Determining If You Have a Yeast Infection
Candida often becomes one of those "catch-all" diagnosis. Many people think they have yeast overgrowth even though they have done extensive yeast cleanses. Here is a little quiz to help you determine if yeast overgrowth may be contributing to your health problems.If your answer "yes" to five or more questions you may have a problem with yeast overgrowth. However, many of these symptoms may also be signs of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO).
• Do you generally feel fatigued or have low energy?
• Do you experience food sensitivities or food allergies?
• Do you have nail fungus, athlete's foot or jock itch?
• Do you have recurrent vaginal yeast infections?
• Have you taken broad spectrum antibiotics?
• Do you crave sugar or sweets (candy, soda pop, etc.)?
• Do you often have gas, bloating or indigestion?
• Do you crave refined white flour (bread, pasta, baked goods)?
• Have you been on birth control pills for 6 months or more
• Do you experience brain fog, mental confusion or mental fatigue?
If you do appear to have a problem with yeast overgrowth, here are four steps to getting it under control.
1. Modify the Diet to Stop Feeding the Yeast
The first, and most important, step in eliminating yeast overgrowth is to stop feeding the yeast. Yeast love carbohydrates, especially simple sugars. So, you need to get all simple carbohydrates out of the diet for a period of time. For two to four weeks eliminate all simple sugars and refined grain products from your diet. Simple sugars include table sugar (or sucrose), glucose, fructose, corn syrup and even natural sugars like honey, brown sugar and fruit juices.Refined grain products include white flour, white rice, corn chips and breakfast cereals. You're going to have to read labels carefully to do this because sugars and refined grains are added to most prepackaged foods.
It is also important to avoid alcohol because it is also converted to sugar in the body. In fact, if your problem is severe, you may wish to avoid even whole grains, most fruit and starchy foods like potatoes for at least the first two weeks.
It is also a good idea to avoid foods that contain yeast or mold, such as bread, beer, aged cheeses and so forth. Many experts also recommend avoiding pickled and fermented foods and vinegar. These foods don't cause yeast overgrowth, but eliminating them for a period of time seems to help get yeast under control.
Eat a Low glycemic diet and include some good fats in your diet. A particularly good fat for fighting candida is coconut oil because it contains a medium chain saturated fatty acid called caprylic acid that helps control yeast.
2. Improve General Digestive and Intestinal Health
Yeast get out of control when the environment becomes conducive to their growth. So, if we want to get them back under control, we need to change the environment of the digestive tract. Normally, the hydrochloric acid and enzymes found in our stomach help keep these microbes in check. These can be stimulated by taking Digestive Bitters 15-20 minutes before meals. It will also help to relieve the gas and bloating common in people with yeast overgrowth.Also consider taking Proactazyme or Food Enzymes with meals. Taking High Potency Protease between meals will also help to regulate digestive microbes.
Yeast overgrowth is often accompanied by intestinal inflammation and leaky gut syndrome. You may want to check out remedies to bring these problems under control.
3. Use Antifungal Agents to Reduce Yeast Overgrowth
After cutting off the yeast's food supply and altering the digestive environment to make it unfriendly for yeast growth, we can knock it down using antifungal herbs and supplements. A convenient way to do this is with the Candida Clear pack. This is a great prepackaged program for controlling yeast overgrowth. Other options include taking Pau d'Arco in capsules or tea form, taking Yeast/ Fungal Detox by itself and/or using Silver Shield.Essential Oils are also powerful allies in dealing with yeast infections. Antifungal essential oils include tea tree, lavender, thyme, clove, and oregano. These can be used in baths, diffused into the room or taken internally in one drop doses per day for no more than one to two weeks.