Candida. It’s the trendiest thing nobody wants. But, the truth is, you might have it.

Candida is a type of pervasive fungus/yeast that exists in all humans. It’s an opportunistic pathogen, which means that it takes advantage of a body that is weakened by stress. Candida feeds on sugar so if you are eating shug on the reg, it’s likely that your candida is out of balance. An unhealthy gut microbiome (fancy word for the environment of your gut bacteria) can leave you open to become a breeding ground for toxic bugs to thrive in your immune system. Some candida in the gut is normal. An overgrowth is what causes an infection.

So, do you have it?

Here are the Top Five Symptoms of Candida:

• White coating on the tongue. This is a MAJOR sign of candida overgrowth. Your tongue should be bright pink. So go look in a mirror and stick out your tongue. If that bad boy is white, we may need to talk.
• Unusual bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and/or overall changes in normal gut function.
• Unusual fatigue/brain fog seemingly coming out of nowhere. Your gut and your brain are connected. If you’re feeling foggy, it could be indicative of a digestive issue.
• Odd skin issues. Think athlete’s foot, dandruff, and dry patches of skin on the body.
• Vaginitis or yeast infections. For my ladies… inflammation of the genital area or yeast infections are very common with candida overgrowth.

So how do you handle this?

Diagnostic testing never hurts. I say “don’t guess, test.” I use a company called DiagnosTechs. If you want to test to see if you have candida, I can ship you an at home stool test. Reach out to me here.

You’ll want to remove a few things for a full month (or longer depending on the level of infection):

• Sugar. Even things like honey, most fruit (lemons, limes and low sugar berries are ok in moderation), and al-ke-hol.
• Yeast containing foods. No mushrooms, peanuts, pistachios, vinegars (you can have apple cider vinegar), melon, or nutritional yeast. These foods either contain yeast or contribute to it.
• Antibiotics. Only take antibiotics if you absolutely must, and ideally, as a last resort. There are many safe, natural antimicrobial remedies that can effectively wipe out pathogenic microbes (parasites, yeast, bacteria) without harming the good lil guys.
• Diet is key here. It must be as unprocessed as possible. No franken-foods. Fresh, wild-caught fish, organic lean meats, veggies, tons of healthy fats and a little fruit. You’ll want to avoid the super sweet fruits like pineapple, mango, and banana, and stick with berries and lemons/limes. Grains and other carbohydrates are processed as sugars in the body, so I would leave them out completely for 30 days, and stick to quinoa, buckwheat, and wild rice to fill in the carb gaps on your plate.
• Beyond diet, I have supplement protocols which include herbs, probiotics, and prebiotics that help restore balance within the gut. If you suspect that you may have symptoms of candida, let me know about it so we can make a specific plan for you.