1, there are now tests which take advantage of this ability and which can measure any rise in blood alcohol levels after a ‘sugar loading’ in which alcohol (such as acetaldehyde) is measured after swallowing a specific amount of sugar on an empty stomach. However, this ‘gut fermentation’ test is not foolproof for a number of reasons, including the fact that other organisms, including certain bacteria which can live in the gut, can ferment sugar. But taken together with the person’s history and symptoms, it can provide a strong indication of yeast activity.
Some laboratory technicians performing these tests (and many practitioners involved in treating chronic candidiasis) report being able to smell the alcohol resulting from eating sugar in people who never drink alcohol at all. In my own experience, I have treated individuals for candidiasis who have shown high levels of alcohol in their bloodstream despite not having consumed any alcohol.
Amalgam fillings and immune suppression
There is some evidence that immune system depression can result from mercury toxicity in the body as a result of amalgam fillings in teeth.9 A number of researchers have shown that there are several ways in which this highly toxic metal is able to penetrate the body, with a specific, harmful effect on the immune system. There is also evidence that this can be linked to the spread of Candida activity. An increasing number of dentists are now helping affected individuals by removing mercury amalgam fillings and replacing them with either a composite or gold filling. However, it must be stressed that research into the relationship between mercury from dental fillings and health problems in general, and Candida involvement in particular, is incomplete. Yet, there is almost certainly a connection, and it is worth considering alternative choices for fillings other than amalgams that contain mercury.
The replacement of existing fillings may be required in cases where a connection can be demonstrated between a person’s health and measurable mercury toxicity. The use of supplemental amino acid compounds, such as glutathione, and of vitamin C can help to ease mercury deposits from the body. If you have a Candida problem (with or without other bacterial overgrowth or gut parasites), a clue as to whether or not mercury may be affecting you can be gathered from your answers to the following questions – as well as testing for the presence of heavy metals such as mercury in your system – involving, among other things, measuring the levels of mercury vapour in the mouth as well as analysing sweat, urine and hair (and sometimes blood) by a suitably trained physician, nutritionist, naturopath or homoeopath:
Do you have mercury (amalgam) fillings in your teeth?
Is your skin sensitive to contact with metals such as nickel?
Do your symptoms include some which are regarded as involving your nervous system, perhaps associated with visual symptoms or muscular weakness or tremor?
Do you suffer from ‘brain fog’ – poor concentration and short-term memory?
Do you have a tendency toward allergies and food intolerances/sensitivities?
If you answer ‘yes’ to the first and to any of the other questions, then mercury in particular and/or other toxic metals (for example, cadmium and lead) may well be part of your problem, and you should consider investigating this further.10
Other factors which encourage Candida spread
Although in Chapter 3 we will look at how Candida gets out of hand, it is worth adding here some information on the most common reasons for the spread of this yeast. Hints have already been given so far about the role of sugar, and later chapters will look more closely at other dietary influences. Toxicity from mercury (and other heavy metals) has also been outlined. Other factors include:
Age, because as we get older, immune function declines and yeast takes advantage.
Serious illness (particularly diabetes, cancer/leukaemia, asthma (because of the treatment) and autoimmune-related diseases), where the illness itself may be associated with a declining immune efficiency (cancer, for example), or the medication used may encourage yeast to spread (steroids such as cortisone, or antibiotics).
Use of catheters after surgical procedures or trauma, which offer yeasts easy access to the bloodstream unless hygiene is scrupulous.
Use of inhalant medications for asthma, for example, as these usually contain steroids, which lower resistance to fungal spread.
Following radiotherapy, as this severely lowers immune efficiency in the tissues affected.
Low levels of stomach acids (achlorhydria), which encourages both bacterial and yeast colonization of areas where the acids would normally prevent them from going.
Pregnancy, because of hormonal changes.
Use of the contraceptive pill or hormone replacement therapy since these, by definition, are hormonal and alter the ecology of parts of the body, allowing Candida to spread.
Anything which reduces the efficiency of the intestinal flora to control Candida, including prolonged stress and a diet high in fat and/or sugar and alcohol.
Denture hygiene and yeast
A further hazard related to candidiasis was discovered in a study which looked at 50 consecutive patients with respiratory disease who had all developed candidiasis in the mouth and pharynx. It was found that dentures were worn by 32 of the 50 patients and this was thought to be a major predisposing factor in the onset of Candida (among other factors encouraging Candida activity such as the use of cortisone, antibiotics and immune-suppressing sedatives). The researchers said, ‘Dentures cause tissue trauma, provide sites for [yeast] colonization and diminish salivary flow. Saliva is necessary for normal oral immune defence.’11
It was found that when dentures were treated with antifungal chemicals, this helped to prevent this hazard. Regular sterilization of dentures is suggested as a safe preventative measure along with regular oral rinsing with dilute Aloe vera juice or tea tree oil (antifungal substances; see Chapter 5).
Yeast control objectives
Our ultimate attempt to neutralize and control the spread and effects of Candida (for we can seldom get rid of it completely) depends on the use of whatever safe methods we have at our disposal to remove the causes of its spread (see above) and to deprive it of its ideal nutrients while, at the same time, building up and enhancing weakened immune function. The immune system should then be able to get on with the job of keeping Candida in check by itself.
It is this double thrust of activity which must be undertaken if we are to do more than temporarily suppress Candida. The use of antifungal drugs (such as nystatin) can, it is true, destroy a great deal of Candida’s potency, and reduce symptoms resulting from its presence and activities in the body. However, the yeast activity will start again soon after the drug is stopped, especially if other changes (such as a reduced sugar intake) are not being made.
Anti-Candida protocol summary
The answer to controlling Candida in the long term (apart from reducing or removing controllable opportunities as discussed above) lies in a multipronged attack to simultaneously:
deprive the yeast of its optimum nutrient environment (‘starve the yeast’), especially sugar-rich foods
actively kill yeast, using safe, non-toxic methods (and sometimes standard antifungal medication, if the other aspects of the programme are carefully followed)
actively focus on restoring the body’s normal controls over yeast by supporting the immune system and encouraging a healthy intestinal flora (‘friendly bacteria’)
help to restore damaged tissues, such as the mucous membrane of the digestive tract (easing ‘leaky gut’ symptoms)
support the body’s detoxification systems and organs (such as the liver) because toxic debris from dying yeast needs to be eliminated.
As we will see, there are other methods which,