| Greetings!
This will be the first of a few issues of "what exactly is your body trying to tell you" of which I hope you will enjoy and pass onto your friends/family.
YEAST: some call it a fad diagnosis others call it alternative but either way you look at it excessive yeast growing in or on your body can cause a myriad of unpleasant and sometimes incapacitating symptoms.
The fact is that over 300 kinds of yeast live on our skin and over 500 kinds of bacteria, yeast and viruses live in our bodies; the good news is that most of the time it is kept in balance. Candida Albicans (a common form of yeast) lives in the digestive track and mucous membranes (mouth, vagina). Under certain circumstances our system can spiral out of balance and allow this type of yeast to grow to the extreme. For example:
- if we have taken several rounds of antibiotics or steroids,
- addiction to sugar and/or a simple carbohydrate diet,
- long term use of birth control pills, overuse of NSAIDS (advil/ibuprofen)
- chronic illness or anything which potentially lowers our immune system (AIDS/Cancer)
One hypothesis is our immune system becomes weak which allows the yeast to enter our bloodstreams (remember it ususally lives in the digestive tract and/or mucous membranes), it causes the release of chemicals which are absorbed by the body which in turn makes you sick (Dr. Michael McNett, 2004).
Many admit this is a 'fuzzy' science because it is hard to confirm what yeast is present and to what degree it has over-grown. Many use questionaires and the patient health history to help make the diagnosis. It seems that there is commonality between symptoms and history; more so than labs and cultures which can miss the diagnosis.
Treatment is almost as controversial as making a diagnosis since so many experts do not agree however there seems to be a phased apporach which is helpful:
- starve and kill the yeast,
- promote the growth of good bacteria
- maintain an anti-Candida lifestyle.
But that's where the agreement ends. Click on the link if you would like more infomation.
Please call the office for personal or medical issues. This is for your confidentiality.
|
