Scientist’s estimate 70% of our population – both men and women – suffers from candida albicans overgrowth. Candida is a form of yeast/fungus that is present in everyone, in the mouth and intestinal tract. Ideally it exists in harmony in your gut along with the trillions of other bacteria that aid in digestion and nutrient absorption, but when candida begins to multiply out of control and overtake your good bacteria, trouble arises.

I call it “a good neighborhood gone bad” in the gut. Too much candida not only causes unpleasant symptoms, but as it multiplies, it emits toxins that overwhelm your detox system, and it can penetrate your intestinal wall, causing leaky gut and releasing toxic byproducts into the bloodstream. This can feel pretty rotten. That’s when the headaches, skin rashes, fungus, fatigue, bloating and brain fog kick in. You may be feeling “toxic.”

Candida sabotages your weight loss efforts because of the toxicity and inflammation it causes. And the sugar cravings don’t help either. If you find yourself raiding the candy aisle at 9pm every night, that’s candida talking to you. Candida overgrowth can cause powerful sugar cravings; after all, sugar feeds yeast, so an overgrowth of this bad bacteria can drive you to crave sugar or refined foods. Yeast demands to be fed. And what happens when you indulge? Uncomfortable bloating or gas as the yeast digests the sugar, and a reaction occurs. And it multiplies.

Too much refined sugar, white flour, junk food, cookies/cake/pastries/pasta/candy, Too much booze (beer especially), Antibiotics, which kill off good bacteria and create a ripe environment for yeast to proliferate, Using birth control pills, Other parasite infections that damage the gut and allow candida to grow, Stress: burning the candle at both ends, poor sleep

You can test for candida via blood, stool and urine. Urine testing seems most effective. It’s hard to test for candida via stool, because it doesn’t survive the preservative in stool cultures.

I recommend anyone with the symptoms I listed at the top of the page consider a candida cleanse. I’ve seen many stool tests come back clean for yeast even though the person exhibits all the symptoms associated with too much yeast. With that said, I always recommend stool testing for other bacteria and parasites, because yeast often accompanies those infections, and you want to address it all together. If you suffer from the symptoms I mentioned, I recommend doing the candida protocol to kill it off.

Notice I say “for good.” That’s because candida is hard to kill off. It is excellent at building up a resistance to antibiotic herbs. You have to be committed! You’ll feel so much better that it will be worth it. I use a 3-part process to kill candida overgrowth. Starve it, kill and suffocate it, then re-inoculate the gut with good bacteria. Note that you may need to complete this cleanse more than once to completely get rid of it.
Eliminate gluten, dairy, refined white sugar, soy, processed foods, corn, and ideally grains (gluten free grains can be accepted, but I recommend removing all grains because they break down into sugars and contribute to intestinal inflammation.) Focus on organic eggs and animal protein + vegetables and good fats. Note that diet alone will not kill the yeast overgrowth! You have to combine diet with herbal protocol.