Candida 101

[Pat Robinson]

• Candida Alternatives
• Probiotic Selection
• The Beet Test
• 14 Steps for Healthy Guts
• Healthy Poop 101
• Where do I begin...?
  
  

Candida (Yeast) is a late sign of impaired gut health.

Candida is associated with craving simple carbs (white foods--pasta, bread, rice, and all sugars) which feed the yeast. Candida develops for many reasons. Basically, it is a 'helper' attempting to create balance in the gut, generally due to antibiotics, preservatives, heavy metal toxins and sterile foods.

We can make candida infections obsolete and unnecessary by rebalancing gut microbials. Antibiotics for mother or baby during pregnancy and birth are the most common sources of microbial imbalance leading to candida in children (and mother). The mother's exposures to mercury through (silver) amalgam fillings and vaccinations herself, and HER mother's mercury toxin exposures are other variables leading to candida overgrowth.

Our foods have "preservatives", which means chemicals that retard microbial and bacterial growth in the food product. Live foods have enzymes and microbials and spoil. If a food doesn't spoil at room temperature within a week, it has preservatives, essentially.

Our gut, which is 70-80% of our immune system has 500-1000 different types of microbials. Preservatives and sterile "pasteurized" foods provide anti-microbials and offer no microbials to recolonize the gut's supply. Without balanced gut microbials the immune system is impaired.

So, that all sounds scary. But, there are many easy and delicious ways to rebalance the gut microbials and add beneficial bacteria and yeasts in our foods. We'll talk a lot about whole food probiotics and various ways to offer them to our family. The absolute easiest and most beneficial is water kefir, in my experience.

Water kefir is a colony of beneficial microbials which help to resupply and recolonize the gut microbials. Water kefir is as easy to make as lemonade and tastes similar. Sorta like lemon cider. You only need 1 teaspoon to receive HUGE microbial benefits. I just add it to juice of any type and it is not noticeable in flavor. It can be added to any smoothie or other drink, or salad dressings also. Heat kills the probiotics.

Here are instructions for making water kefir, including photos and YouTube video:
http://heal-thyself.ning.com/group/sharingstartercultures/forum/topics/water-kef\
ir-quest

"Cultures for Health" sells the water kefir grains for about $15 for a lifetime supply. http://www.culturesforhealth.com/splash.php

They reproduce easily and we just share them with friends all the time. You can ask on our Sharing Cultures forum on Heal Thyself. There are many mamas willing to share probiotic starters. If you live near someone with kefir grains, you could get the starter locally. That was how I originally received my kefir grains.
http://heal-thyself.ning.com/group/sharingstartercultures/forum/topics/water-kef\
ir-quest

Preservatives in foods, pasteurized foods and antimicrobial products are three other huge issues!

Oh, and antibiotics...

 

The more you 'kill off' the more 'die-off' toxins which must be excreted. The skin (mucus membranes) are a detox pathway.

Basically, our detox system is like a funnel. You can dump a lot of toxins into the blood stream with cleanses/detox, but there is a maximum bandwidth with which it can exit. Nutrient deficiencies can make detoxification less effective.

So, the yeast just returns. Often yeast exists to sequester excess heavy metals, such as mercury out of blood circulation. Do you have/had any mercury (silver amalgams) in your mouth?

 

I'd focus on gut healing: http://heal-thyself.ning.c om/profiles/blogs/overwhel med-where-to-...

 

More about Candida and cautions about "Cleanses":
http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/candida-101
http://heal-thyself.ning.com/forum/topic...s/need-help-with-candida
http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/cleanses-1

I believe we can excrete the toxins safely and gradually by supporting our natural detoxification pathways with whole food nutrients and rebalancing the gut microbials. Avoiding toxins and immune assaults helps to make candida obsolete naturally so it doesn't keep returning again and again and again...

~for topical relief, consider coconut oil, kefir, yogurt, ACV, baking soda, Epsom salt baths, lavender essential oil. (each separately)

These are not curative, just suppressive of the symptoms (manifestation of gut imbalance).

Add bone broths, vit A, Vit D, vit C; stop any "cleanses" currently. Increase Omega 3, decrease Omega 6 fatty acids significantly. Avoid alcohol. Decrease stress.

• Need Help With Candida
• Non-Dairy Kefir and the candida diet. 
• Kombucha- Candida- Mercury Issues
•  
• "Yeast" Intolerance
• Water Kefir vs. Kombucha
• Whole Foods Heal
• REAL kefir grains vs. kefir starter 
• "Cleanses" - Heal Thyself!
• Whole Food Probiotics 101
•  
• Where do I begin..?
• 14 Steps for Healthy Guts
•  
• Need some advice on detox after filling removal.
• Amalgam Removal Risks and Protocols.
• Basic Liver Detox
• Healing Leaky Gut with Food??

 

Pat Robinson, Wellness Educator

P.S. Susun Weed is a very respected herbalist who actually recommends a natural rebalancing approach to yeast problems. From her website here is her advice to people "fighting" yeast.
http://www.susunweed.com/herbal_ezine/Weed_letter_Mar-02.htm#q2

 

Welcome, we hope you will join us!

For more information about healing naturally, keep updated on Facebook  Heal Thyself! 

Overwhelmed? Where to start?     ~Become your own Gut Guru!

P.S. Favorite Posts:

     •  14 Steps For Healthy Guts

     •  The Beet Test (stomach acid?) 

     •  Candida 101 

     •  Green Smoothie Challenge

     •  Healthy Poop 101

     •  Master Tonic 101 

     •  Nettle Leaf herbal infusions 101.

     •  Overwhelmed? Where to Start?!

     •  Probiotic Selection

P.P.S.  •  Favorite Topics        •  Extensive Video Library     •  Join in the discussions! 

 

 

[Sarah Wood]

Do you have an opinion as to which is more beneficial, water kefir or milk kefir?

Have you ever tried to make coconut milk kefir?

[Pat Robinson]

Milk kefir has more beneficial microbials than water kefir 56+ vs. 30 different microbials.

Coconut water kefir is divine! I haven't made coconut milk kefir though, that is more complicated as you have to express the milk from the coconut pulp, per my understanding.

Coconut water kefir can be made with milk kefir or water kefir grains. Just add the liquid and the grains and ferment for 24-48 hours in the cupboard. Delicious!

Pat

[Sherry England]

Pat, do you have any suggestions for people with yeast syndrome or systemic yeast?

[Pat Robinson]

Yeast is a manifestation of an imbalanced gut. I'd focus on improving nutrients to excrete toxins more effective, rebalance gut microbials and decrease toxin loads. Do you have more specifics?

 

The 14 steps for health guts is an easy place to start incorporating more whole food, nutrient-dense alternatives into one's diet.

 

Cautions about "Cleanses".

 

Pat

[Pat Robinson]

Cutler discusses the mercury release issues with cilantro/chlorella. Basically, chlorella has only one thiol (a chemical group containing a sulfur atom bonded to a hydrogen atom.), it does not bind as tightly to mercury as substances in the two thiol group. And thus cilantro/chlorella move mercury around, but do not necessarily shuttle it safely out of the body.

Cutler believes that the synthetic chelators are safer for this reason. My understanding is that DMSA chemically binds tightly to the mercury to carry it out of the body.

Personally, I'm not a supplement/synthetic chelator gal. But, I'm also not comfortable with that "Heavy Metal Detox" product, especially without a priority focus on optimizing nutrients for safe natural detoxification. Selenium, magnesium, B12, zinc, folate, etc. http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/yeast-intolerance

Cutler says that roughly 3-6 mos after removal, circulating metals go up, along with symptoms. Your body moves mercury around for a year or more after removal. But, the stored mercury is basically "stable" thereafter, unless we actively mobilize the toxins into blood circulation. The Catch 22 is that the stored mercury interferes (long-term) with the function of our organs, especially brain, thyroid and liver.

The further dilemma is that when we mobilize toxins, including mercury, if it doesn't excrete out of our body, it just redeposits and does new damage to our organs.

I don't know if mobilizing stored mercury is "worse" than candida. However, I believe that we can make candida obsolete by rebalancing gut microbials with whole food nutrients and decreasing our toxin exposures. http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/candida-101

Pat

[Deborah David]

I got a vaginal yeast infection that would not go away. After six months of on and off Diflucan still had yeast - changed doctors and received 2 months of once a week Diflucan and still yeast. Doc then treated with gingin violet and boric acid. Well that got rid of it for the most part, but I have had to continue to use boric acid twice a week now for two years. If I stop the yeast comes back.  Another doctor told me that the because the first doctor only used the diflucan off and on it set up a resistant form. I am healthy, weight is excellent, eat the right foods. Because of the long term yeast infection the tissues have still continue to be very sensitive - any ideas to help those tissues heal completely and to get rid of the yeast once and for all. I was thinking of trying bentonite clay on tissues for a 30 minute soak. Or in a capsule??? At wits end here.

[Pat Robinson]

Deborah, do you have or had mercury (silver amalgam) fillings? Did your mother?

Do you drink bone broth? What about fermented veggies or cultured food?

What about dairy? Raw or cultured dairy? Wheat/gluten??

Have you tried topical coconut oil, garlic, kefir/yogurt? Topical Epsom salt compresses can help, ime.  http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/natural-alternatives-fo...

More about Candida alternatives and "cleanses": http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/candida-alternatives

I'd start here: http://heal-thyself.ning.com/profiles/blogs/overwhelmed-where-to-start


Pat

[Deborah David]

I raw dairy both yogurt, milk and cheese, have just a few fillings, use probiotic, limited amount of  wheat (but have never had a problem), bread is sprouted, garlic, bone broth.  all was fine until the Dr missed problem which now I cannot get it out of me.  This is a on going vaginal yeast going back and forth.  If I stop the boric acid within a week it is back.

[Carolyn Rice]

I'm new to all this and have a question. I watched the videos about making your own kefir and both used Raw Milk. I live in Georgia (the country -- NOT the US state). Lots of people here use raw milk but boil it first. I thought boiling it kills the good bacteria. But I also know it can be dangerous not to boil it. I'm searching for a source of raw milk that I can trust. I know I sound ignorant, but can someone please tell me about your experience with Raw Milk, and if you can literally just take it straight from the cow and then make kefir or whatever?

Thanks!

[Pat Robinson]

You need to know your source. Raw milk is common throughout Europe. But, I'd be cautious about commercial raw milk sourcing. Price efficiency can lead to carelessness and substandard practices, perhaps.

I'd find a farmer who drinks milk from their own dairy cow and ask about the feeding practices (grass, hay, grain, GMO-feed, antibiotics, mastitis, hormones, temperature, inspections, Tuberculosis,, etc.)

Here is more about safety.