Natural Candida Cleanse for Addressing a Modern Epidemic

A natural candida cleanse is the easiest lifestyle change you can make for beating a yeast infection. And it’s equally important for men as it is for women.

Images by Alicia Harper and OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

Why Women AND Men?

The breakthrough book, The Yeast Connection: A Medical Breakthrough by William G. Crook, MD, explained for the first time how yeast infections harm men and women. Prior to that time, a yeast infection was (and frequently still is) thought to be a ‘woman’s problem’.

In fact, the most common view is still that it’s just vaginal itching and irritation.

Yet it now occupies the unenviable position as an epidemic affecting both genders.

This means it’s a body-wide problem, from your head to your toes.

Do You Have a Yeast Infection?

Although some symptoms are more obvious than others, sometimes it’s a bit of a challenge to figure out if you even have yeast overgrowth.

If you’re not sure, then you may want to complete a questionnaire I modified from Dr. Crook’s book. I’ve uploaded it in pdf format so you can get it easily, print it out if you wish, and see where you stand.

Download it here: CANDIDA QUESTIONNAIRE.

Go ahead and get it for your own use. You may be surprised at the results.

How Serious is It?

Let’s get right to the point: yeast overgrowth (aka, candidiasis) can happen anywhere in your body once it escapes your GI tract.

As it’s running wild throughout your body, it either causes or makes worse a long list of health problems, including:

• depression
• skin and nail infections
• sinus infections
• anxiety
• irritability
• fatigue
• heartburn
• bloating
• constipation
• mental fog
• allergies
• migraines
• acne
• rheumatoid arthritis
• lupus
• multiple sclerosis
• type 1 diabetes
• cancer
• cardiovascular disease

Although this seems to be a long list of health problems, it’s still incomplete. Indeed, some doctors are finally recognizing many of today’s chronic health problems that defy diagnosis and treatment are associated with candidiasis.

How can one organism cause so much damage?

Understanding a bit about where it comes from and how it does harm is a good start for figuring out what to do about it.

Candida Overview

The type of yeasts that we host in our GI tracts are collectively called candida, even though several species come under this umbrella name. The main culprit, however, is one particular species, which has the scientific name Candida albicans. The natural role of candida seems to be as a parasite, meaning an organism that offers no benefit to its host.

In the “good old days” yeast infections were considered to be an occasional problem for women, causing vaginal itching and irritation. In addition, yeast infections were found to cause considerable pain in the breasts of lactating women.

Young children also suffered from yeast overgrowth, which shows up as white patches on the tongue in a condition called thrush.

Men came into the picture when yeast was named as the culprit for an itchy rash appearing in the inner thigh areas.

Yeast infections like these are termed “local” when they’re isolated to one area of the body. Local infections are well-known and easily treated.

Local yeast infections seem to be a relatively minor nuisance in a health landscape plagued with the abundance of diseases we’re faced with these days. What’s a little itchiness here and there in comparison with cancer or cardiovascular disease?

The more serious health problems linked to yeast overgrowth are whole-body infections. These occur when yeast escapes the GI tract and spreads throughout the body.

Whole-body infections arise when we lose the internal battle to keep candida under control.

A chronic candida bloom will eventually damage the intestinal lining, which then loses its effectiveness as a defensive barrier against toxins and infectious microbes.

The medical term for this condition is “leaky gut syndrome” — which just means that harmful chemicals and microbes can get through our gut wall and into our bloodstream, where can do harm. See my earlier post on this topic here: Herbs To Heal Leaky Gut.

Leaky gut is an epidemic unto itself, and candida yeast is a primary driver behind it.

Many factors contribute to this issue, which I outline below.

Are You Living a Yeast-Promoting Lifestyle?

Understanding what you might be doing that leads to yeast overgrowth is crucial. Once you get that, it gives you options for making changes.

Some of the key factors behind candidiasis include the following:

Yeast-Promoting Diet

One of the most common mistakes to make in your diet for promoting yeast growth is eating lots of sugar or refined carbohydrates.

Sweetened beverages also contribute heavily.

Packaged and processed foods are especially ‘promotional’ since they’re typically so nutriient-depleted.

Dairy, including mainly milk and cheeses, often adds ‘moldiness’ to your diet, which promotes yeast.

Alcoholic beverages do their damage by suppressing normal gut bacteria.

Broad Spectrum Antibiotics

A side effect of antibiotics is killing off your friendly gut bacteria. Suppressing your beneficial gut microbes creates a breeding ground for candida.

Birth Control Pills

The use of such contraceptive drugs amplifies the negative effects of poor dietary choices and antibiotic use.

Diabetes

Since candida feeds on sugar, a poorly controlled sugar metabolism makes ‘yeast fuel’ more abundant.

This is why diabetics are more susceptible to candida overgrowth.

Addressing sugar metabolism gone awry isn’t just about poor use of blood glucose. It’s also about not feeding candida.

Cancer Treatments

Candidiasis can become even more invasive in cancer patients as they undergo treatment. This includes chemotherapy and radiation, both of which can kill off the friendly bacteria we depend on for to fight candida naturally.

Suppressed Immunity

Immunosuppression can occur due to steroid drugs, poor nutrition, and inflammatory conditions such as HIV/AIDS and autoimmune disorders.

Although changing some of these factors seems daunting, at least adopting a more nutritious diet is easily doable. I’ll have more to say about that below.

Can You Kill Candida?

Sure. A flamethrower would do the job. Drugs, too.

A better question is, can you suppress yeast overgrowth without harming yourself?

So even if you want to kill candida, doing so isn’t really a good option.

However, controlling it naturally is.

The post I cited above explains how to get help against leaky gut with herbs. That’s a good beginning.

Strategies for Controlling Candida

The main topic of this post is about doing a candida gut cleanse. It’s the best way to get all the benefits possible from a natural candida cleanse.

Doing a Candida Gut Cleanse

A natural candida cleanse sets the stage for following a yeast-control diet, which I’ll discuss shortly.

A candida cleanse consist of two options.

1. Liquids-Only Cleanse

• onions
• celery
• kale
• garlic
• sea salt

1. Whole Veggie Cleanse

Following a Candida Diet

A candida diet is the next step after doing a natural candida cleanse.

Some of the following dietary recommendations should be starting to look obvious to you by now.

• Boost immunity by eliminating sugary foods and beverages, refined carbohydrates, and the consumption of alcohol.
• You can now open your food choices to many organic veggies, including all types of greens and even those starchy veggies you avoided while cleansing. Include squashes, potatoes, yams, and beans.
• Avoid cereal grains (e.g., wheat, rice, corn, sorghum, millets, oats, barley, and triticale). You can instead consume non-cereal grains such as such as quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth.
• Limit cold foods. Your leaky gut will heal better from warm foods.
• At least at the beginning, go lighter on starchy foods, especially if you notice feeling poorly after consuming them. Instead of eating starch storage organs, focus on veggies from leaves (lettuce, spinach, cabbage), flowering parts (cauliflower, broccoli), and non-sweet fruits (peppers, tomatoes).
• Keep consumption sweet fruits and natural sweeteners (maple syrup, honey, agave syrup) low.
• Add cultured foods. Unsweetened yogurt and fermented veggies (sauerkraut, kimchi) are at the top of the list. If you buy fermented veggies, make sure they’re in the refrigerated sections and clearly state on the label that they contain live bacterial cultures. Those cultures will help keep your candida-fighting gut bacteria in balance.
• If you crave fruit juices, one of the best ones for fighting candida is the highly acidic cranberry juice. Just make sure it’s unsweetened.
• Plenty of organic, cold-pressed coconut oil. The fatty acids in coconut oil have direct anti-fungal effects that can kill candida naturally. It’s excellent as a cooking oil, much better than commercial vegetable oils, which are horrible for you in many ways (see: Vegetable Oils That Cause Inflammation). Coconut oil also works on the skin for treating local yeast infections.
• Any pasture-raised meat, cage-free poultry, or wild-caught seafood.
• Beverages: plenty of water, of course. Also drink only unsweetened coffee, herbal teas, or plain club soda.
• Garlic, garlic, and more garlic. Fresh garlic is one of the most powerful veggies in your pantry. Tasty, too!

You can certainly live well on that kind of tasty diet. Controlling yeast overgrowth is a bonus.

What About Supplements?

Without overloading you on supplement recommendations, I’ll just recommend the two supplements at the top the list. These are great candida-fighting starters.

The best anti-candida supplement is probiotics. This is a bacterial supplement for adding extra power to your innate yeast-fighting gut bacteria.

The key is getting a product with a high enough dose and diversity of strains to work well. Many such products are on the market. One I’d recommend is here.

The second is essential oils. Of the several I’ve evaluated, oregano is the most powerful. Add a few drops to a tablespoon of coconut oil (or its concentrated form, MCT oil). This is an excellent brand here.

Alternatively, you can also take oregano oil capsules for more convenience, such as this one here:

Finally, Watch Out for Candida Die-Off Symptoms

Depending on how far down the candidiasis road you’ve gone, you may experience ‘flu-like’ symptoms due to yeast die-off.

Symptoms may include:

• Aches and chills
• Brain fog and/or headache
• Headache
• Bloating, gas, constipation, or nausea
• Fatigue
• Fever and sweating
• Skin rashes
• Insomnia

Take heart, though. These are symptoms arising as you chase your candidiasis away. As such, they’re temporary.

They usually clear up in 3–10 days.

After that, you can finally enjoy the candida-free life you want. Good energy. Great focus. Excellent sleep. Overall feeling of wellness.

References

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