Candida albicans is a yeast organism that's present virtually everywhere. It's a normal part of the human intestinal tract and general body environment.
In most cases, the balance of PH, digestive enzymes, beneficial bacteria, and other factors prevents Candida or any other single organism from taking over and causing health problems.
Scientists and doctors agree that an excess of Candida can, especially in cases of suppressed immunity or other predisposing factors, lead to illness. Candida is the cause of many illnesses like thrush, athlete's foot, "yeast infections" and more.
However, it is
highly debatable whether Candida directly causes
widespread vague illness in a large percentage of otherwise healthy people.
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questionnaires,
symptom lists and most of the tests available that purport to identify a Candida problem are not particularly reliable or specific.
A test that shows excessive Candida in urine, for example, may point to a yeast infection of the bladder but does not necessarily indicate a systemic (whole-body) Candida infection. Too, the more common localized yeast infections may not be adequately treated by taking antifungals orally and making dietary changes.
Remember, everyone has Candida. The question is whether it's causing disease or not.
With the exception of clear fungal infections such as thrush and other yeast infections, in most cases the same pattern of symptoms is equally likely to occur as a result of one or more other factors besides Candida. Even in the case of true Candida-caused illness, the commonly-recommended treatments are not appropriate for everyone.
Even unrelated issues may seem to improve on the antifungal treatments, yeast-free diet, and the general healthier lifestyle being promoted. However, in many cases it is still important to consider the possibility that yeast may not actually be causing some or all of the symptoms. Or, even if yeast is causing symptoms, it could be a secondary issue that won't truly be solved until the underlying problems are treated.
I believe that these quizzes, tests, and the strong encouragement of self-diagnosis and treatment do sometimes result in symptoms of other disorders being blamed on Candida. In many cases this can be truly dangerous, such as when allergies, diabetes, thyroid dysfunction, malnutrition, cancer or celiac disease are the true cause of the symptoms.
There has been
much research in the scientific community about all different aspects of Candida,
systemic candidiasis, possible causes, variables and treatments. But nothing has been really conclusive so far when it comes to these kinds of non-specific generalized illness being caused directly by Candida.
It's not for the lack of trying; the research just doesn't show a clear causative connection. The research also does not seem to show consistent results in treating yeast with many of the dietary changes and other commonly-promoted treatments, although many have attempted to prove this.
We know that there is some correlation of Candida overgrowth with several other illnesses. For instance, higher numbers of Candida and a higher incidence of food allergies often coexist. But we don't really know whether this coexistence is causative or merely a correlation. Does Candida overgrowth cause food allergies, or do the allergies create an environment conducive to the Candida overgrowth, or both?
Even among those who adamantly believe in the Candida epidemic as the cause of many or most health problems among the human population, there is much disagreement as to the proper treatment.
A certain food will be listed on the "never eat" list of one "expert" while the same food is on the "beneficial" list of another. Foods like lemons or potatoes are often encouraged by one Candida proponent while forbidden by another. Some recommend taking garlic every day, while others caution against eating it daily for fear of creating allergies.
Some protocols recommend taking nystatin or another antifungal antibiotic for months or years at a time, while others warn against creating a tolerance for it if it's taken for more than 10 days or so at a time.
In some cases antifungal treatment or a special diet is clearly indicated. It has been helpful for many. Since it has very little risk, it's certainly worth consideration when nothing else is working. Especially if a person has recurrent, stubborn fungal infections, it makes sense to look at Candida as a possible cause.
But there is little proof that any one of these protocols alone really solves the problem in the long term for the majority of people with symptoms of "candida overgrowth".
Many people stay on the treatments for years or months at a time with little or no long-term improvement. This is not necessarily due to "cheating" on the diet, even though the diet is so restrictive and nearly impossible to follow that any failure of the treatment can almost always be blamed on such cheating. I know people personally (including family members) who were diagnosed with Candida overgrowth and stuck faithfully to the prescribed treatments with no real positive results.
Individual body systems are so unique, and a food or other variable that may be helpful for one person can be harmful for another.
Especially for a person whose diet is already strictly limited by food allergies, intolerances or other factors, cutting out all fruits and sugars along with most starches and grains could be counterproductive and may not always be necessary. The expense, frustration and side effects of a medication may not be worthwhile if the issue can be dealt with another way.
In many cases, dealing with the underlying issues and getting the body and digestive system healthier in general may allow any Candida overgrowth to resolve on its own.
Yes, Candida is an opportunistic organism that will grow wherever there's a weak spot. But when so many people seem to not be getting better and there are so many differing and disagreeing opinions about how to treat Candida, I think there may be something else going on.
It seems likely that, even if Candida is present, Candida may not be the actual cause of some or all of the symptoms for many people.
For instance, a lot of my "candida" symptoms went away when I cut coconut, dairy products and eggs out of my diet. I'm allergic to those foods. My daughter's symptoms are also drastically better when we avoid her allergens.
I know of a lot of corn-allergic people who had a collection of symptoms that fit the Candida profile (and in some cases they believed were caused by Candida), but went away when they finally removed corn and all its hidden derivatives (a monumental task in itself) from their diets. Undiagnosed food allergies can weaken the immune system just as something like Candida can.
Corn is a really hard one to pinpoint, because it is so pervasive in our food supply (even showing up unlabeled on fresh fruits, vegetables and meats) and because the symptoms can be so atypical for allergy. There is some speculation of a cellular-level autoimmune reaction similar to celiac disease that corn may cause in some people.
Another issue that I think complicates things for my child is that she is severely allergic to molds, and possibly to yeasts also. So, for that reason, she will probably never be able to freely eat lage quantities of foods that contain or easily feed yeasts and molds (unless she grows out of the allergy). I think any Candida in her body may affect her more drastically in smaller amounts because of that also.
We also found out that a lot of her supposed "candida symptoms" were being caused by severe reflux and aspiration (a swallowing problem which was causing fluids to go down the tube to her lungs instead of to her throat), and by anemia (iron deficinecy).
Finally, a recent stool test showed that she does not have the ability to process certain sugars.
Some people's bodies do not make the enzymes necessary to digest one or more sugars, whether it be galactose, glucose or fructose. Those people will get symptoms when they ingest that sugar. In some cases, this can easily be solved by supplementing the necessary enzyme.
There are people who are truly allergic to certain types of sugars. I am allergic to maple trees, and maple syrup gives me problems. Quite a few people are allergic to sugar cane because it is a grass closely related to several other grains (notably corn). People who are allergic to sugar cane can often eat beet sugar without problems. Other people are allergic to beets, and so might react to beet sugar while being fine with cane sugar.
All of these things can cause symptoms and a pattern of flare-ups that seem completely consistent with disease caused by Candida. They may even flare up when foods said to feed yeast are consumed, but really have a totally different cause and treatment. In a situation where Candida treatments are not very effective, it would be wise to look for other causes of the symptoms.
For us, dealing with these other causes and underlying issues has brought our health to the point where the difficulty, side effects and limitations of the candida treatment doesn't seem to have enough potential gain in health to be worth it. If we're feeling fine eating moderate amounts fruit, starchy vegetables and whole grains, why should we stop eating them? Especially when fruit and other more complex carbohydrates contain so many valuable nutrients and benefits to health.
Of course, anybody's health is going to improve by cutting out refined sugars and excessive carbohydrates, cultivating healthy intestinal flora, eating more vegetables, drinking more water and living a healthier lifestyle--whether they have an illness caused by Candida or not.In my situation and and Baby E's, my instincts are telling me to focus on the underlying issues and on general good health rather than hyperfocusing on the Candida itself.
I do want to make clear that I'm not trying to dismiss Candida as an element of illness. For many people it is a very real and serious part of their health problems.
But Candida is an opportunistic organism that has to have a vulnerable environment in order to take over. Even if Candida is actually causing problems, just treating the Candida may not adequately resolve the issue.
If a person doesn't deal with whatever root issues left them vulnerable to Candida in the first place, most likely no amount of nystatin is going to make them truly well in the long term. As soon as they go off the treatments it is likely to just grow again, since it is a normal organism always present in the human system.
