Is stress giving you Candida?

Candida albicans is an opportunistic yeast that normally inhabits the mouth, throat, intestines and genitourinary tract of humans and is considered to be a normal part of the bowel flora (the organisms that coexist with us within our body). When the body gets out of balance, such as during periods of prolonged stress, Candida numbers can escalate.

This overgrowth, called candidiasis, can lead to a host of unwanted and unpleasant health complaints. These include oral and vaginal thrush infections, itchy skin, eyes and itching in the genital area, sugar and carbohydrate cravings, foggy thinking and difficulty concentrating, coated tongue, bad breath, bloating, flatulence, sinusitis, nervousness, anxiety, stress, cystitis and gastrointestinal hyper-permeability or ‘leaky gut’.

Everyone who has been under prolonged periods of stress knows that their health suffers in a myriad of ways, but did you know it can make your body an inviting host to a Candida albicans population boon.

Under stress our adrenal glands produce the hormone cortisol which can trigger a release of glucose into the blood and increase blood pressure to get you going when the going gets tough. Unfortunately during prolonged periods of stress elevated cortisol production can suppress the immune system. With a weakened immune system and lots of sugar floating found to feed on Candida have a party, set up home and start rapidly reproducing!

The B vitamins are thought of as the ‘stress vitamins’ and rightly so. The 8 vitamins that belong to the B group are required for healthy structure and function of the nervous system and help your body to deal with stress. As the B vitamins are water soluble your body needs daily doses of them, so think of B vitamins first when your stress levels are rising. Radiance® B50 Complex and Radiance® Multi Power™ are good choices for ensuring your body is getting the B’s it needs.

Candida albicans is so vigilant that the best course of action when facing an overgrowth is a multi-pronged counter defence. Radiance® CandAid® provides a super formula of synergistic herbs including pau d’arco and olive leaf to support the immune system accompanied by oregano oil and black walnut to help inhibit fungal reproduction.

It is imperative to team good herbal support with the unbeatable power of probiotics. These are the ‘good guy’ bugs that inhabit our gastrointestinal system and number in their billions. Part of the good work they do is to help the body stay infection free. If Candida has taken hold, this is an indication that probiotic levels may not be at optimal. Nature’s Way® Primadophilus® Reuteri provides 5 billion ‘Colony Forming Units’ (CFU) per capsule. Each CFU is alive and viable and ready to move in and evict unwanted Candida!

The CanDia5 Test Kit can detect Candida antibodies to give you a fast, accurate diagnosis of Candida overgrowth.