July 31, 2018

Candida, Thrush & Yeast Infections

At a Glance:

A properly balanced gut flora is essential to gut health!

When the gut flora is blanced, candida is actually beneficial for the body in a small, controlled amount.

When there is an overgrowth of this "Yeasty Beastie", it releases toxins causing symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, poor concentration, mood swings, irritability, bloating, leaky gut, consitpation, diarrhea, eczema, psoriasis, yeast infections, and more.

It is important to bear in mind that bringing the body back to a sate of optimal health in this situation is a two-part process: Controlling the candida AND detoxing from it.

Diet is the best way to target gut repair. You want to be taking in a top notch probiotic x 3, healthy proteins, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and raw and unrefined coconut oil, among other things.

Essential Oils like Tea Tree, Geranium, and Lavender can play a big part in detoxing from Candida, too!

What is Candida?

Candida albicans, also known as thrush, is a common problem affecting many people and creating a myriad of symptoms.

Before we talk about the big, the bad, and the ugly, let's take a look at the glass half full. As an inoffensive member of most everyone's gut flora, Candida albicans isn't really the bad guy that he's often made out to be. Serving a purpose similar to that of a city's sanitation department, candida acts as an important part of the intestinal cleaning crew, consuming the bits of food that get left behind as the food moves through the digestive tract. No one want's a bunch of garbage left lying around to rot in their neighborhoods. Neither do we want that for our internal neighborhoods, if that makes sense. That leftover food in our system really does need the waste removal crew (aka. yeast, or candida albicans) to keep things clean for us.

So you see, Candida albicans serves a significant purpose; it's only when he's over-fed that this "Yeasty Beastie" really begins to do some damage. Like any fungi or yeast, certain foods will "feed" candida, causing it to thrive and grow at a rapid rate. (Do you remember what your grandma used to feed her sourdough starter?) Foods that are considered acid-ash (meaning they leave acidic leftovers) feed the candida and invite a whole host of other issues. In particular, these foods include sugars, processed foods - like breads and cereals, soy or soy-containing products, animal proteins, dairy. It stands to reason that Candida can grow rapidly when fed the Standard American Diet (SAD), but did you know it can invade even the blood, GI tract, and tissues? When this happens, it is considered candidiasis.

As the candida consumes large amounts of the "leftover" food in the digestive system, it releases a large amount of toxic waste - just as any other living organism does. But remember where this guy lives? Inside your body! Wanna guess where he dumps all that toxic waste after he finishes his janitorial job? Yep. Yuck!

The body responds to these mycotoxins (literal poisons excreted by fungi) with symptoms such as: frequent and extreme fatigue, headaches, difficulty concentrating and focusing, mood swings, irritability, bloating, leaky gut, constipation, diarrhea, eczema, psoriasis, indigestion, sugar cravings, gum soreness, yeast infections, urinary tract infections (UTI), and even sexual struggles.

Under normal conditions the good bacteria (probiotics) in the gut exist in much larger proportion to the candida. Therefore, a properly balanced gut flora is essential to gut health!

Correcting Gut Health

As you begin to restore the correct balance of probiotics to candida albicans in your gut, meaning that a large amount of the candida will die off, you will experience an increase in symptoms at first. This is due to the additional by-products that your body will be detoxing from - by-products that are a result of the candida when it dies.

Not only will you be getting the candida under control, you will also be detoxing at the same time. It is important to bear in mind that bringing the body back to a state of optimal health in this situation a two-part process: Controlling the candida AND detoxing from it.

Because our diet is the main contributor to the state of our digestive system health, diet is really the best way to correct gut health. (Don't worry, I'm going to give you some great ideas on how to use essential oils too in just a second!)

Correcting and replenishing the gut flora in your digestive tract is crucial!

Things to Avoid:

Cellulose and starchy foods such as potatoes, wheat, peas, onions and carrots
Pasteurized dairy (usually there's an unknown allergy to dairy)
Added sugar (sugars feed candida, the most common gut health killer)
Refined vegetable oils (canola, soybean, corn, etc.)
Coffee, alcohol, and tea - I know! This one is rough. Ugh.
Hydrogenated fats (or trans fats) - they are synthetic, unfamiliar to the body and are almost completely identical in their makeup to plastic! Please don't put this in your body!
Excessive use of antibiotics - they kill off massive quantities of the helpful organisms in your intestines!

Things to do:

Get on a high count probiotic. Go to your nearest health food store and ask for a good brand. They will know where to direct you.
Don't go easy on it! It is often necessary to take triple the recommended daily amount on the bottle. Take them on an empty stomach if possible. (And, of course, always check with your doctor first!)
Eat a variety of fermented foods such as sour kraut, kombucha, miso, kefir, yogurt, etc. Kefir or yogurt should be unpasteurized and sweetened only with raw stevia or a small amount of whole fruit pieces.
Use fresh garlic in your cooking
Switch your cooking oils out for raw unrefined coconut oil - as it is an actual candida fighter!
Use apple cider vinegar on a salad a time or two each week
If you are going to eat a salad or raw fruits/veggies with a meal, eat them 15 minutes before the main course (or cooked food) is served. If you eat a salad followed immediately by dinner, the foods will ferment in your stomach and often cause excessive gas and bloating.
Drink herbal teas (or spiced teas)
Eat healthy fats (nuts, seeds, raw coconut oil, grass-fed butters, MCT oils, etc.)
Eat wild caught fish at least twice a week
Eat organic as often as possible
Eat plenty of fresh, green leafy veggies (like our grandparents used to do!)
Eat lots of really good proteins! Yum!

Candida Appearing on the Skin:

If I had a dollar for every time I've heard someone say their baby's cradle cap is "normal" and will clear up on its own. Or that skin problems just run in the family. Well, that makes sense - because the family is all eating the same food! But hang in there. This is a slow-and-steady-wins-the-race kind of thing here.

While food allergies can be the root cause of many skin irritations, candida comes in as a close second. Food allergy testing is advised when dealing with any gut health issue. We highly recommend Stephanie Fuller, N.D. at Fuller Options.

Let's take a look at those rashy, itchy patches that show up on the skin and are labelled all sorts of things. Does that prescribed cream ever seem to keep it from resurfacing? (Remember that the underlying issue is the gut, so this isn't a permanent fix here.)

Blends: Clarify, Breeze

Singles: Tea Tree, Oregano, Patchouli, German Chamomile, Lemongrass

Application:

Blend 10 drops Tea Tree, 1 drop Oregano, 2 drops Patchouli, and 2 drops German Chamomile OR use the Clarify or Breeze blend.
Apply oil choice neat (undiluted) on location and then cover with an antibiotic ointment to "seal" it.
Alternatively, soak a gauze pad in oils, apply to location and wrap the area, leaving the pad.
Repeat choice method two to four times daily.

Candida Appearing as Thrush:

"Thrush and cystitis often alternate with each other in a painful and depressing cycle, because the antibiotics given for the cystitis suppress the body's natural way of controlling candida organisms. Using essential oils to treat the cystitis, either alone or in conjunction with antibiotics if necessary, and [eating yogurt and taking probiotics] to counter the side-effects of the drugs can break this cycle." (Davis, 293)

Price recommends 1 drop Rosewood essential oil or Tea Tree essential oil in honey and water used as a mouth rinse 3-5 times a day is an effective treatment for candida in the mouth. (Price, 282)

"Cystitis (urinary tract infection) responds quickly to 1 to 3 drops of essential oil in a glass of water.... can be drunk repeatedly during the day. In the beginning of an acute condition, this can be done every 20 minutes and symptoms will diminish quickly. Then the frequency of consumption of the tea tree drink can be reduced. Treating cystitis with Tea Tree oil is highly effective. Nonetheless, if the cystitis is recurrent, diet or lifestyle changes may be required for a full resolution." -Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph. D. (4)*

*This info concerning Tea Tree's effectiveness when ingested is included here because, though Cystitis and and Yeast Infections are not the same thing, they frequently share Candida as root a cause. Infections in general, but especially Candida, can often be remedied with Tea Tree and/or Geranium.

Candida Appearing as a Vaginal Yeast Infection:

Blends: Cleanse, Clarify

Singles: Tea Tree, Rosemary, Thyme linalol, Lavender, Geranium, Lemon, Eucalyptus, German Chamomile, Myrrh, Lemongrass

Application Methods:

Direct Application Method:

Dilute the blend or oil(s) of choice in 30 mL (2 Tbs) carrier oil and apply a small amount daily over the lower abdomen, hips, and upper and lower back.
Blend Idea: 10 drops Lavender, 10 drops Tea Tree, 5 drops German Chamomile, 5 drops Cypress, 5 drops Thyme.
If you do not have the oils to make this blend, just select several oils that you have on hand and blend a few drops of each together. It is best to use them in the order listed. Dilute and follow daily application listed above.

Tea Tree Tampon Method from Dr. Jane Buckle, PhD, RN (12):

According to Jane Buckle, PhD, RN in her book, Clinical Aromatherapy Essential Oils in Healthcare, Tea Tree is the one essential oil that can get rid of this fungal infection permanently - and within only a few days!

While we at Selah do not recommend putting essential oils inside the vagina, one of our trusted resources uses this method, as described below. If you are going to use this method, we recommend that you follow it exactly as described.

Tea Tree Tampon Recipe:

In a saucer, mix two or three drops of tea tree (Melaleuca alternifolia) in 5ml [approx. 1 teaspoon] of cold-pressed vegetable oil, such as sweet almond oil.
Roll a tampon in the mixture until it is saturated, then insert into the vagina.
Use the remainder on your fingers to spread the mixture over the labia, and wash your hands.
The tampon should be changed three times a day for a new tampon with a fresh dilution of carrier oil and tea tree... and keep one in overnight as well.

"It will not lead to toxic shock syndrome. Tea Tree Tampons are a very safe and effective method of eradicating candidiasis (and many other vaginal infections) and there appear to be no adverse side effects." (Buckle, 386)

"The tea tree tampon method has been used successfully in pregnancy with no adverse effects to the mother or baby. Having suggested this treatment to many patients and colleagues over the last 20 years, I am confident Melaleuca alternifolia [Tea Tree] will remove the infection within 3 days, regardless of how long the woman has had the infection, or if the infection is resistant to conventional antifungals." (Buckle, 387) Buckle does urge caution, though. If there are exposed raw areas in the vagina or on the labia, using Lavender diluted in vegetable oil first is best. Used in the exact same way, with a tampon for 1 or 2 days. You can also use Lavender in a sitz bath.

Yogurt Tampon Method:

Using a single serving (2 oz) carton of yogurt, blend in 5 drops each of Tea Tree, Lavender, and German Chamomile.
This should be an absolutely unsweetened, live-culture organic yogurt containing no preservatives or additives. If you can't find this, skip this option and select a different application method.
You may apply with a with a small spoon or a pessarie applicator as an alternative to the following tampon application. Either way, getting the yogurt mixture into the vagina is the goal here! *We can't always be modest, Ladies. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do.*
Remove a tampon from its applicator. A large barreled applicator is better. Plug the the narrow, back end of the applicator (the end that normally pushes the tampon in) with a small piece of cotton. Scoop as much of the yogurt mix into the other end (the "front" end) of the applicator as possible.
Apply while lying down with a pillow under the knees as you would a tampon. Wait 10 minutes before rising. This can be messy, so you will want to protect the surface beneath you with a towel.
Do this once a day until you get to a point of relief.

Apple Cider Vinegar Douche Method:

Blend 2 drops each of Tea Tree, Lavender, and Lemongrass into 50 mL (3.5 Tbs) apple cider vinegar (organic and with the mother).
Add to 2-3 cups of warm water and mix well.
Douche with this blend daily for three days.

Sitz Bath Method:

Dilute 2 teaspoons baking soda into a cup of warm water.
In a separate small bowl, blend a teaspoon carrier oil with 2 drops Lavender and 2 drops German Chamomile.
Add the oil blend into the baking soda and water blend. Mix well.
Add to a bath. The bath water should be drawn level with the hips.
Use this method for three days.
You may alternate using this baking soda and oil mix as a bath for three days and then as a douche for three days.

Essential Oils that Help with Candida in General:

Blends: Clarify, Breeze

Singles: Tea Tree, Geranium, Lemon, Oregano, German Chamomile, Lavender, Thyme, Myrrh, Patchouli, Lemongrass

Application:

Dilute oil of choice as recommend and apply on lower abdomen or bottoms of feet.

If you are looking for answers to gas, flatulence, and digestion, be sure to check out solutions to that here.

Also, here's a great bit of research on the Antifungal Activity Against Candida spp. in Vitro (PubMed).

Resources:
Buckle, Jane. Clinical Aromatherapy Essential Oils in Healthcare, Edition 3. (2015). p. 386 - 387.
Davis, Patricia. Aromatherapy An A-Z. (2000). p. 293
Price, Shirley & Price, Len. Aromatherapy for Health Professionals. (2012). p. 282