Gut Check: You and Candida
Early on in my exposure to and work with holistic approaches, I found out about microbiota dysbiosis. Microbiota dysbiosis is a fancy term to explain the imbalance of good and bad bacteria in your gut.
With an imbalance you can experience symptoms like brain fog, fatigue, headaches, stomach cramping, bloating, gas, and sometimes severe intestinal pain. It often makes you feel like you may just be allergic to every food out there because you have some form of reaction to most foods you eat. This leads many people to think they are gluten intolerant or sensitive, lactose intolerant, sensitive to corn and its derivatives, and many other common foods or ingredients. While this may be true for some people, the underlying cause of these intolerance is often due to a bacterial imbalance or yeast overgrowth in the gut.
When I met with a holistic practitioner about 18 months ago, she suspected I had leaky gut (more on this later) and potentially an overgrowth of yeast called Candida. The more I studied (and continue to study) the more evidence I am finding to support that Candida is responsible for way more than I could have ever suspected, which is actually a good thing because it’s relatively easy to treat.
What is Candida?
Candida (candida albicans) is a yeast that is naturally present in all of our bodies, living in the GI tract, on mucous membranes, and on our skin. Its existence isn’t problematic – it’s beneficial. But when you have an imbalance of good and bad bacteria in your gut, candida growth gets out of hand and directly causes or contributes to a slew of nasty ailments and is now being linked to autoimmune diseases. When Candida goes into overdrive, it becomes highly aggressive and transforms from the helpful candida we need as part of our delicate ecosystem to the invasive mycelial candida. Mycelial candida anchors itself into your intestinal lining, permeating the barrier to the rest of your body and creating a leak in the lining of your intestine (aka leaky gut).
How common is it?
Candida overgrowth is one of the most common forms of microbiota dysbiosis, impacting an estimated 33% of people. But accurate estimates are hard to come by since many people aren’t aware that they have it and it can be hard to definitively diagnosis via lab testing. So this percentage is conservative. It is more common among women (often because of the impact of birth control pills on your microbiome), people who have taken multiple rounds of antibiotics in childhood, and those with diets high in refined white sugars and refined simple carbohydrates (all that white stuff!).
How do I know if I have an overgrowth of Candida?
As I mentioned, Candida overgrowth isn’t something easily tested for, but a free assessment is available from Dr. Josh Axe here and Dr. Anne Boroch here. After taking one of these assessments, the best way to confirm your results is to start treating for candida overgrowth (there are very few negative side effects, but consult your physician before beginning a program).
If you experience relief of symptoms within 1-2 weeks then you know you’re on the right track. When I commenced with my Candida relief program, I felt almost immediate relief (a few supplements were part of my program, which aided in relieving the common side effects of candida die-off). I had a gut feeling (pun intended) that I was on the right track when my energy was improving, my brain fog was lifting (I experienced a clarity that I have NEVER experienced in my life), and my digestive issues were almost non-existent – after only 3 days!
This can be a typical result, but not everyone experiences relief so quickly. So give a Candida relief program at least 1 month to start seeing results and be sure to check in with your primary physician before beginning any nutrition program.
If I have it, how do I get my gut back in shape?
Clearing the Candida overgrowth can be as complex or as simple as you want it to be. The go all-in approach involves not only reducing the presence of candida, but also building up your beneficial microbes and balancing it with a healthy level of candida (not the invasive mycelial candida).
This can be done with a months long program that includes supplementation to support your liver and gallbladder as you detoxify your body (they also help with the die-off side effects of headaches and bloating in the first week), and intense diet changes. After the 3 months you go into a maintenance phase of keeping refined sugars and carbohydrates to a minimum (eliminating completely if you have had severe issues in the past).
If you’d rather not go hog-wild on the candida-killing train, here are some simple changes you can make now.
Limit alcohol. This is a double whammy (and therefore doubly beneficial) because it has both the fermentation that candida loves and the carbohydrates that are quickly turned to sugar in your bloodstream.
Begin minimizing white, refined sugars from your diet. This includes any foods with the ingredients of refined or enriched flour. Many people find that sticking to gluten free flours works best, even in the maintenance phase.
Minimize your caffeine intake to 1 cup of caffeinated coffee a day and only white and green teas.
Drink red clover blossom tea that aids in calmly detoxifying your system.
Don’t hop on the fermented food bandwagon just yet. If you suspect that you have a Candida overgrowth, fermented foods will actually make it worse. Yes, they are great for supporting your microbiome but only after candida has returned to its healthy level.
Make sure you are getting adequate fiber (from plant sources, not a supplement) to clear your body of toxins more regularly.
Drink at least half your body weight in oz of water per day to aid in eliminating toxins.
If you eat meat and eggs, buy grass-fed, free range, hormone free and antibiotic free as much as possible. The antibiotics in our meat play a strong role in the reason so many people have candida overgrowth in the first place.
Eat your greens! Everyone can use more greens in their diet, but it’s especially important to emphasize greens when eating for candida because there are many starchy vegetables that should be eliminated in order to starve the candida.
Finding out about Candida is one of the things on my life of I Wish I knew This Sooner because working to heal it has brought about newfound energy and a clarity of mind that is invaluable - bye-bye brain fog!!
In abundant wellness,
Emma