Candida claims are bunk, it's a misd... 
natway
13 y
20,224
I've always been a little skeptical about this whole "Chronic Candida" thing pushed by segments of the alternative medicine community, claiming that Candida goes far beyond causing simple yeast infections, like oral thrush and vaginitis, and instead can become chronic, or routinely systemic and cause just about every known symptom to man!
I've personally known some people who thought they had it, but never seemed to be able to heal from it no matter what expensive supplements or restrictive diets they tried, just like so many people here at CureZone.
And I'm not the only one. Conventional medicine thinks the diagnosis is bunk along with respected complimentary medical doctor, Dr. Andrew Weil:
"Your patient has bought into the scientifically unfounded notion that Candida albicans, a species of yeast that normally lives harmlessly in the gastrointestinal tract and vagina, can routinely become a serious systemic infection responsible for a host of ailments. Systemic candidiasis is said to cause fatigue, depression, anxiety, skin eruptions, and immune system malfunction.
Diagnoses of systemic candidiasis usually have no scientific basis, and most of the recommended treatments for it waste time and money. Anyone with yeast growing in the blood or vital organs would be critically ill in an intensive care unit. Despite this medical reality, systemic candidiasis remains a popular diagnosis in some segments of the alternative medicine community."
I never really looked at the symptoms of "Chronic Candida" until of late when a thread here showed that the symptoms of Adrenal Fatigue are exactly the same as the symptoms of Starvation/Anorexia and after that peaked my interest, I found that Hypoglycemia, a condition common in AF and Candida sufferers, can be caused by calorie-restriction too. Interestingly, AF is not accepted as a valid medical diagnosis by conventional medicine and there's been controversy in the past about Hypoglycemia being a real condition or not.
Since "Chronic Candida" is not an accepted medical condition, I didn't really know where to start to look for all the symptoms and condition attributed to it. After all, who came up with all the alleged symptoms?!! So I just started with the list by CZ's resident Candida "expert":
"Here is our list of 100 Common Candida Symptoms associated with systemic fungal candida:"
http://www.candidaplan.com/new/what_is_candida/symptoms.php
Whoa, not just a 100 symptoms, but a 100 common symptoms? DAMN! And at the bottom of his list, you can buy the doctor's book in which he will list even more symptoms! With all those symptoms, who doesn't have Chronic Candida?! Talk about your red flag.
But it doesn't take long to see that all the symptoms attributed to so-called "Chronic Candida" are practically a mirror of Malnutrition and Anorexia symptoms and it perfectly explains why there are so many symptoms and conditions attributed to Candida.
Shared symptoms of "Chronic Candida" & Malnutrition/Anorexia (calorie-restriction):
Acne, Allergies, Anemia, Anxiety, Arthritis, Attention deficit/Hyperactivity (ADD/ADHD), Bad breath, Bleeding gums, Bloating, Blood Sugar imbalances (Hypoglycemia), Body Odor , Brain Fog, Constipation, Depression, Diarrhea, Digestive problems, Dizziness, Dry hair, Dry or rough skin, Eczema, Edema, Electrolyte imbalance, Fatigue, Flatulence/gas, Food cravings, Gum disease, Headaches, Heart palpitations/irregular heartbeat, Hormonal imbalances, Impaired immune system (frequent colds, flu, or other infections), Impotency, Insomnia, Intolerance of cold, Irritability, Itching and burning eyes, Joint pain, Lack of energy & weakness, Low libido, Memory problems, Menstrual problems (PMS, missing periods), Metallic taste in mouth, Mood swings, Muscle aches stiffness or weakness, Nervousness, Nervous system disorders, Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Poor coordination, Poor memory, Prostate enlargement, Sinus trouble, Sugar cravings, Thyroid dysfunction (Hypothyroid), Tingling in hands and feet, Weight loss.
Other symptoms of Malnutrition (most of them I see a lot of people at CZ complain about):
abnormal blood counts, absorption issues, appetite loss, bluish discoloration of the fingers, breathing difficulties, brittle nails, continuous thirst, dehydration, fainting, hair thinning or loss, loss of taste and smell, low blood pressure, metabolism issues, osteoporosis, pale skin, puffy face, tooth decay/cavities, yellowish skin, slow wound healing, soft downy hair covering the body
(Symptom resources listed at bottom)
Due note that both the conditions of Hypoglycemia and Low Blood Pressure can be induced by calorie-restriction and have very similar symptoms with each other and to the alleged set of symptoms of both "Chronic Candida" and Adrenal Fatigue:
Low blood pressure symptoms: Blurred vision, Cold clammy pale skin, Depression, Dizziness, Fainting, Fatigue, Lack of concentration, Lightheadedness, Nausea, Rapid shallow breathing, Thirst
Hypoglycemia symptoms: Anxiety, abnormal behavior, Blurred vision, Confusion, Fainting, Heart palpitations, Hunger, Shakiness, Sweating
One of the trademark symptoms of "Chronic Candida" are infections, especially Candida yeast infections, either oral, or vaginal in women. However, another trademark symptom is frequent colds or flu, an indication of a weakened immune system, which is also mentioned as a symptom of Candida. Well, if a people calorie-skimp long enough, they will develop malnutrition, which will cause their immune systems to weaken, leaving them more susceptible to things like yeast infections. Impaired immune systems are also risk factors of oral and vaginal yeast infections:
Wikipedia: A weakened or undeveloped immune system or metabolic illnesses such as diabetes are significant predisposing factors of candidiasis. Diseases or conditions linked to candidiasis include HIV/AIDS, mononucleosis, cancer treatments, steroids, stress, and nutrient deficiency.
webmd.com: About half of all anorexics have low white-blood-cell counts, and about a third are anemic. Both conditions can lower the immune system's resistance to disease, leaving a person vulnerable to infections.
nursingtimes.net: Who is affected by malnutrition?
- people with chronic (long-term) disorders - for example, eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia,
Typical adverse effects of malnutrition include: slower immune response which increases the risk of getting infections, and increases the length of time that it takes to recover from infection
mayoclinic.com:
Oral thrush - Risk factors: Having a compromised immune system
Yeast infection (vaginal) - Risk factors: Impaired immune system
Peeling Lips (Exfoliative Cheilitis) is another commonly discussed condition here at CZ. This condition can become infected with the Candida yeast, but its root cause has been linked to malnutrition and is considered a sign of an eating disorder, such as Anorexia or Bulimia:
Wikipedia: Although the sores of angular cheilitis may become infected by the fungus Candida albicans (thrush), or other pathogens, studies have linked the initial onset of angular cheilitis with nutritional deficiencies, namely riboflavin (vitamin B2) and iron deficiency anemia, which in turn may be evidence of poor diets or malnutrition (e.g. celiac disease). Zinc deficiency has also been associated with angular cheilitis. Angular cheilitis can also be a sign of anorexia nervosa and/or bulimia nervosa due both to malnutrition and as a side effect of constant vomiting.
This whole "Chronic Candida" diagnosis is nothing but a big misdiagnosis of Malnutrition, so instead of dropping a lot of cash on Candida-killing supplements and going on questionable restrictive low-carb diets for who knows how long to try to "starve" the problem away, you should probably start by making sure you're not calorie-restricting.
Find out if you're calorie-restricting or not with these free resources:
cronometer.com, fitday.com, myfitnesspal.com
Malnutrition can be caused by either under-eating (calorie-restriction), or the overeating of junk food (empty calories).
How many calories needed per day to be active:
Female: 14-18 = 2,400
Female: 19-30 = 2,400
Female: 31-50 = 2,200
Female: 51+ = 2,000-2,200
Male: 14-18 = 2,800-3,200
Male: 19-30 = 3,000
Male: 31-50 = 2,800-3,000
Male: 51+ = 2,400-2,800
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/wecan/healthy-weight-bas...
"According to the World Health Organization, a diet under 2100 calories for average men and under 1800 calories for average women is classified as a “Starvation diet.”
http://hbmag.com/the-calorie-myth/
Undernourishment or Chronic Hunger
"The average minimum energy requirement per person is about 1800 kcal per day."
http://www.fao.org/hunger/en/
How much food do you need?
"On average, the body needs more than 2,100 kilocalories per day per person to allow a normal, healthy life. Extra energy is needed during pregnancy and lactation."
http://www.wfp.org/hunger/what-is
"2,100 kcal is the average daily energy requirement of a ‘typical’ emergency affected population. This has been estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and is recognized in SPHERE."
http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/training/4.2/7.html
Signs and help for eating disorders:
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm
http://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org
http://www.helpguide.org/topics/eating_disorders.htm
Symptoms resources for Candida:
http://www.candidamd.com/candida/symptoms.html
http://www.thecandidadiet.com/candidasymptoms.htm
http://candidaclinic.org/eliminating-systemic-candida/
http://www.candidaplan.com/new/what_is_candida/symptoms.php
Symptoms resources for Anorexia/Malnutrition:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/anorexia/DS00606/DSECTION=symptoms
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/anorexia_signs_symptoms_causes_treatment.htm
http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/eatdis.htm
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vitamin-deficiency-anemia/DS00325/DSECTION=s...
http://www.something-fishy.org/isf/mentalhealth.php
(E.D. & psychological illnesses)
http://www.something-fishy.org/dangers/vitamins.php
(E.D. & Nutrient deficiencies)
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003050.htm
(metallic taste mouth)
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... Kcirla
13 y
17,483
MoreThis is a reply to # 2,049,003Ok, so first candida overgrowth is a fat/sugar relation issue, and now it is not a condition at all?
Obviously, you don't know anything about candida overgrowth, and so does this "Dr" Weill.
People fail to treat candida overgrowth so often because they adopt a high animal protein high fat diet, that is not gonna help them restore proper digestive function.
Also, stop spreading your nonsense everywhere about calorie restriction. I've juice fasted for monthes at about no more than 1400 calories a day, and I was actually not losing weight, when I was losing tons of it on a 2500-3000 calories diet, because I was not digesting food properly at that time. And I've actually got rid of the symptoms you think are calorie restriction related on my juice fast.
I guess you're here to help, but you're just not. You're just not useful here. You're wasting your time and others' too.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
17,325
This is a reply to # 2,049,232Kcirla, you're reacting too fast to this.
I'm not saying candida can never cause an issue, just that it's not the cause of just about every symptom and condition known to man as some segments of the alt medicine community seem to blame it on and try to sell you all these expensive supplements and cleanses and put you on restrictive diets to try to rid. I only believe the minor yeast infection problems and the one very rare systemic blood infection problem accepted by conventional medicine.
Alt medicine wants you to believe the candida yeast causes all those 100 symptoms when I'm showing that those minor candida infections are just part of what can happen from having a weakened immune system caused by malnutrition, a condition that does cause all those 100 symptoms and conditions. People with weakened immune systems get those yeast infection and some alt medical doctors think the yeast infections are the cause, not just one of the many symptoms/conditions of malnutrition.
Mainstream medicine says candida infections can be a result of having a weakened immune system:
mayoclinic.com:
Oral thrush - Risk factors: Having a compromised immune system
Yeast infection (vaginal) - Risk factors: Impaired immune system
Some in alt medicine put the cart in front of the horse on this one. Like I said, a misdiagnosis.
Your calorie intakes and losing/not losing could very well be explained by this:
The Myth of Low-Calorie Dieting for Weight Loss Exposed
The body will stop clinging so desperately to stored fat when it no longer fears starvation because it's receiving proper nourishment from food.
Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/027126_diet_body_dieting.html#ixzz2OfbOERL2
I got rid of my main symptoms by doing a juice fast too that I'm sure was calorie-restricted, but remember what Dr. Graham said about juice fasts that could explain that as well:
"Foods don't heal, but they certainly can harm. Putting people on juices and vegetables we often see them heal from health concerns. This is because they are no longer eating the foods that were harming them. It's that simple."
//www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=2037803#i
I just would recommend to try getting good high amounts of calories from low-fat/low-sodium whole, unprocessed foods and see how many of your health symptoms improve before going down any other route and if some of the symptoms are still lingering, go even high calories to make double sure it wasn't a calorie-restriction issue. As I'm learning, it seems like some conditions, like "AF," need a lot more calories than just the recommended minimums.
Just try it out and see how it works. If you stay low-fat and low-sodium enough, your body shouldn't gain anymore weight than it naturally should.- *CLARIFICATION of which Candida clai... natway
13 y
17,532
This is a reply to # 2,049,312I want to clarify which Candida claims I believe and don't believe.
I believe the kinds of Candida infections that are accepted by conventional medicine, such as these:
- Thrush (“Oropharyngeal / Esophageal Candidiasis”)
- Vaginal Yeast Infections (“Genital / Vulvovaginal Candidiasis”)
- Invasive Candidiasis
http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/candidiasis/
Invasive Candidiasis is what Dr. Weil's quote in my OP is referring to and this type of Candida infection is extremely rare in people without risk factors:
"Anyone with yeast growing in the blood or vital organs would be critically ill in an intensive care unit."
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA125503/Concerned-About-Candidiasis.html
"Invasive candidiasis is a fungal infection that can occur when Candida yeasts enter the bloodstream. Candidemia (a bloodstream infection with Candida), is extremely rare in people without risk factors,"
http://www.cdc.gov/fungal/Candidiasis/invasive/
The Candida claims I don't believe is the very broad "Chronic Candida" diagnosis propagated by segments in alternative medicine that's kind of in-between the ones above and is blamed for so many symptoms and other chronic health conditions.
An example alternative medicine explanation:
What Is Candida?
Candida albicans has the ability to change from normal yeast to a pathogenic fungus. The fungal form creates excessive toxicity that will affect the way every organ, tissue, and cell functions. Systemic Candida occurs when fungal Candida has spread throughout the body.
Systemic Candida can contribute to or create many problems in the body. Common major Candida symptoms may include: Sugar or sweet cravings, gas, bloating, fatigue, low energy, allergies, sinusitis, acid reflux, hormonal imbalances, brain fog, Depression and arthritis.
http://www.candidaplan.com/new/what_is_candida/
This alternative medicine diagnosis has been referred to by different names (which can be confusing) such as Chronic Candida, Candida overgrowth, Systemic Candida, Candidiasis, or simple Candida, and this diagnosis is the one that I'm saying is really caused by Malnutrition, which can make people's immune systems weak and, therefore, more susceptible to getting the kinds of Candida infections conventional medicine accepts that I listed above.
- *CLARIFICATION of which Candida clai... natway
13 y
17,532
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... Blistering Fate
13 y
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This is a reply to # 2,049,003C´mon natway, C´MONNNN. No one with some brain and experience will buy this but thats a nice collection of links.
Quick hint: candida overgrowth will either cause malnutrition or will be accompanied by it .
I have just seen the Metametrix GI Effects results of a friend and he has +2 candida, pancreatic insufficiency, fat and food malabsorption and a weak/toxic liver. Connect the dots, nattie XD.
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
17,230
This is a reply to # 2,049,354I thought I did connect the dots to show that the whole Candida overgrowth diagnoses by alt medicine is really a case of bad malnutrition! I have to agree with Dr. Weil on this:
Dr. Andrew Weil: "Anyone with yeast growing in the blood or vital organs would be critically ill in an intensive care unit."
If it was like alt med doctors say, autopsies would prove their theory. I think even Dr. Graham was led down the wrong rode on this, from other practitioners telling him candida live in the blood, but his diet solution is also a healing diet for every condition by it being a diet that eliminates all the bad foods and encourages adequate calorie intake to give you the nutrition in the best bio-available form for someone who was malnourished and that's why people who do the diet right get better real fast.
Hasn't a higher carb & calorie diet helped you like I've been recommending to everyone?
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... Tena Cious
13 y
17,171
This is a reply to # 2,049,378Nat, the good I could ever got from you wasnt scarce, I have to admit. Veggie juicing and calorie loading are amazing and they have helped me tons. Currently im recovering from Water Fast that worsened my leaky gut/inflammed intestines big time, but just some weeks ago I had a healthy weight of 150 lbs again, had energy and optimism and even was bodybuiling.
But candida its real, I dont know much about if it can spread or if it lives in the blood, but its a real condition and I am gonna get a stool test very soon so we will see my specific condition. (Changed username, this one its more accurate XD)- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
17,060
This is a reply to # 2,051,908I'm glad some of my advice has helped!
Read my clarification post to see I don't dismiss all candida problems, just not the vague and broad diagnosis those is alt medicine give. I just believe in the candida infections accepted by conventional medicine. I don't think conventional med is very good at healing, but I do think as a whole they are good at diagnosing. Doesn't mean they are perfect at it.
Let me ask, what is the stool test going to prove? We all have candida in our system. Does the test supposed to measure the concentration of candida in the stool versus just the presence of candida?
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... Tena Cious
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... saywhatagain
13 y
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This is a reply to # 2,049,003Hey Natway, I'm not going to go into a big debate with you about the whole debunking candida thing, the fact is candida overgrowth, parasites and low-grade bacterial infections are extremely common regardless of whether or not mainstream medicine recognizes and accepts this as true. I have done enough research on clinical studies of candida growing in the body to know it is a real thing.
I do agree with you however that the true underlying cause of candida and other imbalances is malnutrition is some way. The real cause for candida and many other diseases is stress in the body that leads to a suppressed immune system, causes the digestive system to become week, the body goes into a state of excess cold and not enough warmth and this allows all types of candida and bacteria to grow and florish when it would otherwise be kept in check, undigested food enters the intestine and feeds candida and it does spread to other parts of the body, haven't done enough research to know if it can invade the bloodstream and what-not, someday I will really do detailed study of things like this but I am focusing on other things for now. And yes I completely agree with you that the majority of symptoms that people relate to candida are not actually caused by the candida but by the underlying imbalances. Headaches, constant fatigue, brain fog, many other symptoms people complain about are really caused by stress in the body first, then candida grows also increases the stress even further and cycles out of control in this way.
In order to correct all of this, we have to go back to the source and remove the stress from the body and allow the immune system to go back to functioning, allow the digestion to destroy all pathogens in the body. Just eating enough calories is not enough to do this, just eating high-carb low fat is not enough to do this in all cases (some people will be helped by this), each person will have a different diet and possibly herbs to correct these problems.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
17,433
This is a reply to # 2,049,422I think we pretty much agree with everything. Let me be clear I still believe in the relatively minor oral and feminine yeast infections and the rare blood systemic infection, but not that version some in alt med do that they refer to as "candida overgrowth." It is kind of confusing.
I do think emotional stress is the root cause most of the time. Stress requires more non-empty calories to handle it and stress can also cause appetite loss which leads to malnutrition and that causes all sorts of stress to the body and mind. It becomes a real viscous cycle.
I think a person has to release the underlying emotional cause to fully be healed, but I also think it can be handled as long as they get more calories, although it's just bandaiding the situation. But that's the healthiest way to bandaid it in my opinion.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... saywhatagain
13 y
17,198
This is a reply to # 2,049,446Like I said, I need to do much more research on the topic, but I actually think that candida spreads by infecting the spinal column not necessarily the blood, I have read medical studies about people that have had candida infect the brain and they concluded that this was the way it spread by infecting the spinal column and spreading to the brain. It does seem strange that a severe fungal infection can spread this way without killing a person but this is fact not based on guessing. I just did a quick google search regarding candida found during autopsies and yes candida can be found in every part of the body. You are right that it seems once it infects the blood it can be very dangerous and can lead to death, probably this is the only thing doctors worry about so they only refer to systemic candida as a life-threatening infection that has infected the blood. But it seems apparent that candida can infect many areas of the body and become what I would consider a systemic infection without infecting the blood. Maybe this is because the immune system is set up to protect the blood at all costs and the immune system in other parts of the body such as the spinal column are more easily infected. I still need to do a lot more research, but you should also do more research if you think there are only two extremes, either minor oral or feminine infections or systemic blood infections, there are many different levels of infection between these two, just because you and your doctor are unaware of these does not mean they don't exist. In addition to candida, there are tons of other bacterial infections that can invade various organs and other parts of the body without infecting the blood, this is a medical fact. Doctors don't usually worry about these type of infections because they are not life-threatening but these are slow killers, they place more of a burden on an already stressed system and if western medicine really wants to start curing illnesses and getting people healthy they have to start looking at all of these infections that are very real but not life-threatening.
Realistically it is not as important to identify what types of infections a person has (candida, bacterial, parasitic), the important thing is to treat what is at the source of the infections, stress, we agree on this part. But I do think it is also important to properly diagnose an individual and for doctors to take the matter of candida infections more seriously. Improper diet and lack of calories will increase stress, yes I agree completely, many people on starvation diets are putting more stress on their bodies making their bodies want to gain even more weight. Stress causes a loss of appetite, absolutely I have experienced this first hand.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
17,316
This is a reply to # 2,049,560"But it seems apparent that candida can infect many areas of the body and become what I would consider a systemic infection without infecting the blood.
if you think there are only two extremes,
if western medicine really wants to start curing illnesses and getting people healthy they have to start looking at all of these infections that are very real but not life-threatening."
I think this alone proves what I'm saying. It's been the complaint about western medicine that they only want to treat symptoms to make $$$ instead of curing disease. West med accepts only the two minor candida infections and the one major critical systemic candida infection, as you say, the two extremes, and offer their own pharmaceutical and prescription drugs to treat the two minor and one major candida infections. Why would west med not want to accept the "medium" candida diagnosis and make a killing on selling treatments like alt med does with all their candida protocals? It doesn't make sense to me they wouldn't take advantage of that major money-making opportunity like alt med is doing.
I always think back to this article from a site selling herbal candida treatments and making this statement:
"Candida is like a seven-headed dragon – nearly impossible to kill.
Q: Are there any “miracle cures” for Candida?
A: I came across something that actually does work with any kind of chronic Candida infection.
We sell it here.
One rare symptom of Candida albicans is Candida of the nails:
We sell a natural antifungal against nail fungus.
//www.curezone.org/forums/fm.asp?i=2019007#i
Look at McComb's site and all the very expensive candida tests and protocal plans he sells.
http://www.candidaplan.com/store/Candida-Testing/
http://www.candidaplan.com/store/Dr.-McCombs-Candida-Plan/
Now go back and re-read that practically all of the huge amount of symptoms attributed to alt medicine's "medium" candida diagnosis fit the symptoms of malnutrition perfectly and let it really sink in.
West med is accused of running a racket on a lot of conditions, but alt med is definitely the one running a racket when it comes to candida.
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... saywhatagain
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, just a ... natway
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... lalobear
13 y
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This is a reply to # 2,049,003Thanks for the info Natway. Sorry you have been banned. So do you have malnutrition symptoms?
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... natway
13 y
17,116
This is a reply to # 2,050,757I still have most of the symptoms formally known as AF that we now know are just symptoms of malnutrition. My poor digestion is the last piece of my puzzle because I can't eat enough food to get the amount of calories I need to fuel and nourish myself out of malnutrition. On my Paleo diet of eating mostly meat and vegetables, I was getting enough calories, but I was way under-carbed, I was toxic from all the animal protein and fats (my toxic hunger symptoms), and I doubt I was getting all my nutritional needs with the lack of variety on that diet and possibly nutrients being stripped from by body having to deal with trying to deal with my high-acidic meat-based diet.
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... natway
13 y
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- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... Kadima
13 y
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This is a reply to # 2,049,003I scanned everyone's replies - there were quite a few, so I did not read every individual reply.
What surprised me the most was that everyone was talking about something no-one had first-hand experience with.
I have had Candida overgrowth since I was 1 week old, but unfortunately, it was only diagnosed a few years ago. By then, it had gone into my eyes, my hair, etc.
I had what doctors labeled a "geographic tongue".
A simple saliva test in the morning would reveal Candida with its tentacles growing in plain water in just 1 minute.
I have it under control now, or know what to do, if I am out of line - overeat or eat too many sweets, or am under a lot of stress.
It took me many years to find the solution. And I don't mind sharing it with anyone who wants to know.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... saywhatagain
13 y
17,088
This is a reply to # 2,050,829Thanks, I think a lot of us are self-diagnosed and we don't go to medical doctors simply because we don't trust them. Personally, I am pretty sure I have candida, self-diagnosed so yes not 100% sure that I have it but I will never go to a doctor as they can only prescribe anti-fungals anyway which does not work as a cure in most cases. Thanks for the post.
- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... natway
13 y
17,080
This is a reply to # 2,050,856We all have candida yeast in us. It's part of our normal flora. The debate is does it sometimes overgrow into relatively minor oral and vaginal infections and the rarely systemic life-threatening bloodstream infection in high-risk patients, or does it routinely become "chronic" as described by some in alt medicine that's somewhat in-between the two.
I think the evidence clearly shows the alt medicine diagnoses is just symptoms of malnutrition and that's why there can be so many symptoms attributed to "chronic candida" and why all the other health conditions attributed to it are also conditions of malnutrition or a compromised immune system, which is also caused by malnutrition.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... saywhatagain
13 y
17,121
This is a reply to # 2,051,667Okay, well I will give you this, that other than good quality tests of feces, there is really no way to diagnose candida for sure. Also, as you say the chronic candida diagnoses is probably overused a bit and surely some of the people who think they have candida probably don't and have a completely different problem entirely. In fact there have been plenty of people over the years who thought they had candida, were posting on the candida board for a long time and then later found out that they didn't have candida at all. At the same time, I do think that some level of candida overgrowth (at least more than normal) is fairly common in people who have weak immunity and weak digestion. Personally, I don't worry about treating candida anymore, I am repairing and rebalancing my body on a much deeper level through ayurveda.
Regarding your other post above, you say you are still suffering from symptoms of adrenal fatigue and are struggling to consume enough calories. I know you have made a lot of progress from where you were with the fruitarian diet but do you think that adding some cooked food to your current regimine could help you? I mean, I know in a perfect world we would all be fruitarians and we would swim with the dolphins and what-not but in the world we are in, I think a lot of people need the more balancing soothing effect of cooked food. Well, just a thought, I know you are pretty into the fruitarian thing and if you can make it work I am all for it.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... natway
13 y
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This is a reply to # 2,051,794Bacteria and yeast overgrowths are common in weakened immune systems and that has a lot to do with malnutrition contributing to the weakened immune system, but when it does overgrow, does everyone really think the "toxins" said to be a by-product of candida is really causing all the exact same huge number of symptoms that malnutrition does? That would be incredible odds to say the least.
I think the scenario is pretty easy, patients started going to the alt medicine practitioners with all these complaints and these practitioners where trying to find the cause and either through ignorance or being a snakeoil salesman, they overlooked the malnutrition angle and noticed a large percentage of them also had the simple candida infections and assumed that must be the cause and found it was a lucrative diagnosis to treat. ching-ching
I believe the "chronic lyme" disease to be the same misdiagnosis and that's why those two diagnosis have been so hard to treat and why conventional medicine never bought into either of them.
I'm not a full-on fruitarian. I still eat cooked foods in the evenings and ironically, I think that's been the problem why my digestion still sucks. I started eating more fruit right as winter started and the lack of quality fruit and the coldness of winter has prevented me from trying the strict raw vegan 811 diet as Dr. Graham and 30bad promote. I didn't recognize I had a digestion problem to the degree that I do until a couple of weeks ago when it hit me that must be the reason why I can't eat more calories than I currently can and why Dr. Graham recommend either doing a mono-fruit island or a water fast, it's to heal your digestion. As he says, it's not the foods that will heal, but the absence of the bad foods that are doing the harm.- Re: Candida claims are bunk, it's a ... saywhatagain
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This is a reply to # 2,051,808I don't agree with the idea that its not the foods that will heal but a lack of bad foods that will heal the body. I think foods have amazing healing properties and not just fruits but also vegetables and many herbs. The only problem that comes in, is when our digestion becomes impaired, then all food becomes toxic and unfortunately digestion cannot always be repaired by fasting and fruitarian diets. I always think about all of this in terms of ayurveda because that is what has helped me to understand how the energy of our body functions. Long-fasts and following raw diets, will greatly increase the amount of cold energy in the body, some people will have great success on these because it suits their body perfectly. As you said, eating fruitarian in the winter in a cold climate is difficult because it is a cooling diet. For people like me (never did fruitarian, but I have done raw diet, lots of juice fasting and water fasting) increasing this cold energy when I already had a lot of this type of energy to start actually greatly impaired my digestion to where I had more and more food intolerances and basically couldn't eat anything. Finally, I realized all of this was not working for me and ayurveda has greatly helped me to repair some of the damage I have done.
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