Candida Cleanse

There are four components to a successful candida cleanse: diet, natural remedies, repopulation of healthy digestive flora and diligence throughout treatment.  This last one is a component on its own simply because a candida cleanse is so challenging; since candida feeds off every food one cannot have throughout the cleanse, the cravings for these foods are often extremely strong!  A candida cleanse takes a lot of willpower and a strong desire to be rid of candida symptoms.

Part One: Diet

A candida diet alone, especially supplemented with a juice fast and/or colonic irrigation, is an essential starting point for clearing candida overgrowth from the system.  A candida diet is quite restrictive, especially if you’re used to eating a standard American diet, full of sugar, dairy, processed foods and alcohol.  All these foods must be completely cut out, as they either feed candida or lower the effectiveness of the immune system, making it more difficult to kill candida off.  Additionally, any foods that are fermented or containing gluten or mold must be cut out; this restriction encompasses some surprising foods such as peanuts, vinegar or any food containing vinegar, cheese, coffee and mushrooms.  For a full list of foods to avoid and reasons why, click here.

So what CAN one eat on a candida diet?  Fresh vegetables (excluding the starchy ones: potatoes, corn, carrots), fresh meats, foods containing live and active cultures such as yogurt made from goat’s milk or sauerkraut made without vinegar, non-glutenous grains like brown rice and millet and non-moldy nuts and seeds like almonds.  For a full list of foods to eat, click here.

 

Natural Remedies

Ingesting any natural remedies for candida too soon can cause some major Herxheimer or die-off reactions.  Therefore, it’s a good idea to stick to the diet for at least a week or two before beginning to take any remedies.  That being said, it’s amazing to learn about what kinds of foods and products contain ingredients that naturally kill of candida.  For example, caprylic acid, found in extra virgin coconut oil, is a natural candida killler, as is bromelain, an enzyme found in tropical fruits like pineapple.  Enzymes found in fresh fish are also very helpful in keeping candida at bay.  This explains why candida is not a problem for people who follow a native diet in tropical, humid places; an environment which would normally encourage candida overgrowth.

There are many natural remedies and products available to help treat Candida.  Read about more of them here.

Repopulate Digestive Flora

Repopulating the digestive tract with friendly flora like acidophilus is something that you should be doing all along; there’s no need to wait.  Taking probiotics to up the amount of friendly flora in the system is a key factor in winning the candida battle, and will additionally help every other system in the body to work better.

The amount of time it takes to get a handle on candidiasis is different for everyone and depends on how long you’ve been dealing with symptoms.  For some, it may take only a month or so to start feeling better, while for others it can take several.   To test whether you have candidiasis and for more resources on the topic, click here.

Candida Causes

To continue my last post, I’d like to give an overview of some of the causes of candidiasis.  There are several main causes: antibiotics and other prescription drugs, hormonal imbalances, excessive stress and diet and alcohol.

• Antibiotics and Prescription Drugs

Antibiotics and prescription drugs are common causes of candida.  These days in the U.S., antibiotics are by far one of the most widely prescribed types of medication.  Prescribed for everything from staph infection to pneumonia, there’s no question that they save lives.  However, antibiotics wipe out not only harmful bacteria but beneficial bacteria as well, in turn weakening the immune system and leaving it with far less of the beneficial bacteria that usually keeps candida in balance within the body.  This is why whenever taking an antibiotic (or, for that matter, any prescription drug that can cause gastrointestinal side effects), it is extremely important to take a probiotic, which will help prevent this from occurring.

• Hormonal Imbalances

In women, an imbalance of the two hormones estrogen and progesterone are a common cause of candida (often in the form of vaginal yeast infections).  Synthetic estrogen, the main hormone found in birth control, has been found to cause yeast, and studies have shown that hormones in general can affect intestinal bacteria; any upset in this balance can cause yeast overgrowth.

• Excessive Stress

Stress causes the release of a hormone called cortisol, which raises blood sugar and depresses the immune system.  Sugar feeds yeast cells, therefore allowing them to multiply quickly, so when blood sugar is raised, this is exactly what happens all throughout the body.  Excessive cortisol release also depresses the immune system, so when blood sugar is raised, the body is left defenseless against candida growth.  Additionally, stress can also cause sugar and carbohydrate cravings, which only helps to perpetuate this cycle.

• Diet and Alcohol

Combined with the other causes from above (and others not mentioned here), the Standard American Diet increases the likelihood of candida overgrowth many times over.  What is the most widespread ingredient in most processed foods that Americans consume?  Sugar.  And, as you just read above, sugar feeds candida.  The Standard American diet also includes alcohol, all kinds of which promote candida (again, sugar), but beer is a particularly notable cause.  Beer, because of what it’s made from and the fermentation process it undergoes, contains a lot of maltose, which is an especially potent food for candida.  The gases released as a byproduct of maltose that has undergone digestion by candida gathers in the belly, causing gas, bloating and weight gain.  This is why the term “beer belly” doesn’t  just refer to the weight gain caused by drinking too much!