Five ways to start healing candida overgrowth.
Candida Albicans, more commonly known as Thrush, is a type of yeast that is often seen as an infection but is actually a common part of your intestinal microbiome. The problems only occur when the balance of microbes in your gut gets out of balance. Symptoms such as fatigue, diarrhoea, constipation, anxiety, food cravings, poor memory and bloating may not all seem to be linked at first, but they can all come about from candidiasis. If you think this might be the cause of your problems, here are five ways you can begin to get on top of the problem;
Cut out Sugar - sugar feeds yeast so it is an absolute NO for anyone trying to reduce candida overgrowth, and I’m not just talking the white stuff you put in your tea. Chocolate, fruit, dairy, refined carbohydrates and mushrooms are all ‘feeding’ the candida. While you’re getting it under control, they need to go.
Avoid Processed foods - as mentioned above, refined carbohydrates are often both high sugar and yeast, both of which will add to the problem. Also, most packaged food will include uneccesary sugar as a flavour enhancer. Try wholegrains, lentils, quinoa or alternatives to pasta (rice pasta is delicious) instead as well as getting friendly with your herbs and spices - they are both delicious and medicinal, for instance Thyme is an antifungal (use it liberally, unless you are pregnant).
Look after your microbes - when there is an imbalance in the microbiome there is often a correlation with a lack of fibre in the diet. The beneficial bacteria that reside in your gut need fibre to thrive, protect you and help you digest your food properly. Ensure you are getting a wide variety of fibre by aiming for 30 different sources per week. If you need inspiration to shake up your usual shopping list, check back through the blog posts for one titled “Five fibre groups to fulfil your fibre needs”.
Cut out potential allergens - food intolerances can hugely disrupt the balance of bacteria in your intestines. If you have a ‘question mark’ over certain foods, find some things cause bloating or pain or just want to make sure, then it’s a good idea to get checked to ensure something in your diet isn’t more foe than friend.
Check if you need any supplements - yes, we should be able to get all the vitamins and minerals we need from our diet, but when something has upset the proverbial apple cart, we may need short term supplementation to help our body get back on an even keel. A visit with someone trained in functional kinesiology, a herbalist or holistic practitioner will be able to point you in the right direction here (there is no point taking unnecessary pills!).
As always, I hope this has been useful and if you have any questions then pop me a message over on the contact page.