subject: Stopping Candida: The Healthy Solution To Symptom Relief [print this page] One type of natural yeast that inhabits a person's body is called candida. Its presence is harmless in a healthy, balanced body, where healthy bacterial flora regulate the candida population. When the body's natural balance is askew, due to illness, stress, antibiotics, or diet, candida morphs into a widespread fungal yeast infection known as candidiasis. Candida can be treated with drugs, but after the course of drugs is finished, the candida issue will often come back in a more painful state than before. Candida overgrowth can be treated by eating a highly restricted diet.
Stress, illness, and poor diet are common factors leading to candida overgrowth. A course of antibiotics or reduced immunity during pregnancy are also common ways for opportunistic candida to gain a foothold. Candida overgrowth can be life-threatening to someone with serious immune problems if it turns into a body-wide condition.
Candida does, however, have a few indicating symptoms to alert sufferers early on to the need to combat the overgrowth. Common symptoms include skin infections, eczema, athlete's foot, genital itching, and toenail fungus. In babies the common symptoms are diaper rashes, cradle cap, and oral thrush.
Candidiasis has a wealth of symptoms that are less obvious red flags. A few of them are flatulence, heartburn, food cravings for carbs and sugar, lack of energy, indigestion, and depression. Other effects of this condition include low body temperature as well as low blood sugar.
Since sugar is required for candida to flourish, it is vital that sugars be completely eliminated from the diet. The most obvious culprits are sweeteners. Until the candida issue is cleared up, foods that are rapidly converted into sugar must be eliminated, as well. If bringing them back fuels the problem again, the victim may wish to consider their semi-permanent elimination from the diet. Nearly all grains must be eliminated, as well as white rice. Gluten-containing flours are the worst offenders. This means bread, pastries, cereal, crackers, and pretzels cannot be consumed. Fruit and juice should also be limited until the imbalance has righted itself, because fruits contain natural sugars that will feed candida.
All processed foods are taboo, not only because they often contain refined grains and sugars, but because their over-processing diminishes nutrient value and adds more stress to an already overloaded system. Meat injected with antibiotics, which kill the healthy flora controlling the yeast, should be replaced with grass-fed meat.
The diet should mainly consist of vegetables, fruits, untreated meats, and some forms of dairy. Such a diet will strengthen the body's immune system to defend against a candida outbreak. Since sugar is a friend of candida, care should be taken to select fruits that do not have a high sugar content. The best choices are citrus fruits, namely limes, lemons, and grapefruit. It is also recommended that sufferers do not eat dairy without live cultures. Foods that are naturally fermented, such as miso, sauerkraut, and tempeh, are also helpful at reinstating a proper balance within the body. For a health source of protein and carbohydrates, antibiotic-free meats and fiber-rich foods such as millet, buckwheat, and brown rice should be eaten regularly.
There are many supplements and home remedies that can be used to treat yeast infections, too. For instance, cloves, coconut oil, ginger, cinnamon, and apple cider vinegar are all great remedies that are already a part of many home pantries. Pungent spices, such as those found in curries, are highly beneficial and delicious. They can be used as a seasoning in cooking, and offer medicinal benefits as a side benefit. Among the many lesser known aids in the fight against candida are Oregon grape root and barberry. Supplements made especially for candida issues can be found in most health food stores. They often combine several of the supplements into one capsule.
Once an infection begins, it can spread rapidly, causing immense damage to the bodys immune system. It is therefore vital that people take proper assertive steps toward addressing an infection as soon as it is discovered. Choosing the right meals will not only help in boosting the bodys strength, it will also ensure that the infection is quickly controlled and the yeast effectively brought back into check.
