Candida Part 1: How do you know if you have an infection?
What is Candida?
Candida or Candida Albicans is a fungal yeast that occurs naturally in your body, specifically in your mouth, intestinal tract, genitals and possibly your skin and other mucous membranes. It performs important functions like fermenting fibres that your body is not able to digest, providing nutrients for your gut.
But this fungal yeast can grow out of balance and cause all sorts of health problems. It’s not normally a single infection, but rather the result of other imbalances and infections.
Signs and symptoms of a candida overgrowth (infection) include
fatigue and low energy
sugar cravings
bad breath
digestive issues (gas and bloating are typical, but also constipation and diarrhoea)
a white coating on all or part of the tongue (this is classic)
brain fog
thrush (oral and vaginal)
recurrent urinary tract infections
hormone imbalances
joint pain
a loss of sex drive
ongoing sinus and allergy issues
immune weakness
To summarise, when your good gut bacteria become compromised by any of the below factors, candida can grow like a weed.
Dietary, lifestyle and environmental factors that can lead to a candida overgrowth
prolonged antibiotic and drug usage
smoking
chronic stress
diabetes
oral corticosteroids (hormones)
hormone replacement therapy (HRT)
the contraceptive pill
alcohol
antacids and proton pump inhibitors (PPIs)
weakened immunity
a diet high in sugar and refined carbs
lack of quality sleep
excess heavy metals e.g. mercury fillings
loss of good and diverse gut bacteria
mouldy environment
drinking fluoride and chlorine
Candida Albicans release 70 different toxins when it’s alive and when it’s dying off (!), including importantly
Acetaldehyde – Similar to the carbon dioxide, it can lead to oxidative stress and inflammation
Gliotoxin – Suppresses the immune system and kills key immune cells. It also destroys liver cells, impairing the liver’s ability to deactivate toxins. A weak liver further reduces immunity and promotes a auto-immunity
How can you tell if you have candida?
I’ve recently realised that I have candida overgrowth in my liver, which I’m telling you about because of how tricky this infection can be. For a long time I’ve been looking for the cause of my residual systemic inflammation and immune issues post mouldy house. When my belly looked like I was 6 months pregnant after not eating much at all, it dawned on me that I could have candida. Other than that I don’t have many specific signs or symptoms, just a bit of a white coating on the very back of my tongue and an inability to lose weight along with having sugar cravings. I’d done stool testing which was negative, but as you’ll read below, this isn’t an accurate way to gauge. After just a day of my candida diet and protocol, I’m already feeling and looking better! Your body wants to heal if only help it to do so.
As I mentioned above, stool testing is inaccurate as candida dies when exposed to oxygen. If it does show up on a stool test, you can be confident you have a bad infection. A more precise method is the OAT test (organic acid test)
I also use a questionnaire for my clients that rates the probability of candida according to 3 separate lists of signs and symptoms. It’s never failed to detect it yet
But you can also do this saliva test as an indicator (from Dr Jockers). But ensure that you’re properly hydrated and haven’t eaten dairy in the last day or two as this can cause a positive result
Drink – Drink at least half to one litre of water when you wake up in the morning. Before eating, fill a clear glass with room temperature bottled or filtered water
Spit – Work up a bit of saliva and spit it into the glass of water
Observe – Check the water every 15 minutes or so for up to an hour, watching any movement or change
Your saliva should stay at the top in a cohesive blob
If you see strings or fibres dropping down, cloudy specks that are suspended, or cloudy saliva that sinks to the bottom of the glass, you have a candida problem
In Part 2 I’ll be talking about what you can do to get rid of a candida infection naturally.