Candida Facts

What is Candida albicans? Candida Causes Candida FAQ Candida Symptoms Candida Diagnosis Chronic Candida Candida in the small intestine (IBS) Systemic Candida Candida Diet Candida Myths

What is Candida albicans?

Candida albicans in direct smear of Positive Blood Culture.

Candida albicans in direct smear of Positive Blood Culture.

(Usually seen as the round to oval cellular form and not as these clumps of pseudohyphae.) Source.

Candida albicans

Mycelial Candida (chronic Candida)

Candida is like a seven-headed dragon - nearly impossible to kill. The most important factor in getting rid of Candida is boosting your immune system! Any infection with Candida albicans should be taken very seriously. This yeast can easily become a fungus, and in that form it is dangerous and near-incurable. Diets and probiotics will only be able to offer relief at that point.

Even the worst manifestation of Candida can be suppressed. With chronic Candidiasis nothing seems to really work, long-term. I'm not talking about fighting Candida thrush, rashes and yeast - that's perfectly possible with essential oils, dietary changes and home remedies - I'm talking about getting rid of the chronic form of the disease, semi-systemic Candididasis that has thoroughly entrenched itself, a fungus that is not a yeast anymore, but a mycelial Candida with roots, a chronic fungus.

This form of Candidiasis is resistant to even the most agressive medical treatment because it has grown roots into your tissue and Candida has ways of evading attack. The first image shows these rhizoids or fungal roots. The next image shows Candida yeast - the common, easier-to-treat form.

Candida albicans yeast

Candida yeast (subclinical form)

You probably have noticed that your Candida symptoms are worst when your natural immunity is down. Candida flares that are not caused by a sugar-rush are perfect indicators of the state of your immune system. A bout of stress or lack of sleep can set off an attack, as well as other factors that can depress the immune system, like chronic illness - especially Diabetes - or sometimes pregnancy.

A working Candida cure takes the whole person into account: Stress avoidance, sufficient sleep, immune system boosting and low-GI diet in addition to effective antifungal treatment - traditional and alternative.

Natural immunity against Candida albicans is boosted by a diet that starves the Candida and feeds the probiotics, the good bacteria that feed on the Candida and produce substances that are harmful to Candida. A good Candida diet also contains enough nutrients such as vitamins and minerals to keep the immune system able to fight this insidious infection.

Candida Causes

antibiotics

Antibiotics: Common Candida cause

The main cause of Candida Albicans infection is antibiotics. The longer and more often you take them, and the higher dose you take, the greater the risk of an opportunistic Candida infection - especially when you alternate or combine antibiotics of a different family. The reason for this is that Candida is always present on the skin, in the colon and on mucous membranes, but it is kept in check by bacteria that also live there. The runner-up risk factor for Candida is lack of sleep due to chronic stress or illness. Stress and lack of sleep depress the immune system in many ways, and Candida strikes. Corticosteroids are another Candida risk - also because they depress the immune system. Hormonal medications can invite Candida thrush, such as the birth control pill and Hormone Replacement Therapy. Lack of important nutrients make you susceptible to Candida, e.g. bad diet habits or eating disorders. Alcohol, caffeine, nicotine and prohibited drugs can exacerbate or cause Candida overgrowth and rashes.

Illnesses such as Diabetes, Lupus or Thyroid problems can result in Candidiasis. Pregnancy is often related to the onset of Candida. It is important to breastfeed your baby for at least three months, because they get some protection - useful later in life - against Candida from immune factors in breast milk. Older people need to pay special attention to a healthy diet, because they're especially susceptible to slow deterioration of gut flora and -lining.

How to get Candida albicans

A healthy colon contains around 1000 bacteria to 1 Candida yeast cell. The bacteria keep the Candida in check and prevent it from becoming mycelial (the chronic invasive fungal form).

When this delicate balance is disturbed by antibiotics for example, the good bacteria in the colon (lactobacillus acidophillus and bifidobacteria) die as well as the bad bacteria, but the Candida, being a yeast, unaffected by antibiotics, spreads like a wildfire. When that happens, the Candida can sprout roots like whiskers, hyphae that anchor themselves firmly in the gut lining. We call this form mycelial Candida. This mycelium is the same as the white root system in the soil of mushrooms in the forest. Another common cause of vaginal Candida yeast infection is the practice of douching. Frequent douching with water may result in an imbalance of the pH of the vagina, and thus may put women at risk for yeast infections.

This fungal form of Candida is the "rogue" form, the form that is nearly impossible to get rid of. The lining of the gut is only 2 cells thick - you can imagine how easy it is to develop Leaky Gut Syndrome when Candida overgrows the bacteria in the colon!

How to avoid Candida infection

Sleep at least 7 hours a night, preferably more. Do not work in shifts or at night - lead a regular life with good, long, uninterrupted sleep, always at the same hours. Avoid chronic stress at all cost. Brush your teeth at least once a day and avoid food with a high glycemic index (GI). If you have no other choice but to take a course of antibiotics, take antifungals with them. In countries like Russia and China, where antifungals were state-produced and cheap, this has always been the norm. Don't "douche" the intimate organs, and use a pH-neutral soap. Candida doesn't like an acid environment.

Candida FAQ

Q: Can I use yoghurt or kefir instead of capsules with probiotics?

A: Yes, but you have to make sure that the yoghurt or kefir is at most slightly sweetened (the bacteria need sugar to survive) and contains live acidophillus and bifido-bacteria, and that the yoghurt or kefir is very fresh. You can "potentiate" the yoghurt by mixing it into salad, thus spreading the bacteria out over a very large surface area. For best results, mix probiotic bacteria-powder into yoghurt or kefir. Even better is to culture your own yoghurt with optimal probiotic bacteria. You can read how to make your own yoghurt here.

Q: Are there any "miracle cures" for Candida?

A: Yes and no. To my knowledge, there is not a single "cure" advertized on the Internet that works. However, after having studied medical research and medical patents, I came across something that actually does work with any kind of chronic Candida infection, as long as you're not on intravenous antifungals in a IC ward. This method is not "natural", it involves an over-the-counter veterinarian substance that has nothing to do with Candida. It's 100% safe. We sell it: Lufenuron.

Candida Symptoms

Candida can manifest itself in many ways and symptoms can be from mild to very uncomfortable to deadly within hours. (The latter can happen as "Candida septicemia" - Candida in the bloodstream - often in people with AIDS or in case of hospital-acquired infections in patients on immunosuppressant drugs for example.)

One rare symptom of Candida albicans is Candida of the nails:

Candida of the nails

Nail fungus

We sell a natural antifungal against nail fungus.

Symptoms don't have to be physical - they can be mental as well - one reason is that intestinal Candida produces alcohol and neurotoxins in the gut. Mental Candida symptoms include apathy, confusion, dizziness, foggy thinking, poor concentration, poor coordination and spaced-out feeling.

Classical oral Candida symptoms are a sore throat, a white coating on the tongue, blisters or sores in the cheeks, a burning tongue or bad breath.

Digestive Candida symptoms can be food allergies, gas, abdominal pain, gastritis, rectal itching, sugar cravings and ulcers.

Urinary Candida symptoms can be bladder infections, burning urination, kidney infection and urethritis.

Respiratory Candida symptoms can be bronchitis, chronic cough, clogged sinuses, excess mucous, nasal itching, sinus infections, wheezing, sneezing, pneumonia and chronic congestion.

Skin Candida symptoms can be diaper rash, eczema, red rashes, itchy patches on the skin and sores.

Eye symptoms can be floaters and blurred vision.

Candida Diagnosis

Candida is not necessarily hard to diagnose, but it is hard to obtain a positive diagnosis mainly due to the fact that Candida is very expensive to treat effectively with pharmaceutical medicines supplied by Big Pharma at extortionate prices. The problems with getting Candida properly diagnosed are exacerbated by the fact that it is often deemed "controversial" that people without serious immune system problems can have chronic Candidiasis at all. Antifungal medicines are extremely expensive, and Candida acquires immunity against them quickly, necessitating the administration of multiple antifungals simultaneously.

Diagnosing Candida

Candida albicans can be diagnosed with blood-, mucous membrane- or urine culture tests where they try to grow Candida in a Petri-dish and use a microscope to see what kind of Candida it is, or antibodies can be found with an ELISA test. There are many other, more accurate tests (PCR and immuno-fluorescence tests), but the more accurate a test, the more taboo it is, because it essentially forces the initiation of treatment because systemic Candidiasis has a near 100% mortality rate. Often, a doctor will simply refuse to do at Candida test at all.

Medical staff likes to stress that "Many people have antibodies against Candida", when denying treatment after testing positive for Candida albicans. They call it a "false positive", even though you do have Candida symptoms!

On the contrary - in case of Candida tests, our biggest headache are the false negatives, which is when you have Candida but the tests doesn't show it. This is due to the problem that Candida antigens are rapidly cleared from circulation.

Allopathic Candida Diagnosis

There is a Candida yeast infection test based on the fact that the Candida organism ferments sugars into alcohol. This tests measures the baseline blood alcohol level. After that the patient eats a large quantity of sugar, causing Candida fermentation into alcohol, which is measured by the test. This test is only suitable for intestinal Candida - Candida in the gut. This test is also called the "alcohol challenge" test.

There is a Candida stool-culture and urine-metabolites test that can accurately identify the type of Candida species. These Candida tests have been developed by Michael Biamonte. The urine test finds organic acids that are a byproduct of Candida metabolism.

Candida saliva test (ELISA) (Not the "spit test"!)

A very specific, reliable test is the Candida ELISA saliva test, which tests for antibodies against Candida albicans in the saliva. These types of antibodies are of the IgA type, and the test plate will change color when enough of those antibodies are detected, resulting in a positive Candida diagnosis.

There is a simpler saliva test: Simply taking a swab of mucous tissue and investigating the cells under a microscope, looking for the characteristic Candida filaments typical for invasive Candidiasis. Candida can be diagnosed like this, but the test is unsuitable to judge the extent of the infection.

The "Candida Immune Complexes" test is the most reliable. (See Journal of Advancement in Medicine, Vol. 10, No. 3 published by the American College for Advancement of Medicine.) The test costs more than $100 and is available from several labs.

Chronic Candida

Candida is normally a yeast, and can be seen as vaginal thrush, discharge or whitish plaque on the tongue or inside the mucous membranes in the mouth. You have to prevent at all cost - whatever it takes - that this yeast stage of Candida transforms itself into the chronic form: Candida fungus. Chronic Candida often is not visible any more as white thrush, because the Candida organism is not a loose paste any more, not a smear of granular cells that can be scraped away, but a totally different form: The fungal form.

Fungal Candida can be compared with a plant that has roots, as opposed to plant seeds. The yeast manifestation of Candida are the "seeds", and the chronic, fungal form of Candida are the "plants". The roots of the Candida are called rhizoids, and instead of soil to root in, they penetrate your body tissues and suck the nutrients they need right out of your cells and bloodstream. This form of Candida is nearly impossible to get rid of and is often near-invisible.

Whilst yeast thrush is merely inconvenient, chronic Candidiasis is the next step towards a possible systemic Candidiasis, which can become life-threatening when immunity drops significantly, for example at an advanced age or after an organ transplant. There is a big difference between Candida yeast and Candida fungus. To help you understand how dangerous Candida can be: A mere 3000 Candida yeast cells injected into the bloodstream of an adult (an amount so small that it would be totally invisible to the naked eye) has a lethality of 98%. Death usually occurs from severely damaged heart valves or central nervous system involvement.

There are three stages of Candida infection:

1. Yeast (discharge, rash, thrush etc.)

2. Chronic form (reoccurring ulcers, red patches, painful sores, long-term serious problems and symptoms)

3. Systemic form: Untreated always lethal and 30-40% dies even with prompt medical treatment.

The first stage usually takes several years, and always is caused by underlying conditions or problems. Taking antibiotics long-term, for example. This is by far the most common cause of an eventual chronic Candida. When you are on antibiotics, you should take some precautions. Oral hygiene is of the utmost importance. The longer the Candida yeast remains in your mouth, the more chance it has to defeat the immune system and sprout roots. Don't forget your tongue when brushing your teeth.

Another safeguard against Candida is to regularly consume "living" yoghurt or kefir, with probiotic bacteria, good bacteria such as Lactobacillus Acidophillus and Bifidobacteria. This beneficial gut flora raises the acidity in the intestines, and Candida has trouble living in an acidic environment.

Diagnosing chronic Candida

The number of symptoms associated with chronic Candidiasis are so numerous and so seemingly unrelated, that just about anything could be caused by a chronic Candida infection. The only way to be reasonably sure is to use some common sense: Have you had long-term thrush or rashes before? Especially after using antibiotics, getting sick, pregnancy or being on medications such as hormones? Do you still have rashes, ulcers or pains occasionally? Are there other symptoms that can't be connected to other diseases, but appeared after your Candida and/or your immune system got worse? When in doubt, try to get professionally diagnosed.

Managing chronic Candida

When you have bad luck, you were unable to prevent the yeast form of Candida to transform into the fungus form. In that case, you have to try to get rid of it as much as possible. In my opinion, the second, chronic stage of Candidiasis is nearly incurable. But you can at least suppress it and minimize its symptoms and severity. The first and foremost thing you have to do is keep your immune system in perfect order. This is much more important than anything else. A strong, healthy immune system is more effective in suppressing Candida than even the best and most expensive antifungal medicines - especially long-term. Candida easily gets resistant to antifungals - you have to rely on your immune system to pull you through.

Then you have focus on diet. Avoid food with a high GI (Glycemic Index), especially when suffering from intestinal Candida. With Candida in the colon, you simply can't eat any sugars or any grains. No pasta, bread, potatoes or even most fruit. The Atkins diet is your friend in this case. I would recommend going easy on the butter and fat meat, and eat nuts, fatty fish and organic eggs instead.

When you suffer from the occasional sore in warm, moist areas, use essential oils like Oil of Oregano to kill it off. Mix the oil 1:3 with vegetable oil, because undiluted, essential oils will damage the skin.

Mouth sores can be rubbed with a variety of powdered fungicidal herbs, such as myrrh. Anyone will have access to cinnamon powder - this is a real Candida-killer but beware: A little known fact about Cinnamon is that it can cause oral cancer when overused. Then again, Candida in the mouth is also known to cause oral cancer, so it's OK to use a little Cinnamon now and then to get rid of the Candida.

Candida in the small intestine (IBS)

Candida in the intestine

Intestinal Candida

Did you know there are no methods known to medical science to have a look at the small intestine? So if you ever gotten a colonoscopy to diagnose possible Candida in your gut, then you're out of luck when the Candida resides mainly in your small intestine. Yet, this is what Candidiasis in the small intestine looks after you died of it. This is why you need to ask for a Candida stool culture test as a diagnostic tool for Candida in the intestinal tract.

Doctors do not believe that people with intact immune function can have such a thing as Candida in the colon. They will therefore usually not prescribe the proper tests, because they are laborious and expensive, and they would dismiss a positive result as a false positive anyway, due to their belief system.

Candida in the gutThe reality is that anyone who has ever been on a few weeks of antibiotics can have a severe Candida overgrowth in the intestines, because as soon as Candida has taken root in the colon, it will never yield its gained ground back to the beneficial acidophillus gut bacteria.

Candida albicans has extensive defense mechanisms

..to neutralize the good gut flora. This is what intestinal Candida looks like.

The big problem with Candida in the gut is the "Leaky Gut Syndrome", which is caused by the microscopic holes the Candida fungus makes in the lining of the intestinal wall. Through this perforated gut lining, large food molecules can pass into the bloodstream, and cause all kind of allergies because these substances are not supposed to enter the blood without first being digested, especially not in the large molecular size they have before digestion.

Risk factors for gastrointestinal Candidiasis include a weakened immune system (due to cancer or stress for example), hypothyroidism, diabetes, oral contraceptives, alcoholism, a diet rich in simple sugars and, last but not least, (repeated) use of antibiotics.

Systemic Candida

candida in the eye

Candida in person with HIV

Systemic Candidiasis is officially almost always lethal within days, without treatment. The gentleman in the picture almost certainly is suffering from AIDS. and has gotten a Candida infection in the eye. So, "systemic" is in the strict medical sense reserved for people who are in danger of imminent death due to the Candidiasis. Still, many Candida patients consider their Candida infection to be "systemic" in the sense that it's "everywhere", and they can't get rid of it. And they are right. In the strict medical sense however, systemic Candidiasis is one of the most lethal diseases in the short term, and the prognosis for even otherwise healthy persons with access to unlimited antifungal medicines is quite poor. The huge mistake mainstream doctors make is thinking that systemic Candida can only exist as an imminently deadly disease, and not as a precarious equilibrium between the fungus and the immune system.

Candida is said to be "systemic" when Candida yeast cells can be found in the bloodstream or in body organs. The official medical wisdom says this is impossible when the immune system is in good order, and therefore they will only call a Candidiasis "systemic" when they find it in an AIDS patient or someone on immunosuppressant drugs.

It is clear to everyone trying to get rid of their chronic Candida that otherwise healthy people also can suffer from systemic Candidiasis - systemic being i"n the system", such as the bowels - and that they do not die of this because their immune system is strong enough to keep it in check. Sometimes their immune system is strong enough to suppress most symptoms, and sometimes, due to lack of sleep, bad dietary habits or stress, the Candida flares up again. Mind you - I'm talking relatively serious Candida here - not a little rash on the skin but chronic coughing with a feeling of congestion in the chest, or signs like persistent sores on genitalia, anal region or mouth., or Intestinal Candida.

Research has shown that blood is not always sterile as claimed, and that people who claim to have serious, long-term trouble with Candidiasis actually have living Candida cells in their bloodstream.

Unfortunately, medical science in the West is evidence-based because it is dominated by a for-profit methodology. A doctor simply can't believe their patients, tests have to prove it, regardless of the fact that most tests test the wrong things, or are principally flawed.

Candida Diet

Candida loves sugars, so you can starve this organism - especially when you have intestinal Candidiasis. The key is to eat very little sugars - this includes fruit sugars, cakes, jams and honey. Since the blood sugar raises dramatically when you eat food with a high Glycemic Index, also this food is taboo - at least until you have gotten rid of the Candida infection. Food with a high GI are bread, potatoes, white rice and pasta.

Antifungal drugs will often fail, if sugars are not eliminated from the diet. This includes all sweetened drinks & soda, fruits and fruit drinks, corn syrups, and other high sugar containing products. Read your labels! Past publications have emphasized the fact that Candida ferments and rapidly proliferated in the presence of simple sugars. This is correct, and research has proven that sugars greatly increase the ability of Candida to adhere to epithelial mucous cells and may be the most important factor in causing gastrointestinal Candidiasis.

To make a long story short: A near-ideal anti-Candida diet is the Atkins diet. As a side effect, this diet incidentally works wonders to lose weight as well!

A reminder: The Atkins diet minimizes the intake of carbohydrates. Don't overdo it - when you go fundamentalist-extremist on the Atkins diet, you can damage your kidneys.

nutsHere's why it's not advisable to eliminate all carbohydrates from your diet: A high protein diet can even be bad for these reasons: 1. The breakdown of proteins produces ammonia, creating an environment favorable to Candida yeast. 2. Undigested proteins that are absorbed through the consequential "leaky gut" can put an excess strain on your immune system. 3. Carbohydrates provide food for your beneficial intestinal flora. Without feeding your normal, "good" flora, they will die off - allowing further proliferation of Candida.

So a dietary regimen that combats Candida is not a simple matter.

It is of great importance to keep your blood sugar level as even as possible throughout the day when you're trying to starve the Candida. One way to achieve this is to take small regular meals every 3 hours - amounting to 5 or 6 meals daily. Unsweetened living yoghurt or kefir are excellent snacks, as well as nuts or canned fish. Salads should be one of your mainstays. Modest amounts of lactose (milk sugar) from fermented diary is beneficial to people with intestinal Candida.

The interesting thing about salads is that unwashed, they contain a plethora of bacteria - most of them in fact beneficial to your digestive system. Another thing about salad is that if you mix yoghurt into it, it turns into a veritable ecosystem for those good bacteria, because the many leaves increase the surface area for the bacteria. Chop up a varied salad, put a little yoghurt in it and notice the effect on your digestive system!

More of these tips can be found in the books I linked to above.

When eating so often during the day, make sure you keep your caloric intake within reasonable bounds. This "many small meals" strategy actually helped quite a few people to go down in weight!

Excellent food for the Candida-afflicted is vegetable soup without starchy ingredients like pulses or potatoes. But the effectiveness of certain vegetables like garlic and onions has been overstated though. Raw, they can prevent or ameliorate a beginning Candidiasis in the intestine or mouth, yes. But firmly entrenched, Candida is not going to care much.

Candida Myths

There are some persistent falsehoods circulating about Candida, and I assume the reason is that they sound logical to the average person - not being a biochemist or molecular biologist.

Candida and baker's yeast

People tend to believe that because Candida is a yeast, and because bread-yeast is a yeast, that the totally harmless dough-yeast is somehow bad for them, that they will be at the very least "allergic" to baker's yeast.

This is complete nonsense in many ways. The people who spread this myth ignore the fact that the very high temperatures involved in baking bread not only completely kills any and all yeast in the bread (the bread becomes sterile) but that there remains nothing left of the yeast molecules! All life on Earth is made of proteins. Proteins already "denature" at 60° C. Bread is baked at five times that temperature. So the bakery yeast is neither harmful alive because it is a harmless organism for humans, neither is it alive in bread, neither can it act as a "fungal allergen" because its entire structure is broken down by the extreme temperatures in an oven. Of course, bread can be bad for Candidiasis patients for other reasons: Flour breaks down into simple sugars, feeding the Candida.

Candida and mushrooms

Some folks even go further, and spread the Candida nonsense that when you suffer from Candida infection, that you can't eat mushrooms like Champignons. This is "magical thinking", or at the very least pseudoscience and a wrong deduction. Mushrooms are not Candida, even though Candida is a "mushroom". Mushrooms do not infect the body, neither do they magically become allergens just because you have a leaky gut caused by Candidiasis. Champignons are as far removed from Candida as is a Llama from a bed bug. On the contrary, mushrooms are good against Candida.

Candida and antibiotics in meat

It is generally believed that when cattle is given antibiotics, that the antibiotic residues in their meat somehow can kill the beneficial bacteria in and on your body, and that this will enable Candida to take root or spread. This is nonsense! Bacteria can only be influenced when the MIC (Minimum Inhibitory Concentration) exceeds a certain level. Firstly, the antibiotics get eliminated from the animal as soon as they are administered. Secondly, by eating a large steak of an antibiotic-fed cow, you will not even ingest a thousandth of the dose you would need to have the slightest effect on any bacteria in your body. Because not only have the antibiotics been broken down in the cow, but you are diluting the antibiotic at least a hundredfold by eating only 1% of your body weight in a meal of antibiotic-treated meat.

Candida and the spit test

There is no evidence that the spit test is reliable.

Candida and the muscle test (Kinesiology)

Any kind of "muscle testing" - also to diagnose Candida infection - is proven quackery.

Candida and Probiotics (ThreeLac, 5Lac etc.)

Of course a healthy gut flora is essential to prevent Candida infestation and to help fight Candida infection. That is not disputed, but probiotics are maliciously overrated for financial gain and here is how:

ThreeLac's producer is a multi-million dollar corporation and it is pretty obvious that for the past years they have employed a small army of professional forum spammers pretending to be happy customers. (See my article "The ThreeLac Scam".) The hype is amplified by countless affiliates. Gullible folks believe the hype and chip in with similar positive, largely unsubstantiated spin. The financial gain from this deception has been countless millions of dollars. The main thing ThreeLac, 5Lac or any other probiotic product can do for you is to help replenish depleted gut flora after a course with antibiotics. It can not kill mycelial Candida in the gastrointestinal tract, let alone elsewhere in the body. It can not improve vaginal thrush or Candida rashes or sores anywhere. As far as a serious Candidiasis is concerned, they are about as close to a placebo as you can get. Gut flora can't do miracles. How ever much you keep adding to your colon, they will never be able to displace, poison or kill entrenched Candida. They are disgracefully overpriced for what they offer and next to useless for anyone with Candida. The amount of money involved in this scam is so gigantic that I expect to be flamed to a crisp by their affiliates and "covert operatives", but I am ready. I realize I may sound petty and hateful, but our "bsiness model" is to cut the crap and have a scientific attitude. We could have a site just like all the others, parrotting the same things as everyone else, become a ThreeLac affiliate etc. but we have the hope that there is a place, a "market" for honest, well-researched information. I know this sounds like a malicious conspiracy theory and it might be that speaking my mind will cause anger and damage my credibility with some people, but this is my website and I say whatever I find important to say. Probiotics have a place in Candida management, but the commercial products are scandalously overhyped. Next time you see ThreeLac praised to high heaven, examine how often they mentioned ThreeLac in their previous postings, starting from the very beginning.

ThreeLac encourages to you to use their product every day for the rest of your life, spending thousands on it. People think it helps them a little, due to the hype. If they have the cash to spare, they're reluctant to discontinue it - due to the hype. We hate that. We'd rather have people spend their money on an excellent diet with assorted nuts and fresh oily fish such as mackerel. A good diet is expensive. If you can't go without bread, the most expensive whole grain bread is the best for you. Big salads with lots of leafy greans are the best to restore intestinal health - even better than any yoghurts. This because you will never to be able to wash all bacteria off the salad, and those bacteria will colonize your gut with a wide variety of probiotics. Yes, those bacteria are usually good for you! Use your money wisely. Don't start with buying our products and don't buy ThreeLac either. First spend the money on improving your diet. Then try whatever product you are interested in. Then ignore the hype and objectively judge whether it helped you. Stop using it when you don't see results. Try something else. Don't get addicted to the most expensive powdered yoghurt on the planet!


1.  Linusgeake    Monday, January 30, 2012

I am glad to have read this article before I bought threelac. My wife was the one who made me stop and think before purchasing the threelac and then i read this. My wife suffers from candida in the esophagus and my kids and myself all seem to suffer from symptoms of candida. We started a diet removing so much from our everyday lives. I cant believe the amount of junk we were feeding ourselves. Even some of the products that advertise "healthy," or "natural" have junk for ingredients. The diet has made a big change, but we still struggle. Thank you for your honesty and your courage. We need more people like yourself that do what is right despite the large profits in doing what is wrong. THANK YOU!!



2.  Moe Nwala    Monday, July 15, 2013

best candida work i have read! thnx for all your work!



3.  allibearbear    Tuesday, September 3, 2013

I agree with Moe. Thank you for taking the time to explain all this. I started at Healing Naturally with Bee, which is a strange, time-consuming regimen. I have spun around in so many directions trying to find a cure. It's disheartening and depressing. I randomly found your page because I watched a TED talk by the same mycologist you mentioned. I thought to myself, if fungus has such healing properties why on Earth would it feed my Candidiasis? Which led to your article on mushrooms and candida. I could have cried when you talked about the Candida being systemic. I fought with a colo-rectal surgeon just last week when he said I was clueless, that if I had systemic Candida, I'd be close to death. They don't listen, they don't help, they took my $150 and told me to go buy bag balm! Here's hoping I can get this under control, finally.



4.  Sarah Vaughter    Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Medical doctors are generally not interested in preventing and curing disease, neither are they interested in the cause of disease. The sooner you understand that, the better.

Alternative "healers", naturopaths etc. are generally a bit less money-oriented and a bit more interested in things doctors should be interested in, but they are usually just as uneducated, incompetent, lazy and greedy as doctors. Sometimes much more so. And often they can't prescribe medicines. It's a big misunderstanding that "natural cures" can cure. Medicines can't even cure, and they are usually natural substances in concentrated form.

So your only option, if you have the capability, is to educate yourself. Learn as much as there is to learn about those types of disease that can cause the symptoms you have. You do NOT do that by reading forums and blogs and websites of people with things to sell but you do that by reading "controversial" or "obscure" papers written by microbiologists for example. New theories, novel insights, outlier data.

Then, by process of elimination and deduction and paying yourself for accurate testing (very diffucult and often impossible), when you think you know what ails you, you have to go back to the obscure medical literature and find possible treatment. Then you have to obtain this treatment somehow.

All this takes intelligence, initiative, persistence, time, courage and money.

Medical science is still in its infancy. We do not know the cause of
99.9% of ailments and we can't even cure those we do know the cause of.

May you be successful on your journey and may you share your findings and experiences with the rest of the world.



5.  I'm screwed    Saturday, November 30, 2013

Ok fine, so whats the treatment? Lufenuron didn't work either. This page only says how to avoid it, but what do I do when its in my blood? Doctor said I have it in my blood after a blood test, and I saw it myself when I had a live blood cell analysis from another doctor. I've already tried 2 separate courses of the Lufenuron sold here, and I still have it. Lufenuron didn't work. In fact, I've tried everything now, all of those antifungals, hydro peroxide drinks 3x per day, also stabilized oxygen, etc, and only colloidal silver had any lasting effect, which was about 2 weeks, but it always comes back. Other antifungals only worked for 1 week. The candida adapted to colloidal silver, too. Even a quart per day now does nothing.
Does any one have a success story that actually lasted longer than 2 weeks? A life of pain is no life, just hell on earth. The only lesson I've learned so far is never go to an MD, its their antibiotic that did this to me.



6.  Sarah Vaughter    Saturday, November 30, 2013

Most people diagnosed with Candida by practitioners in the alternative circuit have no Candida at all, and are merely used as cash cows to sell all kinds of treatments to.

A mere 1000 CFU's (colony forming units, either spores or cells) of Candida is the LD50 dose, the infectious dose where 50% of people die. This means you most certainly do NOT have Candida in your blood, because as soon as it is visible in the blood, you are already dead. You can have it mucous membranes but not in tissues like the brain or the blood. If you'd have it in a kidney, you'd be dead in days, without heroic intervention (IV antifungals in a hospital where you would have to stay for days or weeks).

If Lufenuron did not even work for a few days, you very likely do not have Candidiasis at all. If it did work but not any more, then you have a severe case and likely immune issues due to for example underlying illness, other medication or lack of sleep/stress and all you can do is try to ameliorate that and keep hitting the now Chitin-deficient form with antifungal medicines such as Ergosterol inhibitors.

Nothing you mentioned works against a systemic Candida infection. If you really have Candida, you need medicines such as Itraconazole and you should seek medical diagnosis and treatment. If you got relief from collodial silver, you may suffer from a bacterial infection. However, Collodial silver certainly is no silver bullet either. It mainly works on superficial (skin) infections. Lab tests show that it does not work against Borrelia spirochetes, not even in vitro.

We never intended Lufenuron to be used by people diagnosed in the alternative circuit. Our intention was to make it available for people with immune deficiencies such as AIDS, terminial cancer, transplant patients and people who contracted life-threatening Candidiases in their organs such as the kidneys. It also works very well against vaginal candidiasis.

However, as I said, "Candida" is a favorite diagnosis of US naturopaths and unless you have bona-fide blood antibody tests testifying to Candida or visible mucous membrane symptoms, the likelihood is small that a Candida diagnosis by a naturopath is correct.

You mentioned pain. Have you tried cutting out gluten?

//owndoc.com/diet/brea...



7.  full of hope    Wednesday, January 8, 2014

Hi there! I have struggled with extreme chronic candida in my respiratory and digestive systems and heaps of side effects for many years. Recently, it's started to get a whole lot better. The other night I awoke shortly after midnight and all the mucous tissues in my respiratory systems all of a sudden started to drain - it felt as though living water was being poured through me, and I have felt vastly better since! I think a lot of the progress for has been down to drinking more water and regular aerobic exercise - getting beyond that 'pain barrier' in physical exercise each day seems to have a profound effect in oxygenating my body. Salt water flushes have also helped, as have intermittent fasts/ lemon detox diet days. But what's helped most is my faith as a Christian in God's love for me, which has enabled me to root out the toxic thought patterns I used to have. This has taken a lot of work, but it's the most rewarding kind of work! Good luck to everyone on this site - and I agree that it's hard to beat candida, but I know many people who have been fully healed. I really 'feel' for those whose lives seem to have become a liviing hell because of candida and want to encourage them that it WILL get better with perseverance and faith!



8.  Jennifer    Friday, January 17, 2014

I really feel for you. I had chronic candida and when I was pregnant it flared up badly causing me to suffer from terrible depression. The doctors were useless (I didn't know then that I even had Candida). The only thing that helps is a no grain, no sugar or alcohol natural diet with lots of probiotic foods. You may experience a worsening of your symptoms due to die off, but you will ultimately feel better and give your immune system a chance to get back on its feet. You will also minimize the chances of passing it on to your child. My poor daughter also has Candida as I was clueless while pregnant with her and ate a regular diet including sugar, breads (I have found out I am gluten intolerant) and all the no-no's.



9.  Jennifer    Friday, January 17, 2014

Interesting. How did you root out the toxic thought patterns? I firmly believe that our emotional state impacts our immune system.



10.  full of hope    Saturday, January 18, 2014

Hello Jennifer! Great question - there's no short answer, but I can recommend this book: http://amazon.com/Who-S... by an acclaimed neuroscientist with expertise in this area (also a Christian), and also anything written by Bill Johnson (Pastor at Bethel Church, California) or by Joyce Meyer. For the most part, it's been a journey of getting free of the emotions of shame and guilt and of (self) critical thought patterns by understanding where the 'lies' that generated these feelings came from in my life, forgiving people involved and learning to walk in the truth of how God sees me. Fear of course was involved too, and I believe is at the root of most pathologies. I was not consciously aware of carrying these feelings as they were so familiar and ingrained, but gradually they've surfaced and with God's help I've really transformed the way I view myself and hence other people. CBT can really help in this area of course, but it was the combination of this cultivated self-awareness with the growth in my life of faith in a loving God, and experiencing this love in a tangible way, that really helped me. I agree re immune system! Feel free to send a message with an email address if there are further things you're curious about re my personal experience!



11.  Jennifer    Saturday, January 18, 2014

Thank you for your reply. I will have a look at the book you recommend. Forgiveness is a tough, but necessary one and a real challenge for me right now. Thanks for the advise and best of luck and blessings to you on your healing journey.



12.  Jason Williams    Friday, January 31, 2014

Doctors always don't acknowledge Candida so they can keep you on their meds and keep you a patient. I take enemas everyday with visible yeast (white) and brown fungi threads.

As soon as candida is flushed out via enema it returns in hours right after you eat. Candida feeds on protein and carbs in the bowels. I also have candida in the mouth as white visibly running through my inner cheek mucosal veins. Candida is the most rogue, barbaric infection I have ever faced in my life.



13.  Deborah Sevy    Friday, February 14, 2014

HI, a few of months ago I did four consecutive doses of lufenuron. which I did over a months time. I had trememdous results. Many of my symptoms improved dramatically. I was able to gain some weight, the swelling in my vaginal went away area went away 90%, and what I have been thinking were chronic herpes outbreaks improved 70%. My naturopath and I both felt that 4 doses was enough. He read a study about lufenuron having some minor liver toxicity. I started on something called gcmaf which is a vitamin D binding macrophage enhancing substance natural to the body. It has been being used successfully for cancer patients and those with viruses like herpes and HIV. I thought that the gcmaf would boost my immune system and get rid of whatever was left of my candida and herpes . My sypmtoms have been slowly coming back. Every time I am exposed to stress or don't get sleep my symptoms come back more. I am sure that all my health problems are do to systemic candida. I am considering taking lufenuron again and doubling the dose, even though I only way 93 pounds, and taking it along with an antifungal (diflucan) and gcmaf. I have tried a million things for yeast and nothing so far has helped but the lufenuron. I wonder if there are studies that support the idea that the yeast fungus does not become resistant to the lufenuron over time. I also wonder if what I think are herpes outbreaks might actually be candida sores. I am starting to think that may be the case. I wonder if I should just take lufenuron in the normal dosage along with an antifungal until all my symptoms are completely gone and then some.



14.  Sarah Vaughter    Friday, February 14, 2014

Lufenuron is not something to take all the time, esp. not in double dosages because in that case indeed it can indeed cause mild, quickly reversible, non-carcinogenic liver damage as found in dog testing. But less so as for example drinking a few glasses of beer would cause, consumed daily.

Cinnamon is orders of magnitude more liver-toxic than Lufenuron.

All that Lufenuron can do is kill 99% of the fungus. The remaining 1% has to be suppressed by the immune system. If the immune system is too weak for that, that 1% will grow back to the previous fungal load, but now it will be Lufenuron-resitent.

So no, don't buy more Lufenuron. It will be useless in your case.



15.  Hadassah777    Sunday, April 20, 2014

Full of Hope, what u said is spot on....truthfully, we are all searching and reading non-educational garbage on the net that anyone can put on ( this article was very good though and he wasn't saying there is a quick fix and asking for money, but I believe if we put the same time and effort into reading books by people like Joyce Meyer who is a New York Times Best Seller, her teaching goes to about a 100 nations in the world via TV, Internet and radio....if we put the same time in just reading one of her books or turning on the TV and watching her preach, and she is easy to watch, she is funny, laughs at herself, humble but helps us realise most of the poison we have originates from our thinking.

Yes we need to change our diet, but I challenge any of you who are struggling to check her out, another one is by Dr Don Colbert who really teaches on candida etc and he has a website but I bought - 7 pillars of health Dvd's and found them helpful. Lastly I agree, Bethel Church in Redding California is worth a visit or you can Skype them to pray for you for healing Saturday mornings ( I live in Australia & so many of you live in California n don't even bother driving down the road to check it out...u r so blessed in the US) go and check out what's happening there n I promise you won't be disappointed!!!



16.  Joan    Monday, May 5, 2014

If the fungus grows back and is Lufenuron resistent,does that not mean that it is at least weaker than it was before?As now it is unable to produce the chitin in the wall.

I have just ordered for the first time and am trying to learn as much as I can.Also what about acupuncture,meditation etc for helping calm the nervous system?



17.  Sarah Vaughter    Monday, May 5, 2014

Yes, as we explain in several places, when Candida becomes Lufenuron-resistant it is by mutating into a Chitin-deficient form, which is easier to keep under control by the immune system or to kill with ergosterol inhibiting antifungals.

There is no way to eradicate infections with acupuncture or meditation. Whether those can "calm the nervous system" falls outside of the topic of combating Candida infection.



18.  Abby Hall    Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Hello I would love to chat more with you about your candida journey, I am just beginning mine and I am having a really hard time mentally with my faith. Not a lack of faith or anything like that but just a trusting issue and patience issue. Anyway, I never comment on these things and I'm not even sure how they work- so I guess if you get this you will be in touch. God willing- Thank you Abby teamhall907@gmail.com



19.  danielle    Thursday, May 22, 2014

Jason.i have the exact same symptoms. I just had a stool culture come back with msny yeasts. My doctor put ne on diflucin and no carb no sugar no ftuit diet along witj 2 s. Boulardii (floraster) a day. I trust this dr. He cured me of c . difficile 4 months ago with a fecal transplant. I was sick for 6 months and every infectious disesase dictir couldnt cure the c.diff..anyways now I have yeast in mouth, throat and intestines. Im going to di what he recommends and pray it works



20.  bryan    Friday, June 20, 2014

I want to ask You something about candida.
Let me know.



21.  CTlymecrisis    Wednesday, December 16, 2015

After much deliberation, and after seeing this article three years ago, several times since and again today I am 100% certain that I am suffering from systemic candidiasis(or similar fungus) and i definitely need heart valve surgery, but i have had doctors after doctors in america tell me this is impossible. the war with this fungal infection has been ongoing now for three years infecting and irreparably damaging my heart lungs kidneys spine and brain. I have had chronic fungal meningitis now for three years. my lymph nodes/glands are so friggin swollen you can see them in photographs. My feet are beginning to swell with edema from my failing organs and still no doctors believe that this real. i guess i have to wait until the damage/organ failure is bad enough that it shows up on a echo/ekg/blood test/ kidney test/lung ct showing fibrosis.. before i will ever get adequate treatment if even then. and you cant tell them whats going on because then youre crazy, you must let them find out on their own like a child, which is damn near impossible because like this article says, mainstream doctors dont even think its possible unless you have cancer aids etc. and then you pay them for not caring and walk out still dying, with this horrible pain and pressure in your chest from your hardened heart valve that doctors INSIST IS IMPOSSIBLE. even tho there are numerous entries in the medical journals saying autopsies revealed candida wrapped around the perfectly healthy patient's failing heart. (i also heard insurance doesnt want to pay for fluconazole because the regimen in this case is expensive and lengthy, so back in the 80s, they, also in charge of the nih, the ama, and the idsa because its corrupt said unless you have aids/cancer etc systemic fungal candida is impossible and dont even test for it. similar to the lyme crisis) and like this article says its serious and kills you in days and cant possible be a chronic condition, even though aids and cancer patients can blatantly battle it for long periods. After contracting lyme disease and failing to treat it immediately, also because american doctors dont believe its true that i have lyme or that chronic lyme is real, my immune system is now too weak to fend off the invasive fungus that will most definitely be the death of me thanks to brainwashed careless american doctors. I just turned 24



22.  Ken    Tuesday, March 8, 2016

I've finally been able to keep my yeast infection in check with a lot of garlic, probiotics, echinacea and golden seal, vitamins a c d, olive leaf extract, clotrimazole, dual action airborne,and selenium. I also take a multivitamin with molybdenum in it to fight brain fog. It's been like 4 months since I've had to go see the doc for fluconazole .



23.  J Miller    Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Don't give up hope. Have you tried Doug Kaufman's phase one anti-yeast diet? His website is knowthecause.com or .net. Cut out all sugar, grains, and sweet fruits. Only eat meat, eggs, any green veggies, berries, grapefruit, and nuts (not peanuts). Take lots of probiotics and/or eat the sour kraut from the cold section in the store and drink unsweetened herbal tea blends hot or cold everyday (like detox blend or digestive blend, etc). Also, take natural anti-fungals like organo, grapefruit seed extract, garlic, olive leaf, etc. Canxida and Syntol are good supplements if you can afford it. My yeast may not have been as bad as yours but it must have been pretty bad because it took about 9 months to really clear it up and I had to be strict and consistent to fight it off but I'm a lot better now. You are too young to give in to this you just need to build up your immune system...



24.  Ron    Thursday, May 5, 2016

After reading this column from top to bottom, and several other like columns, I throw in the towel. I am totally sick of the never ending controversy over anything you can think of, and money making gimmicks. I believe much of what was said in this article, but I am so damn worn out with this systemic Candida, I just give up. Most of the medications are priced out of reach, and every one I have tried so far has failed. I have been diligent on the diet, and have lost 45 pounds. I am basically a skeleton now. To hell with the who subject. I hope candida kills me before the end of the year. I have had a GUT FULL.



25.  ProtectiveMother    Wednesday, June 1, 2016

I cannot believe you are only 24 and are exhibiting all those severe symptoms. I'm 30 and I've just recently (past 6 months) started exhibiting the systems on heart valve disease (chest pain, palpitations, lightheadedness, fatigue, swollen feet). I'm pretty sure I've been battling Candida all my life, but now my husband and our 4 year old son have it too. When I was living in the US (I moved to Rome 22 months ago), I went to several different doctors and naturopaths also. Nobody took me seriously. We started seeing doctors in Rome, and we have an appointment with an Infectious Disease Doctor this week. I started taking Nystatin 1 month ago, but that quickly lost it's effect. I'm going to try both Lufenuron with Diflocan, and hopefully that will at least get our Candida under control.... for the most part... with a really strict diet. I went to the ER a few months ago when I was having a Candida flare up, but they just took a blood test and gave me a gynecological exam (both came out clean) and then sent me on my way. I'm not scared for myself, but mainly for my child. He already has thrush, chronic constipation, and he's had a nagging cough that never seems to fully go away. We're having his blood cultured next week after his next Pediatric appointment. I just don't want my son to suffer from this damn disease. I'm wishing you all the best though. Please update when your status if you can.



26.  ProtectiveMother    Wednesday, June 1, 2016

I agree with ChasBono. Don't give up. Have you tried the Lufenuron with Diflucan?? If you have a family that loves you and depends on you, then you really can't give up. Try to stay positive by joining a forum for Candida suffers to help keep you hopeful. Do some soul searching and have faith that we can all find a way to defeat this fucking infection.



27.  Chad    Thursday, June 9, 2016

Don't give up. I too have candida and am tired of not being able to enjoy food with my family and friends. I am tired of trying also, but God will prevail. He will see you through this. I will pray for you that you and me are cured from this disease. Hang in there and don't give up



28.  Maureen McMahon    Sunday, June 26, 2016

Hi

I am trying hard to understand the difference between candida overgrowth and systemic candida. Is candida overgrowth not the fungal kind? It is confusing because four months ago I broke out all over my arms , legs, breasts, abdomen in a horrible rash. It had started on the fight leg about a year previously and gradually spread to vover most of the right side of the lower leg. I thought it must be a yeast of some sort and went on the candida diet of no sugar, antifungal foods etc.

During this time I did have what I can only consider to be die off symptoms. the flu like, feeling, glands in the neck hurting etc. took molybdenum and B5 which helped with this. For a few weeks now the red inflammatory itchy phase of the rash is gone, but there remain those red patches all over the arms, breasts, and the original leg. This seems to be very hard to eliminate. It does not seem to spread to other places but the original sites don't seem to be going no matter what I do. I alternate with coconut oil, nystatin cream, ACV.bentonite clay etc Occasionally I have odd strange feelings but nothing severe. What I am really trying to understand is whether one can have these symptoms while the candida yeast is still in its yeast form, (if it is candida)or does it already have to have mutated to the fungal form before these skin rashes can appear.

have always had a very good diet,no processed foods no alcohol etc though I always drank a lot of milk. I have only had antibiotics about three or four times in my life (I'm 72 years old) but each time I did there was a bad reaction. I sleep extremely well, have no stress, never had any real health issues and this is a new occurrence.. Reading all of this makes me wonder at my age if there is something else I need to look into with regard to eliminating these skin rashes and whether it might indeed be cause by candida. Also wondering of the pythium oiligandreum might be helpful for these rashes.

Thanks so much for this site.
Maureen



29.  Sarah Vaughter    Sunday, June 26, 2016

The difference is like that between a caterpillar and a butterfly. Candida overgrowth is a yeast, systemic Candida is a fungus. The two are only casually related. The fungus is "mature" yeast. Like a caterpillar and a butterfly, the two are totally different organisms, but the one came from the other. Yeast is pretty harmless - fungus kills.



30.  Maureen McMahon    Sunday, June 26, 2016

Thank you for the reply. If I may ask further. What causes the yeast to start becoming the fungus? Are there triggers? Can candida yeast overgrowth morph into the fungus? I have read most of the posts and know you have addressed this to some extent. I understand you to mean if you have a yeast overgrowth you should get it under control because it could eventually become a fungus if left untreated. Is this correct?

thank you
Maureen



31.  Sarah Vaughter    Sunday, June 26, 2016

Correct. It's only a matter of time before the yeast form becomes the rhizoid form. A lapse in immune system strength (one night of bad sleep) can trigger it. Then you can spend many years fighting the fungal form, and it will never entirely go away (it will come back when there is a lapse in the strength of your immune system).



32.  dath7    Sunday, October 9, 2016

Is it better to use diflucan at the same time as lufernuron? I've been systemic for the last five years, just figuring it out finally what it is. Have it in my joints- crackling, popping, and my heart literally aches. Used to be in my lungs and eyes but that has improved. Haven't been able to find a doctor who will help me. I want to have the best shot at knocking this out before I get resistant to the Lufenuron, so I wondered if I should take both at the same time?



33.  Sarah Vaughter    Sunday, October 9, 2016

The answer to your question is on page 28 of our usage guidelines for Lufenuron:

http://lufenuroncandidacure...



34.  lauren    Monday, November 21, 2016

Hi! I hope that this article isn't old enough to get a response back. I have a feeling that I am having candida flare up. I have no idea who specializes in this, can anyone recommend a specialist that understand this in the North Eastern region of the USA.

Symptoms:

Sugar Cravings
Mood Swings
Depression
Weight Gain
Bloating
Circulation issues
Difficulty Breathing
Itchy SKin
Diarrhea
Fatgiue

Usually go away when I take Diflucan but come back for some reason.



35.  Ellison Gray    Friday, January 20, 2017

Try enemas. When I was giving up. Garlic enema changed my whole perspective.



36.  Amy    Tuesday, March 14, 2017

Not eat for a day then drink fermented tomatoes. You can buy a big jar of it from a Russian store... I didn't eat for a day than ate and drank the whole jar 1 gallon of fermented tomatoes and the acidic water. Next thing I new I was perfect. But one month later it came back. So I think I need to do it many times to try to entirely get rid of it. Also acid vinegar stuff might work.



37.  Emily    Tuesday, December 5, 2017

I love your writing Sarah.



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