“Candidiasis and Probiotics”

In this article we will discuss the important health link of Candidiasis and Probiotics, which literally means "for live" and are most commonly referred to as friendly bacteria. When most people think of bacteria, they think of something bad—something that causes infection and illness.

In reality, almost all of the time we live in harmony with bacteria which exist symbiotically with us on our skin, our mouth, in the gastrointestinal tract, the rectum and inside the female vagina. Usually, smaller numbers of the fungus, Candida, exist in these areas as well and do us no harm whatsoever.

Under certain circumstances, however, this delicate balance between us and our healthy bacteria can be disrupted. The excessive use of antibiotics, for example, can kill off the healthy bacteria throughout our system, allowing unhealthy, pathogenic (disease-causing) bacteria or Candida (which is unaffected by antibiotics) to overgrow and cause an even more serious infection than the one for which we took the antibiotics in the first place.

Other situations can cause the normal, healthy harmony we have with bacteria to get out of control. Eating a high fat, high sugar diet, consuming meat from animals raised on antibiotics, taking steroids or birth control pills, stress, having a poor immune system or ingesting anything that reduces the acidity (increases the pH) of our gastrointestinal tract can alter the number and type of organisms inhabiting our body.

Under any of the above conditions, Candida, something we normally live within a healthy way, can increase in number and change its form into an unhealthy variety that releases toxins into our bloodstream and turn into a systemic yeast infection. Candida overgrowth also changes our immune function, causing it to become irritable, leading to allergic reactions.

Part of the goal in treating a fungal overgrowth, particularly an overgrowth in the intestines (also called intestinal Candidiasis), is to regain the healthy bacterial balance that existed before the disruption took place.

Recently, researchers are beginning to take a closer look at probiotics and believe that this might be the answer to recolonizing the gut and recreating a healthy spectrum of bacteria, allowing Candida to die off to an acceptable level. Science, however, is seriously lagging behind natural medicine practitioners who have used probiotic therapy for over a century.

A probiotic is defined as “any live organism, which when administered in adequate amounts, confers a health benefit on the host”. Probiotics are themselves bacteria—the healthy kind we want to have inside our bodies. They are grown and processed in special laboratories and can be administered in the form of capsules, gel caps, tablets, liquids and even vaginal suppositories. Researchers have successfully used probiotic vaginal suppositories in the treatment of vaginal yeast infections.

Probiotics work in several ways and not simply by multiplying in number and competing with unhealthy organisms. In the intestinal tract, probiotics normalize the acidity of the gut and help the lining of the bowels become less leaky. Immune function is improved and the level of inflammation is reduced. Once Candida, which thrives poorly in the acidic environment, is replaced by healthy bacteria, the new organisms improve digestion, foster absorption of some vitamins, lower cholesterol, reduce liver toxins and aid in the digestion of lactose (milk sugar).

In general, probiotics prefer an acidic environment which is low in oxygen and thrive best when our diet is low in refined sugar and higher in complex carbohydrates and protein.

There are two types of bacteria most commonly used in probiotic therapy. The first are species of Lactobacillus such as L. acidophilus, L. casei, L. reuteri, L. rhamnosus and L. planterum. Lactobacilli make lactic acid as a normal byproduct of their metabolism as well as hydrogen peroxide which both contribute to an acidic environment, one that Candida species grow poorly in. They also make molecules that are toxic to other organisms and biosurfactants—molecules which are “slippery” and which interfere with the attachment of unhealthy organisms.

Scientists have used various strains of Lactobacilli to treat Candida vaginal infections, with significant success. In many ways, Candida infections are much like infections of the intestines. Doctors believe that bacteria and Candida from the bowels are the same organisms that secondarily colonize the vaginal tissues. Women who take antibiotics which subsequently cause a vaginal yeast infection likely have the same problem of Candida overgrowth happening concurrently in their bowels.

The second type of probiotic found to be useful in treating Candida and other types of overgrowth is Bifidobacterium, with species such as B. infantis and B. bifidum. Strains of Bifidobacteria produce acetic acid, hydrogen peroxide and antibacterial substances that inhibit other bacteria and Candida.

Bifidobacteria species show particular promise in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, a bowel disease the cause of which is not completely known. Irritable bowel syndrome causes abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea and sometimes constipation. Like intestinal Candidiasis, IBS patients show evidence of problems with bowel motility, abnormal immune function and problems with a “leaky gut”. If treated with probiotics like Bifidobacteria, many of these patients improve significantly.

Those who have researched this phenomenon, however, admit that the particulars of which probiotics to use and how much to give is still unclear. Because irritable bowel syndrome can involve the small colon and because that area of the colon doesn’t lend itself well to medical studies, it is clearly possible that some patients diagnosed as having irritable bowel syndrome actually are afflicted with intestinal Candidiasis.

Even though the most common probiotic agents we all use are the live cultures found in yoghurt, eating yoghurt for infections like intestinal Candidiasis is probably not sufficient to make any real difference. Experts recommend that probiotics come from a reputable laboratory that can concentrate, purify and refrigerate the live bacteria in order to maximize the overall product effectiveness.

Want to Use This Article In Your Website or E-Zine? Feel free to do so provided you keep the following blurb with it: “David Corner is the author and publisher of many health related articles including the book “the Candida Cleanse Protocol”. For a limited time you can download a FREE copy by visiting www.CandidaCleanseBlog.

Learn the TRUE cause of pathogenic Candida!! Effectively elliminate your symptoms while completely restoring your health