The Candida Factor

A Well-Known Truth Finally Admitted by the Medical Community

For years Natural Health practitioners have been raising a hue and cry over what has been seen as ignorance on the part of medical doctors in their apparent disregard for anything having to do with "natural health". An area of specific concern are the side effects of the antibiotics that are given so freely, and so often, for every sniffle and sneeze that walks through the door. Many doctors would claim that if they didn't write out a prescription, their patients would simply go to another doctor for it, and the sad part is that they're probably right. However, this particular issue is much more insidious and the results can be devastating.

In an article published in Viva magazine out of Toronto, Canada in the Fall 2005 issue, Dr. Roby Mitchell, M.D. wrote about the cause and cure of Type 2 Diabetes. Apparently, a team of eyes, ears, nose and throat doctors at the prestigious Mayo Clinic were trying to identify a germ that they felt may be the cause of so many degenerative diseases including, but not limited to, diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and heart disease. Interestingly enough, they found it and it was a fungus. So what was the fungus identified as the primary factor in 97% of their patients suffering from a degenerative disease? Candida Albicans.

Let's break this down. Each time you are given an antibiotic, penicillin for example, the antibiotic does a great job at killing the "bad" bacteria that is causing your current ailment. However, what you probably don't realize is that it also kills the "good" bacteria in your intestinal flora that helps to keep fungi, such as Candida Albicans, in check. We all have Candida as well as other yeasts inside our bodies; they are natural (and no, this is not just a female issue). However, when Candida is allowed to exist unchecked, such as when the good bacteria has been killed off during a bout of antibiotics, it begins to take on a life of its own. These yeasts feed primarily on sugar, hence you may find you tend to eat more grains and simple sugars when you have a Candida imbalance.

From Dr. Roby Mitchell's article, "Once fungi set-up camp in a particular tissue, that tissue will commonly respond by having its cells overachieve - producing more of what they normally produce. So, when the liver is infected, it creates more cholesterol. The pancreas cells will produce more insulin, leading to obesity and a pre-diabetic state." What isn't specifically called out is what is often referred to as "leaky gut syndrome" where the Candida literally grows so out of control that it creates holes in the intestinal walls and becomes systemic.

So, we take antibiotics and our natural flora is disrupted leading to a Candida overgrowth. The more sugars we eat, the more powerful and systemic the Candida becomes. The stronger it becomes the farther it spreads into areas of the body where it does not belong, including the brain! The holes created in the intestinal tract also then allow other toxins to float freely about where they don't belong sending the body into toxic overload. The next thing we know, we have a dis-ease - according to the doctors at the Mayo Clinic, 97% of these may be caused by a Candida overgrowth and by controlling the Candida, the theory is the disease can also be eliminated.

Educate yourself on the effects of Candida overgrowth and the steps you can take to offset this silent predator.