- Is #candida overgrowth plaguing the population? 😲 👉🏼👉🏼
I went to the experts @vitaminphd & @andreahardyrd to bring YOU the facts!🤝
Candida, or yeast is a fungus that naturally occurs all over our bodies – in our mouths, rectums, vaginas, and on our skin. It’s part of our ‘mycobome’ – (think microbiome but for fungus!)
While candida can be opportunistic, most of the time it exists in harmony with the rest of our microbes. However, there are practitioners quick to blame ‘candida overgrowth’ in anyone with gut symptoms, fatigue, and weight gain as the culprit. Followed by the prescription of dietary restrictions and a pile of supplements. But what are the facts?
✅ a spit test or stool test CANNOT diagnose candida – we would expect to find yeast there! Researchers are looking at small bowel cultures to diagnose fungal overgrowth in the gut, but so far, a higher level of yeast hasn’t always correlated with symptoms.
✅ dietary patterns do not appear to ‘cause’ candida! In fact, one well designed study found no association between refined carbohydrate intake and presence of candida.
✅ diet cannot ‘treat’ candida! While you might feel better on a diet lower in refined carbs, we need to ask ourselves, did improving diet quality account for symptom improvement?
✅ candidiasis can occur in the gut – but is typically seen in someone severely immunocompromised – for example undergoing cancer treatments or with HIV. Candidiasis needs to be treated with anti-fungals – not diet!
✅ many times, there are evidence based explanations for your symptoms – and ones that don’t require crazy restrictive diets. (hello – so many patients get ‘blamed’ for not following dietary protocols strictly enough and that’s why they’re not getting better? A more likely answer is, they didn’t have candida in the first place.)
Bottom line: fungi makes up a normal part of your guts ecosystem. While it can be opportunistic, there has to be significant compromises to your gut and immune system to make space for yeast to grow. If anyone wants to do a spit or stool test to ‘diagnose’ candida or *gasp* does it based off a constellation of symptoms – you may want to question their approach. #onlinepersonaltrainer #personaltrainer #nutrition #nutritioncoach #cleanse #dietplan #diet #candida #candidadiet #detox #science #trainertips #explorepage #explore #evidencebased
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