Most people ingest too many refined, processed foods. Even us health nuts have a tendency to do this. In this fast paced world, with the body biologically programmed to desire sweets and other easy carbohydrates that are so much harder to find in nature, it’s common and totally normal to have too much Candida in our body.

If you experience this problem, and again, most people do, here are some ways you can balance your gut flora. Balancing the flora will alleviate many health issues, even little annoying ones you thought you were stuck with for the rest of your life such as itchy ear canals, body odor, and eczema.

Garlic

Most people know that garlic is antifungal, antiparasitic, antibacterial, and antiviral. It also helps with a host of other issues including the removal of toxins in the body. If I could only choose one single item to work with when it comes to healing and treatment modalities, I would choose garlic. Unfortunately, many people don’t know exactly how to use it to reap the benefits.

First and foremost, don’t cook it. It loses all its Candida fighting properties when you do. Secondly, cut it up and give it a minute before ingesting it. Or, if you’ve got a strong stomach and an even stronger mouth, chew it up for a minute with your mouth open, breathing in and out. This is also an incredibly effective treatment for tooth and gum problems, and even bad breath; though swallowing it, of course, can lead to garlic breath for many, but garlic breath is a sign of a toxic body.

Don’t use garlic from China, even if it’s organic. One way to tell, is those smaller, bright white garlic bulbs are almost always grown in China. China’s soil is just too toxic.

Essential oils

Oil of oregano has antifungal, antibacterial, and antiparasitic properties as well. Oil of oregano is exceptionally powerful and can be taken in tablet form.

Some other essential oils that kill candida include lavender, thieves, tea tree, and peppermint, though I don’t recommend taking these oils internally. They are a good solution for Candida skin rashes, though they can be painful to use. In most cases, they will not harm the skin even though you will feel a burning sensation.

Oils

Coconut oil is known for its antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic properties, though it’s efficacy with Candida control is weak compared to other ingestible choices. Neem oil is an oil with similar antiparasitic properties, a bit stronger at parasitic control than coconut oil, but it should only be applied topically.

Other Candida Killers

Other notable items that are known to combat fungus include wormwood, black walnut hull, Spanish black radish, Pau d’Arco, goldenseal, coptis chinensis, ginger, cinnamon, and olive leaf extract. All of these are great to have around, and a few of them are exceptional at killing parasites, viruses, and bacterial infections (coptis chinensis, wormwood, black walnut hull, Spanish black radish) but while they are certainly antifungal, they’re not the strongest solution.

My favorite combination for eliminating excess yeast in my body is undecenoic acid (Thorne SF722) and very high quality probiotics. Combine this with Shillington’s intestinal cleanse and with big salads everyday with lots of different vegetables, and you’ve got yourself a clean colon free of excess Candida in days, often in just one day. What I love about undecenoic acid and probiotics is that they don’t kill off good bacteria. They only eliminate Candida and other fungi. If I want to knock out parasites as well, I use MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations, which has wormwood and black walnut hulls (and other good stuff that parasites hate).

Whatever approach you take with intestinal maintenance, a diet with a diverse selection of lots of raw vegetables is the most important thing you can do for your colon and your whole body.

Recommended Supplements:

(You can take these altogether)

• Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse (kills parasites, heals the intestinal walls, sets up hospital home for healthy flora)
• Formula SF722 (undecenoic acid, kills candida and other fungal functions, does not kill beneficial flora at same rate)
• Floramend-Prime by Thorne (a strong probiotic designed to pass through the stomach acid and into the intestinal tract)
• MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations (a parasite killer, works pretty well on Candida, but works even better on many other parasites)
• Shillington’s Intestinal Detox (This is necessary only for those with seriously damaged intestines, anyone who has recently been vaccinated, or those looking to do a thorough detox)

Further Reading:

• The Fascinating Bacteria in our Gut, and How it Affects Our Whole Lives
• How to Cure Candida
  
• After taking antibiotics, this is what you need to do to restore healthy intestinal flora
• Fermented Foods Optimize Your Health

Our favorite supplement for vaginal yeast infections (and any topical yeast infection) is Undecyn by Thorn. But if you need a home remedy for an acute situation there are plenty of options.

While looking at other home remedies, we were surprised to see how many terrible ideas there are on the Internet for natural cures for vaginal yeast infections! A couple of the most common are to eat yogurt or to insert a tampon soaked in yogurt, apple cider vinegar, or tea tree oil.

Tampons are a terrible idea, and commercial yogurts, even the kind that claims to have the right probiotics, are usually not at all natural, and dairy feeds yeast.

Tampons irritate the lining of the vagina and are made of toxic materials. To make matters worse, plugging up the vagina is extremely unhealthy. Pads should be used when needed. Check out Moonpads for an environmentally responsible and healthier choice.

Yeast infections can happen anywhere and to anyone. Men suffer from “jock itch”. Athlete’s foot is common. An ear infection can be yeast. Headaches are often caused by yeast. Even the nail beds of our fingers and toes can become infected with yeast. Yeast, like bacteria, can infect any part of the body.

Everyone has yeast, bacteria, and viruses within their bodies at all times. Vaginal yeast infections (and other yeast infections) are common due in large part to a diet high in refined sugars and other refined foods, and antibiotics which kill bacteria, including beneficial bacteria that helps us digest our food and keep yeast in check. Yeast infections are very common after taking antibiotics.

Topical yeast infections can be transferred during sex.

When a vaginal infection is present, yeast is out of control within the whole body. Addressing the yeast topically is a temporary fix, and it does not address the larger problem within as well. That said, if a yeast infection is irritating the skin, whether it’s inside the vagina, outside the vagina on the genitals, or anywhere else, treating the infection both internally and topically will yield faster and more permanent results than treating just one or the other.

Natural Yeast Infection Cures

Garlic, high-quality probiotics (the few that can survive stomach acid), oil of oregano, apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil, neem oil, and 10-undecenoic acid (SF722 and Undecyn) all kill yeast topically.

Garlic can be crushed and applied directly on the yeast infection, but this can be painful. Apple cider vinegar, neem oil, and tea tree oil can also irritate at full strength. A few drops of any essential oil go a long way, and apple cider vinegar should be cut in half with water. Oil of oregano can be very harsh to irritated skin, even more so than tea tree oil, so use carefully. Dilute oil of oregano and tea tree oil with another oil such as almond oil. And of course, you can combine remedies to make your own solution.

A proper diet and the right supplements are essential for treating yeast infections whether they are topical or internal. For ridding the body of yeast from the inside read Natural Candida Remedies in this issue.

Fungal Supplement Stack – Knock Out Yeast, Candida, Mold, Fungus, UTIs

The first three should be plenty for most people, but for really prominent fungal issues or for impatient people with a bigger budget I’d recommend all of these:

• Formula SF722 – Thorne Research
• Syntol AMD – Arthur Andrew Medical
• Berberine 500mg – Thorne Research
• Candida Complex – Complementary Prescriptions
• MycoCeutics MycoPhyto Complex – EcoNugenics
• MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations
• Abzorb Vitamin & Nutrient Optimizer (500mg) HCP Formulas

Further Reading:

• The Fascinating Bacteria in our Gut, and How it Affects Our Whole Lives
• How to Cure Candida
  
• After taking antibiotics, this is what you need to do to restore healthy intestinal flora
• Fermented Foods Optimize Your Health

Candida can easily take over the body and cause or contribute to almost every common health issue. A diet full of sugar and other refined foods feeds Candida. Antibiotics kill the healthy bacteria that would normally keep Candida in check. Many people know they have a Candida problem, but have no idea how to properly treat it.

To naturally treat Candida, use a holistic approach that restores the body’s natural ecological balance with a healthy lifestyle that includes the right supplements and diet choices. For treating yeast infections topically, read Natural Cures for Yeast Infections, but follow both protocols. Forget yogurt. Yogurt is typically sweetened and the bacteria are usually weak or completely dead. In addition, most yogurts are full of artificial preservatives, flavors, colors, as well as stabilizers to make the yogurt thick. Mainstream yogurt is not only terribly unhealthy, it does not help fight yeast. In fact, conventional mainstream yogurt helps feed yeast!

FloraMend-Prime by Thorne, on the other hand, is the best way we know to get beneficial bacteria into the body. It’s strong enough to pass through the acidic stomach, which typically kills off bacteria. Just one capsule twice a day is enough to help restore beneficial bacteria to fight Candida and restore healthy microbial ecology.

The best source of 10-undecenoic acid that we know is made by Thorne and goes by the name of SF722. SF722 is a safe and effective supplement that helps to normalize microbial ecology in the gut. SF722 should be taken on an empty stomach. For most people, two to three gel caps a few times a day is plenty, but for serious Candida issues, 10 gel caps three times a day or more is called for. If possible, consult with a health practitioner familiar with Thorne products before taking, even though SF722 is a very safe supplement that should not cause any side effects, even when taken in fairly large quantities.

Dr. Shillington sells Intestinal Cleanse, which is a very powerful supplement for cleaning, healing, and strengthening the entire gastrointestinal system. This intestinal cleanse restores the colon to optimal health by stimulating the peristaltic action and strengthening the muscles of the large intestine. It also halts putrefaction, and disinfects, soothes, and heals the mucous membrane lining of the entire digestive tract. It kills Candida, all while promoting healthy intestinal flora. The result is improved digestion, relief of gas and cramps, and increased flow of bile (which, in turn, cleans the gallbladder, bile ducts, and liver). It even destroys and expels intestinal parasites and increases gastrointestinal circulation.

A natural Candida remedy should always include a healthy diet, which should consist primarily of raw fresh vegetables or cultured vegetables. Once the Candida is under control, fruits can be added to the diet. Avoid all refined and processed foods including sugar, high fructose corn syrup, bread, and white rice. Avoid alcohol which turns into sugar in the body.

Here is a summary of supplements we recommend that can knock out candida overgrowth very quickly:

Recommended Supplements:

• FloraMend-Prime by Thorne
• Shillington’s Intestinal Cleanse
• Formula SF722
• MicroDefense – Pure Encapsulations

Further Reading:

• The Fascinating Bacteria in our Gut, and How it Affects Our Whole Lives
  
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem
• After taking antibiotics, this is what you need to do to restore healthy intestinal flora
• Fermented Foods Optimize Your Health
• How to Kill Candida and Balance Your Inner Ecosystem