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Candida

Digestion, Dysbiosis, and Food Allergies
Excerpted from 8 Weeks to Vibrant Health

Martha, a 33-year-old mother of two young children, described herself to me:

"I'm a mess! I'm spacey, depressed, and nervous. I feel bloated after meals, like I'm pregnant." She was also sensitive to odors, such as newsprint, perfumes, and new fabric smells in stores. In addition, she had serious PMS and heavy periods.

Her combination of symptoms plus her history provided all the clues I needed.

As a teenager, Martha was given tetracycline for two years to treat acne. Then she was on birth control pills for three years until she and Max were ready to start a family. After her second child was born, she began having bouts of vaginitis two, three, sometimes even four times a year. She also complained of recurring bladder infections and mentioned she had been diagnosed with endometriosis. I was sure she had systemic candida overgrowth, even without taking any tests. I did recommend a stool test, but I began treatment right away.

How did Martha have all these medical problems, and what is candida?

The Yeast Among Us

Healthy women have a natural community of yeasts, primarily Candida albicans, that live in the warm, inner creases of the digestive tract, vagina, and skin. (Men have yeast in their gastrointestinal tracts as well.) If you have a healthy immune system, these fungi interact symbiotically with your friendly intestinal bacteria such as Lactobaccillus acidophilus and Bifidobacteria bifidum.

When the friendly bacteria are eliminated, often through the use of antibiotics, the yeasts start growing out of control. They burrow into the gut wall, causing "leaks" in the protective barrier. Toxins and allergens, including undigested food particles, are allowed to enter the bloodstream. This is called "leaky gut syndrome." These leaks further compromise your immune system, leading to a long list of symptoms including fatigue. Along with dysbiosis, we often see recurring vaginitis or endometriosis, depression, headaches, interstitial cystitis, PMS, Crohn's disease, food allergies, chemical sensitivities, and possibly autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, asthma, psoriasis, and more. Yeast is a great instigator and imitator of numerous conditions.

Some questions that come up: Does the yeast overgrowth actually cause these conditions or simply make them worse? Or are both conditions caused by some other underlying imbalance? We know these are complex conditions, and it may seem simplistic to paint such a broad picture of these little organisms.

Whoa! We can hear you asking now: how can fungi in the digestive tract, or even in the vagina, affect every part of the body from skin to bladder to lungs to joints to reproductive organs? When these toxins or antigens enter your bloodstream, they can travel anywhere in your body, adding to any imbalances you may already have. We're not saying that depression, acne, food sensitivities, or rheumatoid arthritis are always caused by dysbiosis. However, there's sufficient research and evidence based on thousands of cases to indicate it can be a contributing factor to many of these conditions.

The late Dr. William Crook, who was a pioneer in this area, developed an extensive questionnaire to help determine if candida yeast overgrowth is an underlying cause of health problems. We'll reproduce a portion of it here.

Are Your Health Problems Yeast-Connected?

If your answer to any question is "yes," circle the number in the right-hand column. When you've completed the questionnaire, add up the points. Your score will help you determine the possibility (or probability) that your health problems are yeast-related.

Have you taken repeated or prolonged courses of antibacterial drugs?
4
Have you had recurrent vaginal, prostate, or urinary tract infections?
3
Do you feel "sick all over," yet the cause hasn't been found?
2
Are you bothered by hormone disturbances, including PMS, menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, sugar craving, low body temperature, or fatigue?
2
Are you unusually sensitive to tobacco smoke, perfumes, colognes, and other chemical odors?
2
Are you bothered by memory or concentration problems? Do you sometimes feel "spaced out"?
2
Have you taken prolonged courses of prednisone or other steroids; or have you taken birth control pills for more than three years?
2
Do some foods disagree with you or trigger your symptoms?
1
Do you suffer with constipation, diarrhea, bloating, or abdominal pain?
1
Does your skin itch, tingle, or burn; or is it unusually dry; or are you bothered by rashes?
1

Scoring: If your score is 9 or more, your health problems are probably yeast-connected. If your score is 12 or more, your health problems are almost certainly yeast-connected.

So how did you get this insidious problem? There are two major underlying causes of dysbiosis: prolonged or frequent use of antibiotics, and a diet heavy in sugar and processed foods. The two work hand in hand, and each one makes the other worse. Other causes are prolonged use of steroid hormones or birth control pills, and stress.

The word antibiotic means anti-life. When you take antibiotics, they kill all the bacteria in your system, good and bad. That's great when you want to get rid of bacterial infections or ulcers or bacterial pneumonia. They're necessary and they're life-saving. However, in recent years, many people have demanded antibiotics every time they get a cold or flu. The truth is, antibiotics are useless against viral infections like these, and all they do is upset your balance over and over. And they make you susceptible to other problems. They also make future courses of antibiotics less effective and create antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria. Finally, they underscore the need to replace those lost friendly bacteria as soon as you finish a course of antibiotics. (See "Natural Approaches" later in this chapter.)

When the good bacteria, necessary for digestion and a wide variety of body functions, are eliminated, they give the yeast normally present in your digestive tract an opportunity to grow wildly. If the balance is not restored, it can lead to persistent vaginitis, irritable bowel syndrome, and eventually to all the negative effects of leaky gut syndrome.

Worse yet, yeast overgrowth often leads to sugar cravings. Because sugar literally feeds the yeast and helps it grow even more, a diet loaded with sugar, refined flour, and processed foods promotes yeast growth, causing an even greater imbalance.

This is the most basic description of dysbiosis and how it affects your whole system. For a more detailed explanation, please read The Yeast Connection and Women's Health.

Symptoms of dysbiosis are elusive and can relate to numerous other conditions. Here's a partial list:

  • Fatigue
  • Depression or manic depression
  • Numbness, burning, or tingling in your hands and feet
  • Headaches
  • Muscles aches
  • Muscle weakness or paralysis
  • Pain or swelling in joints
  • Abdominal pain
  • Bloating, belching, or intestinal gas
  • Vaginal burning, itching, or discharge
  • Endometriosis
  • Infertility
  • PMS
  • Anxiety or crying fits
  • Cold hands or feet, low body temperature
  • Nasal congestion or postnasal drip
  • Sensitivity to milk, wheat, corn, or other common foods
  • Heartburn
  • Psoriasis
  • Dizziness, loss of balance
  • Sore throat
  • Foot, hair, or body odor not relieved by washing
  • Wheezing or shortness of breath
  • Recurrent ear infections.
       

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