Candida Overgrowth (Candidiasis)

Candida albicans is a naturally occurring fungus found in the intestinal tract.  This fungus is the culprit in what is often referred to as a candida problem. Yeast infection is another common name for such a fungal infestation. When it is in the mouth, it is referred to as thrush.   Many people and even some health-type texts refer to it as a bacteria.  It is, however, a fungus that interferes to a very great extent with normal and necessary bacterial colonies in the intestinal tract.

Why Distinguish Between Candida Being a Fungus or a Bacteria?

Because alternative remedies for coping with a fungus differ slightly from the remedies used to combat a bacterial infection.  However, one of the results of an overgrowth of candida fungus is the destruction of intestinal bacteria necessary for the digestive system to function properly.  Combating a candida infestation includes re-establishing good bacterial colonies in the digestive system as well as controlling the candida fungus.  Treatment must involve 1) killing the fungus, 2) controlling the overgrowth of some intestinal bacteria, 3) strengthening the struggling colonies of some other types of intestinal bacterial colonies, and 4) rebuilding the damage done in the digestive system and throughout the body.  This article will provide suggestions for all four of these goals.

The Importance of Gut Health Cannot be Overemphasized.

New research is available constantly that explains the effects of an unhealthy balance of needed intestinal organisms on health.  These reports include negative impacts on such things as the nervous system, the immune system, the thyroid, the heart, and the vascular system. You may find my blogs on The Gut-Brain Connection or The Digestive System helpful in your journey.

Symptoms of Candidiasis

Most of the time, when speaking of the symptoms of candida, the topic is the vaginal symptoms experienced by women or a miserable baby who is experiencing a thrush issue.  These two symptoms are only the beginning of a very long list of things, quite benign or very serious, that a candida overgrowth can bring about in the body.

Common Candidiasis Symptoms

• Vaginal burning and itching.
• Constant and repeated urinary tract infections.
• Irritable bladder.
• Rectal itching and irritation.
• The white coating and irritation in the mouth of a thrush infection. This occurs mostly in babies and children.
• Digestive issues.  These include bloating, constipation and/or diarrhea.
• Skin conditions such as eczema, hives, and rashes.
• Fungal nail infections such as athlete’s foot or toenail fungus.
• Sinus pressure and congestion.
• Strong, almost uncontrollable sugar and refined carbohydrate cravings.
• Low energy, fatigue, and general weakness.
• Drowsiness after meals.
• Trouble sleeping.
• Muscle weakness.
• Headaches or migraines.
• Dizziness or light-headedness.
• Brain fog.
• Concentration problems as well as poor memory.
• Mood swings, anxiety, irritability, crying spells, and – eventually – depression.
• Premenstrual symptoms.
• Difficulty losing weight.
• Joint pain.
• Coughing, wheezing, and/or shortness of breath.
• Frequent sore throats.
• Allergies.
• Halitosis (bad breath).
• Body odor.
• Low libido.
• Lowered immune function.
• Chronic infections.
• Acne.

As an interesting and educational exercise, try putting a check mark by each of these that apply to you.  If there are more than 7 or 8 marks, consider treating yourself for candida overgrowth.  Reestablishing proper microbe balance in the intestinal tract may very well change your life for the better in many ways!

 Serious Diseases Linked to Candidiasis

• Leaky gut syndrome.
• ADHD.
• Rheumatoid arthritis.
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.
• Ulcerative colitis.
• Crohn’s disease.
• Multiple sclerosis.
• Scleroderma.
• Psoriasis.
• Lupus.
• Meniere’s disease.
• Raynaud’s disease.

What is the connection between candidiasis and these symptoms and serious diseases?

To answer that question requires a bit of understanding about the candida’s effect on the digestive system, particularly the balance of organisms in the intestinal tract.  It is important to understand how an imbalance in the intestinal tract affects the liver.  It also helps to understand the connection between the digestive system and the immune system.

Digestion and the Immune System

Our body’s immune system protects us from anything that is foreign or harmful to us.  This also includes foreign bacteria, parasites, and viruses.  The food we eat carries a great many of these harmful antigens, as well as other toxins, into our bodies.  The intestinal tract plays a huge role in protecting us from such antigens!  Some anatomy texts claim that about 70% of our immune responses begin in the gut.  A compromised, damaged, inflamed, or crud-coated intestinal tract cannot produce the immune responses necessary to good health.

Intestinal Tract Damage

The process of digestion breaks food down into tinier and tinier particles.  Also, you already knew that!  It is the lining of the intestinal tract that chooses what to eliminate and what to retain.  Hopefully, this is a very selective system.  So selective that anything harmful to that body is not reabsorbed.  Unfortunately, this is not always the case.

A damaged intestinal tract allows the wrong things to escape through the intestinal walls.  This increased permeability of the intestinal wall is referred to as Leaky Gut Syndrome.  When the intestinal walls are leaky, particles that should have been excreted re-enter the bloodstream instead.  These particles – literally partially digested food – enter the bloodstream.  They are, at least in part, responsible for some types of multiple food sensitivities.  To the immune system, they look a bit like the food they used to be.  However, they are in the wrong place and not doing what they are supposed to be doing.  The immune system becomes confused.

In addition, bacteria, viruses, and toxins – chemical and otherwise – also return to the body through damaged intestinal walls.  As these antigens overwhelm the body, the immune system activates.  A heightened level of inflammation and mucus, along with many other “fight back” immune responses occur.  What body systems are affected?  The immune responses occur in the body wherever the blood distributes these invaders.   Auto-immune disorders of various kinds become, as a result, almost inevitable!

Nutritional Deficiencies

A damaged intestinal tract also leads to mal-absorption of vitamins and minerals.  There are carrier proteins in the lining of the intestinal tract.  Each type of carrier protein uptakes a particular nutrient.  Ongoing inflammation, as described above, causes damage to these carrier proteins.  The most common nutritional deficiencies caused by poor gut health are iron, B12, magnesium, and zinc.

Iron Deficiency Symptoms:  fatigue, weakness, impaired thinking as well as poor memory, feeling cold, headaches, dizziness, hair and nails that are dry and brittle, strange cravings for metal, dirt, paper, or starchy foods, frequent infections, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, and restless leg syndrome.

B12 Deficiency Symptoms:  fatigue, lightheadedness, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, constipation, diarrhea, loss of appetite, gas pains, and nerve problems such as numbness, tingling, muscle weakness, and problems walking.  Other symptoms include vision loss, mental and emotional problems such as depression, memory loss, or behavioral changes.

Magnesium Deficiency Symptoms:  fatigue, aches and pains, muscle cramps, migraines, PMS, irregular sleep patterns and insomnia, heart irregularities, muscle twitches, and spasms, anxiety, digestive trouble, lack of appetite, constipation, brain fog with memory problems, mood problems with eventual depression, and ADHD.

Zinc Deficiency Symptoms:  anorexia, altered or lost senses of taste and smell, apathy, uncoordinated movements, decreased immunity, depression, diarrhea, excessive hair loss, muscle tremors, impaired thinking processes, poor night vision, poor wound healing, slurred speech, several forms of dermatitis, as well as white spotting of the nails.

Imbalanced Digestive Organisms  

Dysbiosis is a medical term that refers to any form of imbalance between the various colonies of good, hardworking organisms found in the intestinal tract.  The problem may be the invasion of higher numbers of harmful bacteria or parasites than the body can cope with effectively.  Additionally, dysbiosis may refer to any sort of bacteria – good or bad – growing where it does not belong along the intestinal tract.

Candidiasis is yet another form of dysbiosis, however.   The problem here is an overgrowth of this one necessary fungus, Candida albicans.  The overpopulation of this essential organism eventually upsets the balance between all of the necessary organisms found in the intestinal tract.  Too much of even a good thing often becomes a bad thing.  This is certainly true of gut bacteria.  It is particularly true of the toxins that are put off by both the living and dying Candida albicans organisms.

This overgrowth type of imbalance is referred to by a number of different names such as dysbiosis, candidiasis, candida overgrowth, candida infection, or simply a yeast infection.

Candida Toxins and Liver Dysfunction

The liver performs over 500 functions:

• One very important function of the liver is the production of the enzymes needed for digestion. Supplementing enzymes may be helpful but it is a “Band-Aid” approach at best.  The problem must be corrected in the liver, where it began.  There is such an interplay between the various organs and systems of the body.  For example, the small intestine is responsible for the uptake and distribution of the minerals needed by the liver.
• The liver secretes bile which breaks down fats and is necessary for the absorption of vitamins and the uptake of calcium. It also stores nutrients until there is a need for them.
• The liver draws off and stores toxins until they can be eliminated from the body.
• Proper liver function promotes peristalsis. If you are constipated, consider a mild liver cleanse.  Constipation, in turn, causes serious stress on the liver.  This can become a vicious cycle.
• Liver malfunction is a known cause of hypothyroidism.
• The liver is important in the regulation of blood sugar (discussed below).
• The liver breaks down hormones, such as adrenaline, when the need by the body for them is past. In other words, the liver helps the body return to normal following a period of high stress.
• The liver is a “manufacturing site” for the components that will be made into new blood cells.
• The liver is affected by excesses of any kind, whether it is addictive substances such as alcohol or just more than you can deal with physically, emotionally, or psychologically. The result of liver imbalance or toxicity is also excess.  Liver emotions are typically excesses of rage or extremely intense emotions that are being covered up or mollified by other addictive behaviors.
• The liver is responsible for the production of about one-third of the lymph fluid in the body.

Emotions of the Liver

Sometimes, because of social conventions or religious convictions, a person may have learned to control the outward expression of the anger or rage.  Instead, they will be intolerant of those who do not control their anger.  They have come to value self-control above all other virtues.  The predominant emotions then become sadness and bitterness as rage is internalized.

Toxins Produced by Candida

The Candida albicans fungus emits approximately 70-80 different toxic metabolic byproducts during its life cycle.   The survival strategies of these minute organisms utilize these toxins.  We will talk about only two of these toxins in this article.  The liver must break down and eliminate these toxins.  This stresses the liver!  In addition, some of them are just plain destructive to liver tissues.  (By the way, these toxins, along with even nastier metabolic byproducts,  are also released during die-off periods.  It is possible to have even nastier symptoms when ridding the body of excess Candida.  Suggestions for getting through this will be given later in this article.)

Acetaldehyde

This toxic compound is a metabolic by-product of Candida albicans metabolic processes.   Alcohol consumption creates acetaldehyde in the human body.   In fact, it is this compound that is linked to hangover symptoms.  The metabolism of large colonies of Candida produces a similar “hungover” feeling.

Acetaldehyde is very toxic to the Central Nervous System.  In addition, it stresses the liver and kidneys and even causes Vitamin B deficiency.

Acetaldehyde inhibits the metabolism and removal of excess hormones from the body.  Moreover, this compound blocks sites that uptake estrogen.  This, also leads to low cell estrogen while maintaining normal blood estrogen levels.  Occasionally, this situation leads to misdiagnosis of low estrogen.

Hormone balance is further affected because the cell blocking capabilities of this toxic compound affect the pituitary gland, the thyroid, and the adrenal glands.

Some small studies indicate that acetaldehyde damages DNA and increases the risk of cancer development.  Acetaldehyde is the culprit in Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.  There is also scientific evidence that there is an association between this toxin, candida, and some cases of Alzheimer’s disease.

Gliotoxin

There are several prominent studies indicating that Candida albicans produces gliotoxins.  Gliotoxins suppress the immune system.  They damage the immune system leucocytes.  Gliotoxins are also, like acetaldehydes, damaging to liver cells.

Herbs for Liver Stress

The combination LC is an excellent liver cleanse.

It is important to cleanse the blood (RC) and support the kidneys (KT or KB) and the colon (CD) at the same time. Butterfly Express sells these tinctures in a kit called the Reset Kit or the Reset Plus Kit.  In my book Butterfly Miracles with Herbal Remedies, there is a chapter on Doing an Herbal Cleanse Right.

The following is a  list of additional herbs that benefit the liver.  Burdock,  calendula, cascara sagrada, dandelion, ginger, milk thistle, rosemary, sarsaparilla, stone root, yellow dock,  raw beetroot, molasses.   Ginkgo biloba and myrrh protect the liver from toxin damage

Essential Oils for Liver Stress

^LeLetting Go, ^LeLivN, ^LeRevitalize, ^LeSafeguard, ^LeSynopsis and Ledum.  Please take time to read about the emotional picture of each of these oils and pick one or two that seem to fit your situation best.

Causes of Candidiasis

Whether we call it dysbiosis, candidiasis, candida overgrowth, a yeast infection, or something else, it is imperative that we understand what sorts of things create this problem.  Only when we understand cause can any healing occur and then become permanent.

• Prolonged antibiotic use.  Using antibiotics too often and for too long at a time.
• Chronic Stress.
• Lack of sleep.
• A high-stress lifestyle.
• Lowered immune response for any reason.
• Use of antacids, corticosteroids, hormone replacement therapy, and contraceptive pills.
• Excessive consumption of sweets, refined carbohydrates, and processed foods.  This includes such things as sucrose and fructose.
• Chlorine and fluoride in drinking water.
• Imbalance of intestinal bacteria for any reason.
• Diabetes or other blood sugar diseases or issues.
• Pregnancy.  In women whose diets are borderline, the hormones of pregnancy occasionally allow candida to flourish.
• Drinking alcohol.
• Smoking.
• Sexual transmission.
• Possibly, toxic mercury in dental fillings and toxins found in vaccines.

 Lifestyle Solutions

1.  Eat to starve excess candida.  Eliminate sugars as well as anything that turns into sugars.  This includes refined carbohydrates,  Candida thrives on sugar.  This is critical.  Make a good diet a lifestyle, not just something done for a short while to eliminate a yeast infestation.  Many individuals suffering from a candida overgrowth display serious gluten intolerance issues.  It may be necessary to eliminate most grains and seriously limit fruits and fruit juices.  Consuming small amounts of quinoa or root vegetables such as beets, sweet potatoes, and squash works well for most people.   Be sure that your diet includes phytonutrient-rich vegetables, healthy fats, and a reasonable amount of good proteins.
2. Increase the fiber in your diet.  Fiber is good food for friendly bacteria in your gut.  Lack of fiber contributes to the growth of unhealthy bacterial strains.
3. Address the causes listed above.  Avoid taking antibiotics, steroids, antacids, and as many of the other things on the list above as possible.
4. Avoid stress.  Learn how to manage stress that cannot be avoided.  Actively relax.  This takes effort – but is more effective than sitting around watching TV.  Try yoga, deep breathing, meditation, or even an exercise program.
5. Repopulate healthy gut bacteria.  Use probiotics to re-balance gut bacterial colonies.  Also, make use of the alternative remedy solutions that will be provided below.
6. Improve liver function – a critically important step.  Proactively, this is done using herbs and essential oils for better liver function.  Improving liver function also includes avoiding, as much as possible, those things that are harmful to the liver.  We all know what they are!
7. Do everything that you can to strengthen your immune system.  Once again, make use of alternative remedies for optimum results.

Suggested Alternative Remedies

Herbal Suggestions

The Butterfly Express formula, CAN would be a great choice.   It was formulated specifically to destroy excess Candida albicans fungi without disturbing the colonies of necessary intestinal bacteria that are struggling to survive.

Aloe vera, Chamomile, Echinacea, Garlic, Goldenseal, Goldenrod, Mullein, Oregon Grape, and oregano.  Many cooking herbs and spices are beneficial to the intestinal tract.  Use fresh herbs and keep them fresh for maximum effectiveness.  Buchu tea may be used as a douche to relieve the itching and burning of a candida problem. Chamomile, though very mild and soothing, is also strongly antiseptic and antibacterial.  It is effective against candida as it manifests in the mouth as thrush.

Goldenseal and Oregon Grape

Berberine is an important constituent of both Oregon Grape and Goldenseal.  It is responsible for a large part of the long list of healing properties of these plants.  Plants containing berberine always show a broad spectrum of antibiotic activity.  They act effectively against bacteria, protozoa, and fungi.

Local vs Foreign-grown Herbs

I have found through years of herbal use that local herbs work better for local people; I use very few Chinese herbs because there is usually something just as effective that grows here in our mountains and works even better for my friends and family. Oregon Grape is a shining example of this principle. I use it almost everywhere that I previously used Goldenseal, and with excellent results. Oregon Grape is much less expensive (free if you wildcraft it). It has become a mainstay of my herbal repertory.

Science and these two herbs

The following information has been taken from the book, The Healing Power of Herbs by Michael T. Murray. This book is more scientific than anecdotal and provides a lot of good information about the clinically proven, medicinal properties of a few good herbs, including the berberine producing varieties. Everything said here can be applied equally to Goldenseal and Oregon Grape.

Antibiotic activity

Perhaps the most exciting, and most used effect of these herbs is their broad spectrum of antibiotic activity. Their action against a wide variety of pathogens is actually stronger than that of antibiotics commonly used in the medical world, but they produce none of the side effects of prescription antibiotics, (such as the overgrowth of candida that is a common side effect of prescription antibiotic use).

Non-adherence of organisms

Another effect of berberine producing plants is their ability to inhibit the adherence of strep and staph bacteria to their host cells. In other words, the critters that aren’t killed outright are flushed from the system because they are unable to cling to the cells of the body. This work is accomplished at very low doses and with no side effects. Don’t forget these two herbs in the treatment of strep throat, staph infections, candida overgrowth, and any infection of the eye.

Other amazing uses for Oregon Grape and Goldenseal

Other places where clinical trials are rapidly establishing a reputation for berberine-containing plants is in the treatment of liver disorders, various cancers, and in the treatment of conditions involving depressed white blood cell counts. This includes white blood cell counts which have been reduced by chemotherapy treatments. Goldenseal and Oregon Grape are often used as a tonic to boost a sluggish glandular system and to promote balanced hormonal activity.

Blood sugar levels

Goldenseal sometimes has a negative impact on blood sugar levels in diabetics. This quirk is not a part of the action of Oregon Grape.
Dosage: Generally non-toxic but it should be remembered that low doses of these herbs are very effective. Higher doses are not recommended for pregnancy and may interfere with the metabolism of vitamin B. Higher doses are not more effective; more is not always better!

Essential Oil Suggestions

^LeAcknowledge, ^LeAngel,  ^LeCandila, ^LeEndoRelief, ^LeEZ Traveler, ^LeInsideOut, ^LeJulia, and ^LeMela Plus, Angelica, Anthopogon, Bergamot, Carrot Seed, Celery Seed, Goldenrod, Grapefruit, Helichrysum, Lemon, Lime, Manuka, Palmarosa, Patchouli, and Rosemary.

After reading about and selecting the best oils for your situation use a carrier oil and a few drops on the abdomen.  Consider adding the chosen essential oil to redmond clay foot soak.

Essential oils work both physically and emotionally making diffusing them of great benefit as well.

Homeopathic/Blessed Water Suggestions

Low Potency Combinations

Candida #1, Candida #2, Candida #3, Fungus #1, Fungus #2, the Small Intestine Meridian Balance combination, and Yeast #1

These remedies were chosen because the description of the symptoms fits the sufferer in many particulars.  They are best taken along with the lifestyle suggestions above.  Be sure to pay careful attention to diet.  It is very important.

Higher Potency Single Remedies

Lycopodium

Emotions include timidity and poor self-esteem.  Physical symptoms include a bloated abdomen after eating, flatulence, involuntary urination, ailments brought on by sugary treats, many food allergies. hypoglycemia, and a multitude of headaches.

Thuja

Difficulty concentrating, feels isolated and alone, self-contempt and self-judgment.  Flatulence and distension of abdomen – feel as though something was alive and moving in there.  Soreness of navel. Offensive smelling genitalia in males.  Vaginal soreness and discharge in women.  Ovarian cysts.

Meddorrhinum

Hurried, anxious, restless.  Keynotes of the remedy are despair with hopelessness about ever being well again.  Other symptoms include pain in the liver and spleen areas, burning in the abdominal regions and in the solar plexus, frequent urinary tract infections, incontinence of urine at night and upon getting cold.

Pulsatilla nigricans

Changeable moods, emotional and tearful, feels forsaken and abandoned.  Consolation improves all symptoms, physical and emotional.  Painful, distended abdomen with loud rumbling.  Abdominal pain and colic form cold foods, fruits, pastries, fat and/or greasy things.  Headache brought on by eating foods such as those on the preceding list.

Sepia

This is the number one remedy for problems in the female reproductive system.  Prolapses and bearing down pains in the pelvic region are keynotes.  Symptoms often brought on by overwork, anger, and frustration.  The person is mentally and physically worn-out.  Feel as though the responsibilities of their lives are burdens that are too heavy to bear up under.  Yet, comfort and consolation of any kind make all symptoms worse.  A sinking feeling in the abdomen.  Nausea at the thought or smell of food.  Not a polychrest remedy for candida albicans but a polychrest remedy for women in general. Clearing Sepia symptoms usually need to be done before progress can be made against the fungal overgrowth.

Yeast Die-Off Reactions

The worsening of symptoms when following a regimen to annihilate unwanted bacterial and fungal colonies from the body is an all too common thing.   It is so common, in fact, – and sometimes so nasty – as to have acquired its own medical term, Herxheimer reactions.  This term does not apply only to the die-off of candida albicans fungal overgrowth.  It also applies to programs for recovery from such things as Lyme’s disease, etc.  These reactions occur with anti-biotics and well as with changes in diet and the use of herbal or other alternative remedies.

Getting worse when trying to get better can be discouraging and difficult to get through.  There are some strategies and remedies that may help minimize this stage of healing.  A person may even be able to avoid this nasty healing phase altogether with enough effort and education.

Common Die-Off Symptoms

• Fatigue and lethargy.
• Brain fog.
• Nausea, gas, bloating, diarrhea or constipation.
• Low-grade fever.
• Headaches.
• Sore throat.
• Itching all over the body.  Rashes.
• Soreness or pain in the muscles and joints.
• Symptoms that appear to be flu but are not.
• Intense cravings for sugar and sweet treats.
• Irritability, even tantrums.
• Hyperactivity.
• Difficulty concentrating.

Eliminative System Distress

Reactions and symptoms of this sort usually indicate that the fungal colonies are dying off in record numbers.  This does not necessarily mean a “win” situation.  Rather, it indicates that, in addition to an out-of-balance situation in the gut, the body is suffering from toxic overload.  In other words, the body cannot cope with the number of toxins that are being released into it.  At least, not at this time and with the current state of the person’s eliminative systems.  Therefore, the first and most effective response to die-off symptoms is to clear and strengthen those important systems.  Care for and strengthen the liver, the urinary tract, and the entire intestinal tract.

It should be noted, however, that treatment for candida, if handled properly, should not create undue distress!  What is meant by “handled properly.”  Dr. John Christopher, a renowned herbalist of former times, said that if a cleanse program created these kinds of symptoms, the herbal practitioner was doing something wrong.”  In the early days of our herbal walk, I made my poor husband very sick – very, very much more uncomfortable many times – by doing too much and doing it all too fast!  Please, do not make that mistake yourselves.

Minimizing Discomfort

The strategies and remedies suggested below minimize discomfort (pain and illness).  They should also serve to shorten the duration of any symptoms that were not, or could not, be avoided.

Strategies

1. Reduce the amount of anti-fungal herbs and essential oils that you are utilizing while strengthening and supporting your eliminative systems.
2. Stay hydrated.  The kidneys play a huge roll in the water balance of the cells.  Contributing to dehydration because you forget to drink a sufficient amount of liquids will stress the kidneys even further.
3. Get a sufficient amount of sleep.  It is absolutely imperative that you, somehow and in spite of symptoms, find a way to sleep.  Daytime naps, or even just rest periods, can be very helpful.  Be gentle with your body.  Slow down and reduce stress as much as possible.
4. Be sure that your diet includes as many antioxidant containing foods as possible.  Suggestions:  almost any green vegetable, red beets, cabbage, nuts such as pecans and walnuts, and beans such as black beans and pinto beans, for example.   The use of essential oils will make a great number of antioxidants available to the body.

Remedies

Clay

Use redmond clay both internally and as a soak.  Soak either in the tub or as a simpler foot soak.  Soaks eliminate some of the toxins created by the dying fungal colonies.   Keep the water as hot as possible, especially with a foot soak.  Soak for at least 15 minutes.  Longer is even better!

Psyllium

Taken internally, both clay and psyllium absorb a great many of the toxins produced by both living and dead candida albicans organisms.  Please be sure that you are taking in enough fluids to offset the drying nature of this absorption process on the intestinal tract.

Probiotics

Also, it is necessary to keep striving to sustain the “friendly” bacteria in the intestinal tract as well as to destroy the candida overgrowth.

Essential Oils

Besides providing antioxidants, essential oils can help sustain the friendly bacterial colonies in the intestinal tract.  The better your colon is doing, the gentler will be the effects of both damage and fungal die-off.

For the digestive tract:  ^LeJulia – especially for gas and bloating.  ^LeInsideOut – nourishes the intestinal tract, helping maintain the balance of bacterial colonies.  ^LeEZ Traveler – especially for nausea, dizziness, and vertigo.   It also promotes feelings of calmness, emotional strength, and improves one’s ability to cope with life in general and the day’s events, in particular.

Others essential oils suggested above for ridding the body of excesses of candida albicans should be adjusted according to what is going on with the body.  Eliminate – or at least cut down a bit – on the use of such oils as ^LeCandila, ^LeLivN, ^LeMelaPlus, ^LeSafeGuard, and even the more gentle blend, ^LeRevitalize, if the die-off is happening too fast be handled by the body.  These oils are more cleansing in nature than the three digestive blends mentioned above.

Herbal Remedies

Chose herbs and herbal formulas that are nourishing and nutritive in nature, rather than cleansing.  Return to the cleaning and antibiotic herbs when the die-off symptoms have abated.  Mullein and slippery elm are two of my favorites for this kind of situation.

Conclusion

It is sometimes difficult to tell die-off symptoms from the symptoms being experienced because of the candida overgrowth.  This, and the normal stresses of everyday living as well as other health issues, confuse the picture even more.  Be patient with yourself and with the process of healing.  It really is possible to “win” with this debilitating condition and live your life symptom-free!