Have you taken anti-biotics for bacterial infections? Have you needed to use Prednisone or other steroids for a health issue? If you are female, have you used birth control pills for contraception or for menstrual irregularities? Do you feel worse on damp days or feel ill when in moldy environments? Do you have a history of fungal infections such as athlete\'s foot, ring worm, or other chronic skin infections? Or maybe you find you crave sugar, breads, pasta, cakes, cookies, pastries, or alcohol? How do you feel when around tobacco smoke? If you have used any of these mentioned medications, or notice that you feel worse in certain environments, or cannot control carbohydrate cravings, or crave alcohol, maybe you have Candida.

Candida (a genus of yeast), is a single celled fungus always present in the genital and intestinal tracts. However, when it is in excess it actually causes an infection. It can manifest as diaper rash, vaginitis, and even orally where it is known as thrush. The wide array of symptoms that it can trigger is monumental. Just to name a few , it may be a cause of constipation or diarrhea, colitis, abdominal pain, headaches, bad breath, rectal itching, impotence, memory loss, mood changes, inflammation of the prostate, canker sores, heartburn not relieved with antacids, muscle and joint pains, chronic sore throat, congestion , nagging cough, numbness of extremities, acne, night sweats, itching, clogged sinuses, PMS symptoms, burning tongue, fatigue, chronic kidney/bladder infections, depression, adrenal (stress / energy glands) issues, hypothyroidism, and even diabetes. It can further compromise you to make you more susceptible to food allergies or sensitivities, and increase environmental sensitivities to air born allergens, rubber, petroleum products, and chemical odors or exhaust fumes. Yeast / Candida feeds on sugars, which is why cravings for sweets, breads, pastries, pastas, and alcohol are common occurrences. There are many other complaints that can be attributed to Candida or yeast overgrowth.

Anti-biotics that are required to kill off bad bacteria also kill off necessary and needed good bacteria in the system. When too much of the good bacteria (which keep Candida in check) are destroyed, this causes the fungus to thrive. High amounts of heavy metal in the system also cause a rise in Candida. If your immune system is very strong, and you eat a very healthy diet low in sugars, yeast (bread, pastries, etc) and alcohol, Candida or yeast overgrowth may not occur. But in this day and age, with constant onslaught of stress, poor carbohydrate laden diets, and other immune system depleting causes, Candida or yeast overgrowth is now somewhat rampant. Over the 15 years of my practice, I have worked with hundreds of clients with this underlying cause to their health issues. Years ago, the average was about 3 out of 10 people had an imbalance of yeast and good bacteria. Now it is more like 9 out of 10 people who are affected. With so many clients utilizing anti-biotics, steroids, birth control pills, and a sugar / grain/ yeast/ carbohydrate laden diet, it's no wonder the statistics are rising. I have seen remarkable improvements and relatively quickly in hundreds of clients with whom I've worked who addressed and eliminated this issue.

Sometimes using probiotics and prebiotics alone, which keep good bacteria in the gastrointestinal system at a higher concentration, are not sufficient to eliminate a Candida infection. My professional experience has demonstrated that a detoxification or cleanse is necessary. I determine via my questionnaire (available here on the website) and a consultation if Candida may be a substantial underlying cause of your health issues and vague symptoms and complaints. I utilize not only a specific protocol of products available in your local health food store or online, but I also give a special diet to eat during the detoxification process. The products help to decrease the excess but you must also starve the organism at the same time so that you aren't basically "just pouring water in a bucket with holes". By that I mean while you are trying to kill off the excess it becomes counterproductive if you are still feeding the organism. You will have little success if you don't approach it via both pathways.

There are many resources available to find Anti Candida diets, however clients would get confused and frustrated for one expert would recommend certain foods and another expert would recommend an all together different diet. Many years ago, I gathered the information of multiple experts at that time. They were William G. Crook, MD, author of "The Yeast Connection Handbook", James F. Balch, MD and Phyllis A Balch, CNC, authors of "Prescription for Nutritional Healing" and Brenda Watson, PBS celebrated health educator, author and one of the foremost authorities on natural detoxification methods. I devised a diet that only includes what experts said is allowable and eliminate what experts said is not allowed. In addition, I've paid close attention to acid/ alkaline balance since pH of the body is also important during the detoxification process.

If you struggle with any of the issues listed, or if you have taken medications which you now know promote yeast / Candida overgrowth, or if you have cravings related to the foods or substances that you now know feeds yeast, consider answering the questionnaire on my website for this issue. If you are a male and score 40 or higher, some, most, or all of your symptoms / complaints/ issues may be yeast overgrowth/Candida related. For women who feel they may have an issue, a score of 60 or higher is indicative of a problem for you. If your score shows most likely you have this problem, then I urge you to contact me. I guarantee you substantial improvement if you do have a localized or systemic Candida/yeast infection when you choose to follow through with my program. The average level of improvement in my clients' overall health and well being just from addressing this one issue is usually 70-80% better in a short period of time.