10 Signs You Have Candida Overgrowth & What To Do About It
What is candida?
Candida is a fungus, which is a form of yeast, and it's normal for a very small amount of it to live in your mouth and intestines. Its main job? Helping out with digestion and nutrient absorption.
But when overproduced, it can break down the wall of the intestine and penetrate the bloodstream — releasing toxic by-products into your system and causing leaky gut and candidiasis (candida infection). This can lead to many different health problems, from digestive issues to depression.
How do you get candida overgrowth?
The good news is that the healthy bacteria in your gut typically keep your levels in check. But if that healthy bacteria is not present, or you are eating the wrong foods, then a few factors can cause it to grow out of control:
Eating a diet high in refined carbohydrates and sugar
Consuming a lot of alcohol
Taking oral contraceptives
Eating a diet high in beneficial fermented foods (like Kombucha, sauerkraut, and pickles)
Living a high-stress lifestyle
Taking antibiotics that killed too many of those friendly bacteria
What are common candida symptoms?
Skin and nail fungal infections, such as athlete’s foot or toenail fungus
Feeling tired and worn down, or suffering from chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia
Digestive issues such as bloating, constipation, or diarrhoea
Autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, ulcerative colitis, lupus, psoriasis, or multiple sclerosis
Difficulty concentrating, poor memory, lack of focus, ADD, ADHD, and brain fog
Skin issues like eczema, psoriasis, hives, and rashes
Irritability, mood swings, anxiety, or depression
Vaginal infections, urinary tract infections, rectal itching, or vaginal itching
Severe seasonal allergies or itchy ears
Strong sugar and refined carbohydrate cravings
You don't need to have all of these symptoms to suspect a candida overgrowth, but if you have a few of them, it's worth checking to see if this is impacting your health.
How do you test for overgrowth?
A comprehensive stool test is the best way to test for a candida overgrowth. The lab will check for candida in your colon or lower intestines, and can usually determine the species of yeast — as well as which treatment will be most effective. The test will also tell you if there is dysbiosis present (this is an imbalance in the beneficial bacteria that help to keep candida levels low; if you also have pathogenic bacteria; and/or parasites present. Getting a complete picture of your gut health will make if much easier for your nutritional therapist to support you.
How do you treat overgrowth?
To successfully treat it, you need to do three things: stop the yeast overgrowth, build up the friendly bacteria, and heal your gut so that candida can no longer enter your bloodstream.
The first step is getting rid of the overgrowth, which mainly requires switching to a low-carbohydrate diet.
Sugar feeds yeast. So start by eliminating sugar in all of its simple forms — such as sweets, desserts, alcohol, and flour-based bakery such as cakes, doughnuts and biscuits. At the same time, cut back on the more complex carbohydrates, like grains, beans, fruit, bread, pasta, and potatoes. This will help prevent the candida from growing and will eventually cause it to die. You may need to completely eliminate these foods, but do this with the support of a nutritional therapist so you are covering all your nutrient requirements. Your NT can also help you with motivation and accountability whilst you are eliminating the infection.
I also recommend eliminating all fermented foods. That’s because, while it’s common knowledge that these help to feed the good bacteria, most people don’t realize that bad bacteria feed off of these as well.
Using diet alone, it is not likely that you will see the reduction in candida that you would like, making it almost essential to use anti-fungal supplements alongside. Then you will need a good probiotic to rebuild levels of the beneficial bacteria that will keep the candida under control. It could take three to six months before the overgrowth is back under control.
Finally, heal your gut. Eliminating inflammatory foods that can harm your GI tract — and introducing foods that help — will prevent the yeast from working its way through your body, and dramatically improve your overall health.
If you think you maybe suffering from a candida overgrowth, please do get in touch for a chat about how I can help you. You can book your free half hour review call using the button below.
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