Candida

What is Candida?

Candidiasis, commonly known as Candida is a yeast overgrowth within the body. Candida, is related to the mould family, a fungus that is found almost everywhere within our environment. The relative of the fungus, Candida Albicans, is known to live in mucous membranes, such as ears, eyes, bladder, intestines, lungs, stomach and vagina, and it is easily recognised as a white/white yellow coating on the tongue.

We have trillions of friendly organisms, usefully serving their purpose in the body by effectively identifying and destroying harmful bacteria. Here under healthy conditions, Candida is kept under control by friendly bacteria and by the body's immune defences collectively, however under stressful situations or poor lifestyle choices, Candida can easily take control and overgrow causing catastrophic health issues.

There is a vast array of symptoms associated with Candida, far too many to mention, however some of the most common being:

• Fatigue and chronic fatigue syndrome or a feeling of being drained of energy, lethargy, drowsiness.
• Vaginitis and unusual odours.
• Vaginal itching or thrush, burning or redness.
• Fungal infections of the skin or nails.
• Cystitis.
• PMS.
• Allergies, sensitivities, and food intolerance.
• Symptoms that worsen in damp and/or mouldy places.
• Aggravated by weather that is damp and muggy.
• Hay fever.
• Asthma.
• Sensitivities to perfume, cats, dogs or other animals, tobacco smoke, fumes, moulds, dust mites, pollen, and other airborne substances.
• Athlete's foot.
• Cravings for sugar, bread, pasta and alcohol.
• IBS, diarrhoea, constipation, abdominal distention, bloating and mucus in the stools
• Hiatus hernia, ulcers, suffering from bacteria, e.g., E. coli, Helicobacter pylori, etc.
• Tinnitus, ear infections, dryness, itchiness, ear discharges and abnormal wax build-up.
• Scum on the scalp, dandruff, itchy scalp, scalp sores and dryness.
• Headaches, migraines, brain fog, dizziness, etc.
• Rectal itching, rash, irritation and redness.
• Diabetes.
• Hypo/hyperthyroidism and erratic thyroid function.
• Irritability, nervousness and panic attacks.
• Jock itch.
• Never recovering from Epstein Barr.
• Infertility, loss of sex drive
• Lack of appetite.
• Depression and mood swings.
• Mouth sores or blisters, dryness, bad breath.
• A white coating on the tongue (thrush).
• Muscle aches and fibromyalgia.
• Sinus inflammation, swelling and infections.
• Skin eruptions.
• Acid reflux.
• Insomnia and restless sleep.
• Throat infections.

If you are suffering from any of these symptoms and suspect you may have Candida, please contact us.

Here at Nutrition to Go, we have conclusive means of testing for Candida, by means of a consultation, followed by an environment and food sensitivity testing. You can however get a good idea of what is going on by doing a simple test at home by trying the following:

First thing in the morning, before eating, drinking or cleaning your teeth, fill a clear and see through glass with bottled water that has been standing in room temperature.

After working up a bit of saliva, (this may take a bit of time as your mouth will be dry), spit it into the glass of water.

Check the water every 15 minutes or so for up to one hour to see the reaction of your saliva and how your saliva develops (see diagram below).

If you see strings/fibres (like legs) travelling down from the surface of the water, you may have a Candida problem. Other results such as suspended cloudy specks (particles suspended in the water) or cloudy saliva that sinks to the bottom of the glass, also suggests you may have a Candida problem.

How to overcome symptoms and tackle Candida

As well as taking a full consultation with us, an environmental and food intolerance test will be offered by one of our qualified health practitioners; this will help us identify the underlying cause of disease.

Here at Nutrition to Go, we offer tailored nutrition and lifestyle advice as well as prescribing herbs and supplements to help reduce Candida symptoms.

Lifestyle and diet changes are essential steps when trying to eradicate Candida, alongside these changes, supplements such as Candida Clear, and 8 Strain Multiflora Max are two of our most popular and effective products. A one to one consultation will identify any other steps that may need to be taken, where other avenues will be explored and a tailored plan will be put into place.

For other products which can help with Candida see https://nutritiontogo.org/collections/candida