CANDIDA - An Introduction
CategoriesWHAT IS CANDIDA?
MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS OF CANDIDA
WHAT CAUSES CANDIDA?
CAN CANDIDA LEAD TO MORE SERIOUS ILLNESSES?
ESTABLISHMENT DOCTORS
GENERAL TIPS FOR HEALTH
WHAT IS CANDIDA?
Candida is an overgrowth in the body of the yeast candida albicans. Although this overgrowth begins in the intestines, it can frequently spread elsewhere in the body, creating what is known as 'systemic candidiasis' or 'candida syndrome'. This yeast, natural to our bodies in health, become pathological when it changes into its fungal form, sprouting roots that perforate the gut walls and carry the overgrowth to the rest of the body. This produces what is known as 'leaky gut' and allows toxins to enter the bloodstream, overloading the immune system and causing a wide variety of symptoms.
MOST COMMON SYMPTOMS OF CANDIDA
Food allergies; irritable bowel syndrome: diarrhoea, constipation, bloating and stomach cramps; many gynaecological problems: repetitive yeast infections (thrush: discharge and itching), glandular inflammation e.g. bartolino glands, cysts and endometriosis; cystitis and kidney infections; skin problems: eczema, seborrhoea, psoriasis, acne, nail fungal infections, athlete's foot; respiratory problems: asthma, bronchitis; food and drink disorders: alcoholism, bulimia. Depression, anxiety, chronic fatigue, headaches, neuralgia, loss of memory, ear problems, thyroid problems, muscular and joint pains.
WHAT CAUSES CANDIDA?
Most therapists and sufferers of candida consider antibiotics to be the main cause. However, there are other contributory factors such as: the contraceptive pill or HRT (hormonal replacement therapy) including 'natural' progesterone cream, corticosteroids (hydrocortisone etc.), hormonal changes (puberty, pregnancy, sterilisation, menopause), dental mercury amalgam poisoning, chemical poisoning from the home, office or environment, e.g. farms, chemical factories etc., recreational drugs and stress (contributory factor).
CAN CANDIDA LEAD TO MORE SERIOUS ILLNESSES?Candida is an illness that exhausts the immune system and can therefore lead to other more serious illnesses if left untreated. Any degenerative illness such as cancer or diabetes can develop once the immune system is compromised. Sufferers of AIDS tend to have problems with candida. However, the medical establishment continues to deny the seriousness and even at times the reality of this illness, no doubt for the simple reason that they created it. A disturbing amount of women are treated as hypochondriacs or neurotics for " constantly complaining " about " fictitious " symptoms, for which they are then prescribed anti-depressants, chemical medicines that not only worsen the illness but destroy the person's self esteem.
ESTABLISHMENT DOCTORSMany doctors, however concerned and fair they may be, miss diagnosing candida overgrowth as the cause of one's symptoms and illnesses. Although doctors in general recognise the importance of diet they very rarely recognise the connection in this case, and are extremely unlikely to recommend giving up yeast and sugar to the average sufferer of irritable bowel syndrome, eczema, asthma, recurrent thrush and endometriosis etc.
Often doctors recommend the 'a little of everything in moderation' approach, which doesn't help in the least in overcoming candida. Most products you buy in the average supermarket are of poor quality, low in nutrients, high in contaminants and addiction-causing. Therefore eating a little of everything you find in your supermarket is likely to lead you up a blind alley.
Candidiasis and its symptoms now affect up to one third of the population in modern society. How is it possible that doctors have remained so unaware of its true causes and its most effective cures and remedies? The answer is a simple one. The medical universities and the medical reviews that inform doctors are funded and controlled by the large pharmaceutical companies. We need only to look at the average medical review to see that up to two thirds of the contents are devoted to pharmaceutical advertising. ('The Yeast Syndrome' Trowbridge and Walker).
In some countries it has reached such a dire point that the general public is bombarded with TV adverts for pharmaceutical products. Even in the UK where this is supposed to be illegal, the drugs companies still find ways to advertise, albeit through full page ads disguised as articles, or brochures disguised as self help books. Such has been the frequent sales strategy of, for example, Wyeth, for selling Hormonal Replacement Therapy (ref: Martin Walker 'HRT - Licensed to Kill and Maim').This profit oriented industry, having caused these widespread health problems, is not in a hurry to admit the seriousness and consequences of candida overgrowth, quite simply for financial reasons. Since the only rapid and effective therapies are the natural ones, they would be forced to stop recommending their own products.
GENERAL TIPS FOR HEALTH*Start going to health food shops. Buy vegetarian and vegan cook-books and learn to cook healthily. (Authors: Rose Elliot, Sarah Brown, Madhur Jaffrey, Jack Santa Maria).
It doesn't have to be expensive if you cook creatively rather than opting for the pre-prepared packages. If you can have your own organic vegetable garden or greenhouse, then even better.*Learn to enjoy cooking. If it doesn't taste good at first, use your imagination (herbs, spices etc). Experiment until it is delicious. Mediterranean and Oriental cooking are particularly good for grains, vegetables and sea vegetables (also Southern French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Japanese, Thai, Moroccan, West Indian, Chinese, Indian, Vietnamese - the list goes on -).
*Fennel, oregano, basil, coriander, parsley, thyme, mint, herbes de provence, garlic, bay leaves, olive oil, turmeric, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg - all of these are not only wonderful for adding taste to dishes but are also excellent cleansers for the intestines.
*Chinese food supermarkets do have nice cooking materials and seaweed, but watch out for all the pre-packaged food containing monosodium glutamate, sugar and lots of other undesirables.
*Chew your food at least 30 times before swallowing and calm your mind and body while you eat. Saliva is essential for the digestive process. Old habits are difficult to break but do persevere until they change, it's worth it.
*Most people who have jobs have far too little leisure time for it to be possible to develop maximum good health. Other cultures, past and present, have valued, and still value, leisure time spent with family and friends above that spent at work earning money. The Romans only used to work in the mornings. Afternoons and evenings were for pleasure and socialising.
In modern society leisure time is considered less important than time spent at work. How can human beings be completely happy and healthy if they spend their entire lives slaving away at a job they most often don't even like? Job sharing and fewer working hours should be our right.The situation is even more difficult for single parents. Busy mums often feel they don't get a chance even to think about activities other than work and being rushed off their feet, let alone do them.
Changing our lifestyle for ourselves and for our families whilst living a stressful and hectic life is tremendously difficult. Getting support and encouragement whilst making a major change in the family's diet is not always guaranteed. More frequently there is incomprehension or worse still, opposition. Patient explanations and insistence are sometimes necessary. When we get support it is important to show appreciation and to encourage the person to continue.
Mothers often put the wishes of their men and children before their own needs. However, a mother who has neglected her health and is tired and ill has less energy to give to her family so it is in her best interests to lay down a few 'health rules'.For example, smokers, by smoking, are poisoning non-smokers. In many households the smokers have recognised this and are happy to smoke outside or in a special smokers room.
In the same way, it is the right of people who are ill to ask those who are not, to keep unhealthy food and other products away from the house altogether. Most unhealthy food is addictive and difficult to resist. Demanding that the ill person simply develop more self-control is very unfair. A family wishing to help a brother or sister overcome a heroin addiction would never leave heroin lying around the house, nor should they leave sweets, cakes, crisps and other addictive junk food under the nose of a person with an eating disorder or a food allergy problem.
A mother who has a child with an allergy to peanuts will not permit peanuts in the house, whether the other children can eat them or not.
Protecting the mother's health is vital for a healthy family. It is of primary and not of secondary importance.Most children are junk food addicts. Such harmful products should be treated with the same strictness as if they were drugs. Pleasure can be found in other more healthy foods.
*If giving up all the candida-causing foods at the same time is too difficult, then do it in stages. For example: Month one - give up yeast and sugary products. Month two - cow dairy. Month three - meat. And so on.
*Learn one new recipe per week.
*Take up yoga, tai-chi, do-in or other health-promoting practices, sports and physical exercise.
*We spend more time in the bathroom and the kitchen than we realise. Time spent in these two places is in fact very precious because it is here that we take care of ourselves. If our kitchen and bathroom are poky, ugly, cold, lacking in light, ventilation and comfort then time spent in these places will be more of a chore than a pleasure. It is important for the bathroom and kitchen to be places where we want to go. Improvements can be made by installing full spectrum lights where there is insufficient light and by decorating and keeping things very clean, pretty and tidy.
*Sleep-time is of great importance. Our beds need to be comfortable, placed in the right position, clean and made from natural materials. Having an ioniser in the bedroom is an excellent way to keep the air clean and reduces asthma amongst other ailments.
Rebounding three times a day, from thirty seconds to ten minutes each session, is wonderful not only for general fitness and for relieving arthritis and ME, but also for curing insomnia.
Having a good sleep routine creates a solid foundation for our immune system. Getting to bed early and rising early promotes good health.
For breakfast it might be a good idea to consider eating a full meal, like lunch (or brunch). Eating sweet cereals is no longer a possibility for many people on the candida diet and it can be frustrating trying to find something that we want to eat. Breakfast used to be the most important meal of the day and would set people up before going to work.*If your tolerance of sugar is so low that you cannot even eat carrots, fresh corn or small amounts of fruit, then it is important to make up for this loss of sugar taste. Experiment with seasonings and good quality oils. Methods of cooking can also greatly compensate for this gap in your taste range.
However, if your resistance is this low, you may need to consider using other therapies to reduce parasites. Various supplements and devices such as the zapper can help greatly (see Alternative Therapies).
Being addicted to sugar is as great a problem as drug addiction for many people. Keep in mind that there are many ways of giving ourselves pleasure other than with food and stimulants. Stimulating all of our senses is something we tend to neglect when our instincts invariably tell us to binge on chocolate. Having more colour around the house or in our clothing is also a stimulating experience, just as using essential oils is good for increasing our sense of olfactory pleasure.
Fighting hyperglycaemia (when the blood sugar gets out of balance) is a big challenge for the hopelessly addicted. Drinking sweet vegetable drink several times a day can bring relief. To make this add one part finely chopped sweet vegetables to four parts filtered water with a pinch of salt. Simmer for twenty minutes and leave to cool. Drink throughout the day. Use equal amounts of cabbage, onion, pumpkin and carrots.
Other drinks can give us a slightly sweet taste, such as chicory, kobucha tea, camomile, lime blossom and others.
*An old Southern French home remedy for all ills is to boil a grated clove of garlic in a cup of water with two bay leaves for three minutes. Strain and add a little olive oil, salt and pepper.
*If lemon juice doesn't disagree with you then hot water with the juice of half a lemon is sharp but very tasty, especially with a teaspoon of fresh grated ginger. It might be necessary to keep experimenting with various infusions until you find a few that you really like. Mint and verveine are also aromatic and cleansing.
*Eating with chopsticks may seem pretentious if you don't have an Asian upbringing. However, once you've got the hang of it, eating with chopsticks is much more pleasurable than having a large four-pronged piece of metal clanging around the mouth. What's more it slows you down if you tend to eat too fast.
*Remember that giving your health time is an investment for your future. It should be a pleasure and not an austerity. The average person watches too much TV, so it could just be a question of rearranging personal priorities.
*Read. Whether it be the 'Count of Monte Cristo', Harry Potter, the Russian classics, Terry Pratchett, Asterix, teach-yourself- books, gardening, painting, the ecology, music, history or photography. Reading develops our confidence and our ability to communicate. A lot of daily stress is created by an inability to communicate our feelings. Avoiding arguments can sometimes just be a question of choosing the most appropriate vocabulary. Reading and developing a searching spirit can literally be a life-saver.
*Dry-brush your skin daily, before taking your shower, with a natural fibre bath brush. This stimulates the lymphatic system and cleanses the body of toxins, including those that cause the dreaded cellulite. Do the whole body with long sweeping brush strokes, always towards the heart, focusing on the inner arch of the feet, the palms of the hands, the insides of knees and elbows, the inner thighs, the pelvis, the armpits, the neck and the collar bones. This only takes a few minutes but it is difficult to get into the habit, so be prepared to learn perseverance.
If it's too difficult to get into the habit, rebounding is an alternative and fun way to powerfully stimulate the lymphatic system.
*Develop your spiritual life, whether it be meditation, chanting, deepening your religious practice and study or quite simply developing your knowledge of philosophy, taking up painting, music or anything that enriches your life and develops your creativity.
*If you crave meat but want to avoid it for health reasons then try out the various brands of seitan or learn to make it yourself (Kushi Institute). Some shop brands are delicious and some are absolutely uneatable. However, most brands of seitan contain a little soya sauce and some people may have difficulty digesting the gluten.
*Do yoga breathing exercises daily.
*Get lots of fresh air and direct sunlight (without burning yourself) as these two things are what the body needs to rid itself of parasites and harmful bacteria.
*For treating yeast infections (thrush), wash between the legs with a natural soap. Douche with a mild solution of bicarbonate of soda with a couple of drops of tea trea and chamomile essential oils.
If you don't have any supplements try lodging a clove of garlic at the entrance of the vagina (not inside) and keeping it there for a while. This can help reduce the bacteria that cause itching. If this is not effective enough, make shallow slits lengthways along the clove's skin with a knife to make the juice come out a little. This will sting either a little or a lot depending on how much bacteria there are or on how irritated the skin is. Washing with garlic water is also a good disinfectant if the clove of garlic remedy stings too much. Make garlic water by mixing the pulp of one clove of garlic in 7 tablespoons of filtered water and straining it.Tea tree or chamomile essential oils are helpful for cleansing the area of bacteria too but the most important thing is to stop eating the things that are causing the candida bacteria to proliferate in the first place.
*Wear cotton, linen, hemp and other natural fibres. There is even a type of cloth made from nettle fibres.
*Walking, roller-blading and swimming are good forms of exercise. As with all sports take precautions with the quality of your equipment and protection gear. Most swimming pools are full of chemicals, so opt for swimming in the sea or in lakes and rivers that you know are not polluted.
*Some friendships are healthy and some are 'toxic'. 'Emotional pollution' such as one finds in exchanges based only on criticising others can be as bad for our health as junk food. If we are often in a state of scorn, resentment or arbitrary judgement, adrenaline rises in the body. It is better to surround ourselves with people who inspire us and with whom we can easily have a laugh. (Be aware of the difference between laughter and sniggering. The first does you good and the second doesn't.) So choose friends who encourage you, value you and make you feel good. Avoid friends who criticise you a lot or drain your energy.
Optimism promotes health and pessimism destroys it.*Vary food as much as possible. Eating too much of just one thing can cause allergies and deficiencies.
*Keep in mind that although eating organic food may seem more expensive it can actually work out much cheaper because healthy eating reduces chaotic eating habits which can make us overeat.
*Learn to wash and chop vegetables efficiently and quickly. When chopping always keep the fingers and thumb curled inwards at the tips when holding the vegetables in place. Keep the tip of the knife resting gently on the board, the flat side of the blade resting gently against the curled fingers and chop with an even and regular rocking motion. This will become easier and faster with practice, so do persist and don't give in to the temptation to grip the vegetables with the tips of the fingers exposed. Good quality vegetable knives can be purchased via the Internet at the Kushi Institute Store (Massachusetts), and also a lot of useful cooking books. Most macrobiotic recipes can be adapted to the candida diet. One particularly good book is 'Practically Macrobiotic' by Keith Michell.
*Little by little, replace synthetic objects and chemical house-cleaning products, beauty products, clothes and furniture with natural products. This can include making your own body- and house-cleaning detergents. If you use a deodorant crystal make sure it doesn't contain aluminium.*For diarrhoea and stomach cramps, boil a cup or more of white rice in a litre of filtered water for a few minutes until the water becomes white and a little frothy. Sieve and drink the warm liquid until the pain and diarrhoea go. Once again, if you have diarrhoea, you should really think about what you ate earlier or the day before. More often than not it was a candida-causing food or drink.
*If you sometimes get a ball of pain in your solar plexus area which gets worse when you eat or drink, don't eat or drink! (until the pain goes away, or consult a doctor if it doesn't). It could be that the exit from your stomach is in spasm and has closed, causing a ballooning effect of acid and food. Coffee, bread, alcohol, stress and other candida-causing foods are usually responsible for this disorder. Rapid relief can be achieved by doing the following yoga positions: the 'plough' and the shoulder stand. Yoga breathing exercises also help release muscle and nerve spasms. Cayenne can also help reduce the toxins in the gut responsible for this problem.
*For constipation, eat lots of fresh veggies every day, especially leafy greens. Psyllium Husks left to soak in water become an unappetising jelly with what appears to be frogspawn in it. If you don't have the courage to swallow this then take it in capsule form. Chlorella and spirulina also help relieve most bowel problems.
Rebounding and yoga are also good for correcting constipation.
*Overcoming squeamishness is an essential part of getting well. Start classifying your bowel movements on a scale from 1 to 10. We could call this 'Stool Management'. Anything looking like chocolate mousse, or worse still, like machine distributed coffee, classifies as 1 or 0. What you should aim for is a number 10 which should resemble an excellent Havana cigar! In Holland the toilets are designed so that what has just come out of the body can be observed. We may find this revolting but it is in fact very wise.
Aim for three good bowel movements a day, or at least one. Regular bowel movements are the best way of preventing toxic build-up.Starting the day with diarrhoea or constipation can make us moody for two reasons: one, because our health is out of kilter, two, because it's just a bad way to start the day. Beginning the day with a good, healthy bowel movement makes us happier than one would realise. This is because even if our conscious mind chooses not to look at the issue, the unconscious never fails to. It is an instinct that goes deeper than social taboo.
If you have had a depression during the day, or a fit of anger, it's worth asking yourself if you had a good bowel movement that morning or if you have been feeling particularly tired. When we are feeling down we can often make the mistake of thinking that it's because of exterior events or because of other people. Worse still, we can totally blame ourselves and think there is something wrong with us mentally or emotionally. Maybe there is truth in what we are thinking, but usually, in a depression, our ability to judge clearly is diminished. We tend to see everything negatively. Nothing is good. Blaming others or ourselves is usually not the best way to deal with our darker feelings. First we have to admit that we are in a depression in the first place, rather than mulling over dark thoughts. Secondly we need to find the cause. Is it physical or spiritual? Often, it is physical. Hence the importance of keeping an eye on our general health by observing our weight, our skin, our smell and our 'excretions'! It takes a lot out of the guilt if, when we've had a 'heebie-jeebie', we realise that it is not because we are 'a bad person' but because we are physically not in very good shape.Important Disclaimer:
The aim of this website is to inform people. It is not a substitute for professional medical advice.
mandato da Robin Good il Saturday September 11 2004
aggiornato il Wednesday September 27 2006URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/emma_holister/2004/09/11/candida_an_introduction.htm
Related ArticlesAlternative Therapies - An Introduction
It is not recommended to impulsively abandon your doctor (unless you suspect him or her of being a demented chemicals pusher). Finding a doctor who is open-minded and willing to support you with your diet and your developing interest in alternative therapy would be ideal (although you may have a job finding one). Be cautious and try to be discerning. For example, in France the medical establishment has seemingly introduced... [continua a leggere]
October 13, 2004 - Robin GoodHEALING THROUGH DIET
The most effective and rapid way to recover from the symptoms of candida overgrowth is to change one's diet. Opinion varies, but on the whole the following should prove helpful. You will find that painstakingly reading the ingredients of everything you buy becomes essential. If your heart sinks on reading the recommendations it could be that you are addicted to certain foods. The general rule is that if you are... [continua a leggere]
September 12, 2004 - Robin Good
 |
||
|
"Art does not reproduce the visible; rather, it makes visible." Paul Klee 1879-1940 |
|
|
||
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Medical Disclaimer: The information on this site is not a substitute for medical advice.
