We need to recover our natural system

What is candida?

Candida is a yeast, one of around 500 microorganisms (bacteria, fungi and protozoa) (also called micro-flora) present in the intestines of a healthy person. These natural gut microbes are essential for the healthy functioning of your digestive system. They make vitamins, steroids and fatty acids, break down toxins, help to digest and absorb nutrients, and prevent the overgrowth of yeasts, parasites and bad bacteria.
Candida albicans is a yeast that normally reproduces slowly, in a process called budding. If your gut is healthy, there is lots of competition between the different yeasts, bacteria and fungi, and the candida's reproduction is restricted. However, if the balance of micro-organisms in your gut is upset, the candida can proliferate out of control. The most frequent and damaging cause of candida overgrowth is antibiotics.

Causes of candida

• Antibiotics - the number one cause.
• Diet - the number two cause. Candida loves sugar, fruit, dried fruit, fruit juice, any other sweet refined foods, grains (wheat in particular) and everything made from the flour and products of grains.
• Fructose malabsorption.
• Weak digestion leading to insufficient stomach acidity.
• Chronic stress.
• Drugs such as oral contraceptives, antacids and steroids.
• Environmental toxins.

The worst effects of candida

Antibiotics kill all the bacteria in your gut indiscriminately - the good and the bad. Candida is a yeast, not a bacterium and so is unharmed by the antibiotics. If you take antibiotics, as the bacteria die off there is suddenly little competition and the candida can reproduce rapidly. It changes its method of reproduction, producing tubes or rhizoids. These tubes penetrate your intestinal tissue and blood vessels, exposing your blood to yeasts and the by-products of digestion.
In these circumstances, you are likely to develop allergies to the foods you eat most frequently. Your immune system sees the partially digested proteins in your blood as invaders (antigens), and responds by forming antibodies. The more you eat the food, the stronger the sensitivity or allergy reaction. The foods that candida sufferers most commonly react to are wheat, corn, soy and dairy products.
An overgrowth of candida (candidiasis or thrush) produces large amounts of two toxins - alcohol and acetaldehyde. The effects of alcohol are well known. It is possible for a teetotaller suffering from candida overgrowth to be drunk most of the time, especially if they are eating lots of fruit and sugars. Many cases of children and adults behaving as if they were drunk have cleared up after removing a candida colony. Candida can be devastating during the early stages of pregnancy, when the foetus is highly susceptible to alcohol.
Acetaldehyde affects brain function, making sufferers feel fuzzyheaded and unable to think clearly. The two toxins can cause mood swings and irrational behaviour.

Other symptoms of candida

• Chronic fungal infections (often in the vagina as a white paste; in the throat as white patches; between the toes or on the nails).
• Sweet craving. Candia thrives when there is lots of sugar in your gut. People suffering from candida have cravings for sweet foods. Typically they will have a sugar-forming meal, feel good immediately after, but suffer flagging energy an hour or two later. Again, they will reach for something sweet and the cycle continues.
• Digestive problems such as flatulence or irritable bowel syndrome.
• Alternating diarrhoea / constipation.
• Abdominal bloating.
• PMS.
• Muscle and joint pains.
• Fatigue.

Prevention / remedies / cures / treatment for candida

• Candida recovery diet
• Borax.
• Biotin. Sufficient biotin for the body's needs is normally made by bacteria in the colon. However, if gut bacteria are compromised (often by antibiotics) then it is possible to be biotin-deficient. In this case taking a biotin supplement for a few weeks can help, or eat more biotin-rich foods like swiss chard and other leafy greens, sweet potato, carrots, tree nuts, fish such as salmon and halibut, liver and egg yolks. Avoid raw or soft egg whites, which remove biotin from the body.
• Probiotics.
• A deficiency of sulphur may help candida to flourish. You can get sulphur from sulphur-rich foods like egg yolk, or supplement with flowers of sulphur or MSM.