It is interesting to hear those who are chronically infected with candida yet who don’t drink alcohol, to say that they may feel “drunk”, spaced out or a bit tipsy. As the alcohol produced by the yeast begins to be broken down it creates acetaldehyde, a chemical which is even more toxic to the brain than ethanol itself, which insidiously undermines brain functions and damages neurological structures.
Acetaldehyde is a dangerous chemical which enters the body in various main ways:
• Drinking alcohol
• Inhaling exhaust fumes or cigarette smoke (active or passive)
• Having an overgrowth of candida in your body
When we drink alcohol, it is broken down in the liver where an enzyme known as alcohol dehydrogenase converts it into acetaldehyde. Then another enzyme breaks it down further into acetate, which gives our cells energy. The problem is that in alcoholics or people with a high level of toxicity the body’s ability to convert acetaldehyde is undermined. High levels of this chemical remain in the body and can cause a kind of poisoning which not only does physical damage but can very much distort mental perceptions. This is why some people I have seen with chronic and systemic candidiasis (and especially those who drink plenty of alcohol) can have depression, anxiety, mood swings and irritability.
So now you understand, if you like a drink and have candida you MUST stop drinking for some time and restore your digestive system, repair the “leaky” bowel and work on building a healthy bacterial population and then in time re-introduce alcohol.
Candida is naturally occurring – it is the imbalance we are concerned with
As you are no doubt already aware, candida albicans is a form of yeast which occurs naturally in the human body, flourishing in the warm folds of the digestive tract, the vagina and the skin. In a healthy body, the population of Candida is kept in check by the several hundreds of species of friendly bacteria that live in the same area. But when these normal, helpful, bacteria are disrupted, by the use of antibiotics – which not only destroy the bad bugs they are designed to destroy, but wash away the good – then Candida albicans can take on a very sinister form indeed.
As yeast it can change into an invasive fungal form which can penetrate the intestinal wall and move into other organs. Like an unwanted weed, it can overgrow in the gastrointestinal tract, producing a complex medical syndrome known as chronic or systemic candidiasis. When “on site” in other organs, not only will there be tissue damage and inflammation due to the physical presence of candida, but the level of candida toxins increases locally as well.
The most common place in the human body where yeast proliferates is the vagina of women, where it produces redness, burning on urination, a yeasty odour and itching, but it can also overgrow in the mouth where it is known as thrush, and inside a baby’s nappy causing nappy rash. In these places it can be irritating but really only causes minor problems. I am always on the lookout in my clinic for the tell tale signs of candida infections in my patients.
What do I look for?
I look first for signs of itching anywhere in or on the body, and when people tell me they have itchy ears, toes, skin, an itchy head, genital region, or have patches of skin that flare up anywhere on their body I initially suspect candida. I also look for signs of sweet cravings; does the person go and buy a chocolate bar or really crave something sweet after a meal? They maybe feeding something more than their tummy and candida can cause an insatiable desire or craving for something sweet.
Ask yourself this – are you drawn to the same sweet foods regularly? Do feel the need to snack on sweet foods regularly? Do you always want something sweet after your evening meal? Have you taken one or more courses of antibiotics the past several years and have not felt really well as a result? These are just some of the many questions we ask with regard to candida in the clinic.
Fermentation dysbiosis
I suffered from candida myself when I was in my early twenties. I lived alone for a few years and had a stressful job initially working shifts in a flour mill then later driving a truck. My lifestyle was not balanced but my diet was quite good. But I think personally for me the shift into candida occurred after I had more than a dozen amalgam (mercury) fillings replaced for shiny new ones within a six month period.
Several months after the dental work my health had hit rock bottom. I then realised with help from a naturopath that the sudden increase of methyl mercury released from the new fillings had a powerful effect on weakening my digestive system, encouraging the proliferation of candida and many other dysbiotic bacteria in my small and large intestine. The candida eventually cleared after 18 months of treatment, including having my teeth redone with composite dental fillings.
My father always complained about his digestive system and used to suffer terribly with flatulence and bloating. After dinner he would eat a whole packet of biscuits, or eat a large amount of ice cream or consume a large chocolate bar. He loved bread and particularly sweet spreads like jam, marmalade and even condensed milk in a can which he would eat on bread, and when he had a cup of coffee he would add two sugars to each of the seven odd cups he consumed each day. When we were growing up he would buy us an ice cream, and get two for himself!
Can you see what dad was doing? He was simply consuming far too much sugar; in fact he was craving sweet things. Then he would be off to the doctor who would refer him to the gastroenterologist. He must have had every test know to man – endoscopy, colonoscopy, ultrasound, x-rays, you name it and he had the procedure done. But, the results always came back NAD – “no abnormal diagnosis”, and of course he would always tell us the same “those doctors are idiots, can they not figure out what is wrong with me”?
I knew even in those days when I was young that he was addicted to sugar, he used to fart that much it was embarrassing. Do you have flatulence? There is nothing wrong with farting, we all do it, but do you feel that you may have too much gas or wind? I’ll bet it is because of fermentation going on inside your digestive system. Having flatus is normal in bed, as you lie down the gas can easily escape through the anus, but if you stand up and pass wind when you are upright, you have a considerable amount of fermentation going on and I would suspect either a candida problem or dysbiosis in general.
If you eat too much protein, you may have putrefactive dysbiosis, this happens when proteins are not sufficiently broken down. Some bad bacteria like Bacteriodes spp. will overgrow. This flatulence can really be on the nose indeed, and is more common in those who eat too much egg, meats, gluten, peas and milk products. A person here may experience headaches, nausea and have various other digestive complaints. Yeasts and fungi are very primitive life forms, they do not make energy the way we do. Our bodies live by aerobic metabolism. We take in oxygen and give off carbon dioxide. Yeasts and fungi rely on fermentation by taking in sugars and then producing alcohol as a waste.
Fermentation dysbiosis however, is more common with yeast overgrowth and is a process not unlike wine or beer making. Yeast and sugars are in a process of fermentation and gas (fart) production. Large volumes of gas are produced but are not too offensive. Bloating, flatulence, fatigue and depression/anxiety are more common here and the people who get fermentation dysbiosis are the ones who eat too much carbohydrates like biscuits, snack bars, sweets, chocolates, breads, sweet spreads, fruit/fizzy drinks, etc.
In those who eat a high carbohydrate diet which provides the yeast and other bacteria and fungi in the body with an abundance of glucose, not only does candida survive, the fungi overpopulate and can potentially become an invasive and even dangerous organism. When the immune system has been compromised, or when the normal lining of the gut becomes damaged, the yeast, instead of remaining within the intestinal tract where they belong, can metamorphose into its fungal form sending out rhizomes (roots) to penetrate the walls of the gut, opening it to the absorption of yeast cells, particles of cells, and the toxins these micro organisms produce enter the interior of the body and pass into the bloodstream.
Next time we look at a few case studies and talk more about a suitable eating plan for those with candida.
