Candida Albicans is a species of yeast that colonize the GI tract. Candida are part of the “normal flora” of the gut – the healthy microorganisms that occupy the intestines and help us to digest food and fight off unhealthy invasive bacteria and other microbes in our food that try to infect our guts. As long as Candida Albicans are present in the gut in small numbers, they're actually beneficial. But under a variety of circumstances, they can start to multiply out of control.

Usually this happens when antibiotics or other artificial chemicals in the food we eat kill off a large percentage of the healthy bacteria in our gut. Candida then fill the niche left behind by the death of these bacteria. High sugar diets, diabetes, and any kind of problems with your immune system also predispose you to Candida overgrowth.

When Candida start to take over the gut, it presents some serious problems. Candida form something called “rhizoids”. Rhizoids are long stalks that yeast use to hold onto surfaces. These Rhizoids can punch holes in the lining of the gut. Aggressively multiplying Candida can punch so many holes in the gut that undigested food from inside our guts starts leaking across into the surrounding tissues. When this happens (so called “leaky gut syndrome”) it causes massive inflammation and a variety of associated problems (see Eliminating Food Allergies for more).

In addition, aggressively multiplying Candida tend to colonize other tissue outside of the gut. They get into the throat, mouth, sinuses, and possibly other organ systems. When Candida in the throat and mouth really flair up, it causes “thrush” – a white coating on the tongue. Candida in the urinary tract often cause urinary tract infections, while Candida in the vaginal tract of women are the common cause of yeast infections. If you have ever had any of these symptoms, it’s a good bet that you have a Candida problem in your GI tract to this day.

Once Candida get outside of the gut, it causes problems for the whole body. The immune system has to fight these yeast 24-7, which wears down immune resources. The adrenal glands, especially, are hard hit. As a result, “Candidiasis” (overgrowth of Candida outside of the gut) is almost universally associated with chronic tiredness. The need for near constant immune response to Candida also compromises sleep quality, which further contributes to fatigue. This is because some of the same chemicals that mobilize your immune system also wake your body up out of sleep.

Other common symptoms of Candidiasis (in addition to chronic tiredness) include irritable bowls, indigestion, acid reflux, gas and bloating, chronic sinus congestion, constipation, and attentional difficulties and mental fog. If you’ve read our Eliminating Food Allergies tutorial, you may have noted that most of these symptoms are the same. This is because Candida overgrowth and food allergies tend to go hand in hand. Even when they don’t, both create massive amounts of inflammation in the GI tract, which produces most of these symptoms.

We provide a questionnaire below that can help you determine whether you may suffer from Candida overgrowth. If you do, clearing it up will make a huge difference in your quality of life. If you do suffer from Candida overgrowth, you should work with a medical professional to eliminate it. As with any infectious disease, trying to eliminate Candida and failing can actually make the problem worse. Whenever you try to kill any infectious organism, that organism responds by evolving resistance to what you use to kill it. This is why doctors always tell you to finish a course of antibiotics that you take for a bacterial infection even if you stop feeling ill. If you don’t, and you leave any bacteria hanging around your system, the odds are they will have developed resistance to that antibiotic, and if they flair up again and make you sick, the same antibiotic that worked the first time won’t be effective any more.

The same rule applies with nutrition, supplement, and drug therapies that address Candidiasis. They only really work if you do them right the first time. These programs aren’t necessarily that complicated, but it's best to follow them under the supervision of a skilled professional to make sure that nothing goes wrong. Most naturopathic doctors and osteopaths (doctors who get all of the training and licenses of traditional MD’s, plus holistic training to boot) are familiar with Candidiasis and can help. A number of nutritionists are experienced in dealing with Candida as well. Do a web search to find a practitioner in your area.

We don’t provide an actual Candida elimination program here because we don’t want anyone trying to do this without professional help. But we do include some general guidelines for dealing with Candida, and keeping them subdued until you can eliminate them completely. For most people with Candidiasis, just following these guidelines will make a big difference. If you suspect that you might suffer from Candidiasis, give this program a try. If you feel a lot better after a few weeks to a month, the odds are you do have a yeast overgrowth problem, and you should find a professional to help you eliminate it for good.