What is Candida?
The Candida albicans is yeast that normally lives harmlessly on the skin and in mucous membranes such as the vagina, mouth, or rectum. It is controlled by friendly bacteria in the body and the immune system.
If the friendly bacteria are killed by antibiotics, or if a person's immune system becomes weakened, Candida albicans shifts from yeast to mycelial fungal form and spores through the intestinal wall into the rest of the body. Once through, it rampages around the body producing a multitude of symptoms. Localized infections, such as oral thrush, skin infections, and vaginal yeast infections in women can result. Widespread infection can occur in immunocompromised people.
In some cases, Candida overgrowth in the intestines is thought to penetrate the intestinal wall, causing the yeast and other unwanted particles from being absorbed into the body. This is thought to activate the immune system, resulting in fatigue, headache, mood swings, poor memory and concentration, cravings for sweets, and has been linked to conditions such as fibromyalgia.
Common symptoms of Candida
Symptoms include:
• Severe itching of the skin
• White patches in the mouth and fissures at the corners of the mouth
• Ulcers
• Fever
• Tiredness
• Poor memory
• Feel drained, depleted or exhausted
• Numbness, burning, tingling
• Stomach pain
• Joint pain or swelling
• Muscle aches or weakness
• Constipation, diarrhea, bloating, gas, or belching
• Bothersome or persistent vaginal itching, burning, or sexual intercourse
• Vaginal discharge with white cheesy appearance
• Recurrent UTI
• Prostatitis
• Erectile dysfunction and infertility
• Loss of sexual desire
• Unusual menstrual cramping
• Depression, anxiety, sudden mood swings, lack of concentration, headaches, drowsiness, or fatigue
• Cold hands and feet, feel chilly
• Irritable or shaking when hungry.
Contributing factors for Candida infection
Candida infection occurs as a consequence of following factors:
• Use of oral contraceptives, steroids, natural progesterone cream, immunosuppressive drugs, antacids, anti-ulcer medications, or frequent or long-term use of broad spectrum antibiotics
• High-sugar diets
• Hormonal changes e.g. puberty, pregnancy, menopause
• Heavy metal toxicity
• Exposure to pesticides
• Type 2 diabetes
• Chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Natural remedies for Candida infection
There are individualized programs for natural treatment of Candida infections that usually combine diet and supplements. Supplements are introduced gradually to avoid a temporary worsening of symptoms called a "die-off" or Herxheimer reaction. This is because when Candida is killed, they release protein fragments and toxins that can trigger an antibody response from the immune system. Improvement in symptoms is usually noticed after two to four weeks.
Acidophillus
Research has shown that acidophillus can prevent or stop the growth of Candida. It acts by making the intestinal tract more acidic, discouraging the growth of Candida, and by producing hydrogen peroxide, which directly kills Candida. These beneficial bacteria also help to restore the microbial balance within the digestive tract.
These beneficial bacteria can be taken in natural form in yogurt. Foods such as carrots, rice starch, bananas, soybeans, garlic and garbanzo beans are also rich in acidophillus. It is also available in capsule form in health food stores. You can take one capsule three times daily.
Fiber
The majority of toxins are eliminated from the body through the bowels. These toxins include dead Candida and the toxins that Candida produce. Three bowel movements every day are needed during the natural Candida cure. Most people do not include enough fiber in their diet to have that many bowel movements in a day. One way to increase your daily fiber intake is to take a fiber supplement.
One teaspoon to one tablespoon of soluble fiber containing guar gum, psyllium husks, flaxseeds or pectin can be mixed in an 8 oz glass of water two times per day on an empty stomach.
Enteric-coated essential oils
The latest in Candida treatment are enteric coated essential oils. Oregano, peppermint, and rosemary oils are all extremely powerful against Candida and some supplement companies already have formulas using these oils on the market. They are known to prevent the overgrowth of Candida. Oregano oil is estimated at being 100 times more powerful than caprylic acid. They are usually recommended for several months to see the benefits. A standard dosage is two capsules two times a day with water, in between meals. Pure volatile oils can be quite toxic in this amount so the liquid form of these oils should never be ingested, and the capsules should not be broken open before ingesting.
Candida diet
The Candida diet is a low carbohydrate diet that dramatically cuts back on sugar that feeds the Candida. Low-carbohydrate foods such as meat, chicken, turkey, shellfish, non-starchy vegetables, and certain nuts are recommended. The Candida diet allows for plenty of protein, mainly fish. Fish that is either steamed (not in a pressure cooker) or cooked in the oven in a dish with a lid is preferred.
Avoid sugar - Sugar promotes the growth of yeast. The total carbohydrate intake per day is often limited. For example, during the initial two to three weeks on the diet, the carbohydrate intake may be restricted to less than 60 grams per day, depending on age, health, activity level, and the extent of food sensitivities. Avoid sugar, products containing sugar, and hidden forms of sugar, such as sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, brown sugar, and turbinado. Artificial sweeteners are usually not recommended. As symptoms subside, the carbohydrate total of the diet is often gradually increased.
Avoid foods containing any type of yeast - This includes fermented foods such as bread made with yeast, cheese, tomato paste, mushrooms, and beer. People with Candida overgrowth may also be allergic to other fungi.
The length of time on a Candida diet depends on the length of time one has had symptoms and the severity of the symptoms. People who do respond to the diet often report that it takes a minimum of four weeks before any improvement is noticeable. For many, it may take months. Once there is sufficient improvement in symptoms, practitioners suggest slowly reintroducing foods from the restricted list back into the diet.
Enteric-coated garlic
Garlic capsules that have been enteric-coated to open when they reach the intestines are often used in combination with the volatile oils. Once capsule two times a day taken with the enteric-coated volatile oil is an effective combination in cleansing the intestine of Candida.
Super green foods
Green algae such as chlorella and spirulina called 'Super Green foods', are very rich in nutrition and have strong detoxification capabilities. Detoxifying the colon is an important step in the fight against Candida infection because the Candida yeast thrives in a toxic environment.
These green foods also have a very strong alkalinizing effect on the body, which is also crucial because Candida albicans thrive in an acidic environment. Vegetables as well as foods rich in minerals like seaweeds and salt pickled foods have strong alkalinizing effects. Of these, chlorella and spirulina are among the most alkalinizing.
Edible clay
Researchers found that many primitive people ate food that was dipped in water dissolved with clay in order to prevent upset stomachs from food poisoning.
Bentonite and montmorillonite are commonly sold forms of clay for consumption as health supplements. These have been variously called living clay, healing clay or just edible clay. Clay is highly absorptive. It readily absorbs toxins, heavy metals, bacteria, virus and fungi. But because clay itself is not absorbed by the body, whatever it absorbs is passed out in the stools.
Terramin edible mineral detox clay is powerful detoxifier that has a direct affect on removing unfriendly bacteria, and mucosa management. Any abnormal bacteria in the gastric tract when exposed to the clay cannot survive. People with Candida albicans infections are low in vitamins and minerals. The Terramin clay is abundant in naturally occurring essential minerals required for the body to manufacture vitamins.
Psyllium husk
Psyllium is a seed grown commercially in India, where it is also called isabgol. Psyllium husks are an excellent source of fiber that can added to your diet so that your bowels move more regularly. The Candida yeast loves constipation, and slow moving bowels. When psyllium absorbs water, it expands greatly and forms a gel. People who take psyllium often report passing out very large, well-formed stools.
Psyllium or isabgol is thus very effective as a colon cleanser. And cleaning the colon is one of the most effective ways to fight Candida infection. Like clay, psyllium husk or isabgol absorbs toxins, bacteria, fungi and other harmful substances and passes them out through the stools.
Colloidal silver
Colloidal silver is very fine silver particles suspended in water. It is said to be effective against up to 650 types of bacteria and other harmful micro-organisms including Candida albicans. Several researchers claim that colloidal silver only attacks the unfriendly pathogens and will not harm the friendly bacteria.
Silver is said to work by denaturing the enzyme involved with supplying oxygen to these micro-organisms. And colloidal silver is gaining popularity as an alternative to antibiotics, partly because many organisms are nowadays resistant to even powerful antibiotics, whereas there is little chance of them developing resistance to silver. The probable reason for the bacteria to not to develop a resistance to silver is that silver does not act on them directly rather it destroys the enzymes they depend on. This is in quite contrast to normal antibiotics, which kill friendly bacteria as well.
Silver is used in Indian cuisine, where various candies and sweets are often coated with a thin layer of silver foil. So, eating or drinking silver is again not as strange as it might seem to some people.
Probiotics
Probiotics are friendly bacteria, which suppress the growth of potentially harmful organisms such as Candida. Therefore, probiotic supplements have been explored as a natural remedy for yeast infection.
Taking supplemental probiotics is a popular way to supplement a Candida diet because they help restore healthy gut flora, which are all out of control when the body is in a state of candidiasis. The strategy behind the use of probiotics is to flood the intestines with friendly, beneficial bacteria so that there is no room for yeast and harmful bacteria to thrive. The type of probiotic being studied for yeast infections is Lactobacillus, especially Lactobacillus acidophilus, Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1, and Lactobacillus fermentum RC-14.
Caprylic acid
It is a medium chain fatty acid (also called octanoic acid) found naturally in coconut oil, palm oil, butter fat as well as in human breast milk. It is known to have anti-fungal as well as some anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties. Caprylic acid is effective against the cell membranes of yeast by dissolving the membrane and rendering the cell organelle more permeable that leads to membrane disaggregation. It is believed that Candida migrates into the mucosal wall. Because of its excellent fat solubilizing properties, caprylic acid is also believed to be effective against intra-mucosal Candida.
Enteric coated or timed-released capsules of caprylic acid ensure that it goes through the entire length of the large intestines and gets released in the colon because that is where most of the Candida overgrowth is found. A highly regarded brand of caprylic acid combines the acid with psyllium husk and safflower oil. This combination possesses excellent anti-fungal properties.
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