Last Updated on November 21, 2023 by Cathy
The Candida diet is a strict low-carbohydrate and low-sugar diet. It’s also an anti-inflammatory diet that promotes good gut health. What does Candida have to do with MS? – A lot.
Conventional doctors don’t talk about it but Candida overgrowth is very common in people with MS. They probably don’t even know they have it.
Candida albicans is a yeast found naturally in and on the body – it’s a normal part of the body. Unfortunately, Candida can grow out of control causing many health issues. When your immune system becomes compromised (due to antibiotics, stress, etc.), Candida grows.
“The correlation between MS and pathogenic fungi extends beyond experimental investigation.” – ResearchGate
I’ve been living with MS for most of my life. I’ve been on drug-modified therapies (DMTs) but it made me worse. I did everything my neurologist told me to do but I kept getting worse.
Then…
I decided to take matters into my own hands.
Sick and Tired of Feeling Sick
I was sick and tired of feeling like… well, you know, and I wanted to get better. I believed there had to be something better than what I was doing and that was pharmaceutical drugs.
My latest exacerbation left me looking like I had a stroke and I worried I wouldn’t recover. I had double vision, couldn’t walk, slurred speech, numbness, and was paralyzed on half my face. It was so depressing, I didn’t want to live like this.
At that time, I had young kids and a life to look forward to so I decided to look for a natural way to stop the progression of my MS. With one eye closed, due to double vision, I searched the internet. The internet was kind of new (at least for me) so I wasn’t sure what I’d find.
Like Albert Einstein once said:
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, but expecting different results.”
That’s exactly what I was doing. I kept taking the DMT but like always I wasn’t getting better. Instead, I was getting worse, which was depressing and terrifying.
That’s when I discovered I could use food as my medicine. Within one year of changing my diet, my exacerbations stopped! And thirteen months after starting my new diet I stopped all medications. My neurologist wasn’t happy and he said a few rude things to me and then to my husband. That didn’t matter, I was trying something new since the old way wasn’t working. Plus, he didn’t know what it felt like to live with MS.
My son who has type 1 diabetes went through a similar thing with his endocrinologist. She told him she didn’t have diabetes but she knew what he was going through. – I’m sorry, but you don’t know what it feels like if you don’t have the same disease. Yes, he fired her and now he has an awesome endocrinologist who works with him. If you don’t have a doctor who supports you, find another doctor.
Candida and MS
It’s taken me years to realize what my root cause for MS was. It was thanks to the book Healing Multiple Sclerosis by Ann Boroch that many of my symptoms reversed.
The book talks about yeast overgrowth (fungus) as a root cause of MS. She once wrote on my Facebook page:
“Working with thousands of clients over 19 years, candida overgrowth is the primary culprit to causing MS and not to be overlooked. Heavy metals, stress, poor diet, other infections, etc also play a part but the missing link that science has not caught up is the yeast/fungal connection.” – Ann Boroch
As Candida grows it begins to weaken the intestinal wall. It then releases toxic by-products throughout the body. These by-products include acetaldehyde, ammonia, mycotoxins, and Uris acid. This can cause serious damage to your body. Candida infections are especially serious in immunocompromised individuals like MS. Researchers have known the association between multiple sclerosis and Candida for decades.
The Yeast Connection
During the 1980s doctors like Dr. William G. Crook did a lot of research into candida. He believes it is the root cause of many health conditions including MS. In his book The Yeast Connection, there’s a questionnaire to see if it’s Candida.
“Twentieth century diets which are rich in sugar and yeast, birth control pills and pregnancy encourage yeast growth. So do hormonal changes during each menstrual cycle. But antibiotic drugs, especially “broad spectrum” antibiotics, make yeast grow like grass and weeds after a summer rainy spell.” – William G. Crook, M.D.
Ten questions from Dr. Crook’s book:
- Have you, at any time in your life, taken “broad-spectrum” antibiotics?
- Have you taken tetracycline or other broad-spectrum antibiotics for one month or longer?
- Are your symptoms worse on damp, muggy days or in moldy places?
- Do you crave sugar, bread, or alcoholic beverages?
- Do you have a feeling of being “drained”?
- Have you had athlete’s foot, ringworm, “jock itch” or other chronic fungous infections of the skin or nails?
- Are you bothered by fatigue, depression, poor memory, or “nerves”?
- Do you feel muscle weakness or paralysis?
- Are you bothered by headaches, muscle, and joint pains, or incoordination?
- Do you feel numbness, burning, or tingling?
If you answered yes, you may want to look into yeast overgrowth as your root cause.
“Several reports showed that MS patients might have antibodies against different Candida species, suggesting that this fungal infection may be a risk factor for MS.” – PubMed
Possible causes of Candida:
- Alcohol
- Antibiotics
- Birth control pills
- Diets high in sugar
- Exposure to chlorine
- Exposure to mold
- Mercury
- Pregnancy
- Steroids such as prednisone
The results of this single study suggest that Candida species infection may be associated with increased odds of MS. – PubMed
Chronic Inflammation
Researchers discovered people with MS have more bad bacteria in their gut compared to healthy people. In other words, people with MS are missing good bacteria in their gut. Diet is the main factor affecting the gut microbiome. The standard American diet (SAD) consists of high amounts of saturated fats and carbohydrates. This can lead to chronic inflammation.
Candida does not increase inflammation, it’s when the good bacteria are killed off that Candida takes the opportunity to grow.
“Inflammation promotes C. albicans colonization of the GI tract.” – PubMed
What to Eat
By avoiding foods that Candida feeds on you’ll be able to get it back to a healthy level and you’ll start feeling better. The typical Western diet is a feeding ground for Candida.
It’s high in processed foods and sugar. And lacks fruits and vegetables, fiber, and foods that feed the good gut bacteria. Plus, the meats have antibiotics and hormones, and the animals eat grains that are high in mold. A Candida diet consists of eating many vegetables except corn. It’s important to stick to a low carbohydrate diet to stop feeding Candida. – If you feed it, it will grow!
NOTE: I used to avoid fruit believing it was full of sugar and feeding Candida. But, after researching I’ve discovered this is not true. Studies found fruit does not increase blood sugar so Candida is not feeding on it. Fruit is healing to the body and helps restore your health.
Steps to start eating a candida diet:
- Stop eating processed foods and refined sugar
- Eat more fruits and vegetables
- Avoid conventionally raised meats that have antibiotics
- Relax to keep your blood sugar low – candida feeds on it
- Stop drinking alcohol, it has yeast
- Rotate your food so you’re not eating the same thing every day
- Take antifungals like caprylic acid, pau d’arco (I add pau d’arco powder to my smoothie), or Formula SF722
The Link Between Candida and MS
When I went on a Candida diet my heat intolerance disappeared along with other symptoms. I suffered from heat intolerance for about 20 years. It took 3 months of following a strict Candida diet with no cheats before I noticed any changes.
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Resources:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6468554/#!po=23.5849
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20556470/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6163724/
The Link Between Candida and MS
