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Candida & Concentration:
is there a connection?

(Article from Whizz Kidz magazine - Issue 2)

Over the last two decades it has become clear that a great many common health problems, both physical and mental, might have a common cause - namely, the spread in the body of a yeast that lives in each and every one of us. Its name is Candida Albicans; and we will call it Candida for short.

Because it is present in all people from about the age of six months, doctors tend to overlook Candida as the cause of various diseases or conditions. Because it occurs in everyone, it would seem that Candida could not cause health problems in only some.

This reasoning has diverted attention from Candida, except in rare conditions in which it proliferates to such an extent as to become life-threatening. This critical condition often happens in people whose immune system has been weakened by disease or drugs (in therapy or abuse).

Many people are actually suffering from a less-pronounced spread of Candida, which, while not sufficient to endanger life, is certainly enough to produce a wide array of debilitating symptoms.

These include depression; anxiety; unnatural irritability; digestive symptoms such as diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and heartburn; tiredness and a sense of hopelessness; allergies; acne; migraine; cystitis; vaginitis; thrush; menstrual problems and premenstrual tension.

The key to understanding the way in which this vast array of symptoms could possibly be caused by a yeast that lives in all of us lies in an appreciation of the factors that can encourage the spread of yeast. In most people there is an uneasy truce between their bodies and the yeast. For most of us an equilibrium exists.

The yeast can live - even thrive - and present no problems to its host, as long as it is confined to specific sites. Should it go beyond these sites, the immune system in general and its white blood cells in particular, attacks and destroys the yeast. There are also actual physical barriers, such as the mucous lining of the digestive tract, which prevents intrusion through it by yeast or any other undesirable elements.

All mucous membranes contain further protective substances that can destroy invading particles of yeast or other substances that could compromise a persons health status.

So How Does Candida Affect Our Health?

If circumstances allow, Candida can spread along the entire length of the digestive tract, from the anus to the mouth. The tongue may be coated, and there may be yeast deposits on the insides of the cheeks, the corners of the mouth and the gums. White spots and a coating on the tongue accompanied by a soreness and a tingling of the gums are obvious signs.

When the esophagus is affected, it can result in symptoms commonly dismissed as "heartburn". Indigestion and acid stomach are symptoms that can be the result of Candida activity in the stomach.

Candida is a dimorphic organism, meaning that it has two separate
identities: a yeast form and a fungal form. In the yeast form, it has no root; but in its fungal form, it produces rhizoids - long rootlike structures. These "roots" can actually penetrate the mucosa of the tissue in which they are growing, and can thus breach the boundary between the digestive tract and the rest of the body.

Substances that would normally be contained within the digestive tract are now able to enter the bloodstream. The invasive form of Candida can use this means to enter the body proper. The serious result of the penetration of the intestinal barrier is that undigested proteins from food, as well as toxic wastes from the Candida infestation, may begin to circulate in the bloodstream.

If these substances reach the brain, there is a chance that "brain allergies will develop". These can result in a wide variety of mood and personality problems, ranging from depression, irritability, and mood swings to symptoms that resemble schizophrenia.

These substances which enter the brain and act on the receptors there, producing negative mental and personality symptoms have been labelled exorphins.

This differentiates them from endorphins, which are substances produced by the body to help in the control of many aspects of the biochemistry of life, including pain control. The externally originating substances (proteins from incompletely digested food) that slip into the bloodstream through the passage made by the fungal roots of Candida can cause havoc in any tissues they contact.

They are "foreign" to the immune system, which will attempt to neutralize them. If this neutralization process is continued for long (it can go on for many years), then this in itself is a factor contributing to the ultimate depletion of the immune system. The system simply becomes overwhelmed by the constant onslaught.

The concurrence of mild, or major, emotional and mental symptoms with any of the conditions mentioned earlier should alert us to the strong possibility of Candida activity. Often, the mental symptoms are no more than an ability to concentrate, accompanied by memory lapses, and feelings of lethargy and exhaustion.

In the book Could Yeast Be your Problem? by Leon Chaitow, two cases are quoted of people who had been diagnosed as schizophrenic; another had been diagnosed as having multiple sclerosis. Pointing out that they all recovered on anti-yeast treatment and were all in good health up to seventeen years later.

Were these women really schizophrenic, or was it just that Candida was responsible for brain function so abnormal that highly competent specialists never doubted the diagnosis of schizophrenia? In the third woman, did Candida induce neurological abnormalities sufficiently typical of multiple sclerosis that a competent neurologist would mistakenly diagnose the disease?

In the book Dr Braly's Food Allergy & Nutrition Revolution by Dr James Braly, there is a bizarre case of Candida that occurred in a young boy, who seemed to have severe emotional problems and had been diagnosed as Autistic.

After years of ineffective treatments, his parents began to suspect that his food allergies were connected to these conditions. Eventually they were able to trace a complex network of hypersensitivities back to a childhood ear infection, which had been treated with prolonged exposure to antibiotics.

It was then that many of his food allergies had first shown up, perhaps the result of the invasive Candida albicans infestation permeating the digestive tract, a situation created by the antibiotic therapy. When the fungal infection was brought under control, allergies abated, and the symptoms of "autism" disappeared.

In Conclusion

Many highly respected authorities have asserted that either Candida produces symptoms that mimic many diseases, or Candida can actually cause the disease that are "labeled" with these names. The indication, after many years and several studies, is that the recoveries were not just cases of remission (which is not uncommon), but that Candida induces symptoms similar to those of other illnesses, which may then be wrongly diagnosed and labelled.

Candida infection is rampant in modern society. It has been let loose by the use of drugs (used in good faith to help people), as well as a diet that is ideal for the yeast, rather than the host. The number and possible consequences is mind-boggling and deserves the attention of everyone involved in the healing profession.

The following checklist gives clues as to whether Candida is an active agent in your health.

Candida Checklist

List 1: History of Medications and Pregnancy.

Have you ever taken antibiotics for an infection for a period of 8 weeks or longer, or for short periods 4 or more times in a year?
Have you ever taken antibiotics for the treatment of acne for a period of one month or more?
Have you ever taken steroids such as predisone, cortisone, or ACTH?
Have you ever taken contraceptive pills for a year or more?
Have you ever been treated with immunosuppressant medications?
Have you been pregnant more than once?

List 2: List of Major symptoms Implicating Candida.

Have you had recurrent or persistent cystitis, vaginitis, or prostatitis?
Have you a history of endometriosis?
Have you had thrush (oral or vaginal) more than once?
Have you ever had athlete's foot or a fungal infection of the nails or skin?
Are you severely affected by exposure to chemical fumes, perfumes, tobacco smoke, etc? Or are your symptoms worse after taking yeasty or sugary foods or drinks?
Do you suffer from a variety of allergies?
Do you commonly suffer from abdominal distension, "bloating,"
diarrhea, or constipation?
Do you suffer from premenstrual syndrome (fluid retention, irritability, etc)?
Do you suffer from depression, fatigue, lethargy, poor memory, or feelings of "unreality"?
Do you crave sweet foods, bread or alcohol?
Do you suffer from unaccountable aches, tingling, numbness, or burning?
Do you suffer from unaccountable aches and swelling in the joints?
Do you have a vaginal discharge or irritation, or menstrual cramps or pain?
Do you have erratic vision or spots before the eyes?
Do you suffer from impotence or lack of sexual desire?
If you answered yes to one or more questions in the first section and to two or more in the second section, and some of the following conditions are present, then Candida is probably involved:
Symptoms usually worse on damp days; persistent drowsiness; lack of coordination; headaches; loss of balance; mood swings; loss of balance; rashes; mucus in stool; belching and flatulence; bad breath; postnasal drip; nasal itch and/or congestion; nervous irritability; tightness in the chest; dry mouth or throat; ear sensitivity or fluid in the ears; and heartburn and indigestion.

Stuart Wilson
stuart@nutrineeds.co.za