Recently, I have heard a lot of friends and clients who have inquired or begun discussing their battles with Candida and they have asked me for a few tips to prevent and remedy their bouts of Candida and yeast overgrowth.

What is Candida?
If you are not familiar with Candida albicans it can easily be described as healthy, normal yeast. Strains of Candida are yeast that normally inhabit our digestive system: the mouth, throat, intestines and genitourinary tract.

Candida is a normal part of the bowel flora (the organisms that naturally live inside our intestines, and are not parasitic). It has many functions inside our digestive tract, one of them to recognize and destroy harmful bacteria. Without Candida albicans in our intestines we would be defenseless against many pathogen bacteria. Healthy person can have a millions of Candida albicans. Our immune system is suppose to keep it under control, together with "friendly" bacteria (Lactobacillus acidophilus , B. bifidum, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, S. thermophilus and L. salivari)

How do you know if you have Candida or a yeast overgrowth?

If you:

• crave sweets
• feel sick all over
• have taken many antibiotics
• have seen many physicians and have not found help
• developing food allergies

Then Your health problems are probably yeast connected.

Same of your health problems could be caused by intoxication: mercury, fluoride or lead toxicity, or the Epstein-Barr syndrome, or an allergy or a glandular imbalance, or almost anything, but most likely you've got a combination of problems.

Symptoms of Candida:
I am a huge believer that our bodies talk to us in the manifestation of illness. Often yeast overgrowth and Candida can be a parallel symptom or even a root cause of a few chronic illnesses. These include, but are not limited to

• PMS
• FMS (Fibromyalgia Syndrom)
• CFS/ CFIDS
• Leaky Gut
• Sleep Disorders
• Chronic Yeast Infections
• Depression
• Sexual dysfunction
• Asthma
• Allergies
• Food intollerance
• Psoriasis
• Digestive and urinary problems
• Multiple sclerosis
• Muscle pain

Preventing Candida

• Maintain good oral health: brush teeth daily, gargle with antiseptic mouthwash (like Listerine) and floss

• Decrease or avoid sugars (corn and maple syrup, glucose, fructose and sucrose). Sugars are food for candida and help it to grow.

• Decrease or avoid alcohol. Alcohol converts to sugar and promotes the growth of candida.

• Ingest large amounts of garlic (fresh is considered best -- mince and put into empty gelatin capsules, up to six cloves a day). Garlic is believed to have some natural antifungal properties and may help to prevent candidiasis.

• Drink milk or eat yogurt that contains acidophilus bacteria. Acidophilus is "friendly" bacteria which helps keep our body in balance and able to fight of "unfriendly" bacteria and fungus, like candida.

• Apply yogurt containing "friendly" bacteria directly into the vagina (such as Lactobacillus bifidus or Lactobacillus acidophilus).

• Wear loose fitting clothes to help prevent vaginal candidiasis, since these allow areas of the body ventilate better and dry out.

Treating Candida Naturally

Eliminate foods that contain sugar and yeast, which feed candida. Also avoid mushrooms and molds, vinegar and other fermented products, including alcohol or soy sauce. Other foods to avoid include dry roasted nuts, most commercial soups, white flour and bacon and other pork products.

Reduce the amount of starchy vegetables and whole grains until symptoms improve. Limit your consumption of fruit and diluted fruit juices because the sugar content may cause yeast to grow. Use only small amounts of nuts, seeds, beans and other legumes.

Eat eggs, chicken, turkey, seafood and lamb. Eat all vegetables except corn and potatoes. Focus on cabbage, raw garlic, onions, broccoli, turnip and kale. These vegetables all inhibit the growth of candida.

Vitamins and nutrients that are effective in treating candida include vitamins A, C, E, selenium, zinc, iron, glutamine, and healthy fatty acids. Take a yeast-free multi-vitamin, vitamin C (1000 milligrams 4 times daily is effective), 100 micrograms selenium, 400 IU dry Vitamin E and extra beta carotene daily. These should improve the body's immune system. Take lactobacilus acidophilus and bifidobacteria in recommended quantities to repopulate the intestines with good bacteria. Enzymatic Therapy Acidophilus Pearls are a dairy free, digestive capsule with active cultures. (Click to buy a 90 day supply of Pearls for $26.25)

Try antifungal herbs or herbal remedies specifically for candida. These contain ingredients to slow or eliminate the growth of fungus or yeast.

Eat yogurt daily to increase lactobacillus acidophilus. Once the candida has been cured, continue to consume the yogurt. It can't hurt you and has other benefits.

**Avoid B vitamins and sugary fruits while trying to treat Candida overgrowth.

By treating and preventing Candida overgrowth, you will make your body much stronger to deal with the other conditions. If you have no trace of a Candida problem (unlikely), you will still benefit from a thorough intestinal clean-up , and your overall condition will improve regardless of the illness causing you to suffer.


For a great site filled with information regarding Candida Albicans as well as a nifty questionnaire that can help you access the level of yeast overgrowth in your body visit: wholeapproach.com