What Is Candida?
Candida is a type of yeast present in every human body and is helpful in digestion. In a healthy body, candida is controlled by beneficial bacteria, which is not harmful. Problems start when the good bacteria balance deteriorates. The result is an uncontrolled growth of candida. The imbalance in the beneficial bacteria can arise from taking antibiotics and birth control pills, prolonged stress, or eating a diet full of sugar and refined carbohydrates. It is becoming a disease of “hidden epidemic” proportions. It is a major contributing factor to many diseases.
What is Candida?
Candidiasis is an infection caused by Candida albicans, a common fungus, and form of yeast. It is present in a woman’s mouth, gastrointestinal tract, and vagina. Candida also lives in the folds, creases, and wrinkles of your skin. When we produce too much candida, it can become pathogenic, cause infections, and compromise a person’s immune system— creating lots of different health problems from weight gain to autoimmune issues. When candida overgrows it interferes with the positive balance of bacteria. As an immune compromising condition, candida is extremely hard to overcome once this balance has been sufficiently disrupted.
Candida is a part of our gut flora. We have living microorganisms living in our intestines and mouth. As long as we keep the entire gut flora in a balanced state, we won’t have any issues. Those microorganisms are helping us with digestion, preventing us from encountering infections, and helping synthesize minerals and vitamins. When candida is overgrowing, it weakens the intestinal wall of our gut and penetrates into our bloodstream, releasing its toxins through our body. These toxins damage your organs and body tissues, which can further compromise your immune system.
The waste byproduct of candida is mycotoxin. Mycotoxins are neurotoxins that destroy organs and tissues. When these are released, they help fungi by protecting against bacteria, parasites, and viruses. In the human body, when mycotoxin is being secreted there is the potential that it will reach the bloodstream. This can cause symptoms like a headache, fatigue, fogginess, and depression. The toxins get through the gut lining when the gut becomes leaky, and it falls on the liver to detoxify them. When liver function is impaired, toxins cannot be adequately removed. Therefore, they remain in the body tissues and organs. This is a significant contributor to developing chronic disease.
Candida common signs and symptoms:
* Fatigue
* Reoccurring digestive issues, like bloating, gas, diarrhea, or constipation
* Oversensitivity to perfumes, chemicals, or tobacco
* Depression, mood swings, anxiety, and irritability
* Strong sugar and alcohol carving
* Fungal infections
* Chronic rashes
* Muscle aches
* Insomnia
* Joint swelling or pain
* Erratic vision
* Brain fog, poor memory, and difficulty with focus
* White coating on your tongue
* Loss of sex drive
* Vaginal infections
* Abdominal pain
* Headaches and dizziness
* Difficult PMS for women
* Skin problems, like eczema or hives
* Severe allergies
* Feeling sick often
* Rectal itching
* Allergies
The symptoms manifest in five areas of the body: the nervous system, digestive system, genitourinary tract, endocrine system, and skin (Martin, 2000). The candida toxins can be found in all organs in the body. Candida syndrome is associated with almost every medical condition from mild infection to diabetes.
The symptoms of Candida have pretty distinct stages. First, the digestion problems begin; gas, bloating, diarrhea, skin rashes, vaginal rash, and nail infections. Second, there can be allergy outbreaks, like hives, eczema, acne, headaches, muscle pain, and sensitivity to odor. Third, reactions in the central nervous system can occur, like confusion, irritability, fogginess, fatigue, depression, and panic attacks. Fourth, dysfunction of organs and glands, like hypoglycemia, infertility, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, lack of sex drive, and male impotence (Page, 2000).
CAUSES
* Prolonged antibiotics use
* Elevated hormones levels, especially in women
* Stress
* Taking birth control pills and steroids (Prednisone)
* SAD diet and poor eating habits
* Food allergies, toxins, and exposure to mold
* Diet rich in sugar and carbohydrates
* Alcohol overuse
* Mercury in fillings
Candida overgrowth, mostly is a secondary infection to some other GI issue, like a parasite, SIBO, food intolerances, mold, heavy metal toxicity, pathogenic bacteria, or another strain of harmful bacteria overgrowth.
TESTING
You can do the Spit Test at home (http://www.nationalcandidacenter.com/Self-Test-2-My-Body-Fluids-s/1877.htm ), but the best test for Candida is Organic Acid test, the stool test to see what else is going on in your colon, so you know what you’re dealing with and what to treat.
DIET
The best way to improve candida symptoms is to kill it by changing the diet (elimination and cleansing diet) and starting supplement therapy. Avoid any birth control pills, steroids, and antibiotics, unless necessary. Start with a cleansing diet and cleanse the dead yeast from the body. The next step is to work on strengthening the digestive system so it can start to assimilate the nutrients from food. During this stage, it is good to work on supporting the glands and the liver, which play a major role in detoxification. The metabolism should be restored with priority placed on promoting friendly bacteria in the gut. The next step would be focusing on rebuilding and supporting the immune system.
Applying the 4 R’s Protocol to help heal candida:
1. Remove all offending substances, foods, chemicals, and toxins
2. Replace what’s missing, like digestive enzymes, nutrients, fiber, and HCL
3. Reinoculate with beneficial bacteria (probiotics)
4. Repair any damage to the intestinal tract: add L- Glutamine, green powders, flax, and aloe vera (Bauman, 2015).
Diet changes are the most important and the most effective way to get rid of candida and rebuild and strengthen the body’s immunity. The initial diet would be a cleansing elimination diet to release the dead yeast cells from the body. The cleansing part of the diet is critical. This part of candida treatment should take around two to three months to complete. After that, the food can be slowly reintroduced to diet, by adding the individual foods that caused the allergic reaction to candida—“Rotation Diet”.
The most important factor in candida healing is eliminating sugar, which is the leading cause of candida overgrowth. Candida feeds on sugar. Refined carbohydrates and gluten should be removed, including fruits and some starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots. Elimination of processed food is necessary because of its sugar content. Candida also feeds on grains, bread, pizzas, bagels, etc. Gluten should be eliminated because it also feeds candida. Gluten grains are high on the glycemic index, which can create insulin resistance and promote hypoglycemia. Gluten also contains protein that is hard to digest. It can interfere with the absorption of minerals and cause gut lining damage, which can cause malabsorption of nutrients.
Blood sugar imbalance is associated with candida, probably due to a deficiency of chromium. So paying particular attention to blood sugar regulation is essential for healing. Fruits should be eliminated for the first part of the candida diet (the cleansing part) since they are simple sugars. Then, they can be reintroduced.
Eating the right, fresh, and organic food should be the focus of the Candida Diet. Eating foods that fight candida, like garlic, rutabaga, coconut oil, seaweeds, cayenne pepper, ginger are essential. They have antifungal properties, which can help decrease candida overgrowth.
Eating the right food is an important way to keep candida under control and build the immune system. The diet should be full of good-quality protein and fat, low in carbohydrates intake, and free from foods containing sugar, gluten, and processed food. Eating clean food as much as possible is very important, which means: organic, free from additives, etc. Meat should be grass-fed and from a reputable source.
Eliminate fermented food. Even though the fermented food is beneficial for gut flora and feeds the good bacteria, candida can feed off of it, and it will grow as a result.
After the cleansing part of the Candida Diet, the Candida Building Diet Direction is best. The purpose of diet direction is to help clients choose high-quality nutrients that are in optimal proportions to their individual metabolic needs. This diet plan helps with weight loss and blood sugar balance. It also reduces carbohydrate cravings and sugar spikes.
Eating quality protein (lean meat like turkey and chicken), healthy fats, and unrefined carbohydrates, while eliminating gluten, is essential. Quality protein boosts brain function, and complex carbohydrates provide a steady release of glucose into the blood, which helps maintain stable blood-sugar levels. They are building blocks, and they will support you throughout the day. You should include at least 20 grams of protein with each meal and then some protein with snacks.
Eating three meals and two snacks per day is recommended to prevent sugar spikes and cravings, which can lead to overeating. Breakfast has to be nutrient-dense with high-quality protein, such as eggs, high-quality fats, like avocado and some butter, and dark leafy greens.
A relatively high amount of cruciferous vegetables are recommended because they contain sulfur, which helps detoxify the liver. Eating more healthy fat and protein will help provide lasting energy throughout the day, and it will help stabilize blood sugar levels.
Higher levels of omega-3 foods like hemp seeds, walnuts, chia seeds, and cold-water fish are recommended. Seafood is the most abundant source of chromium, selenium, iodine, zinc, and copper – vital elements for healthy blood sugar metabolism and weight management. Eating seafood helps to reduce inflammation. Fish has been known as a brain food that corrects sugar cravings from excess consumption of bread, pasta, and cookies. Limit omega-6 foods because of inflammatory properties.
Eating food rich in probiotics, like coconut yogurt or kefir, is also very important. When the candida is being killed, probiotics provide the friendly bacteria for healing.
In Health,
Angie
