depend on questionnaires, such as the one below,
to help patients identify symptoms that are potentially
yeast-related. The following questionnaire is excerpted from The
Yeast Connection, by William G. Crook, MD. If you answer YES to at
least 2 of these, you more than likely have Candida overgrowth.
A more detailed questionnaire can be found at
http://www.yeastconnection.com/yeast.html.
-
Have
you taken repeated or prolonged courses of antibacterial drugs?
-
Have
you been bothered by recurrent vaginal, prostate or urinary tract
infections?
-
Do
you feel "sick all over," yet the cause hasn't been found?
-
Are
you bothered by hormone disturbances, including PMS, menstrual
irregularities, sexual dysfunction, sugar craving, low body
temperature or fatigue?
-
Are
you unusually sensitive to tobacco smoke, perfumes, colognes and
other chemical odors?
-
Are
you bothered by memory or concentration problems? Do you sometimes
feel "spaced out"?
-
Have
you taken prolonged courses of prednisone or other steroids; or have
you taken "the pill" for more than 3 years?
-
Do
some foods disagree with you or trigger your symptoms?
-
Do
you suffer with constipation, diarrhea, bloating or abdominal pain?
-
Does
your skin itch, tingle or burn; or is it unusually dry; or are you
bothered by rashes?
-
Do
you crave sugar, breads or alcoholic beverages?
WHY
CANDIDA MAKES WEIGHT LOSS INEFFECTIVE
Candida,
the excessive yeast growth, occurs when Candida albicans, yeast, live
in your digestive system. Yeast is like sugar, and with an overgrowth
of this yeast, there are a variety of ways it can make weight loss
ineffective.
How
does this happen? Due to the growth of yeast, it becomes invasive,
and creates holes in the intestinal wall. According to both doctors
and natural therapists, invasive yeast release toxins in the blood
through these holes, causing allergic reactions and inflammation in
your organs and tissues.
This
can also affect to your thyroid causing inflammation which can make
your metabolic rate slow down and lower your body's ability to burn
fat, making weight loss become more difficult. This impacts your body
inflammatory reaction of retained excess liquid, causing fluid
retention that can lead to fat and weight gain.
In
addition, yeast overgrowth promotes intestinal flatulence and
bloating, which can increase your waistline inches, even if you are a
low-calorie diet. A by-product of some yeast overgrowth can also
block hormone receptors, affecting the normal operation of their
ability to assist with weight loss.
Your
immune response of waste products from the yeast in your intestinal
tract through the holes, release your immune system into action to
ban toxins. One of the reactions is the release of cortisol. This
triggers the fight-or-flight syndrome, your body’s way of hanging
on to your stored fat to protect itself, which will obviously make
weight loss difficult.
In
regards to the hypoglycemia toxic byproducts of yeast overgrowth, it
was found that these by-products, tartaric acid, may inhibit the
body's ability to correctly extract energy from food (and absorb
nutrients), and provide adequate glycemic. The result may be
hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, which leads to feelings of weakness
and brain fog. People who have low blood sugar may eat sweets as a
quick way to improve these uncomfortable symptoms, which then
continues to the yeast overgrowth cycle and weight gain.
WHY
IT’S SO HARD TO ELIMINATE CANDIDA YEAST INFECTIONS
To
understand why getting rid of candida can be so much harder than
knocking out a bacterial infection; you need to know how candida
yeast overgrowth manifests in your body.
About
80% of the time, candida overgrowth occurs when antibiotics kill the
friendly bacteria in the intestinal tract. Divided up about equally,
are cases of candida overgrowth caused by candida spores being
breathed in, transmitted orally through food sharing, kissing, or
similar activities, and as babies picking it up from their mothers.
Overgrowth cannot occur when the immune system is strong and the
friendly flora (said to comprise 70% of the immune system response)
are plentiful.
When
much of your friendly flora has been destroyed, and your immune
system has weakened, the oxygen-loving candida yeast begins to
flourish, morphing into anaerobic candida fungi. No longer needing an
oxygen-rich blood supply, the fungi are able to exist anywhere in the
body.
Initially,
these fungi are primarily in the intestinal tract. There, the toxic
waste they chemically produce (acetylaldahyde, the same chemical that
causes a hangover), irritate and weaken the intestinal wall. Candida
fungi have tiny "legs" which, as the intestinal wall
becomes damaged, are able to "drill" holes in the
intestinal wall, leading to poor digestion and "leaky gut
syndrome".
These
holes enable candida to travel throughout the body, over time
establishing themselves systemically. The leaky gut also allows
partially digested food to enter the bloodstream. This food is not
able to be used by your cells, and your immune system must get rid of
that food. Over time, people develop food allergies, a sure sign of
candida overgrowth.
Candida
yeast loves sugar, excreting chemicals that cause you to crave sugars
and all types of carbohydrates. Of course, as the yeast digests the
food sugars before your body can use them; your cravings may be
caused by low blood sugar levels.
During
the nighttime, when you are fasting, the candida has plenty of time
to be consuming your blood sugar. To compensate for this lack of
sugar, your adrenals have to work extra hard, eventually leading to
adrenal fatigue. (The acetylaldahyde also causes fatigue.) The
thyroid gland is linked with the adrenal glands. As the adrenal
glands wear down, the thyroid gland also starts to perform poorly,
leading to decreased temperature regulation and low metabolism.
WHY
WOMEN HAVE SO MUCH MORE SERIOUS CANDIDA OVERGROWTH THAN MEN
About
70% of all candida overgrowth occurs in women (if we consider the
population of people over 15 years of age). As both men and women are
equally exposed to antibiotics, this increase lies somewhat with the
use of birth control pills, and primarily with candida's fondness for
progesterone.
Candida
likes to eat progesterone. So what does it do?
Candida
blocks estrogen receptors so that estrogen can't lock into them,
further disrupting the endocrine hormone by binding to estrogen,
preventing it from being used properly by the body. Why does candida
do this? Because estrogen and progesterone "teeter-totter"
-- low estrogen levels cause high progesterone levels. So by creating
low estrogen levels in your body, candida causes progesterone levels
to be elevated, providing more and more fuel for itself.
Women
often have flare-ups coinciding with their period - a time when
progesterone levels are higher. By the way, there are two types of
estrogen -- alpha estrogen produced by the female organs, and beta
estrogen produced by the adrenal glands. Both men and women need and
produce beta estrogen and not only are these estrogens inhibited by
candida, but the adrenal fatigue caused by the candida overgrowth
will result in even lower beta estrogen production.
So
male hormones will suffer too, with low beta estrogen and low
testosterone. These imbalances need to be corrected, but as men
naturally produce much less progesterone than women, they do not
supply such a readily available food source for the candida. Thus,
out- of-control candida overgrowth affects many more women than men.
CANDIDA
SPORES – THE MAIN REASON CANDIDA OVERGROWTH IS SO HARD TO ELIMINATE
There
are lots of good candida killers: Anti-fungal drugs like Nystatin and
Diflucan, herbs like Pau D'Arco, Olive Leaf Extract, Oregano Extract,
Grapefruit Seed Extract, coconut-based aplitic acid. These all do an
excellent job of killing candida.
So
why is candida so hard to get rid of?
Candida
fungi can mutate to become immune to both anti-fungal herbs as well
as anti-fungal drugs. The more complex the anti-fungal herb or drug
is the easier Candida can mutate, rendering them no longer effective.
Initially, the drug may kill a good portion of the candida, but this
leaves an empty space which candida likes to rapidly refill.
But
something else happens too - actually, two things.
Every
time anti-fungal herbs are taken, the yeast will go dormant to
survive, burrowing deeply into the tissues where the drugs or herbs
can’t reach -- remember, they don't need an oxygen supply in which
to live. They can also go dormant and "hide" to avoid an
activated immune system response.
So,
initially, after taking high doses of nystatin or herbs, it may seem
as though your candida infection is gone -- when, in reality, it is
not. Even the blood can appear free of Candida, as it lies wait in
the tissues, sometimes even forming dense masses, which can’t
easily be penetrated.
Secondly,
when you attack candida, it is stimulated to release spores. The
production of spores is how fungi and mold reproduce. Candida tend to
fight back when they are being attacked, assuring their survival by
releasing spores, which can lodge anywhere in body, awaiting just the
right conditions to reactivate. They remain "dormant" so
long as they sense the immune cells trying to attack. As spores, they
tend to attract only a minor response from the immune system,
dragging out the condition for years.
The
typical scenario: You go on a strict candida diet and take lots of
probiotics, boosting the immune system and noticing symptoms clearing
up (though still plagued with food allergies.) Eventually, you stop
taking your anti-candida supplements or drugs, go off the diet, and
boom, in a relatively short while, the condition has returned.
FOODS TO EAT
| CATEGORY |
FOODS
TO EAT |
NOTES |
| VEGETABLES |
Artichokes
Asparagus
Avocado
Broccoli
Brussels
sprouts
Cabbage
Celery
Cucumber
Eggplant
Garlic
(raw)
Kale
Olives
Onions
Rutabaga
Spinach
Tomatoes
Zucchini |
Non-starchy
vegetables starve the Candida of the sugar and mold diet that
feed it. You should buy your vegetables fresh and eat them raw,
steamed or grilled.
Avoid starchy vegetables such as sweet
potatoes, potatoes, yams, corn, all winter squash, beets, peas,
parsnips and beans. Olives are OK as long as they are not in
distilled white vinegar. |
| LIVE
YOGURT CULTURES |
Probiotic
yogurt
Kefir |
Live
yogurt cultures help your gut to repopulate with good bacteria.
The live bacteria in the yogurt will crowd out the Candida yeast
and restore balance to your system. This is especially useful
after a course of antibiotics. |
| MEAT |
Beef
Chicken
Lamb
Turkey |
Eat
only fresh and organic meat - processed meat (like lunch meat,
bacon and spam) is loaded with dextrose, nitrates, sulfates and
sugars.
Smoked or vacuum packed meats are also best avoided. |
| FISH |
Anchovies
Herring
Sardines
Wild
salmon |
Wild
salmon and sardines do contain ocean contaminants, but in much
lower amounts than other seafood. Buy these fish fresh or packed
in olive oil or water. |
| NUTS
AND SEEDS |
Almonds
Coconut
meat
Flax Seed
Hazelnuts
Pecans
Sunflower
Seeds
Walnuts |
These
nuts are healthy and have a low mold content. If you're still
worried about mold, soak them in a diluted grapefruit seed
extract solution for a few hours. |
| NON-GLUTINOUS
GRAINS |
Buckwheat
Millet
Oat
Bran
Quinoa |
These
grains contain a high amount of fiber, excellent for keeping your
digestive system moving and eliminating Candida toxins. Most
products derived from this list are also OK - e.g. quinoa
crackers, buckwheat flour. You can find these in the gluten-free
section in health food stores. |
| HERBS
AND SPICES |
Basil
Black
Pepper
Cinnamon
Cloves
Dill
Garlic
Ginger
Oregano
Paprika
Rosemary
Thyme |
Many
herbs and spices have antioxidant and antifungal properties. They
can also improve circulation and reduce inflammation. They're
great for livening up food if you're on a limited Candida diet. |
| OILS |
Virgin
Coconut Oil
Olive Oil
Sesame Oil
Flax Oil
Coconut
Oil
Red Palm Oil |
Use
cold pressed oils where possible. Remember that heating or
boiling can destroy many of the oil's nutrients. |
| SEASONING |
Black
Pepper
Sea Salt
Lemon Juice
Coconut Aminos
Apple
Cider Vinegar (Organic, Raw, Unfiltered) |
Coconut
Aminos are a great alternative to soy sauce. And you can use
apple cider vinegar to make some delicious salad dressings. |
| BEVERAGES |
Chicory
root coffee
Cinnamon Tea
Peppermint Tea
Ginger
Tea
Licorice Tea |
These
are just a few of the herbal teas that have antifungal
properties.
Chicory root is also a great prebiotic (it
contains 20% Inulin), so it can help to repopulate your gut with
healthy bacteria too. |
| SWEETENERS |
Stevia
Xylitol |
Stevia
and xylitol can be used in place of sugar and they have a much
smaller effect on your blood sugar levels |
FOODS TO AVOID
| CATEGORY |
FOODS
TO AVOID |
NOTES |
| SUGARS |
Sugar
Honey
Syrup
Chocolate
Molasses
Rice
Syrup
Artificial Sweeteners |
Condiments
tend to be high in sugar and can exacerbate your Candida. Stay
away from the soft drinks too. Always read food labels to make
sure your food doesn't contain sugar. Be careful - the aspartame
in diet cola weakens your immune system can leave you vulnerable
to Candida. |
| ALCOHOL |
Wine
Beer
Spirits
Liquors
Cider |
Alcohol
is high in sugars that can feed a Candida overgrowth. It also
puts stress on your immune system. |
| GRAINS
& GLUTINOUS FOODS |
Anything
made with wheat, rye, oats or barley, e.g. white bread, rye
bread, pasta.
Spelt products
Corn and corn
byproducts
Rice |
Many
Candida sufferers have a high sensitivity to Gluten. Give your
immune system a break and stay off gluten during your Candida
diet. Corn-by products like popcorn tend to be contaminated with
mold. |
| FRUIT |
Fresh
Fruit
Dried Fruit
Canned Fruit
Fruit Juice |
The
high sugar content in fruit feeds Candida, even though they are
natural sugars. Fruits like melon may also contain mold. A
squeeze of lemon is OK. |
| VEGETABLES |
Potatoes
Carrots
Sweet
Potatoes
Yams
Beets
Peas
Parsnips |
This
group of vegetables is very nutrient-dense, however they should
be avoided until your Candida overgrowth is fully under
control.
They then can be reintroduced in small portions one
at a time. |
| MEATS |
All
pork products
Cured meats
Processed meats
Smoked
or vacuum-packed meats |
Pork
contains retroviruses that survive cooking and may be harmful for
those with a weakened digestive system. Processed meats like
lunch meat and spam are loaded with dextrose nitrates, sulfates
and sugars. |
| FISH |
All
fish except for wild salmon and sardines
All shellfish |
All
shellfish and most fish contain alarming levels of heavy metals
and toxins. These will suppress your immune system and leave you
vulnerable to Candida. Studies have shown that farmed salmon
contain high levels of PCBs, mercury and other carcinogenic
agents. |
| DAIRY
PRODUCTS |
Cheese
Milk
Cream
Buttermilk
Whey
products |
Almost
all dairy should be avoided except ghee, butter, kefir and
probiotic yogurt. Milk contains lactose so it should be avoided.
Kefir and yogurt are better because most of the lactose
disappears during the fermentation process. |
| ADDITIVES
& PRESERVATIVES |
Citric
Acid
Anything you don't know or can't pronounce! |
The
manufactured, additive form of citric acid is derived from yeast.
However the natural form, as found in lemons and limes, is OK on
the diet.
Additives and preservatives can disrupt your
friendly bacteria and allow the Candida yeast to flourish. |
| OTHER
BEVERAGES |
Coffee
Black
& green tea
Diet & regular soda
Energy
drinks
Fruit Juices |
Caffeine
can cause your blood sugar to rise, but the main problem is that
it weakens the adrenals and can impair your immune system. Coffee
also contains mold. Even decaf tea and coffee are to be avoided,
as they contain residual levels of caffeine. |
| NUTS |
Cashews
Peanuts
Pistachios |
This
group of nuts contains a high amount of mold, which can inflame
your Candida problem. |
| BEANS |
Beans
and other legumes
Chickpeas
Tofu
Soy cheese
Soy
milk
All soy products |
The
combination of being hard to digest and high in carbs rules out
beans from the first stages of the diet. They can be reintroduced
later on in small portions. Soy products are mostly forbidden, as
the majority of soy is genetically modified. If you can find
non-GMO tofu, it should be OK to eat. |
| MUSHROOMS
/ MOLDS |
Mushrooms
Truffles |
Mushrooms
don't "feed" Candida as some websites claim, but eating
some fungi can cause an inflammatory reaction if you are already
suffering from Candida. On the other hand, some medicinal
mushrooms are actually OK on the diet and have strong
immune-boosting properties. Good examples are Reishi and Maitake. |
| CONDIMENTS |
Ketchup
Mayonnaise
Regular
Mustard
Relish
Horseradish
Soy sauce |
Ketchup,
tomato paste, and spaghetti sauces all contain high amounts of
hidden sugars. Condiments generally do tend to be high in sugar,
and they can exacerbate your Candida. For an alternative salad
dressing, try coconut aminos or a simple olive oil and lemon
juice dressing. |
| VINEGAR |
All
vinegars, except for Apple Cider Vinegar |
Vinegar
is made in a yeast culture, depletes the stomach of acids and can
also cause inflammation in your gut. However, one particular
vinegar (unfiltered apple cider vinegar) can actually be helpful
in combating a Candida overgrowth. |
| FATS
AND OILS |
Peanut
oil
Corn oil
Canola oil
Soy oil |
Peanut,
corn and canola oil are contaminated with mold. And most soy
beans used in soy oil are GMO. |
