Don't let poor health get you down. Persistent problems may have a cause that has been overlooked, such as stress.
Don't let poor health get you down. Persistent problems may have a cause that has been overlooked, such as stress.
Candida albicans is responsible for untold misery in thousands of people. The importance of treating it cannot be over estimated because it is “a precursor to any and every degenerative disease, since it causes injury to every single body system.”[1] It is thought to affect about one third of the population in the West, which may be due to the rise in clinical overuse of antibiotics which are widely recognized to precipitate candidal overgrowth. The use of the oral contraceptive pill, HRT, and steroids such as corticosteroids appear to exert a similar effect.
The symptoms of candida albicans are many and variable. The most common are fatigue, digestive disturbance, diarrhoea, constipation, food sensitivities, carbohydrate cravings vaginitis, anxiety, depression, impaired memory, poor concentration, “foggy brain” and feelings of lack of self worth. Other symptoms include cystitis/urethritis, menstrual irregularities, stiff and painful joints, muscle pain, inhalant allergies, chemical sensitivities, catarrh, sinusitis, cardiac arrhythmia, acne and other skin eruptions, headaches, blurred vision, earaches and dizziness.
Candida albicans is a yeast which lives in the bowel of all of us. By rights that’s where it should stay, but if the immune system becomes weakened and the number of beneficial bacteria in the bowel declines, candida can start multiplying, penetrate the intestinal wall and disseminate to other organs (polysystemic candidiasis). Severe stress has a depressant effect on the immune system, and drugs, environmental chemicals, allergies, and excess sugar consumption all play their part.
Candida produces many toxins, for example alcohol, acetaldehyde and carbon monoxide, and it is these which are responsible for producing most of the symptoms of candidiasis. I therefore recommend a course of herbal supplements to stimulate the body to metabolise and excrete these toxins before introducing supplements to eradicate the candida. By this method the liver is constantly supported and “die off” symptoms (which can occur when large numbers of candida cells die, break open, and release their toxic contents) are kept to a minimum, if any.
Using test vials with a scale of 1 -10 I assess the severity of the candida overgrowth, and by the same method I am able to plot the descent of the overgrowth once the body is prepared and eradication has begun.
The process of eradicating Candida usually takes between four and nine months depending on severity. Supplements to support any nutritional deficiencies are recommended. I identify food sensitivities and encourage their elimination from the diet as they represent a burden on the immune system. This, along with identifying and addressing environmental sensitivities for the same reason, reduces symptomology and assists immune recovery. I do not generally find it necessary to recommend the severe dietary restrictions referred to in many anti-candidal texts provided the correct anti-candidal supplements are taken at the right dosage. It is also important to deal with the intestinal dysbiosis which is invariably present and support the endocrine system in general, and in particular the adrenal glands which are often severely impaired by Candida.
Unless the immune system and the factors that caused the candida to overgrow in the first place are addressed, candida can return with astonishing speed. I therefore usually recommend supplements to support the immune system, and address the damage to the gut wall which candida invariably causes. This ”leaky-gut syndrome” allows excessive absorption of toxins from the bowel which has been linked to liver disease, thyroid disease, pancreatitis, lupus erthematosis, food sensitivities, asthma, psoriasis, and acne.
The above is an outline of the treatment of severe candidacies, and not all the corrections are necessary in every case, by any means. I treat a lot of children with candida, using vibrational essences, and find they never suffer from “leaky-gut syndrome” and spring back to health very quickly.
[1]Dr John Parks, Trowbridge