| Candida For those of you who have suffered skin care problems you'll know what I mean when I say it starts to affect your confidence. I've battled skin problems over the last two years quite badly and it turned out to be Candida, which is a yeast infection and it was very very unpleasant. My condition was mainly on my body so I could cover it up with clothes but then the infection started to spread up my neck and come onto my eyes lids and face. This was extremely difficult to come to terms with, people would look and ask what's wrong and I would just say 'nothing, why?'. My condition was extremely itchy, actually it was very very itchy, to the point where I was itching without knowing and breaking the skin and making it bleed. This made the whole re-healing process almost impossible, skin does grow 24 after hours but I wasn't giving it a chance to heal. So What is Candida? Candida albicans is a yeast like organism that lives naturally in small amounts in your mouth, gastrointestinal tract and skin. The body's natural defense against fungal and yeast infections is the production of friendly bacterial flora that keeps it in check. It is controlled by a properly functioning immune system and "friendly" bacteria. However, if the number of friendly bacteria is decreased, the immune system is weakened or other conditions for yeast proliferation occur (we will come to the causes later) candida albicans may shift from a yeast to a fungal form and start to invade the body and cause a multitude of health problems. Symptoms of Candida • Chronic fatigue • Food allergies • Low blood sugar causing various symptoms including... • Sugar and carbohydrate craving • Vaginal or Oral Thrush (a white film in the mouth or on the tongue) • Abdominal pain and/or bloating, excessive intestinal gas and indigestion • Joint pain with arthritis-like symptoms • Chronic sinus drainage - which antibiotics don't help! • Weight loss or gain and the inability to change it • Brain "fog" or Poor concentration • Fungus on the finger or toe-nails • Urinary infections • Itching, red eyes • Rashes anywhere on the skin • Rashes inside the ears or around the genital area • Anxiety/Depression • Cystitis/urethritis • Menstrual irregularities • Loss of libido • Bad breath Hot to get rid of Candida Because Candida feeds on sugars, and all carbohydrates are digested to sugars, you can only defeat it by keeping to a low-carbohydrate diet and completely avoiding all sweetened foods, honey, fruit juices, dried and fresh fruit. Also avoid milk and dairy products (with the exception of organic butter), because of their high content of the sugar lactose and antibiotic residues. You must also cut out all foods that contain yeast, or have been fermented or pickled, since these encourage the growth of Candida. These include yeast extract, stock cubes, most bread, alcoholic drinks, cheese, black tea, and anything containing vinegar. Eat plenty of salad, fish, poultry, meat and fresh vegetables (apart from the starchy ones like potatoes, parsnips and carrots). Try to obtain organic poultry and meat to avoid antibiotic residues. When preparing meals, include liberal amounts of garlic, ginger and extra-virgin olive oil, and herbs such as rosemary, thyme, marjoram and lemon balm - which have strong anti-fungal properties. |
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