The Surprising Truth About Candida (And What You Can Do About It)

Aug 29, 2017 | Candida, Detoxing, Functional Medicine, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Treatment Plan, Wellness

Candida is a fungus that aids with nutrient absorption and digestion when in proper levels in the body. When it overproduces, the body’s natural pH balance is disrupted, creating a chronic and systemic problem. Without good healthy bacteria and a well-functioning immune system, typical candida symptoms may appear. Do you ever experience any of these health issues?
  • Exhaustion
  • Can’t seem to lose weight no matter what
  • Cravings for sweets
  • Bad breath
  • Thick white coating on tongue
  • Brain fog
  • Hormone imbalance
  • Joint pain
  • Loss of sex drive
  • Chronic sinus and allergy issues
  • Digestive problems (gas and bloating)
  • Weak immune system
  • UTI
If so, these are just some of the signs that you may have candida. It’s a dizzying array of commons symptoms — so common that up to 85% of adults may be suffering from some degree of candida overgrowth and, without changes to their diet, may only be fueling the fire. Symptoms can worsen in damp or moldy environments or after consumption of food containing sugar or yeast. If left untreated, candida will weaken the immune system, allowing more serious diseases (think: cancers, MS, diabetes, etc.) to take hold. (Dr. Axe) Certain behaviors or triggers like these can create a perfect storm in the body, letting candida take over and sabotage your health:
  • Poor diet
  • Prescription drugs, especially antibiotics
  • Alcohol consumption
  • Hormone imbalance
  • Tap water
  • Digestive problems
  • Stress
  • Environmental molds and chemicals
  • Toxic metals and food chemicals
  • Immune deficiency (like having AIDS or cancer) (from Dr. Axe: 9 Candida Symptoms & 3 Steps to Treat Them)
Even if you said ‘yes’ to many of the candida symptoms above, are you still not sure if you’re affected? Give this simple test a try: The Candida Spit Test 1. Fill a clear glass of water the night before and put it on the counter.  When you get up in the morning, and before you brush your teeth, eat or drink anything, spit some saliva gently into the glass, without touching the glass. 2. Come back every 20 minutes for the next hour and check for some of these ‘tell-tale signs’ of Candida: – ‘Strings’ coming down through the water from the saliva at the top – Cloudy saliva sitting at the bottom of the glass – Opaque specks of saliva suspended in the water Not entirely scientific, we know. But it’s just one of many ways you can gauge your mucus levels and make an observational assessment. Combine that with the knowledge of your symptoms, visit our office and we can work to build a plan of action that helps bring your body back into balance. So what can you do if you find that you suspect a candida takeover in your body? Janine recently attended a candida-specific training, adding more tools and methods to her bag of tricks for helping her patients combat this chronic illness. One of the biggest takeaways was learning that candida has five different species. That’s why patients struggle to get rid of symptoms through diet alone. Candida is highly adaptive and can transmute between species, being carried through the lymphatic and blood system to penetrate the body’s tissues and begin to grow wherever it wants. Diets merely manage candida, but to cure it, herbal formulas are a must. Following this training, we have added a broader array of formulas to help even the most stubborn of candida cases. Want to learn more? Schedule an appointment and get on the path to a healthier you. Interested in further reading? This is a great article about the connection between candida and hormone health, and goes into greater detail about the pervasiveness of this tricky little shape-shifting fungus and all the ways it can compromise your health.   >Read More  

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