Juicing For Health - Candida Overgrowth
Overview
Candida Albicans are a single celled fungus which are naturally present in many parts of the bodu such as the intestinal tract, vagina and skin. But once these areas of the body are sufficiently manipulated(by factors listed below), this allows candida to mutate from its harmless yeast form into the fungal overgrowth form. This can cause a whole host of different chronic symptoms and were going to show you some easy ways to get it back under control.
Symptoms Of Candida Overgrowth
Some symptoms of candida overgrowth can include - cravings for sweets and alcohol, brain fog, fatigue, diarrhea, thrush, vaginitis, rectal itching, sinus inflammation, indigestion, anxiety, low libido, abdominal cramps, bloating, gas, food allergies, bad breathe and depression are just some of the symptoms assosiated with candida. Allergies seem to be always said to be candida but in my opinion are more a result of adrenal gland dysfunction.
Myths
One of the main myths on the internet surrounding Candidiasis overgrowth is that it thrives in an overly acidic enviroment. Infact its actually the opposite candida goes from its natural harmless yeast form to overgrowth form when presented with an alkaline terrain. Your good flora generate certain acids that keep candida in check, this is the same for the GI tract, skin, vagina and so on. This is often why people with low stomach acid have overgrowth of opportunistic pathogens, a common symptom of low stomach acid is actually heartburn which doctors will often prescribe ant-acids, proton-pump inhibitors when the problem is actually low stomach acid.
Another term that gets thrown around most often is systemic candida infection, when the truth is that systemic candida is actually pretty rare and generally only happens in those with severe immuno-compromised systems such as HIV/AIDs and cancer. Alot of the websites ive researched in the past month are attributing loads of ailments and diseases which have nothing to do with candida overgrowth.
Too many people are forced to self-diagnose but another clinching factor making those do that is the white coated tongue that most with intestinal issues suffer from. Most commonly this isnt candida(thrush) infection but actually an indicator that you have low stomach acid and bacterial overgrowth. Thrush looks much different from the usual coated tongue assosiated with poor digestion.
I see these two pop up often, the first being that fermented/cultured food are bad for those with candida overgrowth, when infact as we'll talk below cultured/fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kefir, cultured veggies etc are the best tool in repopulating the good flora in the GI tract. The other is that medicinal mushrooms shouldnt be consumed when in fact these immune boosting mushrooms such as Shiitake, Reishi, Maitake and so on are great at trying to bring homeostasis and boost health. Unless your allergic or have a auto-immune disease then your free to consume these medicinal mushrooms.
Causes Of Candida Overgrowth
Their are many contributing factors for Candidiasis some of the main ones are, overuse of antibiotics(kills the good bacteria), heavy metal toxicity, severely immuno-compromised individuals such as HIV/AIDs/Cancer, diabetes, chemicals which promote alkalinity of digestive tract such as ant-acids, proton-pump inhibitors and some alkalising products, mold contamination in home, adrenal fatigue/hypothyroid, stress, drugs, birth control medication and poor diets high in refined sugar/white carbs can help promote overgrowth of pathogens.
Treatment
An absolute must to start is replacing your good flora, dysbiosis/candida overgrowth occurs because of microbial imbalances in the digestive tract. The best way to repopulate your good flora is through the use of fermented/cultured foods such as kefir, sauerkraut and other cultured veggies/rejuvelac etc. Their are several different types of kefir rather than just milk, theirs water, coconut and soy milk kefir are just some of the types. So if your intolerant to milk then their are other options.
Im not very fond of the high priced capsulated/powder probiotics, very little have i seen them do any good. For a while i even megadosed the best brands to little or no effect other than making my wallet thinner.
The next step is through the use of prebiotics. Prebiotics are generally defined as consisting of nondigestible food fibers which stimulate the growth and activity of certain bacteria in the intestines. Some good prebiotic sources are FOS, inulin, rice bran, oat bran and seaweeds.
Increasing your stomach acid is very beneficial in treating candidiasis. Without sufficient stomach acidity you will have problems digesting protein, several vitamins and minerals which are dependant on acid for absorbtion and reduce one of your first lines of defense against food-bourne pathogens. The best way is to stimulate the bodys production through the use of digestive bitters. Their are many different types such as grape, chinese, swedish and ginger bitters. Bitter tasting herbs stimulate the bitter receptors on the tongue which in turn stimulates the release of stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes, bile secreation whilst also cleansing the liver. Here is a link to Dr Theiss Swedish Bitters Elixir 200ml
Other Tips
Getting to the root cause is absolutley essential in beating candida overgrowth, whether that be heavy metal toxicity, pharmaceutical medication, nutrient deficiency such as iodine, drugs, low stomach acid, hypothryoid and so on without rectifying the cause you will be treating the symptoms forever.
Anti-fungals generally only work in severe cases of overgrowth and long term chronically using anti-fungals will actually be detrimental to your healing. Using anti-fungals on what are a natural part of the body doesnt work. You must create a terrain/enviroment in which the fungal candida form is inhospitable.
The candida diet which generally consists of low simple carbohydrates, white flours, starchy foods, yeast containing foods and so on. The diet has been touted as the only way to control candida overgrowth when infact it really isnt as much of a factor as they think. The reason why it helps so many is because they are carbohydrate intolerant, once your digestive system is in working gear you can eat pretty much anything minus food intolerances. The diet is generally healthy as it encourages lots of vegetables, less white carbs and more wholegrains etc but the lack of fruit isnt a very healthy factor. Most of the websites tout the diets as a one for all when most of us all have different food allergies so its best to get a food allergy test to find out what your reacting too. The most common offenders are gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, MSG and yeast.
Most websites also report that it takes many years to overcome candida overgrowth or adrenal fatigue when infact they are wrong. Major benefits can be made in as little as a week with the right tools. The reason why most say it takes years is either because they dont infact have candida overgrowth, use the wrong methods in controlling it or they arent dealing with the root causes as explained above.
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