(Article from the Candida
Digest July 2000)
Is Candida an Endocrine Disorder?
Candida is usually thought
to result from a weakness of the immune system
following antibiotic therapy. This may be true,
but it may not be the whole truth. If it isn't
then any treatment based on it is unlikely
to be completely successful in all patients.
Our data indicates that whilst the majority
of sufferers do recover (occasionally relapsing
at a later date) a minority fail to recover
at all. Effective treatment requires satisfactory
explanations of underlying causes.
As long ago as the 1980s American physicians
noted that their most difficult-to-treat candida
patients had endocrine systems that were not
working properly, known as the APICH syndrome.
As an unbalanced endocrine system may play
a role in all candida overgrowth, it is important
to look carefully at the relationship between
candida and the endocrine system. We begin
with the usual description of the causes of
candida.
What is candida?
'Candida' is the popular term for an overgrowth
of candida - a condition known to medical doctors
as 'intestinal candidiasis' when found in the
intestines or 'systemic candidiasis' when found
elsewhere in the body. It was first diagnosed
by American physicians in the 1970s.
When we are healthy, candida lives (in its yeast
form) in our intestines where it competes with
bacteria for room. Like bacteria, it is aerobic
i.e. it needs oxygen to live. When we die, oxygenated
blood stops coursing through our bodies, suffocating
the bacteria. But candida (like all yeast) can
survive without oxygen by changing into its fungal,
anaerobic form. It spreads rapidly into the area
vacated by the dead bacteria, putting down roots
into the walls of the intestines, and sporing
through the gut wall into the rest of the body.
Candida decomposes cell membranes, providing
food for other microbes, particularly the maggots
which infest corpses. The Egyptians realised
this thousands of years ago. When they wanted
to mummify a body they extracted the intestines
as soon as possible after death, to stop the
body rotting from the inside out, embalming the
rest of the body with eucalyptus and other anti-fungal
oils to kill any remaining candida and other
microbes.
Sounds revolting, but a diagnosis of 'candida'
means that this process has started, whilst we
are still alive. It doesn't mean that you are
at death's door. On the contrary candida rarely
kills. But its presence in large numbers means
that your immune system has an unremitting battle
to keep it under control - a battle which takes
a terrible toll on your health.
Common symptoms of candida
The damage to the intestinal wall allows toxins
to enter the bloodstream. This condition called
'leaky gut syndrome' often leads to food allergies,
foggy brain, migraines and depression. Symptoms
in the intestines include diarrhoea or constipation,
bloatedness, flatulence and itchy anus. Once
through to the rest of the body, the candida
can live anywhere there are mucous membranes
- it particularly likes the vagina, lungs and
the sinuses, providing food for bacteria and
viruses. It has an ability to disrupt the endocrine
system causing symptoms such as weight gain or
weight loss, PMS, menstrual irregularities, joint
pains, asthma, hayfever, muscle fatigue and chronic
tiredness. Testing usually reveals vitamin, mineral
and enzyme deficiencies and low blood sugar.
Thyroid tests often indicate that the thyroid
is functioning normally, but body temperature
is inexplicably low.
Some of the most obvious symptoms of candida
overgrowth are thrush, cystitis and fungal infections
of the nails or skin, such as athlete's foot.
Local medication is not permanently successful.
This list of symptoms is illustrative not exhaustive.
Causes of candida - the traditional view
A decade ago books on candida were hard to come
by - but now most bookshops stock a good choice.
We have a lot more information and a vast increase
in the choice of supplements, as new anti-fungal
properties of herbs are discovered and added
to supplements. But we haven't made any progess
in understanding why candida has become so prevalent.
Authors of recent publications seem to agree
that the number one cause is overuse of broad
spectrum antibiotics. Candida then overwhelms
the immune system by producing toxins which repress
T-lymphocytes, the main search-and-destroy cells
in the immune system.
This is a far simpler account than that given
by earlier writers (often practising physicians)
who cited a complex mix of contributory factors.
GPs have difficulty accepting this simpler hypothesis.
They know that antibiotics cause thrush in susceptible
individuals, which they (wrongly) regard as little
more than a temporary nuisance, restricted to
the genitals and mouth. They don't believe that
a microscopic organism (which our bodies have
accommodated for thousands of years) can permanently
overwhelm a healthy immune system to do such
wide-spread damage.
It seems that we are in danger of talking up
one possible hypothesis (disregarding others)
and unfortunately our chosen one alienates the
medical profession and provides poor guidance
for the very people who need it most: severe
cases with complications, and those who relapse.
It is time to take a fresh look at the underlying
causes of candida.
Who suffers from candida?
Females! Males do get it - see our last edition
for a male member's story, but overwhelmingly
it is a female condition. At least 60% of sufferers
are women; 20% are men; and 20% are boys and
girls. If candida is caused primarily by antibiotics,
why is it predominantly a female condition? Do
women swallow more antibiotics than men? Maybe
they do, but anecdotal evidence suggests not
- women avoid oral antibiotics because they know
they will get vaginal thrush if they don't.
Considering the number of male teenagers who
take antibiotics for acne and the children dosed
with antibiotics for infections, shouldn't this
ratio of sufferers be more balanced? Perhaps
this imbalance can give us a clue about the causes
of candida. Some of our male members think that
antibiotics caused their candida, but a significant
number think otherwise. They cite:
-
handling chemicals e.g. pharmaceutical
workers, farmers
-
dental mercury amalgam poisoning
-
use of recreational drugs
-
side-effects of medication, especially corticosteroids
-
stress (usually as a contributory factor).
Causes in women? Mandy Smith (then Bill Wyman's wife) was the
first UK public person reported in the press
to be suffering from candida, which was attributed
to her continuous use of the contraceptive pill
from puberty. In fact, it still seems likely
that hormonal pills are the major factor in women
developing candida. The factors are:
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