1. Adrenal and Thyroid gland dysfunction:

Symptoms include cold hands or feet, low blood sugar, low body temperature, light headedness if you stand too fast, fatigue, inability to loose weight.

2. Gastrointestinal problems:

Symptoms include bad breath, bloating, constipation or diarrhea, dry mouth, white coating on the tongue, gas, heartburn, indigestion, IBS, inflammation, obesity or excessive weight loss. It has been shown that Candida overgrowth is a major player in inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis and gastric ulcers.1

3. Emotional and Mental imbalance

Symptoms include ADD, ADHD, anxiety, depression, drowsiness, fatigue, foggy brain, frequent mood swings, inability to concentrate, hyperactivity, insomnia, joint pain, low energy, mental confusion, muscle pain, muscle weakness, nervousness, poor memory, feeling of tingling and numbness.

4. Allergies and immune system weakness

Symptoms include acne, blurred vision, recurrent bronchitis, chemical sensitivities, coughing, earaches, hay fever, headaches, hives, nasal congestion, shortness of breath, sinusitis and sore throats.

5. Skin problems

Symptoms include acne, anal itch, athletes foot, dandruff, dermatitis, dry skin, eczema, excessive perspiration, nail fungal infection, impetigo, jock itch and even psoriasis.

6. Genitourinary problems

Symptoms include recurrent bladder infections, recurrent urinary tract infections, burning sensation when urinating, cramps, cystitis (bladder inflammation), endometriosis (irregular or painful menstruation), impotency, infertility, irregular menstrual cycle, painful intercourse, prostatisis, recurrent vaginal yeast infections, vaginal burning, itching or discharge, fluid retention.

Not all listed symptoms will occur in all people, however, if you have many of theses symptoms you should be tested for Candida overgrowth.

What is Candida albicans? Candida is a yeast that normally lives in our mouth, throat, intestines, and genitourinary tract. There is a healthy balance between beneficial bacteria and beneficial yeast in our body. However, if given the opportunity Candida will grow out of control.

There are many things that allow Candida to grow out of control. Common causes include recurrent antibiotic use, high carbohydrate/sugar diet, immune deficiency, toxic metals and chemicals, excessive stress, hormone imbalance, use of birth control pills, chronic constipation, chronic diarrhea, alcohol consumption, use of steroids, and genetic disorders.

How does it cause all of these symptoms? Simply put, toxic overload. Candida produces 80 known toxic substances including ethanol, acetaldehyde and formaldehyde. This in turn produces massive amounts of inflammation that leads to many clinical symptoms.

If you suspect you have a Candida overgrowth there are a few steps to correcting the problem.

1. Get tested to confirm this is the correct problem. Simply following some internet protocol for Candida and reducing its levels could cause a bacterial overgrowth problem.

2. Find the cause of the overgrowth and remove it.

3. Supplement with products that help restore balance to the yeast and bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract.

4. Eat a proper diet and exercise.

5. Support proper digestion and absorption. Candida will interfere with absorption of vitamins and minerals.

6. Strengthen your immune system.

7. Do a proper systemic and cellular detoxification program. I am not talking about a liver cleanse, a bowel cleanse or a juice fast. You must get the toxins out of you body.

If you suspect a Candida overgrowth problem and would like us to help you regain your health please give us a call at 801-798-2515.

Article written by Dr. Steven E. Davis, chiropractic physican

Reference

1. Kumamoto CA. Inflammation and gastrointestinal Candida colonization. Current opinion in microbiology. 2011;14(4):386-391. doi:10.1016/j.mib.2011.07.015. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3163673/#R26

What is I.B.S.?

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is a very common problem. It affects 11% of the population globally. It can also be a cause of other conditions such as adrenal fatigue, anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, and more.

Clinical diagnosis is usually based on symptoms. The Rome III criteria for diagnosing IBS are the following:

At least 3 days per month in the last 12 weeks of continuous or recurrent abdominal pain or discomfort.
With at least 2 of the following:
- Relief with defecation
- Altered stool frequency
- altered stool form
- onset of symptoms more than 6 months prior to diagnosis

Often times it is difficult to differentiate between irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The FDA approved lab marker to differentiate between these two conditions is called calprotectin. Calprotectin is a marker of inflammation found in the stool. If someone meets the Rome criteria and have low levels of calprotectin then we can diagnose IBS if calprotectin is high then the diagnosis is IBD and should get a colonoscopy.

How can IBS be helped

From a natural medicine approach there are many things that can be done for people who suffer from IBS. The first question that should be asked is "why are my bowels irritable?" The most common answer to this question is a condition called small intestinal bowel over growth (SIBO). SIBO is an overgrowth of the good bacteria in your small bowel. Dr. Davis wrote a great article on SIBO that can be found here. Bacterial overgrowth has been shown to be present in 84% of IBS cases and proper treatment leads to a 75% reduction of symptoms! Treatment for IBS starts with a proper diagnosis of the cause. Organic acid testing (a urine test) and stool analysis will give the most comprehensive information as to why you may have IBS. Once we know the cause then we can correct the underlying problem. This usually is done by following one of three specific diets. The specific carbohydrate diet, GAPS diet or a low FODMAPS diet. They are all very similar in nature. These diets will promote healing of the intestinal lining and balancing of the gut bacteria and yeast levels. While on this diet your natural medicine doctor will prescribe some antimicrobial supplements to reduce the bacterial over growth and then promote proper healing of the gut with probiotics, fish oil, L-glutamine and digestive aids. Over a few months time, the gut will heal and huge reduction in symptoms will follow.

If you suffer with IBS and would like to feel better, please give us a call at 801-798-2515.

Written by Dr. Steven Davis, D.C., chiropractic physician and natural medicine practitioner.