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Zinc & Candida

Candida sufferers experience a variety of ailments including a lack of concentration, digestive problems, gas, oral and vaginal yeast infections, lethargy and it may be the root cause of other illnesses. It is important to test your body for candida with a hair, stool or blood test. The hair analysis is the most accurate, and the doctor can provide an accurate report on the best treatment options. Just to name the basics, it will include a strict diet of no sugars (including fruits), no alcohol, no dairy, no fungus (mushrooms and fermented foods) and no vinegars.

  1. Significance

    • If the body has an appropriate amount of zinc, illnesses such as Candida overgrowth would most likely not occur. Zinc is a necessary component in the proper functioning of the metabolism, production of digestive enzymes, synthesis of all body proteins. Zinc is essential to human health and is found in almost all cells in the human body. It is an integral element in more than 200 enzymes.

    Zinc to Copper Balance

    • The amount of zinc a body needs must be in ratio to the amount of copper a body digests. If you want to know the levels of zinc in your body, and the ratio to copper, you can have a hair analysis performed. If this test reveals your zinc level as less than 12.0 mgs/percent or greater than 20.0 mgs/percent, or a zinc/copper ratio of more than 12.0 mgs/percent, then you have a zinc imbalance. Also, a phosphorus level of more than 16 or less than 12 may occur because of a zinc imbalance. If you wish to take zinc supplements to battle a zinc deficiency, do not take more than 40 mg per day and consult your doctor on the details of dosage amounts, timing and interactions with other supplements.

    Processed and Refined Foods

    • Much of the nutritional value is removed from foods when they are processed and refined. This includes the removal of zinc when, for example, whole wheat flour is refined into white flour and when frozen and canned vegetables are sprayed with EDTA (for color retention.)

    Farming Methods

    • Since farms started using superphosphate fertilizers and hybrid crops, all foods have experienced drastic zinc deficiencies, which decreases the amounts consumed by humans through a normal diet.

    Stress

    • Stress can deplete your zinc levels, cause copper levels in the body to rise, which can create an imbalanced ratio to zinc. This can often lead to a major derangement of glucose metabolism along with a zinc deficiency.

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