About Candida
Due to an overload on the immune system or an immune defect, a wide variety of infections and viruses can hit the body. These infections include lunginfections, fungalinfections and viruses. Especially serious are systemic fungal infections that can lead to a variety of very unpleasant and debilitating symptoms. In addition, serious systemic fungal infections, overload in the long run the body even more, due to lower absorption of nutrients from the gut and due to excessive stress on the body leading to even more diseases and severe side effects. The result can be a very serious condition, where the fungus now is the main reason to the weakened immune system, even if the initial immune weakening is cured. This condition can be very difficult to treat with conventional medicine, because of ineffective conventional medicine and because the systemic fungal infection can make the body hypersensitive to a wide variety of foods and products, including medicine. The result of the medication will often be a further weakening of the immune system and thereby strengthening of the fungus.
On this website we will have a strong focus on the symptoms and treatment of systemic fungal infections and in particular infections caused by the Candida albicans fungus, because it is the main cause to systemic fungal infections. We will on this website focus on, what you can do yourself to boost your immune system and how you in a natural way, can beat the fungal infection and get on the right track again. It is largely up to you to get better because the treatment in the field generally is not the best and due to lack of acceptance of the disease within the established health system. The site is an alternative to the established health system where we focus on natural and gentle treatment that your body can accept.
Owners of this website are all current or former Candidapatients. We therefore know better than anyone what this disease implies. All products sold on this website, we have tested on our own bodies and afterwards approved the products. Thereby, you do not need to test them on your body, and can instead include them as an important part of your diet to boost your immune system and beat your systemic Candida infection.
What is systemic fungal infections?
Fungi are natural occuring microorganisms in the gastro intestinal tract. They compete with bacteria in the gut and are part of the balanced system that helps you to digest food and stay fit and well. In the healthy gut the fungus population is kept under control by the friendly bacteria, for example Lactobacillus, in our gut. When one of the two overgrowds the other it’s a sign that something is wrong. Overcrowding with bacteria is normally a sign of a bacteriainfection. On the other hand when your immune system is down, fungi can start to multiply and can quickly take over the power in the gut. A good lining of bacteria in your gastrointestinal tract is crucial for the immune system, because it prevents viruses and harmful bacteria from getting in your system. A healthy bacteria population of gut flora also uses nutrients quickly and efficiently, preventing colonies of harmful organisms from getting the fuel they need to grow. The lymph tissue that lines your digestive system constitute the main part of your immune cells (about 60%). It decides what bacteria and elements get through and which ones should be eliminated. It acts as a barrier for harmful bacteria and a transport for good elements. When your system is healthy, the Candida Albicans cells are only in small numbers and harmless. However when your system has been compromised, the Candida will multiply and turn into a fungus. This is Candida overgrowth, a condition that can damage your intestinal wall, weaken your immune system and cause numerous other health issues.
Candida Albicans is a kind of yeast and is one of the most common fungalspecies in the intestinal tract, where it helps digesting the food. It’s also the most common cause to serious systemic fungal infections. Like many other yeastfungi, Candida yeast reproduce asexually by budding. They can ferment sugar (glucose) and thereby produce alcohol to get energy:
C6H12O6 (glucose) + 2ADP + 2Pi → 2C2H5OH (alcohol) + 2CO2 + 2ATP (energy)
Therefore, the Candida fungus loves carbohydrates (sugar) in particular. In recent years, also aspergillus (mold) and other fungal species has become more common. This shift is probably to a certain extent caused by the fact, that the risk patients receive prophylactic treatment against Candida, which then prevents Candida from spreading through the bloodstream to various organs.
At a systemic Candidainfection the fungi will have outcrowded the ”friendly bacteria” in the intestines. The digestive system will be covered with fungi on the expense of bacteria. In addition to strong growth in the intestine the anatomy and physics of the fungus can change or mutate, from the harmless non-invasive, sugar fermenting yeast like organism into a disruptive mycelial form. When this happens, root-like tentacles/structures are formed, which allow the new harmful fungi to penetrate the mucosa (or membrane lining) of the intestinal wall and enter the blood stream. From there, the fungi easily gain access to other parts of the body, like the organs, lymphatic system and tissue. The systemic fungal infection is now reality and the condition is very serious and life-threatening and relatively rare. The condition occurs especially in people who have a serious underlying disease. These individuals typically have a weakened immune system, which means that the ”friendly bacteria” in the gut are outcrowded by Candida albicans fungi. This state is also called candidiasis.
Fungi has a pleomorphic nature, which is a phenomenon wherein an organism can change forms in order to survive. Fungi can change to its many forms but does not stay in the new form; it can switch back and forth to its original form, which is important to remember when chosing your treatment strategy.
Images from the laboratory of rootforming Candida albicans.
Carbohydrates from the diet nourishes the systemic rootforming Candida when food passes through the gastrointestinal tract. From here, the fungus is fed and can grow by sending its roots all over the body, weakening the immune system and slowly drain its host for life. The rootsystem is a large coherent system, where most of the energi it needs is absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract, especially the intestines. Nutrients may also be absorbed from the blood, from the sugar that the body has absorbed in the intestine and afterwards transportet around the body with the blood. In addition, the fungus can get its nutrients from the bodys own sugarstores in the liver and muscles. These stores are released during stress on a signal from the brain.
Although the underlying disease, which caused the initial immune suppression, that made the fungal infection break out, now is gone, there is in this state no guarantee, that the fungus begins to retreat, because now the fungus is a main cause to the immune weakening. As long as the rootforming Candida gets its sugar from the food in the gut and gastrointestinal tract, it can exist and grow even further. To avoid feeding the fungus for years, so it will create a large and strong rootsystem around the body, it is essential to get a diagnose quickly and start the anti-candida treatment. Quick diagnose and treatment are very important factors in one's chances of getting better and possibly be cured.
What causes systemic Candida infections?
There are a number of different reasons for the break out of a systemic fungal infection. The main reason is a weakened immune system, which can have many different causes. Recent research suggests that an immune defect in patients also can cause breakout of fungal infections and other infections. In addition, patients at risk, include those who have undergone transplantation of bone marrow, stem cell or organ transplantation, as well as those treated with intensive chemotherapy (cancer) and other immunosuppressive treatments. Patients who are in intensive antibiotic therapy, where the treatment shall kill the bacteria in the body, including the ”friendly bacteria”, are at high risk. But there is a big difference between what is needed to trigger the growth of Candida albicans in the body. In some patients, its for example chemotherapy or an immune defect that will trigger it, whereas in others much less is needed to trigger a systemic Candida breakout. Common to them is that the fungal infection often gets so spread and serious that it ends up being the most important immunweakening factor. A very important reason for the overgrowth of Candida in the gut is the use of penicillin and antibiotics in connection with bacteriainfections. This treatment shall then kill the body's bacteria, including the ”friendly bacteria” in the gut. The consequence is that the naturally occurring intestinal Candidafungi, will grow wild and out of control due to lack of competition from the ”friendly bacteria” in the gut. Meat from pigs and cattle often contain residues of antibiotics.
Also a variety of conditions and influences from the surrounding environment can weaken the immune system and thus potentially cause overgrowth of Candida and systemic fungal infections. It depends on how low your tolerance threshold is to these factors. These factors could be anything from alcohol, drugs, environmental pollutants, a prolonged diet rich in carbohydrates and sugar, undetected allergies or even something as common as a lengthy period of mentally and fysically stress. It may also be a combination of these factors, where several of these factors together weaken the immune system so much that it can not hold the fungi down any longer, with a systemic fungal infection as a result.
Symptoms
Overgrowth of Candidafungi can lead to a wide range of symptoms, including some very specific for Candida albicans (see symptom section) as well as other more general as a consequence of the nutrient defiency and immune weakening caused by the fungal infection. Once the fungus is dominating it will overload the immune system tremendously, making Candidapatients vulnerable to a wide range of infections, viruses and allergic disorders from food, house dust, animal hair, perfumes etc. Patients who have never before experienced allergic reactions, could suddenly experience a variety of allergic reactions when they have a systemic fungal infection that weakens their immune system so much. Huge areas of the intestinal system will be covered with fungi, which reduces the uptake of essential nutrients from the gut significantly. Candidapatients are at high risk of lacking nutrients such as B vitamins, vitamin D, iodine, iron etc. The lack of these can cause various deficiency diseases. Many Candidapatients are living with the disease for years without knowing that it is due to an imbalance in the intestine and thus a fungal infection. Many patients have accepted the conditions of life and become accustomed to living with various symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, recurrent colds, recurrent ear pain, eye irritation, allergies, urinary tract infections, etc. A detailed description of the many symptoms can be found in the symptom section.
Diagnosis and treatment
Systemic fungal infection is an area which has not yet been studied very much. The drugs in the area has long been inefficient and often results in a wide range of serious side effects. In recent years, however, some new drugs has come on the market and they are more efficient and less harmful. But still, this is a field where treatment is not the best, both in terms of efficency and side effects. The drugs are also very expensive. In addition it is often very difficult to get the treatment because there are only a few specialists in the field, which are able to diagnose and treat systemic fungal infections. Analytical methods for the diagnosis of a systemic fungal infection are not the best and there is often seen negative results such as in blood tests or scratch test even though the fungus is in the blood or can be seen on the skin. Often, the diagnosis of systemic fungal infection is made solely on suspicion and on a comparison of symptoms and only very few doctors are able to do so. Although Candida albicans is the most common cause of systemic fungal infections, it is not certain that it is causing the infection. The specific fungal strain must be identified in order to find the right drug that has been developed for this specific fungal strain.
Systemic fungal infections has its origin in the intestine, where it absorbs sugar from the diet and from where it can spread its root system around the body. Its not unusual to get infected with small, local fungal infections such as in the nails, the hair, the mouth and on the skin, even if you do not have a systemic fungal infection. However, at systemic fungal infections we often see these symptoms, because the systemic fungus with its origin in the intestines weaken the immune system so much, that it causes the other, more local fungal infections to appear. Most doctors do not recognize the systemic problems that Candida causes. They only treat the symptoms they can observe visually such as vaginal infection, oral thrush or skinfungi and do not see the underlying systemic fungal infection, that can cause these symptoms. Do not get surprised if your doctor thinks it's all in your head and sends you off with a anti-depression prescription. Most sufferers of systemic Candida infections remain undiagnosed by their doctors and unaware of the cause of their condition. That's why it's so important for you two take matters into your own hands.
Candidapatient.com
So all in all, it can be a very long and hard fight to correct treatment through the established system. For most patients, the only option is to take responsibility themselves for their situation or seek help from an alternative practitioner.
We, on Candidapatient.com, have been through this process and based on our experience we would like to help you, who the established system have not succeeded to help. Luckily there is really a lot you can do to get your life back. The main ingredients are:
• Dietary changes to a carbohydratepoor diet, so the fungus in the gut is starved
• Use of antifungal foods and products
• Improve your intestinal function
• Avoid physical and mental stress
• Strengthen your immune system
The result of these dietary and lifestyle changes will be that the fungus gradually retreats, that the intestinal microflora becomes more balanced with more healthy bacteria and that your immune system will be strengthened. The end result will be that you get more energy and a more normal life. This approach often proves to be more effective than many drugs, because fungal strains often develop resistance to the drugs and because many of them have serious side effects that will only weaken your immune system further. On Candidapatient.com we offer the most effective dietary advice, that you will find on the market, because we have experienced the disease ourselves. We offer the most effective, natural antifungals and immune boosting products available on the market. Products that have been specially developed for hypersensitive patients and Candidapatients. We also offer a food range designed for Candidapatients, food in the highest quality that will ensure that you are not going to suffer from nutrient deficiency. All products in our netshop, we have tested on ourselved and afterwards approved as being suitable for Candidapatients. This saves you time and resources on testing them. We can not promise that you will be 100% cured, but we can promise that you will get a better life.