What is Candida Overgrowth?

By Josephine Goffe-Gardner, RN, ND
 

Candida is a form of fungus (yeast) which lives naturally in the digestive tract and is also normally found in the vagina and on the skin.  Candida yeast is part of our body’s natural flora, this means that it is one of the many naturally occurring bacteria and yeast found in various parts of our body.  Our skin, oral cavity, ear canal and our digestive tract are just some of our body’s tissue that harbors Candida.

Overgrowth of Candida yeast occurs when our system becomes imbalanced due to: taking birth control pills, and steroid hormones, with nutritional deficiencies, and repeated antibiotic use that destroy the intestinal bacteria.  This can occur when antibiotics are not taken as prescribed by your doctor.  Candida yeast overgrowth can also occur due to over-consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates.

The toxins created by the yeast can enter the blood stream through the colon wall causing the walls to become porous. These toxins can cause symptoms in various systems of the body including: digestive, endocrine, immune, urinary, nervous, and skin.

Candida yeast lives and thrives in dark, warm, moist environment.  It is a single-cell micro-organism which develops feeding tubes called hyphae. These hyphae grow directly into the intestinal walls causing them to penetrate the intestinal mucosa walls and allow toxins and undigested proteins and carbohydrates to flow through the colon wall to the blood stream.  This phenomenon is known as leaky gut syndrome.

Some of the early symptoms of Overgrowth of Candida yeast are: abdominal bloating, chronic fatigue, constipation and/or diarrhea, menstrual cycle disturbance, and chronic respiratory congestion.

Treatment for Candida yeast must include herbal and fiber colon cleanse and also colon hydrotherapy.  Colon hydrotherapy is a safe and very effective method of cleansing the colon of accumulated wastes and toxins.  Dietary changes must include eliminating all fruit and juice juices, sugar, honey, fructose, maple syrup, bovine dairy products, soy sauce, mushrooms, yeast-based breads and baked goods and peanuts.

Limited consumption of carbohydrate foods such as rice, paste and breads to three to four servings daily is allowed. Therefore do not exceed daily recommendation of one slice of bread and half cup of rice or paste. 

Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of water per day.  This is one of the essentials in eradicating the Candida yeast.

You will need to assist your digestion, absorption and elimination with digestive enzymes.  Include daily fiber supplement; also schedule periodic colon fiber cleanse along with colon hydrotherapy sessions.  Probiotic, which has Bifidobacteria bifidum and Lactobacillius acidophilus are normally found in the digestive tract will assist in returning balance to the digestive tract.

Josephine Goffe-Gardner is a Naturopath and Colon Hydrotherapy. Her specialty is Nutritional Counseling, Colon Hydrotherapy, Energy work and Breath work. For appointment, call 314-821-9222. 11730 Manchester Rd., St. Louis, MO 63131.  Visit the website for additional information regarding Colon Hydrotherapy. www.solutionstowellness.com