Intestinal Yeast Infection Symptoms

An overgrowth of yeast in your intestines can cause fatigue, digestive problems and malnutrition. Because your body is designed to eat living food with enzymes, candida can grow out of control, causing the different bacteria in your intestines to go off balance and attack you from the inside out. The walls of your intestines are supposed to be absorbing nutrients from your foods. When there aren't enough beneficial enzymes and bacteria to digest your food, it passes through, barely digested, without absorbing the nutrients into our bloodstream.

Background

• Your intestines are supposed to be populated by hundreds of beneficial bacteria and enzymes. It is their job to digest your food, breaking down nutrients and delivering them to your bloodstream. Candida is just one of these enzymes. It thrives in an environment that the modern American diet caters to. Low fiber, high carbohydrates, refined flours, sugars and fermented foods are candida's "favorite foods." The more of these foods you eat, the more it grows.

Symptoms

• The symptoms of yeast overgrowth in the intestines are represented throughout the body. Most notably, chronic fatigue, especially after eating, as well as depression, bloating, gas, intestinal cramps, chronic diarrhea, constipation, heartburn, rectal itching, allergies, lowered immunity, severe PMS, impotence, memory loss, mood swings, brain fog, jock itch, athlete's foot, extreme sensitivity to chemicals, recurrent vaginal infections, prostate problems and a low tolerance for alcohol are all common symptoms of a yeast overgrowth.

Diagnosis

• Western medicine does not recognize candida overgrowth. In fact, two New Jersey physicians lost their licenses in 1990 for treating candidiasis, and in California in 1999, a physician was censored and eventually abandoned his practice for committing the same "crime." Simply put, since candida is supposed to be present in the intestines, there isn't a reliable way to test secretions to see if it's in balance. Currently, naturopaths will treat the disorder with tablets of digestive enzymes--not subject to overgrowth--and if it helps, then it must have been candida. There is a home "spit test," but science doesn't support its validity.

Treatments

• Changing the diet to eliminate the foods that candida feeds upon is the most effective way to treat the problem. However, one of the side effects of an overgrowth is craving these foods. Abstaining from foods you crave can be difficult. Adding probiotic enzymes to your diet, reducing your intake of sugars and carbs and increasing your consumption of living, fibrous foods is a popular approach.

Warning

• Get the advice of a naturopathic physician if you're concerned about self-treating your intestinal yeast infection symptoms. Since traditional doctors aren't trained to treat candidiasis, you won't find support for managing digestive enzymes or re-establishing colonies of healthy bacteria.

Theories/Speculation

• In the U.S., medical conditions and cures that haven't been tested by the FDA are considered speculation. Herbal remedies, homeopathy and other natural cures all fall into this category. Since the testing process is so expensive, and no one stands to benefit financially from their approval, they're simply untested. Pharmaceutical cures, on the other hand, are tested thoroughly. Drug companies pay for this testing because they know that when the drug is approved, they will be repaid. This doesn't mean that herbal cures aren't effective, it just means that they haven't been tested.