Last Updated on December 6, 2023 by Cathy
Candida is a small amount of yeast that lives inside everyone and is harmless. It’s also the most common cause of yeast overgrowth. Unfortunately, having a compromised immune system like multiple sclerosis (MS), it can grow out of control. MS and Candida overgrowth is very common and most people don’t even realize they have it. If diet alone isn’t working, Candida could be the missing link.
Candida symptoms:
- Anxiety
- Athletes foot
- Brain fog
- Dandruff
- Digestive issues
- Dizziness
- Dry skin
- Fatigue
- Food sensitivities
- Jock itch
- Low energy
- Nail fungus
- Poor memory
- Seasonal allergies
- Sinus infections
- Skin issues
- Sugar cravings
- Vaginal yeast infections
Left untreated Candida will spread causing serious damage to organs including the brain. Once it gets to this point it’s known as systemic Candida and it’s very hard to get back under control. Your doctor can do blood work or a saliva test but doctors aren’t always willing to do these tests. My family doctor didn’t see Candida as a problem so I went and saw a functional medical provider for help.
What Causes Candida?
Candida overgrowth is more than likely caused by diet and lifestyle choices. A diet of processed foods is full of hidden sugars. Plus, antibiotics wipe out all the good bacteria allowing Candida to overgrowth.
- High sugar diet
- Antibiotics
- Chronic stress
- Oral contraceptives
- Steroids like Prednisone
- Weakened immune system
The Candida Diet
It’s important to start eating a low-sugar/carbohydrate diet. It will stop the growth of Candida and allow your leaky gut to heal. Eat a nutrient-dense diet including low-starch vegetables, healthy fats, and low-sugar fruits. Low-sugar fruits like berries, avocados, lemons, limes, and olives. Eat lots of raw garlic, cinnamon, organic parsley, and high-quality olive oil for an extra punch to Candida.
Foods to avoid are:
- Alcohol – raises blood sugar
- All artificial sweeteners
- Caffeine – except green tea
- Cashews and pistachios – mold
- Coffee – mold and raises blood sugar
- Fermented – sugar
- Mushrooms – fungus
- Pork – parasites
- Tuna – high in mercury
- Vinegar – except apple cider vinegar
- Yeast containing foods
Antifungals
Along with a low-sugar diet, antifungals help get Candida back under control. There are prescription antifungals but they come with nasty side effects. It’s best to use safer natural antifungals. There are many to choose from and you can get them pretty easily including at your local grocery store.
Antifungals:
- Aloe Vera
- Coconut oil
- Caprylic acid
- Grapefruit seed extract
- Garlic
- Oil of oregano
- Pau d’Arco
While killing off Candida cells the liver becomes overwhelmed. Help your liver by drinking lots of water and herbal teas. Good choices are milk thistle or dandelion throughout the day.
Bladder issues are a problem for some people with MS drinking these in the evening may be a problem. If so, it would be best to drink these earlier in the day to prevent having to get up multiple times at night.
Try taking a few different antifungals at the same time, you can even double your dose. My functional medicine doctor recommended Formula SF722 by Thorne Research. It’s six times more effective than caprylic acid! It doesn’t kill off the good bacteria and promotes a healthy intestinal flora. I took these along with other antifungals.
Candida Die Off
When large numbers of Candida cells are quickly killed off, they create a die-off effect. It’s also known as the Herxheimer reaction. It’s best to start antifungals at a smaller amount and then increase it as your body is getting used to them. If you do start feeling die off, cut back or temporarily stop the antifungals. Start back up when you’re feeling better. Then start back up but at a slower pace.
Die off symptoms:
- Bloating
- Constipation
- Dizziness
- Fever
- Headaches
- Nausea
- Sweating
Stress
Stress plays a huge role in Candida because it raises your cortisol levels. Cortisol is the fight-or-flight hormone. It raises your blood sugar in stressful situations. Candida doesn’t care where the sugar comes from as long as it can feed off of it.
It’s impossible to remove stress but you can learn some techniques that will help reduce stress. Try deep breathing, yoga, stretching exercises, walking, or laughing with friends. Going to bed by 10 pm will help you get more restful sleep so you can feel refreshed the next day.
Gut Health
Every time you take antibiotics it kills not only the bad bacteria but also the good bacteria. Since Candida is fast growing it takes this opportunity to take over. First, start a Candida diet and introduce antifungals to knock it down. Then introduce probiotics to build up the good bacteria.
Researchers discovered people with MS have different bacteria than healthy people. Two with higher levels of pro-inflammatory bacteria. And lower levels of anti-inflammatory bacteria. They also have higher levels of methane in their breath than healthy people. Which could be another option used as a diagnosis in the future.
There are lots of different articles about when to start taking an antibiotic so it can get confusing. It’s best to not start taking them on day one of the Candida diet since you’re working on removing the overgrowth. Since probiotics are expensive you may be wasting your money by flushing them out too. Plus, you don’t want to overload your body with all the changes and create a Candida die-off effect.
It’s best to start after you’ve started the Candida diet and antifungals. Since we’re talking systemic Candida, a serious infection, it will take time. I followed the recommendations from the book Healing Multiple Sclerosis by Ann Boroch. She recommended starting probiotics in the fourth month, so that’s what I did.
It’s important to choose a good quality probiotic. Some people have issues when they start a probiotic. Starting one with 15 billion live cultures is a good choice, then work your way up. I like to switch between different probiotics like these below:
Remember
Candida is hard to get back under control so no cheating and remember to start slow with antifungals to avoid dying off. – You are strong and you can do this!
You May Also Enjoy Reading:
The Connection Between MS and Candida
How to Tell if You Have Candida
Foods to Eat & Avoid on the Candida Diet
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