Published August/99 in The Campbell River Courier-Islander
Candidiasis is an overgrowth of yeast in the human body. Yeast grows inside and outside of our bodies all the time which is normal, but it can sometimes overgrow, particularly in the intestinal tract. When it overgrows there, it tends to travel to other organs via the blood stream causing symptoms such as chronic fatigue or chronic pain syndromes like fibromyalgia.
Patients often complain of gas, intestinal bloating, general body itching, fatigue, yeast infections including vaginal in women and jock itch or athlete's foot in men. In babies we see oral thrush or a thick white coating on the tongue. Adults get this too along with bad breath! However you don't have to have a visible yeast infection to be diagnosed with Candidiasis.
People often say "I feel so tired and toxic. I feel so prone to getting every cold and flu going around. I just want a good cleanse." They also often complain of terrible cravings for breads and sweets.
My diagnosis is based on a complete history as well as a questionaire that correlates very well with a positive result found in a stool test. This is a diagnosis not well accepted by the medical profession, however in my practice, with many cases successfully treated, I have found it to be a very common ailment.
What causes this overgrowth of yeast in our intestinal systems? We all have good bacteria in our gut but under certain conditions these get forced out by the bad bacteria, yeasts, parasites and viruses all growing there. These overgrow in the presence of drugs such as antibiotics and hormones including birth control pills and steroids. Sugars in the diet and years of unhealthy eating habits including too many yeasted breads and alcohol also contribute to this condition. Having an overgrowth of yeast in the gut also promotes the further growth of bad bacteria and a vicious cycle begins.
To cure candidiasis I put people on a Candida Program. This consists of three things: first we have to get rid of the yeast in the intestinal tract, the second thing is to get rid of the bad bacteria and lastly we have to flush out all these toxins.
To kill the yeast I use a high potency non odorous garlic and grapefruit seed extract or undecenoic acid. To put the proper bacteria back into the intestine I use acidophilus or bifidus. To flush out the toxins I use psyillium husk powder or flax seed powder. Yeast thrives on sugar, yeasted and fermented foods so we eliminate those in the diet. Avoiding these foods is the hardest thing about the program however once we have educated patients on what they CAN eat, they often comment on how it isn't that hard after all!
Patients are usually feeling much better in one month and by the end of the three month program they are happy with their weight loss, thef improvement in their feeling of well being and in their digestive system. I then put people on a maintenance program so the candida overgrowth doesn't recur. The goal is to not go back to what you were doing before which probably caused the problem in the first place. The trick is to learn a few new eating habits along the way!
The good news is that the treatment of Candidiasis is very straight forward and may be the answer to your chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. Contact my office for a free copy of the Candida questionaire and start on the road to feeling better now!
Return to Home