If you are feeling unwell, are developing allergies or are constantly tired, putting on weight, suffering from thrush, then CANDIDA may be the hidden cause. The hidden cause of feeling unwell may be Candida or yeast.

If you are suffering from all sorts of vague symptoms (fatigue, emotional problems, cravings for sweet food, allergies, bloating, skin problems, thrush, weight gain, muscle aches, fuzzy brain) then you might have Candida. This is an overgrowth of a yeast like fungus in your gastrointestinal tract.

This can be linked to Candida!

Did you know a staggering 75% of all women will experience a yeast infection in their lifetime?

As Candida can affect each person differently it is often very hard to find out the cause of these varied symptoms. Candida is sometimes misdiagnosed as IBS, Chronic Fatigue, Arthritis, Crohns disease or Gastroenteritis.

Why does Candida cause so many problems?

EVERYONE has Candida as part of the microorganisms that are naturally present in your gut, part of the balanced system that helps you to digest food and stay fit and well.

But problems occur when Candida numbers get out of control and start taking over your body!!

This imbalance in the intestines, also known as DYSBIOSIS, can lead to health ailments such as the common vaginitis, thrush, food allergies, weight gain, migraine, depression, and asthma. More importantly yeast has been implicated in the emergence of cancer.

Sugar cravings and weight gain

Candida needs sugar to grow and reproduce and this comes from the foods we eat. A typical symptom of a Candida infestation is that you crave lots of sugar and carbs but still want more. In Candida sufferers, this is far more than just a psychological addiction to sugar. The Candida yeast is processing large amounts of sugar and sending your blood sugar levels lower, triggering signals from your brain that you need to eat more. This is one way that Candida can cause overeating.

What causes Candida?

Unfortunately it is the modern lifestyle that is causing so many problems:

1. Antibiotics are great at killing harmful bacteria but they also destroy the beneficial and friendly bacteria that live in your gut. This leaves your body undefended against the fast-growing Candida yeast which quickly dominates the small intestine and causes problems.
2. Modern Diet. As Candida is a yeast it thrives and multiplies on sugar. Refined carbohydrates like processed food made with white flour, other refined grains and alcohol are all saccarides or forms of sugar and so all contribute to Candida growth.
3. The Pill. Because of the delicate balance of microflora and yeasts, the Pill changes the hormonal balance in a womens body. Increased estrogen promotes the overgrowth of yeast. Many women suffer from thrush or regular yeast infections whilst taking the Pill.
4. Stress. Chronic stress leads to exhaustion of the adrenal glands (that control the ‘fight or flight’ response). That leads to a feeling of constant tiredness and the reason perhaps why so many people need coffee to get through the day. Because the immune system is drained it is unable to overcome the growth of Candida.
5. Chlorine and Fluoride kill the beneficial bacteria in the gut and weaken your immune system.
6. Mercury in fillings also affects the good bacteria allowing Candida to take over.

How do I know if I have Candida?

First you can try the saliva test. Spit some saliva gently into a glass of water first thing in the morning.

Come back every 20 minutes for the next hour and check for some of these tell-tale signs of Candida

– ‘Strings’ coming down through the water from the saliva at the top
– Cloudy saliva sitting at the bottom of the glass
– Opaque specks of saliva suspended in the water

But note that this is not a definitive test.

Or you can make an educated guess that Candida is taking a hold of your body. If you are feeling “run down”, are developing a craving for sugars and carbohydrates and/or have a white coating or thrush in the mouth or the genital area, then you probably have an overgrowth of yeast in your body.

Leaky Gut and Candida and Allergies

What’s the big deal about an overgrowth of Candida?

With this overgrowth of Candida, the yeast cells attach themselves to the intestinal walls, and then can burrow through the membranes into your bloodstream. In essence they create ‘holes’ and this increased permeability of the walls of the intestine is called Leaky Gut Syndrome.

The big problem is that when there are holes, partially digested food, toxins and bacteria pass through and enter the bloodstream.When the Candida cells and food particles enter your circulatory system, they cause a strong immune response from the body and trigger an inflammation of the intestinal wall. Because these are foreign particles not belonging in your blood, your immune system reacts quickly to destroy them by sending specialized immune cells known as macrophages. Your immune system then creates antibodies ready for the next time it sees these cells, and so when you next eat this particular food, it triggers an immune response. This hypersensitivity of the immune system is how allergies start.

Even more concerning, these allergic responses put pressure on your adrenal glands and immune system, the very parts of your body that you need to fight off the Candida. So unless you get your Leaky Gut Syndrome under control, it can actually end up making your Candida overgrowth even more severe.

Treating the underlying Leaky Gut Syndrome

Involves a 3 step system.

First you need to look at your diet and do a good CLEANSE.

– Elimination diet. Because yeast multiplies so quickly, it’s necessary to restrict not only sugar and refined carbs in your diet but also all yeast- and mould-containing foods, including:

• Alcohol
• Vinegar (and vinegar-containing foods like mustard and salad dressing)
• Bread
• Carrots, potatoes and beets (high-sugar veggies)
• Avoid starchy vegetables such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, yams, corn, all winter squash, beets, peas, parsnips and all beans except green beans.
• Fruits are important to avoid if you have this problem as the sugar in the fruit typically worsens those who are suffering with yeast infections. Fruit can be resumed once the yeast is under control.
• Peanuts and corn (which often contain mould)
• Mushrooms (fungus)
• Aged cheeses

– Eat a DETOXING diet rich in raw salads and steamed vegetables, eggs, seeds and nuts and healthy oils (free range and organic).

• Vegetables starve the Candida of the sugar and mould that feed it
• They also absorb fungal poisons and carry them out of your body.
• You should buy your vegetables fresh and eat them raw, steam or grill them. Add a little garlic and onions for flavour as they are especially helpful with Candida.

Foods and Candida

– Add probiotics or fermented food to increase the ‘good’ bacteria and crowd out the candida yeast. They keep the vagina and gastrointestinal tract healthy.
The fermented foods include probiotic yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi or kombucha.

Kimchi is made of fermented vegetables such as cabbage, onion, cucumber, peppers, garlic, radish. The probiotic bacteria in Kimchi will help kill off the candida in your intestine. Raw sauerkraut works in the same way.

Candida die-off

There is another really important fact to know.

A strict Candida elimination diet is no easy task to begin with, but it can be made even harder by something called Candida Die-Off. The point when the die-off symptoms kick in is the time when many people prematurely abandon their Candida diet, so it’s important to be prepared.

When yeast cells are rapidly killed, a die-off (or Herxheimer reaction) occurs and metabolic by-products are released into the body. The Candida yeast cells actually release 79 different toxins when they die, including ethanol and acetaldehyde.

Acetaldehyde is the worst and has a whole host of detrimental effects on your health and wellbeing. It affects your endocrine, immune and respiratory systems and it also damages the membranes of your red blood cells, reducing their ability to carry oxygen round the body. Again this directly affects your brain, so you can see how acetaldehyde is linked to Candida symptoms like brain fog and fatigue. These by-products also cause allergic reactions and inflammation that lead to an array of undesirable symptoms.

Candida Die-Off symptoms will vary from person to person, as each will have different degrees of infestation. If you are having severe Die-Off symptoms, slow down your treatment and reduce your dosage of probiotics and antifungals. The liver is your main pathway for eliminating toxins, and the Die-Off symptoms mean that it is being overwhelmed.

Die-Off symptoms

Here is a list of some of the symptoms you might experience during a die-off (otherwise known as a Herxheimer reaction).
• Nausea
• Headache, fatigue, dizziness
• Swollen glands
• Bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea
• Increased joint or muscle pain
• Elevated heart rate
• Chills, cold feeling in your extremities
• Body itchiness, hives or rashes
• Sweating
• Fever
• Skin breakouts
• Recurring vaginal, prostate and sinus infections

Coping with Candida Die-Off

These symptoms normally clear up within a week or so, but could last a little longer. However, there are a few things you can do to slow down this reaction or expel the toxins faster.

• Take a supplement like Molybdenum or Milk Thistle to help your liver expel the toxins. Molybdenum in particular is very useful for those suffering from Die-Off. It converts the neurotoxin acetaldehyde into acetic acid, which is then expelled by your body or even converted into helpful digestive enzymes.
• Cut back or temporarily discontinue antifungal supplements. Antifungals such as Nilstat work by breaking down the walls of the Candida yeast cells, which then release the many toxins that the Candida has been producing. Reducing your antifungal dosage will cut down the amount of toxins being released into your bloodstream. When you feel better, you can start to increase it again.
• Reduce your dosage of probiotics. A course of good probiotics will repopulate your gut, crowd out the Candida, restore your stomach acidity and boost your immune system. Probiotics are less likely than antifungals to cause Die-Off, but if you start to experience the symptoms you can temporarily reduce your dosage.
• Increase water intake to flush out the toxins faster. If you want to feel better, all those byproducts that are released by the Candida yeast need to leave your body. You can give them a push by drinking more water.
• Slow down and rest as much as possible. Stress can weaken your adrenals and reduce your body’s ability to fight pathogens like a fungal infection. Relaxing and taking some personal time will help your immune system to do what it was designed to do.
• Try some alternative detox methods like skin brushing, saunas or contrast showers.
  Most of these treatments are designed to increase your circulatory and lymphatic systems. They help you to expel the toxins that the dying Candida cells have released.
• Take 1000 mg of Vitamin C twice daily. This multi-purpose vitamin boosts your adrenals and helps restore your immune system to health.

So if you are feeling unwell, are developing allergies or are constantly tired, putting on weight, suffering from thrush, then think Candida overgrowth. You can get it under control and regain your old energy and bounce but understand it will take time!