How to beat Candida using herbs

As we’ve seen in this article series, Candida overgrowth in the gut can cause a lot of problems.

Trouble is, doctors don’t really acknowledge it as being a problem.

Because of this, they won’t test for it, and if they don’t test for it, they can’t prescribe medications to treat it.

Even if they do test for Candida, the tests are not very sensitive and usually come back negative.

You could have a raging Candida overgrowth, yet you still won’t be given any treatment.

Where does that leave you?

Well, the good news is that you can get rid of Candida and keep away.

I’m going to give you a simple framework to use, including the specific products we recommend to our clients based on their stool tests.

Antifungal herbs

We know that herbs (also known as botanicals) can kill off Candida because we’ve seen help people get over their symptoms time and time again.

The main advantage of herbs, in my opinion, is that they have broad-spectrum killing power against bad bacteria and parasites as well as Candida.

Thus, you can use the same herbal products to do several jobs.

Most of the products mentioned in this article are quite effective against a range of different gut bugs.

The exception is H. pylori, which needs its own specific protocol.

First, some low cost supermarket options

Certain foods have an ability to fight Candida. In some cases these may be enough to get the job done, but in others foods alone may not be very effective.

Try eating the following a couple of times per day:

  • Raw carrot
  • Raw garlic, which contains allicin, a potent antifungal
  • Coconut oil, which contains lauric and caprylic acids
  • Apple cider vinegar on salads or diluted in water and sipped
  • Pau d’Arco tea – 2 to 3 cups daily

* a great recipe that incorporates carrot, apple cider vinegar and coconut oil is the carrot salad: grate a raw carrot and mix in some coconut oil and 2-3 tsp apple cider vinegar.

One problem with using these foods/teas is that nobody knows how much you need to take, and for how long.

There’s no agreed-upon protocol that has a track record of working time after time, so it’s a bit of a shot in the dark.

Specific, individual herbs that attack Candida

Research shows that there are quite a lot of different herbs with antifungal power.

You can use individual herbs for a gentler cleanse, or a combination of herbs if you want to be more aggressive.

Most of the high quality supplement companies have created broad-spectrum antimicrobial formulas that do an excellent job of knocking out intestinal fungal overgrowth.

Some of the companies have also created specific products for addressing fungal overgrowth in the mouth and genitourinary tract.

Here is a list of commonly used antifungal herbs:

  • Caprylic acid
  • Pau d’arco
  • Black walnut
  • Oregano oil
  • Allicin from garlic
  • Olive leaf
  • Cat’s claw
  • Wormwood
  • Tea tree oil
  • Grapefruit seed extract
  • Berberine
  • Artemisinin
  • Olive leaf
  • Neem
  • Scuttelaria

I could list more, but you can see the depth and breadth of different herbs available.

The savvy supplement companies have created compounded products which contain a range of these different herbal extracts.

These products can be extremely effective. Some of our clients experience improvements in their symptoms within just a few days of taking them.

However it’s important to note that the protocols may need to be introduced very gently in people who are sensitive to supplements, herbs, or foods.

Some specific products I like to use with clients include:

Excellent value for money:

  • Orthoflora Yeast Support capsules by Protocols for Life Balance
  • Parabotanic Select capsules by Moss Nutrition

Slightly more expensive but highly effective:

  • GI-Microb X capsules by Designs For Health
  • Biocidin by Bio Botanical Research (capsules or liquid tincture – liquid is sometimes easier for children and people who don’t like to swallow capsules)

We’ve used all of these products, usually with excellent success. I can highly recommend them based on quality.

Typically, we use the products for 30-60 days with our clients and gauge progress based on their progress.

Enzymes and biofilm disruptors

As you may recall from previous articles in this series, Candida and other bad bugs can build biofilms around themselves as a means of protection.

Biofilms are like an impenetrable fortress, shielding the bad bugs and blocking the immune system from neutralizing them.

Unfortunately, herbs and pharmaceutical antifungals may not be able to penetrate the biofilms either.

In these cases, we may have to break down the biofilm before you can kill the bad bugs inside.

Fortunately, a handful of companies have manufactured specific products break down and dissolve biofilms.

Some of these proven biofilm-busting compounds are:

  • Essential oils
  • Enzyme complexes
  • Nattokinase (an enzyme from fermented soy)
  • Silver (in a colloidal solution)
  • Sodium EDTA
  • Stevia (natural sweetener)
  • Lactoferrin

Some of our favourite biofilm-busting supplements are:

  • Interfase and Interfase Plus by Klaire Labs
  • Biofilm Defense by Kirkman
  • MC-BFM-1 and MC-BFM-P by Beyond Balance
  • BioDisrupt by Researched Neutraceuticals

How we use these products

There is no perfect way to use nutritional or herbal supplements – there’s no perfect protocol to suit everyone.

We all react and respond to foods, medications, herbs, etc. in our own unique way.

As such, the recommendations below are not designed to treat your unique case and we recommend that you consult with your doctor or healthcare provider before jumping in and using the protocols.

If you would like specific advice regarding your case, please contact us and arrange a 60min case review and consultation.

Example protocol without biofilm disruptor:

  • On waking, take 2-3 capsules of ONE of these products
    • Parabotanic Select, Biocidin, GI-Microb-X, Orthoflora Yeast Support
  • Repeat this dose 30min before bed

Example protocol with biofilm disruptor:

  • On waking, take 1-2 capsules of ONE of these products:
    • Interfase/Interfase Plus, Biofilm Defense, MC-BFM-1, BioDisrupt
  • After waiting 30min, take 2-3 capsules of ONE of these products:
    • Parabotanic Select, Biocidin, GI-Microb-X, Orthoflora Yeast Support
  • Repeat this pattern 30-60min before bed

If you are concerned that the supplements may cause side effects, we recommend introducing them slowly.

Without knowing more about your individual case, we cannot recommend anything more specific.

Of course, if you feel that a supplement is stirring up symptoms, or causing side effects, stop taking it and seek professional help.

As stated above, it is best to work with someone who knows how to do this work if you are unsure or uncertain about whether the protocols are right for you.

Probiotics

In twelve years of functional medicine consulting, we can’t say we’ve been impressed by the effects of expensive probiotics.

Probiotics may be helpful for some people but they’re certainly not a panacea and can lead to a lot of unnecessary expenditure.

Because probiotic supplements differ so widely in their composition, it is almost impossible to make a ‘catch all’ recommendation that will suit everybody.

Because they’re much cheaper, probiotic foods such as kimchi, sauerkraut, and live yoghurt may be better options.

Some doctors and practitioners use high dose probiotics alongside herbs in order to squeeze out Candida.

The following products are my favourite choices if people prefer to add probiotics to their Candida-killing protocol:

  • CandidaPRO by PROSymbiotics
  • Syntol AMD by Arthur Andrews Medical

Keeping Candida away once it has gone

Remember that Candida is not overgrowing because of an antifungal herb deficiency.

It usually overgrows because of poor diet, weakened immunity, toxicity, emotional stress, and so forth.

It’s really important to realise that you will only keep the fungi away if you repair your digestion and immune function through healthy eating and lifestyle.

To use a couple of analogies:

Your healthy lifestyle is the cake; the supplement protocols are the icing on the cake. You can’t put icing on a crumbly cake.

Your healthy lifestyle is like the solid wood with which you build a boat; the supplement protocols are like golden nails. You can’t expect to have a high quality boat using rotten wood hammered together with golden nails.

If you just try to kill the bad bugs, you feel good for a few weeks only to find that your symptoms come back with a vengeance a few weeks or months later.

Optimising digestion and immune function

During the Candida-killing protocol, and for 2-3 months thereafter, it can be helpful to support the digestive process.

Stomach acid, pancreatic enzymes and bile all work together to maintain optimal stomach and intestinal environments.

For example, we know that Candida can overgrow when stomach acid levels are too low, and we know that certain unfavourable bacteria can proliferate when bile is disrupted.

Thus, we often recommend that our clients take betaine HCL, digestive enzymes and liver/gallbladder support to optimise their progress.

In using these supplements, we’re not only making the digestive environment inhospitable to Candida, but also helping to improve a person’s ability to digest food properly.

I will not mention any specific products or protocols here because our recommendations are always based on stool testing results, as well as symptoms and health history.

Summary

Candida can cause a lot of unpleasant digestive symptoms. It is a common cause of many day-to-day symptoms.

Yet Candida remains hidden in plain sight because it is not recognised by the medical system unless it grows in the mouth or vaginal tract.

Candida overgrowth in the gut can be successfully treated with medical drugs, but this isn’t much use if doctors don’t even acknowledge there’s a problem in the first place.

Because Candida overgrowth in the gut it not recognised, it’s hard to get a doctor to run testing for it.

If you want to get properly tested, you have to take matters into your own hands and use a private lab. The good news is that it’s very easy to do.

Both stool testing and organic acids testing can be very helpful in determining whether you have a Candida overgrowth.

Likewise, if you can’t get a doctor to cooperate in Candida treatment, you can use high quality and effective herbal protocols.

If you’re following from any of the following symptoms, Candida should be seriously considered as a possible cause:

  • Bloating
  • Excessive wind/gas
  • Constipation
  • Diarrhoea
  • Frequent sore throats
  • Bad breath
  • White coating on tongue
  • Skin problems – dandruff, spots/boils, rashes
  • Low energy
  • Brain fog
  • Headaches
  • Food allergy/sensitivity

If you have one or more of these symptoms, I urge you to consider getting yourself properly tested for Candida and other underlying issues such as H. pylori, parasites, etc.

You’ll save yourself a lot of time and stress by figuring out what’s going on.

As always, we’re here to help.

If you’re a little confused and you’d like us to take a detailed look at your case history, feel free to arrange a case review and initial consultation.

We’ll help you figure out the next step and get you moving in the right direction on your road to recovery.

Learn more about an initial consultation with case review here.

All our best,

Dave and Jack.