What is Candida? Could You Have It?

Candida Treatment with Acupuncture

What is Candida? 

Candida, Candida Albicans, or simply intestinal yeast, are terms that have been thrown around more and more lately, and many patients have come to me with questions about what it is and whether or not they may have it.  So I thought I would try to provide a little clarity about this very important health concern, and to encourage you try Candida treatment with acupuncture.

Candida is a fungus that is typically found in everyone’s intestinal tract in limited populations.  It becomes problematic when it is allowed to overgrow and disrupt the normal functioning of the bowel, and consequently contributing to many other disorders in overall health.  Yeast overgrowth causes inflammation and irritation within the small and large intestine, potentially leading to a number of other problems.

When the bowel becomes irritated and inflamed, mucus production increases, and small sacs begin to form within the bowel lining.  These sacs, also known as Diverticula, tend to trap digested food particles and other fecal matter, and soon a sludgy deposit builds up along the walls and begins to putrefy.  This moist and poorly oxygenated matter provides fecund ground for the candida to grow in.

When overgrowth has occurred, you may start to experience a number of health disorders including poor digestion with bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea.  Candida can also be the root cause of other chronic disorders such as asthma, food and chemical allergies, fatigue, frequent colds and flu, skin rashes and itchiness, headaches, difficulty concentrating, anxiety and depression.

What Are the Symptoms?

So what are the signs that you may have a Candida infection?  The symptoms listed above are a good place to start investigating further into whether or not Candida is major player in your health problems.  If you suspect that you are infected, you can take an Assessment Questionnaire http://www.wholeapproach.com/candida/questionnaire.php from www.Wholeapproach.com, an online resource dedicated to Candida education.  If you score high (an indication that Candida may indeed be contributing to your health problems), yet still require more proof, you can pursue a more concrete diagnosis in a number of ways.  You can visit a practitioner who does electral dermal testing , such as an acupuncturist, chiropractor or naturopath.  This testing device can tell you to what extent Candida is interfering with your health. You can also send out a blood or stool sample to a lab for evaluation, or even purchase online test kits.

How Do I Treat It?

How do you treat an intestinal Candida infection?  On your journey to Candida Recovery, there are basically 3 parts to eradicating the fungal problem:  dietary modification, a great anti fungal program, and immune and detoxification support.  Let’s talk about the diet first.  If you have ever made bread from scratch, you know something about what yeast like to eat, and how they like to eat it.  In bread making, the yeast packets are added to warm water and then fed honey or sugar to make them grow.  Well, the same is true of yeast in the body:  it thrives in a warm moist environment (your intestine) and multiplies when introduced to sugars.  So if your Candida is out of control already, and you feed it sugary foods and starches, guess what?  It proliferates like crazy, causing your symptoms to get worse.

The first dietary modification is the elimination of sugars, refined carbohydrates and processed foods and flours.  These contribute to yeast overgrowth each and every time you eat them.  Keep in mind that fruits and juices have a lot of natural sugars as well, and should be limited.

Chemically, hormonally, and overly processed meats should also be eliminated as they lend to an overall acidic environment in the gut, allowing the yeast a more ideal environment in which to grow.  Hydrogenated fats should not be consumed, and dairy products should be limited.  An overall increase in vegetables needs to be adopted and implemented into your daily diet.

There are a lot of anti fungals on the market today, so which one should you choose?  Taking anti fungals alone may not be enough to take care of the problem.  If you’re serious about killing and eliminating the Candida, you need a couple of different products to do the job properly.  You should invest in a good Psyllium Husk bulking agent to be taken 1 to 2 times per day.  This gentle and natural seed laxative will expand in the intestine and brush the walls clean while helping to move food matter through the long tube of our digestive tract.

The psyllium should be combined with Bentonite Clay, a natural detoxifying agent.  Bentonite is super absorbent, and will absorb all of the yeast die off and their emitted toxins into the clay, and then carry it outside of the intestine as it moves through.

Next, we need an effective anti fungal agent to be included in our mixture.  This is what will actually attack and kill the fungus.  Caprylic acid in liquid form is proven to be one of the most powerful anti fungal agents on the market today.  These three products, psyllium, bentonite and caprylic acid can be mixed into a drink that can be taken 1-2 times per day.

In a nutshell, this is how the drink will battle your Candida problem:  The mixture is taken into the intestinal tract.  The psyllium husk absorbs water and swells up against the intestinal lining where the yeast has imbedded itself deeply within the sludgy muck that has developed over time.  It scrubs the anti fungal Caprylic acid into the sludge, where it effectively kills off the yeast.  Then the Bentonite clay sucks up all of the die off into the mass, and the psyllium continues to sweep it all out of the intestine and colon.  A more in depth explanation of this treatment can be found at http://www.wholeapproach.com/candida/treatment.php.

Finally, you should be getting immune and detoxification support throughout your Candida Recovery program.  This is where your acupuncturist can help you out.  This process is a healing journey, and, in reality, quite a lifestyle change for many people.  It can be challenging and stressful; there may be cravings for sugar and other foods that you are advised to eliminate during the recovery, and many people experience physical and mental side effects such as headache, fatigue, digestive changes and irritability.

Acupuncture is very effective at controlling cravings, treating side effects and boosting your digestive function throughout the process.  It also helps your body to adapt to the new stressors you will be encountering, taking the stress and anxiety responses that you may experience.  In addition, it will help to increase your immune function, which is extremely important as you are eradicating the yeast which has compromised your immunity in its wake.  Finally, acupuncture will aid the body in the detox process, supporting all of your kidney, liver, and intestinal detoxification processes.

For more information about diagnosing and Candida treatment with Acupuncture, please visit www.Wholeapproach.com and call or come by my Denver Acupuncture office for a Free Consultation to discuss your Candida Treatment and Recovery program.

Joanne Douglass L.Ac MSOM

720-772-8540

reference courtesy of www.wholeapproach.com

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