Whether you know it or not, your body is a battleground in which a variety of microorganisms compete for space and resources. Any time your body’s delicate ecosystem becomes out of balance, it is vulnerable to infection. This can lead to a variety of health problems that can be difficult to diagnose and tricky to treat. For that reason you should be conscious of the possibility that your seemingly unrelated health concerns might be caused by a microscopic being called Candida.
What is Candida?
Candida albicans, often just called Candida, is a fungus that lives naturally in your intestinal tract. While that might not sound like a good thing, the truth is that Candida albicans serves a number of very important functions in the body, helping to keep you healthy. Just what does the Candida fugus does? It eliminates heavy metals, consumes toxic waste, digests excess food in the gut, lowers high sugar levels, and rids the body of poisons, chemicals, and toxic compounds found in processed foods.
How does Candida Overgrowth occur?
When your body is functioning normally (or healthily), Candida albicans exists alongside your body’s other 400-plus microorganisms with no problem. However, Candida is an opportunistic little bugger that can and will grow to rampant levels when circumstances allow. Any time your body’s good or healthy bacteria are threatened (due to antibiotic use, sickness, etc.), Candida may grow out of control, as it is the healthy bacteria that keep Candida albicans in check. Too much Candida albicans in the system causes an infection, often called Candida overgrowth or Candidiasis.
What are the Symptoms of Candida Overgrowth?
Candidiasis is a systemic infection, meaning it travels through the blood stream and infects every one of the body’s systems. Therefore, it is nearly impossible to pin down the symptoms of Candida overgrowth to one manageable list. Virtually any type of health condition, from indigestion to heart disease, may be caused by Candida overgrowth. One tell-tale sign of Candida overgrowth that is hard to mistake for anything else is the recurrence of any type of fungal or yeast infection. Therefore, if you suffer from chronic vaginal yeast infections, athlete’s foot, jock itch, or even psoriasis, it is a good idea for you to approach your doctor about the possibility of Candida overgrowth in your system.
While some of the symptoms of Candida overgrowth may seem less severe on the surface (we’ve all had vaginal yeast infections, right?), the truth is that Candidiasis can be extremely detrimental to your overall health and well being if left untreated. For that reason, you should be especially vigilant about monitoring yourself for signs of this rampant infection, and get to the doctor any time you have a suspicion that Candida might be at the core of your problems. You can also find some Candida Crusher videos by Dr. Eric Bakker online if you’d simply like to learn more about the condition.