Yeast is not only all around us – it’s in us too. We all have some yeasts, and some fermentation in the gut, usually confined to small amounts in the colon. We also eat yeast, most commonly baker’s yeast, in breads and bakery products, and in brewer’s yeast in beers. However, there are natural yeasts in fruit that are employed to ferment wine. One in five people are yeast allergic so, overall, you are likely to feel better have less yeasted breads and drinks.
One of the most common gut infections of all is an overgrowth of a kind of yeast called Candida albicans. The infection is technically called candidiasis. This is what is meant by a yeast infection. The name Candida albicans means ‘sweet and white’, suggesting something delicate and pure but in reality Candida albicans is a minute microbe, a yeast, which multiplies, migrates and releases toxins. All of us have some Candida present as part of a normal balanced gut ecology. However, when it overgrows, it can afflict us with countless symptoms, both physical and mental - bowel problems, allergies, extreme fatigue, hormone dysfunction, skin complaints, joint and muscle pain, thrush, infections and emotional disorders - many of which mimic other diseases and are frequently misdiagnosed.
Candida overgrowth occurs when we feed it the food it loves the most: refined sugar and other refined carbohydrates. In addition, antibiotic use wipes out friendly bacteria in the gut, leaving the way clear for Candida to proliferate; steroid drugs and hormone treatments depress the immune system so that it cannot keep Candida levels under control; and lack of breast feeding ensures an early imbalance in gut ecology.
The Candida Questionnaire - How do you score?
The Anti-Candida regime:
1. Diet
2. Immune-boosting supplement programme
3. Anti-fungal supplements
4. Probiotics
Dealing with die-off
Answers to these questions & more are available to 100% Health Club Members
