What is Candidiasis

Our digestive system (and indeed the entirety of our mucosal lining...the interior of our bodies) hosts a delicate balance of beneficial 'bugs". The ones we're typically most familiar with are bacteria. Good ones make us healthy, bad ones make us sick. We have an immune system to whack (hopefully) the bad ones.

The other side of the balance ... the one less known ... are the yeasts .... primarily a critter called candida albicans. Yeasts are fungus. Fungus can be quite toxic, especially in overgrowth. Its population in our mucosal lining is kept in check with healthy bacteria. If the bacteria is depleted, or the yeast over fed, guacamole ensues.

Not a lot is known about the apparently illusive beneficial reason for yeast in our bodies. My point is this: the primary function of fungus is to decompose our bodies after we're through with them ... like a self-contained self-destruct device. If you exhume a corpse, you will find it covered with a netlike cobweb of white fiber. Candida has two life forms: one is the common little yeastie zipping around your tummy. The other is what happens when its provoked: it enters the mycelial state in which it sprouts tendrils of white fiber quite capable of penetrating almost anything. When candida goes mycelial, major guacamole ensues. It can bore out of the intestine, enter the blood stream and take up new digs anywhere it wants.

It is very common (in what we call the die off phenomenon) for candida overgrowth and even the first stages of its treatment to make us feel, as Caroline Metzler (the acupuncturist who first introduced me to it) says: "it's the bug that makes you feel like you're dying ... and usually you end up wishing you would."

Symptoms and Effects

Candida overgrowth can make you quite sick. It can be irritating, surfacing on skin parts as athletes foot, jock itch, ear and eye infections, sinus problems and the real thriller: the vaginal yeast infection.

If it continues out of control it will affect digestion, produce chronic gas, bloating, rectal burning after elimination, alternating constipation and diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome (painful abdominal cramps), skin rashes, and chronic fatigue.

The psychological affects of candidiasis, besides the exhaustion of chronic fatigue include short term memory loss, depression, "brain fog", paranoia and irritability.

Candida is not a nice little critter.

Causes

Candida loves sugar. If you'd like to try a little candidiasis on for fun, eat fast foods, commercial grocery store almost anything (it's all sugar and salt riddled), plenty of Ben and Jerrys, 4 or 5 tootsie rolls a day, drink gatorade, and chase it with those dollar bags of cinnamon gummy bears from the candy section. That should do it.

If it doesn't, killing off the beneficial bacterial balance in your digestive system with steroids or antibiotics will help. Preservatives used in meats, packaged food products, etc will boost candida.

Now we have a generation of rising concern about anti-inflammatory drugs and antihistamines which can disturb that balance. The consensus concerning these as a cause is still out for debate, but looking interesting.

What is its Relationship with Environmental Illness

Our immune system attacks foreign bacteria by first identifying it as an aggressor and then dumping a very strong acid (hydrochloric) into our systems to kill it. Unfortunately some of the good stuff gets whacked in the process. In the instance of hysterical immune systems working on overdrive (the classic synopsis with Environmental Illness) the E.I. (someone with environmental illness) is constantly producing over-acid immune reactions and this is strongly suspected as an ingredient in producing the groundwork for a candida overgrowth.

Modern life ... that's it in a nutshell. Wear wild animal skins, live in caves and chew fresh mastodon bones. It'll all go away.

The function of environmental illness in candidiasis is currently at the Catch 22 stage. There are those who say that a candida overbalance will cause food allergies and trigger broad-spectrum reaction to synthetic petrochemical products (perfumes, aroma therapy toxins, hair dyes, auto pollution, cleaning products, and those stinking blue urinal hockey pucks). There are others who say that environmental illness itself will cause bacterial strain reduction, setting us up for candidiasis.

It is my personal experience and conclusion that playing the chicken and the egg is a waste of already depleted energy. They go hand in hand and it isn't important which comes first if you fix them both. The simultaneity of environmental illness and candida problems is guaranteed. I have yet to see a case where this is not so. If you have heightened allergic reactions (including emf issues) also treat the candidiasis until proven otherwise. The worst that will happen is that you become convinced you don't have it, but you now do have a healthy diet and lifestyle. If not, we will cheerfully refund your chronic fatigue and jock itch.

Electro/ Magnetic Fields and Candidiasis

EMF is such a new phenomenon that its consideration bears brief examination here as a candidiasis ingredient ... or at least a suspected one.

Classic electro-magnetic field exposure symptoms (for those with immune systems in the hypersensitive ... that is to say healthy state) ends up, as do almost all environmental stressors ... in the overproduction of hydrochlorocedic acid.

This is idiosyncratic to the individual, but common enough to bear examination. If yours does that, continued exposure to televisions, computers, bedside clock radios, cell phones (which would have been banned ... and now are ... by any competent and intelligent government), wifi's and fluorescent lights will set you up for candida overgrowth.

You can do your own En Terra Science experiment if you want to test this out. Eat the candida-inducing diet of contemporary american food products described above (basically everything that's not at the organic food store). When you start the chronic fatigue, gas, irritable bowel, paranoia and mood shifts (indicating that candida now considers you its friend... or at least a good food source) ... then watch about 6 hours of big screen tv a nite while talking on two cell phones at once and camp under the power line outside for two weeks and see if things don't get a lot worse.

Don't call me when they do. Besides, I don't have a phone.

There is a far-fetched, but maybe not completely unreasonable supposition that an originating hypersensitivity to EMF which triggered a candida overgrowth may produce (if you buy that ramp up scenario) food allergies and multiple chemical sensitivity that is classic to Environmental Illness. If you are still obsessed with the chicken and the egg paradigm that brought us spectator television sports and several world wars, unraveling this one ought to keep you out of the bars for a week or two.

As in all of these regimens... and just as we now exit the era of chemistry based medical science and enter the bio-energetic one ... we are best advised to quit wasting our time trying to decide what came first and which caused what. A more intelligent and universally supported causality analysis paradigm is to consider all causes and effect as simultaneous and mirror images of each other. This results in the only sane remedial approach, which is to treat them all simultaneously with a multi-tiered approach ... and while you're at it, don't forget to include the bio-energetics of chi energy therapy, the emotional realm and the spiritual causes. You will not be able, in the long run, ever to successfully separate one of these layers from the whole.

Living With Candidiasis- What to do About it ...

The details of suggested candidiasis remedy are left to the publications cited here and elsewhere. Here we cut to the chase and condense. The problems are simple (albeit probably not easy):

Diet: eliminate all sugar, preservatives, antibiotics and synthetic petrochemical ingredients...eat fresh, organic and unsweetened. Wheat and milk allergies are so common with candidiasis that starting by paring back or eliminating these two is a good start.

Exercise: our liver system is the key to filtering the candida toxins and invariably overloaded from toxic lifestyle and candida byproducts. The liver has two circulatory systems: the one which activates the organ and the one that allows it to filter the filth. The only way to safely enliven the liver is to aerobically stimulate the first... that means exercise. 1 1/2 hours of aerobic exercise at a minimum of 3 times per week. Don't be surprised if at first you have to make yourself do it (the candida would rather not die and can talk very loud) and it is not uncommon to begin the first week or so feeling worse after exercise because so much junk is dumped on an already overloaded system. Keep it up and pretty soon, you'll see that things get better after you visit the tweety birds.

Environmental Cleanup: if it's true that environmental immune reactions trigger candidiasis (and its true) then cleaning that stuff up at the same time is crucial. Dump the hair dyes (if you can't afford to look the way god made you you might want to have a look at that), cosmetics, fabric softener, laundry detergent, shampoo, conditioner, perfume, aromatherapy sewage, cell phones, off road vehicles, cleaning products and kitty litter (contains formaldehyde and synthetic fragrances). Don't argue about it. Do it. Besides, I won't argue back.

Oxidation: if the observation that candida is the carried internal self-destruct mechanism that brings our abandoned physiologies back to earth after we expire ... and if oxygen and the aerobic processes that key from it are the essence of life itself (on the chemical level) then it may follow that depletion of oxygen in our lives and environments from lack of exercise and air pollution will trigger candidiasis. The remedy is to change the balance. The first and singularly most important in my experience is aerobic exercise ... a hearty one and a half hour hike minimum three times per week and in two weeks I'll see the difference. Oxygen the way we're designed to acquire and distribute it.

In addition, the application of ozone ( an unstable, highly oxidizing three atom form of oxygen) may aid this. It is certainly critical in depleting chemical fragrance toxins in clothing and in penetrating living interiors to kill otherwise inaccessible molds. A caution here is the vastly misrepresented idea that exposure to ozone is harmless or even beneficial. Ozone is the primary ingredient in urban air pollution. It's why L.A. is full of wingnuts. It is highly allergenic and your body senses that it can kill (and it can) and produces some nasty aversions to it. It may be safely used in small doses impregnating water carriers... we'll leave that one to the ozone generator manufacturers. This may be a decent way to boost internal oxygen levels. If it is used in residential interiors to head off fungal reactions ... vacate the interior ... ozonate it for a long period of time to allow penetration (be gone when you do) and then air the interior until the alienating smell is disapatated before reentry.

There is a similar dietary regimen recommended by some for the ingestion of hydrogen peroxide ... another little gremlin packing enough spare oxygen to wax you aerobic. Consult others for more specific information

Acidification: Preliminary trials based on the observation that candida thrives in an alkaline environment is to acidify your digestive system. This I do by ingesting organic apple cider vinegar...maybe 3 tablespoons in a glass of water ... daily. Over time my stomach function and digestion seem to improve. This appears also in lots of the literature as a decent hedge against parasites.

Herbal Remedies, Medical Prescription and Other Band-Aids and Quick Fixes: about all you have to do to have 6 million sure fire remedies (the proliferator probably gets paid for) thrown at you is to tell them you have E.I. Candidiasis is no exception. The basal understanding of the disease stems from our departure from the environments we are evolved to flourish in. We intake industrially modified food substances like refined white sugar and ingest petrochemical derivatives like herbicides and preservatives. Then we jack our stress levels with exposure to EMF ... and when something like candida flies out of balance, instead of looking at and correcting the problem, we throw another purchased, proffered and profiteered sure fire band aid at it because we are either in too big a hurry or won't take responsibility.

Categorically, they don't work. You cannot cure candida overgrowth successfully with a bottle of pills...herbal or otherwise. A determined insight into personal exercise, diet and environmental habits and their categoric correction is the only foundation that will work. If after that has been tried for several months and additional support is needed, that's up to you. My personal belief is that if I return to the environment and diet I'm evolved to tolerate, my system will reset. It's that simple. If I was going to start applying any herbal remedies it would be to add foraging directly with edibles and medicinals from the native landscape...artemesia, juniper, quinine bush, cottonwood buds ... you know, the stuff we evolved eathing. Bet you money everything we need is there.

Candida/ Environmental Illness and Alcohol

Alcohol (ethyl alcohol) is a byproduct of yeast fermentation and a definite toxin. As is true of all allergic substances, it produces a craving when ingested and the allergic response ensues. In the instance of candidiasis and environmental illness typified by other chemical allergies, ingesting this industrial toxin/ solvent at any level is asking for it.

We have in the Smart Shelter Region several alcoholics who are also E.I.s. On a year by year basis, their conditions continually worsen, despite diet, living environment and other work toward the better. Those not using alcohol and pursuing the other necessary work typically get, from year to year, consistently better.

Alcoholism is, by definition, an allergic reaction to alcohol. It is, also by definition, characterized by a craving for the very substance which contrives to (and eventually does) kill us.

There are stunningly effective treatment programs for alcohol addiction. I went through one 19 years ago and have been clean and sober ever since. If I can do it. you can too. Participation in competent recovery groups is critical.

If you insist on attempting treatment of candidiasis and environmental illness without complete freedom from drugs and alcohol ... you're wasting your time with the candidiasis and environmental illness treatments.

Moving Beyond It

(I'm too pooped right now to finish these some of these subjects and its a gorgeous spring morning outside, besides ... check back later ... but as in all Smart Shelter endeavors, you could find yourself in deep trouble trying to hold your breath that long.)

Networking..Case Studies

(later)

Bibliography

(The following are texts accumulated, recommended and where indicated, reviewed dealing with candidiasis. There are, since the late 1980's and 90's, a prolifery of good publications on the subject ... indicating that if a practitioner thinks its bogus, they probably are ... all have varying assessments of details, indications, treatments and results. Best, as in all endeavors, to study widely with an open mind and design your own tests and conclusions. Any chemical cures for candidiasis (probably caused by chemical sludge in the first place) should be treated with suspicion. The solution, as in all Environmental Illness, is to repair the Environmental Anomaly and let the body cure itself. It is, after all, immensely wiser and more experienced than you and I ever will be.)

Candida Albicans..could yeast be your problem (Leon Chaitow, DO/ND) ISBN 0-89281-795-X....a refreshing professional text of moderate depth seeking to extend the work of the candida pioneers Drs. Truss and Crook, who first documented and treated, the published, the classic bedrock books on candida, but who resorted the chemical/ pharmaceutical methodologies...with the expected result...the chemicals work moderately well until you stop them, then the candida spreads again, coupled with the side effects we would expect which often cause liver damage. This text extends graphically into the dietary, immunological and theoretical research in remedy with the extended intent of avoiding synthetic chemical treatment for a disease obviously caused by synthetic chemicals.

Complete Candida Yeast Guidebook (Jeanne Marie Martin with Zoltan P. Rona, MD).....ISBN0-7615-2740-0 ... a fat book with about half discussing candidiasis and the other half dealing with food and recipes (unreviewed)

Candida Albicans: The Quiet Epidemic (Stanley Weinberger C.M.T.) ISBN0-9616184-6-9 (unreviewed) (editor's note: titling candidiasis as "quiet" in light of the prodigious intestinal gas typical of most onslaughts seems at first glance and at best ... a misnomer. But the book itself looks good).

....The classic works of Dr. Crook...unfortunately not at the fingertips for proper titling and identification. These fat volumes laid down some of the first comprehensive descriptions of yeast functions and health...not hard to find. Much of the research has moved beyond their elemental coverage. They are a good place to start

The Candida-Yeast Syndrome (Ray C. Wunderlich, Jr., MD) ISBN 0-87983-697-0 (unreviewed)

Candida Albicans (Louise Tenney, M.H.) ISBN 0-913923-28-1 (unreviewed)

Chrinic Candidiasis (Michael T. Murray, N.D.) ISBN 0-7635-0621-X (unreviewed)

Encyclopedia of Natural Healing (Gursche, MH, Rona, MD, Alive Research Group) ISBN 1-55312-039-6 This is a fat $70 comprehensive text for natural healing containing a comprehensive discussion of candidiasis, the systems it affects, relation to other diseases and a multitude of approaches to control. Got mine and the one below at Barnes and Noble...both are worth having around and if nothing else, they will press petunias flat in no time at all.

Alternative Medicine... the Definitive Guide (Burton Goldberg) ISBN 1-58761-141-4 Similair to the Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, but $20 cheaper, it contains myriad discussions in depth concerning the aspects, effects and remediation of candidiasis. These two texts are master documents and an excellent place to start, albiet overwelming for the newcomer.

Support Groups:

(there is indication in texts of the existence of websites and chat rooms for candida information. The sites cited seemed dated, so were not included here. Would suggest a google search for candida would turn up more than you'll ever be able to use ... fresh)

 

Research and Procedural Notes on Candidiasis

(these are research and procedural notes which accumulate with time and may be redundant to comments elsewhere but are included here as further expansion of the debate)

Immune Compromise/ Effect (22 April, 2005)...Candida Albicans (see bibliography) emphasizes immune compromise and deterioration as primary factors in candidiasis. In attempting to understand and remedy these compromises Smart Shelter has added several criterion only occasionally and peripherally touched on in other publications...especially the bio-energetic ingredients of the disease and specifically that of electro-magnetic fields and particularly those of automobiles (known to saturate lower extremities...feet and legs...in very high level alternating current magnetic fields during the now prolific experience of driving and in face of the maddeningly voracious increase of field emitting gadgetry and mechanism inherent in the contemporary automobile...especially including 4 wheel drive trains and power transfer cases...containing myriad whirling magnetic parts all traveling in diverse directions...even including the front wheel drive axles which place perpendicular drive trains in addition to the engine right across the bottom of the front seat driver and passenger's feet.

Reason for these investigations begin with case studies in which the return of candida symptoms is linked to long trips in automobiles...each of which has its own particular fields and characteristics...in addition to those of the passenger/drivers.

EMF (see discussion of electromagnetic fields elsewhere in the Smart Shelter Resource Files) is a known stressor, often used in medical treatment, interestingly methodically excluded from medical surgery environments and treatment centers and a documented ingredient in espionage strategies...an interesting case of EMF saturation of the American Embassy in Moscow is worth perusing.

EMF as a previously unrecognized stressor in the crumbling of our now fragile systems due to environmental degradation is a no-brainer. People die of cancer from living under power lines daily. A little time with a field meter will show you that the fields in your kitchen and bedroom, which you live with daily are, quite inevitably, many times stronger than those coming from the power line outside...which somewhere in your home comes inside (right?) (But not in mine).

What is not broached so far in any understanding of candidiasis currently at our disposal is the interface between immune compromise and the automobile. Candida Albicans indicates two primary ingredients in the construction and capabilities of our immune systems...first is the Thymus Gland (just under our sternum and reportedly responding to activation enhancement by "thumping" your breast bone just below the throat...something you might want to develop as a habit in private....people do talk, you know)...the other is the white blood cells (called lymphocytes...and others) manufactured in the long bone morrow of our legs and arms. These critters literally eat the nasties one by one...and candida produces nasties big time...which is why it can make you so sick...even kill you (and often does).

A no-brainer would be a depressing effect of the automobile EMF in its effect specifically on the lower leg bones and feet during extensive car driving or passengering. If the EMF effects the leg bone morrow's capacity to curtail lymphocyte production ( a very easy mechanism to credence or even test...let us know if you do), then what we would expect is an outbreak of candida symptoms, primarily related to non-evacuation of toxins caused by the impaired lymphocytic capacity to cleanse them. It is these toxins...alcohols, acetaldehyde, acids, etc...which are responsible for so many of the secondary candidiasis reactions...skin rashes, nausea, impaired vision and memory, gastric disorders, loss of balance, attention deficit disorder...and the like.

The remedies for this, if this suspicion indeed contains merit are:

....Stay out of the car (as much as possible...in the age of living on the down slope of fossil fuel production that one's easily recommendable.

....Shield the fields in the auto (which is close to impossible, but will keep you out of the bars for a while)

....Reduce the fields by putting the car on auto pilot and propping both feet up on the dash board. This one will get a response out of fellow motorists on the freeway...money back guarantee...It sounds ridiculous, but I do it...and if you think about it, its a great diagnostic way to asses your reactivity without cost....breaks up the commute too...file your toe nails, think about your athlete's foot and nail fungus...these are all candida results too.

...employ rehabilitation strategies to the long bone (especially lower leg) structures after exposure and note results...one currently under trial is simple massaging of the legs and arms at bed time or on awaking at nite.

...but here may be the pay dirt. It is well known among EI's dealing with candidiasis that in the long run, we are going nowhere fast without exercise. For me, at least, the threshold for notable long term beneficial results is one and one half hour minimum of fairly strenuous hiking no less that three times per week.

Now the first level of why that works is simple...the liver has two circulatory systems...one that fuels the liver, the other that lets our blood pass through it. By exercising, be enrich the first systems activation of the liver, which lets it boost its filtration and eventually whacks the blood born candida toxins. It works.

But, what may also be happening here is that the blood supply necessary for the transport (and quite possibly the creation itself) of the lymphocytes in the long leg bone morrow is graphically enhanced with this exercise. If this is true, what aerobic exercise on a regular basis would be doing is increasing our immune systems "clean up" crew simultaneous with goosing the garbage pick up department...with the result that we get a "leg up" on the muck.