Question: I did your online candida test, it concluded I was 94% likely to have candida. Recently I did a sophisticated gut test and one of the results was no candida. How should I proceed?

Very often intestinal candida is only diagnosed by use of a symptom questionnaire. Unfortunately several other conditions can mimic the symptoms of candida so its essential to be test to confirm it. Candida is sometimes linked with broad symptoms like headaches, allergies, joint pain and brain fog. However, the most common symptoms are genital itching and discharge, burning during urination, sugar cravings, whitish/yellowish plaque on the tongue and skin rashes. There are three main types of tests for candidiasis: oral/genital samples, blood tests, and stool tests. The faster and more common test is an antibody blood test. The antibody test can show infection by Candida but can’t differentiate between past and present infections. Stool tests are popular for candida overgrowth, but they can still be somewhat unreliable. Candida is a normal fungi in the gut and healthy levels of candida can be different in each person.

So, a person may test as having high levels of candida, but not have any symptoms, and viceversa. It’s best to do any candida overgrowth testing under the guidance of a clinician who will be using testing alongside more information regarding you and your symptoms. If your doctor suspects that candida overgrowth the most common treatment is an antifungal such as Diflucan but herbal antimicrobials are equally effective and with less side effects. There are simple things you can do at home to improve your gut health and possibly resolve chronic symptoms you may have been experiencing.These two simple lifestyle changes create a good foundation for your gut health , and can help with many chronic symptoms. Eating a low-carb or low sugar diet to help decrease the growth of candida (or any potential pathogen) in the gut and adding a good probiotic supplement to restore healthy flora and overcrowd pathogens.

Question: I was tested for candida and other moulds by BTS. My result showed no candida or moulds present but I have low colonisation of lactobacilli and enterococcus. Can you recommend a good supplement that will increase my level of this bacteria. Or should I attend a nutritionist for treatment.

Probiotics are an essential component of our gut. There are several probiotic species that have extensive research to colonize and promote good gut health. Lactobacillus for example helps prevent pathogens from colonising the gut, including releasing antimicrobial substances to other pathogens. Lactobacillus are great for digestive health since they help break down many components in food. Lactobacillus even helps to feed other good bacteria in your gut, such as Bifidobacterium which help maintain the gut barrier. There are different species of Lactobacillus with probiotic qualities. L. plantarum helps with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), L. acidophilus produces acidophilin to inhibit yeast growth. L. rhamnosus decreases gut inflammation through short-chain fatty acids. Bifidobacteria like B. bifidum are another class of bacteria which have many benefits including supporting gut immunity (and mantaining the gut barrier) lowering cholesterol and helping conditions like eczema and IBS.

A high quality probiotic is essential to restore diversity and bring back balance to your gut. In general look for one with both Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium species, with a large number of srains and with a high amount of CFU (colony forming units). Most probiotics do not contain enteroccoci bacteria due to their ability to mutate to a pathogenic state and become harmful. Some strains of enterococcus have been associated with colon cancer and antibiotic resistance, and to date no large study has proven the safety and efficacy of enterococcal probiotics. Feel free to reach out to a nutritional therapist, they might reccomend a more personalized protocol based on your test results.

Question: I have been diagnosed with psoriasis recently and am not comfortable with immunosuppressant drugs. I’ve been researching on yeast issues since my food allergy test shows that I’m allergic to Bakers and Brewers yeast. I performed a home based spit test and see symptoms of Candida. My tongue has a white coating. I started the Candida cleanse diet for a little over a week now. Would you recommend a comprehensive stood test to understand the root cause of the issue? How long into the diet will I see some signs of improvement? Your help and advice will be greatly appreciated.

There are many different options to test for Candida overgrowth, depending on where exactly the overgrowth is in/on your body. For example, if you’re dealing with a skin rash, skin scraping is often used to identify fungus/Candida as the cause. A swab may be helpful if the overgrowth is located in the oral or genital area. You can speak to a qualified medical professional who can help you and order the correct diagnosis tests for you. A comprehensive stool test is best suited for gastrointestina overgrowth of Candida. It will also tell you if you are deficient in benficial bacteria flora, like Lactobacillus or Bifidobacterium. Another great realiable option is an organic acid urine test which picks up on specific Candida metabolites. Finally, an antibody test can pick up on an immune response to Candida in your bloodstream, which tells us if you’ve had a past or ongoing reaction to Candida.

Oftentimes practitioners recommend following a very strict Candida diet which cut out sources of added sugars from processed foods that can feed Candida but they are also restrictive in certain carbohydrates like grains, and legumes so the carbohydrate restriction should only be followed short term. The diet is meant to reduce Candida levels in the short term but in the long run this can be detrimental to your overall health because you’re losing essential nutrients from foods that help diversify the microbiome. So ideally it is best to work with a functional medicine povider who can help you implement a short-term dietary protocol while investigating controibuting factors to the overgrowth and help you navigate introduction of foods as you progress in the treatment. They may also implement targeted therapies like natural antimicrobials such as CanXida Remove, or in some cases pharmaceutical antifungals to provide symptom relief.

Disclaimer: This article intends to provide general insights and may not apply to individual cases. It is essential to consult with a healthcare professional to ensure that any vitamin supplementation.