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Candida albicans or yeast overgrowth is one of the most common health problems our fast food nation faces.  Many people who are suffering with unresolved chronic health conditions such as; joint pain, sinus or respiratory illness, headaches, psoriasis, poor concentration, fatigue, chronic constipation, IBS, or weight gain actually have systemic yeast overgrowth to blame for these problems.

Standard Medical Treatments alone don’t do the job:

Many doctors don’t acknowledge yeast overgrowth as a legitimate condition or even know how to test for candida. Those that do know how to test for candida treat the condition by prescribing anti-fungal medications like Diflucan or Nystatan.  These medications are typically given for a few days to up to two weeks. While this medication kills existing yeast, it does nothing to prevent yeast from re-growing. This is why those who have been treated with anti-fungal medications can continue to have very high yeast levels and a myriad of related heath problems.

Simply taking anti-fungal medications does not work because it does not address the CAUSE of the problem!

Getting yeast overgrowth under control for good  (i.e to healthy levels) requires a multi-faceted approach.

How proper digestion works:

The digestive process involves the breakdown of food the body uses for energy, re-pair and re-building. In order to do this the GI tract relies on a range of digestive enzymes. These enzymes digest food and are catalysts for many other metabolic processes throughout the body.

Enzymes can be obtained through foods or through supplementation. All living (raw) foods contain enzymes that are uniquely designed to help break down that type of food. Cooking destroys enzymes. Because American’s eat mostly cooked (and over cooked) food they fail to receive the benefit of these living catalysts in their GUT. This makes it much more difficult to properly digest food and obtain adequate nutrition from food.

The body also manufactures enzymes. Your body’s ability to manufacture its own enzymes are dependent upon the proper ratio’s of co-factors (i.e: vitamins and minerals) you have in your diet.

You start making enzymes the second you begin chewing food. Your stomach requires stomach acid (from bile) and pepsin in order to breakdown proteins properly. Your small intestine requires specialized enzymes for breaking down fats called lipase and  other specialized enzymes for breaking down carbohydrates called amylase. You also need protease enzymes to continue breaking down protein in the small intestine.

Besides digestive enzymes to break down food we need another type of catalyst. These are a class of nutrients called pro biotic or friendly flora. These can be obtained from naturally fermented foods such as yogurt,raw honey, kefir, kimchi, sauerkraut or other naturally fermented vegetables like beets.

The digestive process requires a fresh supply of these friendly flora every few days because the body uses these as part of our immune system too. Ideally our GUT’s should have a ratio of about 85% friendly bacteria to 15% unfriendly bacteria. Most Americans eating a SAD (Standard American Diet) have more like 60%-70% friendly bacteria to 40%-30% unfriendly bacteria.

How your GUT flora protects you and what happens when yeast takes over:

80% of our immunity resides GUT. This means proper digestion is crucial to staying well and keeping your body strong so it can fight off not just a cold or flu but serious disease.

Friendly flora, found in pro-biotic rich food or through supplements, helps maintain the proper ratio of friendly to unfriendly bacteria in the GUT. This delicate balance can be disrupted by poor diet lacking in pro-biotic rich food as well as antibiotics, steroids or immune suppressing medications.  These drugs work by either killing or disrupting the body’s natural defense system. When you take an antibiotic it kills all the friendly flora (bacteria)  as well as all the pathogenic (bad) bacteria!

So when you add it up poor diet that lacks whole, fresh enzyme rich foods and pro-biotic rich foods plus over use of antibiotics and other immune damaging drugs creates the perfect environment for yeast to thrive and take over.

Are you growing a garden of yeast?

So what does yeast love to eat? Can you guess? Sugar! This means anything that breaks down into sugar feeds yeast! That bagel you had for breakfast; that sandwich you ate for lunch; that candy you keep in your desk drawer; the cocktail you had with friends – all are feeding yeast. These are only a few of the foods that feed yeast.

Can you see why so many people who take prescription anti-fungal medications but don’t change their diets to eliminate yeast continue to suffer?

Candida is nothing to shrug off either. Left unchecked and out of control it not only makes life miserable it can lead to other more serious health issues. Candida is now linked to many serious diseases. Anyone who has been diagnosed with an auto-immune disease such as; diabetes, RA, fibromyalgia, MS, Lupus, Lyme, chronic fatigue or cancer should be checked for yeast.

Eradicating yeast can take months to years in severe cases. It requires a multiphase approach of eliminating yeast feeding foods, killing yeast, re balancing GUT flora and healing a damaged (leaky) GUT. Conventional medicine fails to fully address the complexities of this condition and I believe this is one reason we continue to see an increase in auto-immune conditions.

How can you tell if you have Candida?

Click on my Free E book (right) and you will see the Candida Questionnaire. Take the quiz and add up you score.

If you show high numbers for yeast – I know your pain! I too suffered with Candida without knowing it for years. It was only after I systematically changed my diet and followed a multiphase approach that my own heath improved.

I can get you started on a yeast clearing program too so you can begin re-claiming your health. Yo can read about some of the people I have helped on my Success Stories page at my website.

Lets have a no-fee 20 minute phone conversation and discuss your results.

Check out these other blog posts:Protect Yourself Naturally Part One and Protect Yourself Naturally Part Two