Quick Candida and Detoxing Guide

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

― Hippocrates

I've struggled with very mild candida overgrowth and leaky gut symptoms (flushed face, fatigue, acne) off and on for a year or so, and learned a lot in the battle to heal my gut.  Luckily, I haven't had any icky symptoms since I changed my diet about a year and a half ago, but I'd be heading down that path if I wasn't listening to my body and dropping the dried fruits and sweets (including natural sweeteners). After years of hormonal birth control, daily antibiotics for my skin, and high stress.... I am especially sensitive to candida overgrowth when my diet becomes too high in sugars. I'm always surprised that health focused communities and practitioners don't talk about this common problem more often. So often when I talk to friends about nutrition, I hear them complain of similar symptoms, and so I thought I'd share a quick overview and some resources. 

Let's start by defining the problem. Candida albicans is a yeast that normally lives within the digestive tract and vagina. When a body is properly nourished, there is a symbiotic balance between beneficial probiotic bacteria, and the immune system functions well to keep candida levels at bay. However, when the body is overly stressed, the immune system can be suppressed, and ecessive sugar in our diets can feed those bad critters. This creates the perfect environment for yeast to thrive and overgrow. Antibiotics or hormonal birth control can contribute to the killing of beneficial bacteria and encourage yeast overgrowth.

Most people are familiar with the symptoms or oral or vaginal yeast infections. Few are aware of the more subtle symptoms of candida overgrowth in the intestinal track for both men and women that disrupt many of the body's systems. Candida overgrowth can wreak havoc on energy levels, skin, fat storage, and moods.

Symptoms of candida overgrowth

• Fatigue
• Itchy skin
• Acne
• Headaches
• Mood dis-regulation
• Depression
• Memory and concentration problems
• Sinus infections
• Fungal infections
• Intense sugar cravings

What's even more frightening is that those little buggers can overpopulate and actually permeate the gut. When yeast particles start wandering around other parts of the body, the immune system attacks, causing even more sensitivity and allergic reactions. This is called leaky gut, and if you ever want to get really disgusted and motivated to drop the wheat and sugar... look it up or click the link above. (Food and waste in your bloodstream is NEVER a good thing... trust me on this one).

Diet to manage candida

Lucky for me and others who suffer from chronic candida overgrowth, these little buggers can be killed off with a healthy diet of whole, fresh foods, low in sugars and yeasts. Until I switched to a whole foods diet that does not include dairy or grains, I was getting terrible acne and a mild yeast infection every month at the beginning of my cycle. With a strict sugar free clean diet, my skin looks great and I've always got energy to spare. Avoid sugars, alcohol and refined carbohydrates. These foods feed the bad bacteria and compromise your immune system. 

Cook with coconut oil daily. "This is because coconut oil is high in both lauric acid and caprylic acid, which both have antiviral, antimicrobial and antifungal properties. These components of coconut oil target harmful bacteria but leave friendly bacteria alone, which helps balances the flora in the digestive system. They also kill off excess yeast and other fungal overgrowth in the body. Studies in Iceland and Nigeria show coconut oil is an effective agent for killing off candida yeast." Elizabeth Walling, Natural News (more info here)

Adding beneficial probiotics by eating and drinking fermented foods such as sauerkraut, kimchee or kefir helps to create a balance in the gut and can heal damage over time. I brew my own coconut water kefir, but you can also buy it at the health food store, or eat fermented foods. Probiotic capsules can help, but fresh probiotic foods are more likely to contain enough live bacteria to get through the tough journey through stomach acid and into your intestines. A recent research project from Bastyr University showed that most probiotics on the shelf don't contain as many live bacteria as they claim to, due to die off in manufacturing and shipping.

Drink plenty of water! If you're going to be killing anything floating around inside your guts... you want to wash the remains out, right?!!!! The die off of massive amounts of bacteria can produce the Herxheimer reaction, a collection of crappy symptoms that make you feel worse before you get better. Stick with it, die off symptoms mean your treatment/diet is working... you'll feel spectacular after about a week. Drinking lots of water speeds healing by helping the body to detoxify. 

Supplements and topical treatments

L glutamine is another great tool in my toolbox. This amino acid works in two ways to combat candida overgrowth: one by squashing sugar cravings within a few minutes of breaking a cap under my tongue, and two by healing gut damage over time.

Oil of oregano is an anti-fungal that is also helpful. This stuff is very powerful so you'll need to buy a diluted oil, or mix with olive oil. It can be applied topically to skin, or take0n internally daily for prevention. (on a side... it also helps cure acne, and studies have shown it safe and effective in treating numerous other ailments. More here)  I read up and found lots of mixed messages about whether or not it kills good bacteria, so I only use it as a short term helper when I have symptoms, then stop and replenish good bacteria with probiotics.  

Apple cider vinegar can help by balancing the body's PH and creating an environment where healthy bacteria thrive and candida doesn't. It also contains natural enzymes that are beneficial in the healing of the gut. The most common recommendation is 1-2 tablespoons a day. You can get this in by adding it to your foods, or by slamming a shot of ACV or mixing it with 12 oz of water. I'm not going to lie, I can't stand the taste of it, and I'm not consistent, but I always fee better when I add apple cider vinegar to my diet. 

My battle with candida proves over and over that a clean diet of healthy whole foods is the answer to every ailment from mood to acne to fatigue. When I eat crap, I feel like crap, and then I have to "treat" myself with herbs and gross vinegar. When I JERF (Just Eat Real Food!), my body and I are great friends. But since we are all human, and coconut ice cream happens... I hope I have helped you understand what's going on and prepare for plan B: Detoxing. 

Happy healing,

Kellie