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Better Health Update #17 - Monte Kline, Clinical Nutritionist

Conquering Candidiasis

One of the most common health problems seen in our clinics is systemic candidiasis - overgrowth of the common yeast organism Candida albicans. Most people think of Candida yeast infection in terms of localized vaginal yeast infections or oral thrush in infants. Although Candida albicans is the causal agent in those problems, what I'm referring to here is a systemic yeast infection-one that may have effects throughout the body.

Before I talk more about what causes candidiasis (pronounced "can-did-EYE-ah-sis") and how to deal with it naturally, let's look at the typical symptoms via the following questionnaire. Check the boxes for symptoms that apply to you:

CANDIDA QUESTIONNAIRE

[ ] Confusion, fatigue, depression, poor memory?
[ ] Digestive problems - constipation, bloating, diarrhea, gas?
[ ] PMS, vaginitis, bladder infections, prostatitis?
[ ] Craving for sweets, breads, alcoholic beverages?
[ ] Recurrent headaches or muscle and joint pains?
[ ] Skin rashes, hives, psoriasis, eczema, itchy ears or rectum?
[ ] Fungal infections like thrush, athlete's foot, jock itch?
[ ] Taken antibiotic drugs, birth control pills, cortisone or steroids?
[ ] Sensitive to tobacco, perfume, chemical odors or auto exhaust?
[ ] Feel uncomfortable in moldy, damp rooms?

Scoring:

3 - 4 yes - possible candidiasis
5 - 8 yes - probably candidiasis
8 - 10 yes - almost certain candidiasis

Obviously, many of the above symptoms could be caused by problems other than candidiasis. However, for that same reason, candidiasis is perhaps the most undiagnosed or misdiagnosed health problem around. Many, perhaps even the majority, of conventional medical doctors still deny that systemic candidiasis exists, or at least deny that it's extensive. Just goes to show that to be truly blind to simple, common sense truth, you have to have several college degrees!

CAUSES OF CANDIDA

The primary cause of candidiasis is usage of antibiotic drugs. Let this bold type sear that fact into your memory. Candidiasis is therefore, almost always an iatrogenic disease, that is a disease caused by your doctor's treatment! Sad, but true.

Antibiotics don't just kill the "bad" germs (if there is such a thing, which I doubt), but also the "good" bacteria in your intestinal tract, such as Lactobacillus acidophilus. These good germs, among other things, keep Candida yeast overgrowth in check, so it doesn't become a problem. You see, everyone carries Candida albicans organisms in their body, generally in the large intestine, vagina, or other mucous membrane areas. The problem occurs when they proliferate out of their natural balance, courtesy of taking antibiotic drugs.

A second possible cause of candidiasis is hormonal medications, or even just hormonal fluctuations. Birth control pills and corticosteroids commonly set you up for Candida albicans overgrowth, as can pregnancy.

Then there's the Modern American Diet - M.A.D. Diet, for short. The M.A.D. Diet features the "food" that Candida albicans most savors - refined sugar (and other refined carbohydrates that quickly turn into sugar). The more refined sugar and carbohydrate you eat, the more you encourage candidiasis.

PROGRESSION OF CANDIDIASIS

William Crook, M.D., in his classic book on candidiasis, The Yeast Connection, summarizes the typical progression:

1. Yeast growth is encouraged by:
    a. Modern Diet rich in yeast and sugar
    b. Birth control pills
    c. Pregnancy
    d. Hormonal changes
    e. Antibiotics
2. Toxins are released from the yeast weakening the immune system.
3. Weakened immune system causes usual mucous membrane defenders to be ineffective.
4. Mucous membranes swell, yeast multiply and invade deeper tissues.
5. Nose, throat, sinus, ear, bronchial, bladder or other infections develop.
6. M. D. gives more antibiotics for infections.
7. Further yeast growth, toxicity and immune system suppression results.

MEDICAL TESTS FOR CANDIDIASIS

There are primarily two more conventional medical tests for candidiasis - blood and stool. The blood tests are similar to blood allergy tests, while the stool tests involve observing the extent of Candida growth on a stool sample (talk about exciting occupations - how would you like to do that all day?) Most people don't get really excited about the idea of taking a stool sample, or to a much lesser degree, doing blood tests. I believe we have a better test at Pacific Health Center.

ELECTRODERMAL TESTING

Electrodermal Testing, sometimes called Bioenergetic Testing, involves taking simple skin resistance electrical readings with a special GSR (galvanic skin resistance) instrument. We test for Candida albicans by putting different homeopathic dilutions of Candida into the circuit. What we're really doing is testing remedies for candidiasis and using what some have called reverse diagnosis, that is, if your body responds to the remedy for candidiasis, you must have candidiasis.

Checking increasingly higher homeopathic dilutions of Candida can give some indication as to how deeply your body is affected. For example, someone reacting on 6x, 12x, 30x, and 60x dilutions probably has a more significant candidiasis problem than someone reacting on just the 6x dilution only. This also provides a monitoring tool, in that when we re-test you and find fewer and lower dilutions reacting, it suggests improvement.
Though not perfect (no testing method is) and not 100% accurate (no testing method is), this test for candidiasis and candidiasis homeopathic remedies is the best method I've seen.

MEDICAL APPROACHES

As is usually the case in conventional medicine, the approach to candidiasis is to treat the symptoms with drugs. These drugs can be very expensive, even as much as $15 per pill. The most often prescribed is Nystatin. Some authorities have noted that Nystatin cannot be effective against candidiasis due to the ability of Candida albicans to mutate into different strains when being attacked. Though Nystatin is often touted as having virtually no side-effects, some clients that have taken it have told me quite the contrary. My drug reference lists diarrhea, nausea, gas, and vomiting as possible side-effects.

Another anti-fungal drug, Nizoral, can have much more severe side-effects, including liver damage. In my experience, natural approaches to candidiasis work in almost all cases, eliminating the need for drugs.

DIETARY APPROACH

A dietary and supplement approach is needed to conquer candidiasis. Here's what I recommend:

1. No refined sugar - This is the food Candida loves best, so you "starve" the yeast by eliminating simple sugars. This includes white sugar(sucrose), brown sugar, dextrose, maltose, corn syrup, corn sweeteners, etc. It unfortunately also should include normally "good for you" foods like raw honey, pure maple syrup, blackstrap molasses, and fruit juices.

2. No alcohol - Alcohol is pure, simple carbohydrate. It's just like white sugar in this respect, and therefore readily feeds candidiasis. Also, as a fermentation product it may produce a "cross reactivity" problem since it's made from food type yeast.

3. No refined carbohydrates - Refined grain products, whether white flour, white rice, or refined packaged cereals, almost instantly turn to sugar in the body, and therefore, readily feed the Candida.

4. Avoid sensitive foods - When you react to sensitive foods, your immune system and body overall are weakened. Though food sources of yeast such as yeast baked goods and alcoholic beverages do not directly produce Candida albicans pathogenic yeast, there is often a "cross reactivity" such that your candidiasis symptoms will be aggravated when you consume these foods. These foods however, as mentioned above, may foster candidiasis through their refined carbohydrate content.

5. Avoid sweetened yogurt - Though theoretically the acidophilus bacteria in yogurt should be helpful in conquering candidiasis, most yogurt people eat is sugared. Even the naturally sweetened brands with fruit concentrate sweetening may be counterproductive. Another question is whether there is any viable acidophilus bacteria in the yogurt by the time it gets to you. The Lactobacillus bulgaricus bacteria tends to eliminate the less stable Lactobacillus acidophilus bacteria.

SUPPLEMENTS FOR CANDIDIASIS

1. Acidophilus - A good quality acidophilus supplement is the foundation for conquering candidiasis. This puts the good bacteria back in the intestinal tract to kill Candida and prevent future overgrowth. Due to the instability of Lactobacillus acidophilus, better supplements are generally sold refrigerated.

Incidentally, I'm not talking about "acidophilus milk." If you want acidophilus in your milk, eat yogurt, where at least the acidophilus has been used to culture the milk into a more digestible (and therefore less allergenic) food. Virtually everyone is sensitive to straight cow's milk, and adding a little acidophilus to it, without culturing, is of little value
.
2. Homeopathics - Homeopathic remedies for candidiasis have produced the greatest benefit in my experience. The homepathic dilutions of Candida albicans stimulate your immune system to "search and destroy" the organism. Our homeopathic approach, seldom used by most even natural medicine practitioners, is the key to our success with candidiasis.

3. Caprylic Acid - Caprylic, sorbic and propionic acids are natural fatty acids that are anti-fungal. Though we use these, I seldom find them needed when we are already doing the acidophilus and homeopathics.

4. Oil of Oregano - This is one of the more recent supplements found effective with candidiasis. Studies suggest it has twice the effectiveness of caprylic acid. We have had a number of stubborn candidiasis cases that corrected only after the oregano supplement was used.

5. Garlic - Garlic is a powerful natural antibiotic and anti-fungal. Though it is often mentioned as an excellent supplement for candidiasis, I don't that often find it testing well on our instrumentation, and therefore don't use it very much.

6. Taheebo - Taheebo, or Pau d'Arco herb is used as an anti-viral and anti-fungal. It can be good for a wide variety of infectious problems, but again I don't often find it testing that well with our candidiasis clients.

The key, as always, with supplementation is individual testing to determine which supplements will best help you to "conquer candidiasis."

DISCLAIMER: The information contained in this publication is for educational purposes only. It is not intended to diagnose illness nor prescribe treatment. Rather, this material is designed to be used in cooperation with your nutritionally-oriented health professional to deal with your personal health problems. Should you use this information on your own, you are prescribing for yourself, which is your constitutional right, but neither the author nor publisher assume responsibility.