How Candida and fungal overgrowth in your gut can make you feel unwell

If you’re experiencing bloating, heartburn, IBS, constipation, diarrhoea in your digestion, or if you’re struggling with low energy, mood swings, skin problems or dandruff, Candida could be a problem for you.

Ladies, if you have vaginal complaints such as itchiness or recurrent infections (UTIs), it’s important that Candida can contribute to these, too.

In the forthcoming blog series I’m going to share what I’ve learned about Candida and fungal overgrowth over the last 12 years of clinical work.

Candida overgrowth is one of the most common problems Jack and I see in our clients. In fact, we see stool and organic acids test results indicating Candida overgrowth in at least 20% of our clients.

What is Candida?

Candida is a type of yeast that has the ability to transform into a fungus. It loves to grow in warm, wet and dark places in your body, such as your:

• Mouth
• Sinuses
• Throat
• Genitourinary tract
• Digestive tract
• Skin

There are different types of Candida, including:

• Candida albicans
• Candida glabrata
• Candida tropicalis

Candida albicans is the most common type.

The word “albicans” means “white”, which is Candida’s main colour.

Below, you can see a case of oral Candida, and on the right is a lab dish with Candida albicans overgrowing in it.

The lower diagram depicts vaginal thrush – this sort of overgrowth can also happen in your intestine.

           

Is Candida normal and beneficial?

As you no doubt know, your microbiome is the sum total and diversity of microbes living inside and on you.

You have a microbiome in your mouth, sinuses/nasal passages, digestive tract,  in your genitourinary tract and on your skin.

Although Candida is often labelled as being “bad”, it appears to be present in the normal intestinal microbiome in about two thirds of the population.

It is only when Candida grows out of control – a little like weeds overgrowing in a flower garden (of “good” bacteria and microbes) – that Candida seems to cause problems.

When Candida does happen to overgrow, it can create a miserable set of symptoms.

Candida overgrowth can cause any and every digestive symptom, as well as making you feel tired and depressed.

It can cause brain fog, and problems with concentration and memory and it can trigger chronic joint pain, and headaches.

Candida can contribute to hormone imbalances, which then create problems with sex drive and menstrual function (leading to things like PMS, for example).

It can also lead to allergies (particularly food allergies) and make you more sensitive to chemicals in your environment.

What is Candida overgrowth?

Candida is normally kept in check by friendly microbes and the immune system.

However it can overgrow very quickly when conditions are favourable.

If the microbiome is disturbed and the friendly bacteria are depleted, Candida can take advantage and spread rapidly.

Possible reasons for a disturbed microbiome are:

• Low stomach acid and acid-lowering medications like acid blockers (especially PPIs)
• Toxins in your food
• Alcohol consumption
• Antibiotics
• Surgery

Candida might also overgrow if your immune system is challenged or depleted by infections or stress.

In people with very low immune function – as in AIDS, for example – Candida can cause a body-wide infection and lead to serious complications.

It’s not Candida per se that’s the problem here. Rather, it’s the weakened immune system.

Do doctors recognize Candida as a problem?

The images aboce show Candida overgrowing in different parts of the body.

Doctors are aware of and acknowledge problems in the following areas:

• Mouth – oral thrush / white coated tongue
• Oesophageal overgrowth
• Sinus infections
• Vaginal thrush

Certain types of fungal overgrowth, although not specifically Candida, are also recognized by the medical system as a cause of toe and fingernail fungus.

However, for some bizarre reason, the medical system does not acknowledge Candida overgrowth in the intestinal tract.

I have no idea why intestinal Candida overgrowth is ignored in medicine, especially when we find it to be one of the most common contributors to people’s digestive problems!

How Candida overgrowth cause DIGESTIVE symptoms

When Candida overgrows, it can cause symptoms through a number of mechanisms.

I’ll outline them here and go into more detail late in this blog series.

• First, Candida can grow little tentacles, or roots, called hyphae.  The hyphae grow into your intestinal lining where they cause an immune response, which in turn leads to inflammation. Inflammation can lead to burning, general intestinal aching, cramping, bloating, constipation and diarrhea. The diagram below shows Candida cells with hyphae, which look like little root structures (source: Wikipedia)

• Second, Candida produces a number of chemicals, which can also trigger inflammation and an immune response. These include gliotoxin, which suppresses the immune system.
• Third, Candida, like all yeasts, is very good at fermenting sugar and carbohydrates. Fermentation produces a lot of gas. Thus, when you eat fruit, bread, pasta, sweets, etc. you can blow up like a balloon and be chronically bloated.
• Fourth, Candida produces toxins that can break down the intestinal barrier, causing “leaky gut.” In turn, toxins can enter general circulation and interfere with the body’s metabolism. At the same time, nutrient absorption is compromised, leading to deficiencies that cause symptoms in their own right.

How Candida causes NON-DIGESTIVE symptoms

Many people with intestinal Candida overgrowth experience symptoms outside the digestive system. Some common ones are listed below.

Occasionally, these non-digestive system are present even in the absence of any symptoms in the digestive tract. Some common Candida symptoms include:

• Sinus problems (post nasal drip, recurring sinus infections, etc.)
• Lung irritation (from intestinal overgrowth)
• Brain fog and memory problems
• Fatigue
• Headaches
• Muscle and joint pain
• Skin problems
• Hormone imbalances
• Thyroid and adrenal problems

How to test for Candida

Testing for intestinal Candida overgrowth is not as easy as you might think, largely because the medical system does not recognise it as a problem.

If you ask for a Candida test at your doctor’s office, he/she will probably look at you as if you are a lunatic.

It’s not that doctors don’t want to test for things that make you feel unwell, it’s just that they are not tauight that Candida causes problems.

Working with over  3,000 hundreds of people over th last 12 years, we know for sure that Candida can be a hidden reason why you are feeling unwell.

Thankfully, there are few ways you can test for Candida at home.

Candida Stool Test

A home stool test can detect not only Candida, but also other fungal species.

The added benefit of a stool test is that it also tests for parasites, H. pylori, other troublesome bacteria, parasites and viruses.

Stool testing also helps to identify whether your good bugs are in balance, and identifies inflammation, whether you’re digesting food properly, and whether your immune system is healthy.

These additional factors are important when we recall that Candida only overgrows when immune function, friendly bacteria, etc. are initially knocked down.

Organic Acids Test

Candida and other fungi can leave a footprint in your urine.

We know that Candida makes certain chemicals, which can increase in urine when there is an intestinal overgrowth.

Some of these chemicals have fancy names, the easiest one to pronounce is arabinose, which we often see elevated clients’ organic acids tests.

The organic acids test is really easy to do at home and involves a single urine sample taken first thing in the morning.

Candida Antibody Test

Using a finger-prick blood sample, again done at home, you can test for antibodies to Candida.

Of all the tests, I think this is the weakest but it does have the advantage of being reported alongside 94 IgG food allergies.

In other words, from the finger prick blood sample, you don’t just get an assessment of Candida, but also a comprehensive food sensitivity analysis.

Which Test is Best?

I’ll talk more about the testing in subsequent articles, but for now I’ll share my opinion that a stool test is best when it comes to an overall digestive test because it looks for so many different things (more than 90 individual markers).

The organic acids test is slightly superior for assessing Candida, but it lacks the overall breadth and depth of markers, so we typically prefer to start with a stool test.

If folk can afford both tests, it’s absolutely great.

What about you – could Candida be a factor in your symptoms?

Obvious signs of Candida are:

• A white coating on your tongue or furry feeling in your mouth
• Bloating, especially when you eat carbohydrates
• Constipation or diarrhea when you eat carbohydrates
• Vaginal thrush or recurring urinary tract infections
• Brain fog
• Dandruff
• Athlete’s foot
• Fungal nails
• Spots that are more like boils – they’re sore but don’t have a white or yellow head

If you have a combination of these symptoms, there’s a reasonable chance that tyou have some sort of fungal overgrowth.

Remember, though, tthat Candida is not the only thing that causes heartburn, bloating, pain, constipation, diarrhea, brain fog, fatigue, etc.

Parasites, H. pylori, bacterial overgrowth and food sensitivities can also cause these symptoms.

You really have no idea what the underling causes in your individual case might be unless you run the right tests.

Back in 2007 I had heartburn, bloating, loose and smelly stools, anxiety, low energy, no sex drive, and dandruff.

These symptoms were being caused by a combination of H. pylori, Aspergillus (a mold overgrowth that we haven’t discussed yet) and a parasite called Blastocystis hominis.

I would not have known how to get rid of my symptoms had I not used some stool tests to uncover the root cause.

But once I’d taken the plunge and done a stool test, I was able to easily overcome my symptoms and get my life back by using laser-targeted protocols to erase the bad bugs and get my gut working properly again.

I know providing a stool sample isn’t the most pleasant thing to do, but it mustt be more pleasant than walking round feeling like “half a person”, and all the stress that goes along with it.

Getting well doesn’t have to be complicated, it just means doing the right things in the right sequence.

Click here to learn more about doing a convenient stool test in the privacy of your home, and finally uncovering why you’ve been feeling under the weather.

In the next article, we’ll go a little deeper into clearing up some of the confusion around Candida, and why it’s impotant to be aware of all the other factors, including simple dietary changes, that may quickly help you feel better.

All my best,

Dave.