Have YOU ever experienced:
- Constant craving for something sweet
- Persistent fatigue or feeling of being bogged down all the time
- Brain “fog” -hard to focus or think clearly, memory loss
- Sinus pressure, pain and/or drainage (rhinitis), which antibiotics don’t relieve
- Joint and musculoskeletal pain (Fibromyalgia)
- Chronic allergies and allergic reactions to various foods, such as wheat (celiac disease)
- Worsening of asthma
- Increased sensitivities to chemicals, molds, and airborne pollutants
- Frequent abdominal pain, bloating, indigestion, or gas
- Anal or vaginal itching, skin rashes, cracked skin, or white coating on tongue.
- Chronic heartburn , constipation diarrhea, gastritis, and/or colitis
- Heartburn and acid reflux (GERD)
If you answered YES to ANY of the these then YOUR problem may be FUNGUS.
Yes, Fungus!
The intestinal tract is inhabited by billions of beneficial or “friendly” bacteria, called probiotics, together with several strains of candida yeast and some parasites in a ratio of approximately 85 to 15.
These bacteria and yeasts work together and aid in digestion. However, when antibiotics and anti-inflammatories are introduced to the body, they kill off the “friendly” bacteria, but not the yeast.
The yeast begins to multiply as the 85 to 15 ratio, which held them in check becomes unstable. This causes dysbiosis-an imbalance of the natural flora of the gut.
And to make matters worse, Americans consume more sugar and simple carbohydrates than any nation on earth allowing the candida yeast to thrive on the sugar.
When the candida gets “fed” on a sugary fast food diet with few “friendly” bacteria to hold it in check, it morphs into pathogenic fungi which produce rhizoids, or tentacles, that bore into the intestinal walls, causing microscopic holes. These holes compromise the immune system by allowing toxins, undigested food particles and parasitic bacteria to enter the bloodstream- a condition know as Leaky Gut Syndrome.
Unfortunately, many doctors miss diagnosing a fungal infection because the symptoms appear to be totally unrelated to fungal overgrowth and believe that fungal infections are limited to vaginal yeast overgrowth. But pathogenic fungi have NO sexual preference and have been estimated to affect 40 percent to 60 percent of the population.
So how do you test for fungus?
A simple at home saliva test has been proven quite reliable in the diagnosis of a fungal overgrowth.
- First thing in the morning, get a clear glass and fill it with water. It is important that nothing enters your mouth or touches your lips before you conduct this test.
- Work up a bit of saliva, then spit it into the glass of water. Healthy saliva will be clear; it will float on top and then slowly dissolve into the water without any cloudiness and without sinking. It is normal to have some bubbles or foam present.
- Candida saliva from a fungal infection will have one or more of three characteristics. There will be strings, like cloudy legs, traveling down to the bottom of the glass, or “cloudy” saliva will sink to the bottom of the glass, or cloudy specks will seem to be suspended in the water.
How do you overcome a fungal infection and restore the body’s natural 85 to 15 ratio of “friendly” bacteria to yeast?
Here are some natural herbs that can help:
- Horopito leaf- a prehistoric plant native to New Zealand.
- Anise seed
- Sage leaf
- Grapefruit seed extract
- Calcium ascorbate
- Others: chamomile, garlic, olive leaf extract, and oil of oregano
One of the best things you can do is ELIMINATE sugar and grains from your diet!
Sugar, as we discussed earlier, feeds the candida and grains CONVERT to sugar within seconds of touching your tongue.
A second thing you must do is provide your body with good bacteria in the form a probiotic supplement. This will help restore the body’s natural flora and help the correct the imbalance present in your digestive tract.
So as you can see, many COMMON symptoms can be attributed to fungal growth and can be eliminated with simple solutions. I recommend you try the saliva test, restrict your sugar and grain consumption, and begin taking a good probiotic. By implementing this into your lifestyle you will be one step closer to achieving Optimal Health.
