Candida part 2 – How to get rid of a Candida infection naturally

In part 1, I explained what Candida is and how you can tell if you have an infection, not just in the gut but across your body, because Candida is capable of burrowing holes through your intestinal tract and entering your blood stream.

There are foods to eat and avoid, and herbs you can take to naturally get rid of an infection. But it isn’t necessarily that simple and there are some things to be mindful of.

Most importantly, a candida infection means the environment in your gut has become so imbalanced that it’s become a welcoming place for pathogens to proliferate, including Candida, but most likely also unwelcome bacteria, parasites and even viruses. Even good gut bacteria can overgrow under certain conditions meaning that other important ones are crowded out.

But before you go trying to clear everything out, be aware that if you have heavy metal toxicity – which is not uncommon these days given mercury fillings, air pollution, vaccines and tap water – your body can promote a candida overgrowth to help cushion its impact on your health. You see, Candida loves heavy metals and holds onto them.

What this means is that if you get rid of the candida, you don’t want to release heavy metals into your body without having daily bowel movements to expel them quickly, a healthy liver and kidneys to help process them, and taking an appropriate binder to help capture and carry them out of your body.

If your candida is recurring, you could consider heavy metal testing to assess whether you do have toxicity.

Here are some key things you can do to help eradicate Candida

1. Starve the Candida by going on an anti-fungal diet. This means cutting out all sugars and refined carbs, anything fermented like alcohol or kombucha, and mushrooms; and limiting vegetable starches and fruit. These are all foods that Candida thrives on

2. Deal with any digestive issues that have allowed the Candida to proliferate. This includes healing digestion from north to south i.e. resolving low stomach acid and digestive enzymes; supporting liver and gallbladder health; healing the small and large intestines; eating to boost your good gut bugs and crowd out the bad; killing off pathogens; and reducing long-term stress, a disaster for gut health. Stool testing can give you a complete picture of what’s going on in your digestive system so your protocol can be appropriately targeted

3. Take anti-microbial herbs to naturally kill off the Candida. This can be part of a comprehensive protocol to also kill off other gut infections. Taking a binder can be important so you don’t reabsorb any toxins released with die off

4. Drink apple cider vinegar mixed with warm water and/or water with a pinch of natural salt to alter your body’s internal environment making it less friendly for candida. If you react to this, you may need to do some gut healing first

5. Strengthen your immune system to help fight off yeast infections. This can be done by avoiding inflammatory foods like sugar and refined carbs, alcohol and anything you react to; exercising moderately; managing stress through relaxation, meditation or yoga etc.; healing your gut as per above; supporting your liver because Candida can damage the liver leading to poor immune function; and supplementing with key nutrients like Vitamin D3 where warranted

6. Consider doing heavy metal testing and going on an appropriate protocol, which is usually safer when managed by a professional. Heavy metal toxicity can be dangerous, particularly to your brain