As I've said before, I'm not an expert on candida but have been doing a lot of learning about the subject recently. I have never been tested for it as it's difficult to convince doctors to test you as they don't tend to take this issue seriously, apparently. And from what I've been reading, although the symptoms are exactly what I've been going through, tests can be inconclusive because candida yeast lives naturally in people's stomachs anyway, as part of our natural gut flora. Therefore it's going to show up in samples regardless.
The following is a basic condensation of everything I've learned over the past few months of what I understand of the candida problem (see Disclaimer below).
Candida yeast lives naturally in the gut but becomes problematic in your system when it has the opportunity to overgrow and take over your body. Antibiotics, stress, the pill etc can all provide opportunities for candida to overgrow, and so can a compromised immune system, as they can disturb or kill off the natural good bacteria in your stomach which usually keep the bad guys, like candida, at bay.
When candida does overgrow it turns from a yeast into a fungus which gives off masses of toxins which enter your bloodstream. They then get into the rest of your organs and cause havoc. I'll write a separate post about my own history and symptoms later but in general, they cause things like:
- tiredness and fatigue,
- sinus and lung problems,
- stomach digestive disorders such as IBS, bloating, fbo etc
- liver and kidney problems,
- migraines and fuzzy head,
- mood swings, depression etc
- skin problems, eczema, asthma
- bad breath if candida gets in the lungs
- allergies and food intolerances etc.
Conventionally, these all seem like separate illnesses which are treated with separate remedies, and in a lot of cases this is probably true, but in reality they could all stem from the same underlying source, ie: candida, especially if you suffer from nearly all of them at the same time, which I have.
In fact people who are prone to lifelong asthma, eczema and allergies (like myself) could be more prone to developing it as they are more exposed to antibiotics and steroid medication for longer, which can suppress or compromise your immune system. Candida is also something that can be passed by mothers through breast milk apparently so a lot of people might have it without realising.
Some also say that candida can be a factor in causing autism/ADHD/ME type problems in some people, and often rampant overgrowth has been found in patients with cancer, Aids or other serious terminal diseases. At least the conventional doctors agree on its existence in the latter, if not the rest of us.
The other thing candida does when it overgrows is to take over the gut completely. This means that it can somehow "switch off" your normal gut functions, such as your pancreas's ability to produce digestive enzymes, which can cause enormous stomach problems for some, such as bloating and gas. (I expect it does this by creating toxic overload maybe?)
And, if the good bacteria in your stomach become low, which is the front line of defence when it comes to candida overgrowth, then the candida would have made a nice cosy nest for itself in your stomach with very little threat to its existence, as long as there is a regular supply of sugar to gorge on. And who doesn't like sugar?
How does it cause allergies?
One of the things that candida can do is cause allergies and food intolerances in people, something which seems to be on the rise these days. This is because the candida burrows its way into the gut wall and creates holes to latch onto where it lives. (This also makes it very hard to find when hospital tests are done).
The holes cause something called "leaky gut syndrome" which means that your gut wall becomes so porous that large particles of food can get passed undigested into your bloodstream. This causes the blood cells to attack the food particles believing it to be an alien invader, which in turns creates an allergic reaction to the food. For some reason this seems to happen more often with proteins such as eggs and nuts etc, but I'm not sure why.
I think this can also be a cause of "FBO" or faecal body odour that people with IBS and poor gut health can have, where you can literally smell the food you've eaten coming out of your pores. Sometimes it smells of worse things, but I'm guessing it's caused by the bloodstream getting toxic with stuff coming from a leaky gut that's not supposed to be there. Read the
IBS forum for more about this if you are a sufferer.
How do you cure yourself of candida?
That is the million-dollar question! I wish there was an easy solution, like a pill you can pop which can kill off the dreaded yeast. There are anti-fungal medications you can take on prescription which can be effective but apparently they don't have an effect in the long-term and often candida can become resistant to them.
My own doctor prescribed me low doses of Flucanozole (50-100mg) for seven days which had very little effect. When I explained I thought I had candida overgrowth he juat looked very sceptical and just seemed to assume I was talking about thrush! He didn't seem aware of what I was trying to explain to him. He also refused to give me a higher dose, even though the leaflet says you need 300-400mg to kill off candida overgrowth. This was disappointing and I realised the only course left to me was the diet.
As I mentioned earlier, candida lives on sugar. It's as much of a sugar addict as you or I. In fact, I wonder sometimes if the constant cravings I used to have for sugar weren't actually the cravings of the candida inside me. It used to feel like my blood was calling for sugar all the time at my worst, when it was probably the candida hardwired into my system that was making me crave it in the first place.
Anyway sugar seems to be its favourite food and it loves all types in all forms including sugar from fruit, sugar from starchy and carby foods and also alcohol too.
The only way to kill the candida is to literally STARVE it of sugar by going on a very strict anti-sugar diet. If you have no sugar in your diet, it won't have anything to eat and will die in a few days or weeks, depending on how well you do. However, this doesn't mean you are cured as you still have to heal the gut wall, and this could take longer. It's a good idea to continue the diet for a few weeks or months (I'm aiming for six months) before re-introducing sugary foods back into your diet (in limited quantities).
Word of warning: Don't overload on sugar/carbs once you think you have healed, as candida can come back! If you have any amount of sugar in your diet, even the smallest, innocent-looking boiled sweet can cause any remaining candida in your system to gorge itself on the sugar and multiply itself rapidly within an HOUR , and before you know it, you are back to square one.
Sorry to be a scaremonger but unfortunately, once you are prone to candida you will probably always be prone to candida, unless you constantly watch out for sugar in your diet. Remember, the only defence is avoiding sugar, taking probiotics and constant vigilance! (As Professor Moody would say in Harry Potter).
The candida diet process - basic steps to take
There is a basic process to undertake when doing the anti-candida diet:
1) start eliminating ALL sugar from your diet (easier said than done)
2) start taking probiotics and supplements to heal your gut - will post more about this later
3) experience "die-off" symptoms when the candida dies - it's worth battling through this to get to the other side - see below
4) continue the diet and supplements for as long as possible
5) regulary use detoxifying methods to rid yourself of toxins and dead yeast to clear your system.
About "die-off"
Die-off is something you will come across a lot if you read around this subject. It's basically the process of the candida literally dying off in your system. When candida dies it apparently gives off far more toxins than it ever did when alive. This can mean that all your symptoms can temporarily get worse than ever, for a while, before gradually getting better. It usually occurs within a few days or a couple of weeks, depending on how strict you are with the diet.
I find that my die-off experience generally included a worsening of my migraines, which lasted for several days or over a week at times. (I've had some setbacks with my diet and had to restart a few times though).
But at least it's a sign that things are going the right way!
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Disclaimer: All of the above has been summarised by me based on what I've read about the subject on the internet, and my understanding of it, accurate or not. I don't have any medical qualifications so I don't recommend this diet to others unless they really understand what they are doing with it and if it sounds right for them. I understand that to someone who knows about this stuff this is all probably horribly simplistic, and probably inaccurate in places, but I'd be grateful if the reader could keep that in mind while reading this post.
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