Not such a fun gi
Candida is a word that is being thrown around quite frequently lately, for those of you that haven’t heard of Candida, here is a break down.
Candida is a pathogen (bacteria;fungus) that takes advantage when there is an imbalance of microorganisms in your gut. Candida is the most common type of yeast infection.
It is a fungus that actually helps your body absorb nutrients and aid in digestion but as with most things in life, anything in excess is not good so when Candida is over produced is can cause major havoc in your body. When in the digestive tract and left to grow it breaks down the walls of the intestinal lining and penetrates into the blood stream, this releases by-products and other toxins from your system and leads to leaky gut syndrome.
Candida can releases up to 79 different byproducts, to name a few ,uric acid and a neurotoxin called acetaldehyde. This neurotoxin can cause chronic headaches and brain fog and was classified as a potential carcinogen by the International Agency for research on cancer
Uric acid can cause joint pain and lead to gout if an excess builds up. Meanwhile, the change in your gut flora can lead to digestive problems, food intolerances, yeast infections, and oral thrush.
Having a balanced gut flora is pivitol to a healthy immune system and a healthy digestive system which will help fight off this fiery fungus.
What is leaky gut syndrome?
Leaky gut syndrome is a condition where undigested proteins like gluten, toxins and microbes can pass into the bloodstream. When these particles enter the bloodstream, it will cause system-wide inflammation and can initiate an immune response Over time, if leaky gut is not healed, it can lead to food sensitivities, arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, skin issues like eczema, hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, depression, anxiety, ADHD, nutrient malabsorption and autoimmune disease.
Some of the causes of Candida overgrowth
Antiobiotics
Antibiotics are undoubtedly the most common cause of Candida overgrowth. The come with serious side effects that should not be overlooked! More often than not broad spectrum antibiotics are prescribed even when good rest and a little patience would do the trick. Antibiotics severely damage our digestive tracts as well as compromise our immune systems
Broad spectrum antibiotics do exactly what they are designed to do – kill bacteria. Smart right? Not so much… The antibiotic is not smart enough to only kill harmful bacteria so it kills off ALL bacteria. A healthy adult carries 500 different strains of bacteria and as many as 100 trillion individual bacteria. Can you imagine how many of these beneficial bacteria get killed off when taking a broad spectrum antibiotic, it seems so counter intuitive to take an antibiotic when you absolutely don’t need to because well, it hurts your immune system which is eminent to help you fight off illness and keep you strong and healthy! Apart from comprising your immune system you also take away Candidas competition and it really takes liberties. It multiplies and expands at a fast rate
Eating a high sugar diet
Can my diet really lead to a Candida overgrowth? Yes it can!
Eating a high sugar diet over a long period of time can cause a fungal overgrowth because this fungus LOVES sugar, it grows faster and stronger and thrives when fed sugar! Its not difficult to take too much of your daily sugar intake, take a walk through your closest super market, sugar is absolutely everywhere, it shows itself in the strangest places…Processed meats, cereals, pasta, crackers, tortillas, sauce…would you like me to go on? I can…
Don’t feed the candida. Starve it!
HOW DO I FIX THIS?
Diet
The first step in shifting your diet is to help your immune system along by cutting out sugars, refined carbohydrates and alcohol. These food are helping the candida in your body get a lot stronger than it should be!
Your gut heals most from warm nourishing foods so don’t have a cold smoothie on the same day as having a salad. Grains such as quinoa, barley, sorghum and amaranth will help dry up an overly damp gut. Its also important to monitor how you feel after eating a meal, its always a tell-tale sign of how your body responds to what you are fuelling it with. Your body talks, you should start listening.
Adding cultured dairy to your diet is beneficial so things like goat milk kefir or even water kefir will help you because of the probiotic content! Other probiotics you can add to your diet are also kimchi and sauerkraut. Fermented veggies contain microflora that keep your intestines happy and strong and improve on your immune system which makes your body an inhospitable environment for candida to flourish!
Coconut oil
Coconut oil can effectively fight candida due to its antimicrobial properties. The combination of lauric acid and caprylic acid found in coconut oil, kills off harmful candida through both ingestion and topical application.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps to boost adrenal glands and helps to restore your immune system. I recommend 1,000 milligrams of vitamin C two or three times per day, taking a total of 2,000 to 3,000 milligrams daily.
Probiotics
Next up are probiotics. If you don’t already know about these ‘good bacteria’ that live in your gut, they are just great for fighting off a Candida overgrowth. In fact, they can be a useful addition to anyone’s daily routine, whether you are suffering from Candida or not.
Probiotics compete with the Candida yeast within your gut. There’s only so much space and nutrients to go around, so the more that is used by the ‘good bacteria’ the better. Second, they maintain the natural acidity in your gut. This acidity prevents Candida from switching to its pathogenic, fungal form. And third, they boost your immune system.
Antifungals
While antifungals are unlikely to reverse a Candida overgrowth by themselves, using them in combination with a low sugar diet and some good probiotics will do just that.
Coconut oil
Oregano oil
Grapefruit seed extract- Grapefruit Seed Extract is effective against over 800 bacterial and viral strains, 100 strains of fungus, and a large number of single and multi-celled parasites.
Eating garlic also has antifungal properties
So don’t fret too much, there is so much we can do when we realise that we have an overgrowth of this fungus. Change in diet and lifestyle along with some time and patience, you’ll be good as new again feeling more alert and ready to take on your daily activities.
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