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Understanding Candida
What is Candida?
Candida (Candida Albicans) is a kind of yeast, a fungus and a microorganism that is present in every human body. It lives mainly in the mucous membranes of the mouth, intestinal tract, digestive tract, vagina and other areas in bodies. There is no difference if you are man, woman or child. In normal circumstances, Candida is normally kept under control by good health and probiotics, lives in a symbiotic relationship with human.
Is the “Yeast Infection” mean Candida infection?
Generally, yeast infection is always perceived as Candida vaginitis. However, almost all the yeast infections are Candida related. Although the majority of yeast infection is Candida related, yeast other than Candida could still cause infection in some specific part in our body. In example of tinea unguium, 60.5% patients in subtropical area were caused by dermatophytes, where only 31.5% patients were caused by Candida1. On the contrary, most of the yeast related vaginitis is cause by Candida.
1 Chi CC, Wang SH, Chou MC. The causative pathogens of onychomycosis in southern Taiwan. Mycoses 2005; 48: 413–20.
Why do we pay special attention to Candida infection as not all the yeast infections are Candida related?
Other yeast infections are mostly occurred on the body surface, these infections often can be cured by simple treatment. Yet since the presence of Candida is inside the body, routine household cleaning method cannot remove pathogen effectively, the use of antibiotics only encourage Candida to grow. In addition, the similarities of symptoms between Candida infection and other illnesses, the limitation on swab test which can only evaluate the Candida infection locally, finally the Candida overgrowth in the body keep colonize to other body part in the stage of be ignores.
Why will Candida overgrow?
Under normal circumstances, Candida symbiosis with the body and does not affect human health. Yet some habits could increase the risk of Candida overgrowing. If there are factors promoting the Candida overgrowth and the body is immunocompromised, Candida overgrow is very likely to appear. Listed diagram are some of the risk factors
How will Candida overgrowth affect our body?
The manifestations of Candida overgrowth are hard to detect because these symptoms are similar to other illnesses, making issue of Candida overgrowth be easily ignored. Obvious symptoms such thrush and vaginitis will appear when Candida have sufficient time to overgrow. Yet the core of Candida overgrowth is being ignored while the surface candida infection is cured, leading a new round of infection. Some common symptoms of Candida overgrowth including but not limited to
| Skin |
Digestive System |
Cognitive & Psychological |
Head & Neck |
Other |
| Acnes, Skin Rashes, Onychomycosis |
Irritable Bowel Syndrome(IBS), Diarrhea, Constipation, Bloating |
Chronic Fatigues, Anxiety, Depression, Attention deficit, Irritability, Premenstrual tension, Attention deficit |
Oral thrush, Headaches, Recurrent sore throats, nasal congestion or ear infection |
Vaginitis, Urinary tract infections, Athlete’s foot, Heart palpitation, Delayed food allergy, Sexual dysfunction, Sweet craving |
First of all, the toxins are the metabolite produced by Candida. These toxins destroy cell membranes and enzymes. When red blood cell is affected, blood flow in capillaries and oxygen carrying ability impede; when it is white blood cell, our body’s ability to fight against infection is reduced; When involved in thyroid hormone, weaken the metabolic capacity that led to body temperature drops, unable to tolerate cold and lead to fatigue. When the toxins destroy the enzymes, the body function slows down.
Gut is a major place for Candida to inhabit. When Candida started to grow in Gut, the strains will grow and penetrate intestinal mucosa, making it more permeable. “Leaky Gut” is formed when the wrong molecules (i.e. Large protein molecules, toxins and food allergens) pass though the mucous membrane. When these molecules are absorbed into bloodstream, the short term effect will lead to daily digestive problems and food allergies; the long term effect will lead to indigestion and malabsorption, causing unnecessary stimulation to the immune system.
In conclusion, besides the overgrowth which excretes toxins to harm the body, the penetrating strain also will spread spores thorough blood stream to colonize other body parts, hence to impact the overall health.
If you experience symptoms similar to Candida overgrowth, you could use the questionnaire, inspired by “The Yeast Connection Handbook”, the hallmark publication on Candida Overgrowth to evaluate the possibility of having Candida overgrown, and use our test to root the source of the health problem!
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Food Allergy Test
Toxins excreted by Candida