Candida is controversial. The medical profession denies its existence,
except in very limited cases, making it very difficult (probably impossible)
to get a medical diagnosis of Candida even when an overgrowth has been
confirmed by a laboratory test. Despite this situation, public awareness
of Candida has continued to grow, helped no doubt by the long list of
celebrities who, quite unperturbed by its lack of medical status, assert
that they have had it.
Candida is the popular term for candidiasis (candida overgrowth) - a
condition first identified by American physicians in the 1970s. Moderate
amounts of candida live in every one of us without causing any harm,
but when given free rein to grow unchecked, e.g. by wiping out the surrounding
bacteria with broad-spectrum antibiotics, Candida can change into its
fungal form and spore through the intestinal wall into the rest of the
body. Once through, it rampages around the body producing a multitude
of symptoms.
Common symptoms of Candida
There are too many symptoms to list them all here. A minority of suffers
have numerous symptoms; the vast majority have thrush + a few others;
not every sufferer has thrush.
Group 1: The damage to the intestinal wall allows undesirable toxins
to permeate into the bloodstream. This condition called ‘leaky
gut syndrome’ often leads to:
