Alternative Medicine Healing	Journal for the Natural Healer

Candida Yeast Infection

My Anti-Candida Diet and Natural Treatments

by Dr. John Dommisse

The issue of systemic candidiasis (yeast overgrowth all over the body and in the blood), as opposed to just the local vaginal, mouth (thrush) or skin infection, is a controversial one.

'Mainline' medicine and obstetrics does not recognize the systemic condition except in very rare cases of severe immune deficiency, such as in AIDS; most 'alternative' practitioners do recognize and treat it, with the notable exception of Andrew Weil, MD.

It seems to me that the problem could be solved if more mainline and alternative practitioners would order the accurate blood-tests for the active antibody subclass titers - the tests done by the ELISA or MONA methods. They would find what I have: That the titers showing active systemic infection are very often raised in cases where one suspects this condition (repeated or persistent vaginal, mouth, skin or nail infections; or fibromyalgia; unexplained fatigue, or even chronic fatigue syndrome - another condition slow to be accepted by mainline medicine).

They would also find that, after a months-long continued no-sugar, no-white-flour diet, lactobacillus acidophilus, caprylic acid and colloidal silver program (or Diflucan, Nizoral, or Nystatin, except during pregnancy), the fatigue symptoms are eliminated or greatly diminished and the active antibody titers are returned to normal or near-normal. This is pretty convincing evidence, to me.

After about 18-24 months of accurately diagnosing and effectively treating candida-yeast overgrowth in the blood in virtually every case (when patients have agreed to do the diet and treatments), I have found the following diet and natural treatments (obtainable at healthfood stores) usually to be more effective than months-long, high-dosage Diflucan, Nizoral or Nystatin medications - and usually without side-effects, except in those 1-in-100 persons who are sensitive to them:

Diet
Without strict adherence to the following diet, no anti-candida drug or treatment will succeed.

(1) Avoid added sugars (including fructose, honey, molasses, fruit-juice sweeteners, etc.) and all sugar-sweet foods and snacks, including cakes, cookies, candies, desserts, sodas, fruit-juice and ice-cream, unless they are made with sugar-substitutes like saccharine or aspartame (these substances may cause problems for some people who are allergic or sensitive to them but, by and large, they are not as harmful as sugars); or stevia extract, which is a natural sweetener, available at health food stores. If you can cut out sugars for 3 days, their 'spell' will be broken and you will be able to resist them quite easily, especially once any thyroid, chromium and/ or manganese deficiencies are corrected. 1-2 servings of whole-fruits per day (except the very sweetest kinds, like grapes, watermelon and mango) are OK.

(2) Avoid white-starch foods, like white bread, cakes, cookies, white pasta, white rice, potatoes w/o their skins, and all refined flours, etc.. Whole-grain flour, in moderation, is acceptable to me, unless you are a 'carbohydrate addict'; also potatoes with their peels, whole-grain brown or wild rice, whole-grain pasta (usually available in the deli section of supermarkets), etc. I see no reason to avoid other yeasts - they could help to contain candida yeast. Nor to avoid dairy products, unless you are allergic to them. I believe some of the prohibitions bandied around are "old wives' tales" with no scientific evidence to support them. Avoiding them puts an unnecessary burden on the patient, discouraging adherence to any form of anti-candida diet and derailing the whole treatment-effort.

(3) Increase your intake of essential oils, esp. omega-3 oils, which are very lacking in the Western World's diet. These include: Fish oils, and oily fish, like salmon, mackerel, tuna-in-oil, sardines-in-oil, etc.; Flax-seed, borage and evening primrose oils. One tablespoon or three capsules of any of these, twice daily, should do the trick. Some of these oils can be used as salad-dressing, instead of olive or canola oil, or on whole-grain breads or baked potato, instead of butter. Avocadoes, nuts, olives and olive-oil, canola and other vegetable oils are mostly omega-6, which are also good but not as lacking in our diets.

(4) Avoid antibiotics and cortisone-type prescriptions if at all possible.

Treatments
(1) Acidophilus (or Primadophilus or Bifidus capsules), 700-1,000mg (or at least 1 million organisms) after breakfast and after supper daily, either indefinitely or at least for 6 months. This and the above diet are usually enough to prevent - or prevent the return of a previous - overgrowth of candida yeast in the blood and intestines. A homeopathic remedy called AquaFlora, and some herbs, are also said to be effective. If stronger treatment is required, i.e. when you have elevated candida antibody titers in your blood, I recommend:

(2) Caprylic (or Undecanoic) Acid capsules 700-1,000mg (preferably including herbal anti-candida substances as well), after brkfst and after supper daily, for 3-9 months, depending on the blood antibody titers. The dose for undecanoic acid is 2x50mg after brkfst and supper daily.

(3) Colloidal Silver (<0.001 micron particle-size, 200-500 ppm), one teaspoonful after breakfast and supper daily, for 3-9 months (until the antibody titers are normal). Some say that a few drops held in the mouth can be as effective as a whole teaspoonful swallowed (and is therefore much cheaper) but, so far, I'm not able to confirm or refute that. I have not seen any evidence of 'argyria', a silver-grey discoloration of the skin that is supposed to follow. This substance was used as an antimicrobial agent before we had antibiotics, and was quite safe.

PRODUCTS WE RECOMMEND FOR CANDIDA YEAST

There are two other products that promote a healthy intestinal flora and colon that we feel very strongly about and want you know about. The two products are Three Lac Powder and Oxygen Elements Plus Drops.

The Oxygen Elements Plus Drops are effective and also the best ones we tested. Other drops we tried became bitter tasting within a week or two after the bottle was opened, but the Oxygen Elements Plus Drops always maintained a very nice taste.

Three Lac Powder helps maintain your intestinal flora. It's important to rebuilt your good bacterias in your intestines and colon, while killing off the bad bacteria like Candida. The good bacteria can thrive in an oxygenated environment, but the bad bacterias cannot. So the combination of these two products is very effective for promoting a healthy digestive system.

The Three Lac Powder has a probiotic effect on your digestive system, but it's stronger than over the counter probiotics ... at least, that's how it seemed to us when we all tried it.

Colon Cleansing Kit