| What is
Candida? Candida
albicans is a fungus that is present in all people from about the age
of six months onwards. Since it is in everyone, it is presumed by many
clinicians that candida cannot cause particular symptoms in only some
people. This reasoning has prevented attention being given to candida
as a common cause of ill health, except in rare conditions in which it
proliferates to a life-threatening extent. This, interestingly enough,
often happens in people whose defence mechanism (immune system) has
become weakened by disease or drugs (due to abuse). This gives a clue
as to why a great many people may indeed be suffering from a sub
clinical infection of candida, which, whilst not sufficient to endanger
life, is certainly enough to produce a wide array of debilitating
symptoms. These
include: - Depression
- Anxiety
- Unnatural
irritability
- Digestive
symptoms such as diarrhoea, constipation, bloating and heartburn
- Tiredness
and a sense of hopelessness.
- Allergies
- Acne
- Migraine
- Cystitis.
- Vaginitis.
- Thrush
- Menstrual
problems and pre-menstrual tension
The
introduction of broad-spectrum antibiotics, the use of the
contraceptive pill, and the widespread use of steroids all play their
part in candida’s growth. In addition the increase in the use
of sugar and sugar rich foods have provided the yeast with just the
sustenance it needs. The combination of these factors is the root cause
of the problem for many people. If a
single yeast cell is given a highly favourable environment, with a good
assortment of nutrients and the correct temperature, it can, within
twenty-four hours, produce a colony of over a hundred yeast cells. At
this rate of reproduction, one cell could turn into a yeast colony
weighing one billion tons within one week! Research
has shown that almost everyone has antibodies to candida.There are a
number of predisposing factors which will allow candida to grow wildly
out of control: - An
underlying inherited or acquired deficiency of the immune system;
- The
aftermath of using steroids (hormones) in food or as medication;
- The
aftermath of using antibiotics in food or as medication.
Foods
that help spread candida. Yeast
loves carbohydrate rich foods. This in effect means that we should
attempt to deprive it of its sustenance by limiting or cutting out
altogether all sugar rich foods and refined carbohydrates. Fermented
products, moulds or fungi must be limited. These are; vinegar,
alcoholic beverages, yeast extracts and spreads, mushrooms and blue
cheeses. The Four Phase Diet has been used by many doctors and
dieticians with great benefit to millions of people all over the world.
If you have been diagnosed with candida, use this diet conscientiously.
If you do not respond well, see your health practitioner as a matter of
urgency! The
Four Phase Diet |
