Candida Treatment Protocol: A 4-Pronged Attack Plan

Following my earlier post, Rheumatoid Arthritis – The Making of Candida?, now, here is the attack plan, to get back at these Candida.

Under normal circumstance, our bodies are able to resist invasion (as it does with other germs), but when our immunological comes under varied prolonged stressors, the yeast/fungal invasion can extend its reach to cripple our whole immune system so that it can no longer repel these invaders. As I explained on how Candida leads to leaky gut syndrome earlier, the proteins that are derived from the common DA structure, each time a new protein enters directly into the blood stream, it get recognized as an invader. This is how ‘cross-reactivity‘ occurs and increasing food allergies develops.

Candida Albican2So, you see, Candida can be stubborn and has strong survival will, and if we want to successfully treat it, the following 4 modalities MUST be strictly adhered to, for it to be effectiveness. I cannot emphasize enough that, it needs an absolute 100% strict conformance to the treatment plan. If any one of these steps are neglected or inadequately followed through, the process will be delayed, prolonged, or ineffective.

The 4-Steps Candida Treatment Plan

These are the 4 crucial steps that must be followed through:

  1. Killing the fungus overgrowth with proper diet (by starving out the fungus) and medication (killing off the fungus),  as well as management of the healing crisis.
  2. Nutritional supplementation and correction of vital nutrients to support the immune system.
  3. Planting good bacteria back into the gut and re-establish a normal good bacterial flora.
  4. Avoidance of antibiotics, hormones, steroids and allergic foods.

Anti-fungal Agents

There are a number of conventional medications that are used to eradicate the fungus. Many physicians have used anti-fungal agents such a Clotrimazole, administered for thrush, Nystation for bowel therapy and Itraconazole and Fluconazole for systematic infections.

Supplements
To avoid the side effects of these agents, the following agents are also often used nowadays:

A. Caprylic Acid – It is fungicidal for Candida albicans, yet harmless to friendly intestinal flora. It is also invasive against the mycelial form as well as yeast form. Caprylic acid is metabolized by liver and does not get into general circulation, as such, it must exert its fungicidal effect in the intestinal tract. You can take up to 5 tablespoons per day, but start on a lower does just in case you experience a die-off reaction.

B. Olive Leaf Extract – The oleuropein in olive leaf extract can obliterate Candida quite effectively. It can kill rather than just inhibiting its growth. If you are taking a 500mg capsule, you can take up to 2 capsules 3 times daily with meals and as maintenance, 1 to 3 cups of olive leaf extract tea per day.

C. Oregano Oil – the phenols in oregano oil are highly concentrated and its antifungal properties are demonstrated in a 2001 study showing its effectiveness against fungal infections such as Candida. It can be taken orally in capsule or liquid form. In liquid form, you may take 1-3 drops per day, under the tongue.

D. Garlic – Garlic is a very potent antibacterial and anti-fungal agent. It contains a chemical compound named Ajoene which has shown an effectiveness against 98.2% of yeasts, including Candida according to a 2009 study. It can be added to many different foods. Alternatively, you can also take standardized garlic capsules 3 times a day.

E. Grapefruit Seed Extract – The extract comes from the pulp and seeds of grapefruit. Also a highly powerful anti-fungal, you have to build up the dosage. If taking the liquid concentrate, 10 drops in a cup of water is a typical dose, to be taken 3 times a day. In tablet form, 100-200mg three times a day should be sufficient.

F. Raw Apple Cider Vinegar – Raw apple cider vinegar is an enemy to the Candida. It balances the pH level of the body and prevent Candida overgrowth. Take a tablespoon and mix it with a glass of water and drink before each meal. It can aid digestion and prevent undigested food particles from feeding Candida in the gut, while creating an unfriendly environment for the yeast, and help rebuild a good environment for friendly gut flora.

G. Pau D’Arco – This is the bark of a rainforest tree which is inherently anti-fungal. It’s often brewed into tea. Drinking up to 3 cups of tea per day is an easy way to harness its anti-fungal properties.

On additional note, without any drugs or medications, it must be emphasized that the last thing that you want to do is to stop the treatment before the course is completed. It usually takes minimal of 3 to 4 months to get the overgrowth under control, and it is very tempting to stop the course as you feel much better. The danger of stopping halfway before any remnants of the fungus are cleared off your system is the fact that they can grow back quickly and build resistance to the anti-fungal agents you had used earlier to kill off those fungal overgrowth.

You shall also begin to commence the anti-fungals soon after you began the highly restrictive anti-Candida diet. Start with slow doses to prevent severe die-off (healing crisis) reaction. A large dose taken too quickly can kill off too much Candida and make you quite sick. For the same reason, it is also a good idea to try to leave a few days between starting the anti-fungals and your probiotics intake.

Another good tip is to rotate the use of the above anti-fungals from time to time, for instance, month to month. Candida is believed to be quick to adapt to a single anti-fungal over time, so by doing this, we can be ensured that these and other anti-fungals will not lose any of their effectiveness.

Anti-Candida Diet

Remember, Candida feeds on sugar and all forms of it, such as lactose contained in dairy products, honey, glucose, fructose and sugar substitutes. It also feeds on high carbohydrate foods and gluten containing grains such as wheat, rye, and barley; as well as other yeast molds and yeasty foods. Sugar can also be found in most processed foods such as canned meats, ketchup, cereal and artificial sweeteners.Anti CandidaTherefore, a strict total and absolute avoidance of the following must be followed:

  1. All sweets and sugary foods in any shape, form and fashion, e.g. desserts, honey, molasses and any products that end in “ose” such as fructose, glucose, maltose, lactose, etc.
  2. All breads and flour products of any kinds.
  3. All kind of alcohol beverages since they contain yeast and sugar.
  4. All gluten-containing grains e.g. wheat, oats, rye, barley; and starchy foods e.g. rice, potatoes, etc.
  5. Yeast in food production and flavouring of commercial breads, rolls, cakes, pastries, cookies, hotdogs, crackers, biscuits, soy sauce, mayonnaise, condiments, salads dressings, mushroom, etc.
  6. All milk and milk products e.g. butter, yogurt, etc.
  7. All forms of processed or refined foods.

Below are extracts from the Whole Approach® Candida Diet protocol (www.WholeApproach.com), which details very comprehensive 3-stages dietary protocol that begins with three full months on Stage One (regardless of your beginning score). Then, as healing progresses, you may move through Stage Two and Stage Three diet recommendations, followed by a maintenance (stabilization) diet.

Candida Ok FoodsCandida - Limit FoodsCandida Avoid FoodsSource: http://info.wholeapproach.com/candida-treatment/

Do not forget that anti-Candida diet is absolutely vital and crucial in the treatment, and failure to comply with the diet will likely result in failure of fungal overgrowth.

Management of Healing Crisis

On top of that, I’d suggest supplementing the anti-fungals with Psyllium and Bentonite, while taking the anti-fungals.

Psyllium gradually scrapes away Candida breeding ground from the colon wall, absorbs toxins within the colon and carries them out to reduce the die-off reaction from the dying Candida. It gives slippery adhesive bulk to loosen and pass out old, congested and solidified fecal matters that coat the wall of the colon.

Bentonite, on the other hand, directly absorbs Candida albicans and flushes them out. Basically, it therapeutic usefulness lies with its absorbent capability in detoxification of the intestinal canal. Since bentonite is not itself absorbedm whatever it absorbs will be removed in the feces.

Another novel way to deal with the damaging by-product of Candida albicans, mainly ethanol, and its descendant, aldehyde, is the study which shows that by taking 100mcg of molybdenum three times a day, together with adequate glutamine, selenium, niacin, folic acid, pyridoxine, cobalamin and iron, aldehydes continue to be metabolized into acetic acid, which can be excreted, or converted into acetyl coenzyme.

Die-off symptoms can also be alleviated by consuming 1g of Vitamin C several times daily or as needed, and taking an Epsom salt baths also help to draw toxins out through the skin.

Epsom Salt Bath

Nutritional Supplementations – Vitamins, Minerals and Fatty Acids

In order to build immune system, it is necessary to correct any vitamins, minerals and fatty acids deficiency.

Good fatty acids (such as Omega-3 fatty acids) and oils (such as coconut oils) are essential to get Candida under control. It assists the body to absorb nutrients while providing an efficient source of energy. It is useful to also supplement with certain essential vitamins and minerals that are yeast free and sugar free, including but not limited to chlorella, vitamin B complex, vitamin C, vitamin D, vitamin E, calcium, magnesium and so forth. For more on the proper nourishment that fits Candida as well as RA treatment, you may explore here.

Re-establishment of Normal Gut Flora

As the yeast overgrowth is killed off by anti-fungal agents, it is crucial to consume a constant supply of probiotics or the ‘friendly’ or ‘beneficial’ bacteria or microorganisms. The most numerous bacteria found in small intestines are species of Lactobacilli and those in the colon are the species of Bifidobacteria.

The best probiotics supplement shall be one that contains specific strain of bacteria that have been studied and verified as effective. Two of the many studied strains are Lactobacillus GG and Lactobacillus acidophilus DDS-1. In addition, we need to pay attention to its potency (the higher the better) and quality (stored in dark bottle to prevent lowered bacteriologic count caused by heat and light, and kept refrigerated).

Avoidance Recommendations

Finally, it is best to avoid antibiotics in any form as well as hormones, steroids and foods that we are now allergic/intolerant to.

I cannot recommend enough reading up more on Candida-related information and find that Linda Allen’s Yeast Infection No More (TM) system and Dr Cook’s The Yeast Connection and Women’s Health particularly authoritative and useful. With the highly restrictive nature of anti-Candida diet, I have issues with diversifying my diet and what I can prepare for my meals. This book, The Yeast Connection Cookbook will be ideal for individuals, especially those of us on RA who are avoiding and rotating food due to food allergies and intolerance; but as you may imagine, you may find some of these recipes rather tasteless or unappetizing particularly if your taste buds are attuned to heavy tastes of the modern Western diet. But, do remember that, yeast only feeds on sugar. Just tough it out.

My final remark being that the treatment protocol that is listed here is generally safe; and if you feel that you fit the profile for Candida, I do not foresee any harms giving this protocol a try. You see, the anti-Candida diet is one of the most restrictive diets around and I reckon that it may, in fact, be a good idea for anyone with RA who begins exploring into diet to start off with this more restrictive anti-Candida diet.

 

 

19 Comments on Candida Treatment Protocol: A 4-Pronged Attack Plan

  1. Suresh
    September 18, 2013 at 11:57 pm (10 years ago)

    Hello Diana,

    Many thanks for posting this article (and other articles) here. You have been providing invaluable information that is learnt only through experience. Let us hope, by sharing all our experiences with each other, we can learn more about this disease and hopefully find a natural way to cure this disease.

    Thank you.

    Reply
    • diana
      October 9, 2013 at 9:35 am (10 years ago)

      Thank you Suresh. Please do join my FB community, which has a group of fantastic & open-minded warriors fighting their own battles yet willing to share, support and help one another with any questions. You’re going to like it.

      Reply
      • Suresh
        October 9, 2013 at 10:55 pm (10 years ago)

        Thanks Diana. I have a query regarding your experiences with this disease. I had read in one of your articles that even though you feel better by following the elimination diet, there is no significant improvement in the blood results. Did you take any blood tests recently? Has there been any improvement? Many thanks.

        Reply
        • diana
          October 11, 2013 at 7:40 pm (10 years ago)

          My appointment is not due yet. So will wait and see. I’m on consistent fast and I’d like to see how I would go from here.

          Reply
          • Suresh
            October 15, 2013 at 5:35 am (10 years ago)

            That’s great, I hope your test results would be fantastic. I’m sure there will definitely be improvement by following the elimination diet. My best wishes and prayers for you.

  2. ken
    October 20, 2013 at 2:37 pm (10 years ago)

    This ‘candida restriction diet’ is not good and goes against what your body needs. Read up on the 80/10/10 lifestyle or look up Dr Robert Morse on Youtube. Go raw on fruits and vegetables and it will cure your candida without the need for supplements, medication or restrictive diets that will only hurt you in the long term. Your body needs sugar to work and it is not your enemy if it comes in the form of raw fruits. High levels of fat are the main reason for candida in most people.

    Reply
    • Nicole M
      December 12, 2013 at 5:53 am (10 years ago)

      I’m inclined to believe that high fat is responsible for candida. I don’t really care for sweets so I don’t consume them yet for years I was a fast food junkie (I know…I know). I developed RA and have candida overgrowth. I bought a lot of the above supplements and they did nothing but admittingly after a few weeks I stopped using them.

      Reply
      • dianaadmin
        April 24, 2014 at 11:34 pm (9 years ago)

        I’m more inclined to think that carbohydrates are the real evils, not fats. Carbs convert into glucose (fats don’t) and candida feeds on glucose (sugar).

        Reply
  3. Sarah
    March 5, 2014 at 5:58 am (10 years ago)

    Hi Diana. I have RA as well, for over a decade, and started treating it with the Autoimmune Diet. After a few months of this, I found out last summer I was allergic to wheat, soy, eggs, and dairy ( at the time the only one of these I was eating was eggs). I went for a full year without meds, and had a horrible flare up right around Christmas that is getting worse by the day. I have seen a rather holistic allergy doctor who is treating my Candida with Nystatin. I’m basically on the candida diet anyway, since my food restrictions don’t allow for much fruit; and having recently been diagnosed as allergic to coconut (one of the darlings of the Autoimmune diet), there is not much to “cook”.

    I’ve been on the Nystatin for about three weeks now and my question is, could the die off be causing this excess inflammation? (I have been taking molybdenum with it). I have fingers going down that have NEVER been effected by my RA previously, and I’m just so worried I won’t get them back! I’m freaking out right now! I see my rheumatologist in April and although he was skeptical about this diet thing, he couldn’t argue with my results. When he sees this he will have an absolute canary.

    I appreciate your thoughts!

    Reply
    • dianaadmin
      April 24, 2014 at 10:48 pm (9 years ago)

      Hi Sarah, I hoped to get back to you earlier but I’m having struggles which are one of my most challenging and stressful; and had me down with my worst flu ever in my life. First of all, is your holistic allergy doctor an integrated physician/functional doctor who allowed you to go off without meds? Because it could be very dangerous if you just left your meds off when your body wasn’t in good enough shape to be left without them… Was it not possible for you to treat the candida overgrowth side by side with your existing meds? Nystation is known to cause notorious die-off and yes, it MIGHT be a reason for excess inflammation. Other than molybdenum, you might also want to make sure that the toxins do not get re-circulated with toxins absorbents such as bentonite clay/activated charcoals and fibers (psyllium husks, etc) so that they can be moved out of your system effectively. Please confirm with your dr first if these can be taken altogether. Try enemas to see if they help. Having said this, the excess inflammation COULD be due to the disease state and NOT the die-off. Have you asked your dr about whether severity, intensity and duration of the die off reactions that you’re experiencing are ‘normal’ ie in line with his/her expectation relative to your condition? I understand that while sometimes for some people, the candida might develop some resistance to Nystation, many have reported good progress. You should also check if you are allergic to Nystatin itself! It would be also wise to probably to back off to a level where you do not suffer horrible ill effects from the die-offs or consider stopping for now and start again at a lower dose at a later stage, so that you can take some time to determine whether the deterioration could be due to some other factors that are not related to the Nystation’s use. Of course, with this, there might be the risk that you could allow the candida to develop resistance towards the drug and that you’ve to re-start the whole hideous experience but 3 weeks were not a short period that you’d been on the drug. These are some considerations you can take into account while weighing the risk benefits.

      Reply
  4. Miss Lizzy
    May 8, 2014 at 2:21 am (9 years ago)

    Thank you for your most interesting articles!
    I have two main food allergies/intolerances (gluten and soya) and if I accidently ingest either, I suffer with an accute bout of RA combined with a candida overgrowth (and that only sets in once the more immediate symptoms die down).

    I was wondering if you had read about or tried a “yeast probiotic”, Saccharomyces boulardii? I’ve been using them on and off for a few months now and find them quite good. The candida protocol that was recommended to me a few months ago by my local healthfood shop, which differed from what I had followed in the past, was to take the yeast probiotic on one day and alternate with the herbal anti-fungals and regular probiotics the other. I was advised not to restrict my diet while doing this… as the latest thinking (apparently) is that if you restrict your diet to “starve” the candida, if just travels to other places in the body where a food source is more readily available: this rings true for me, I must say as my debilitating chronic sinus problems really started when I first did a trial elimination of gluten from my diet.

    Reply
    • diana
      May 28, 2014 at 7:35 pm (9 years ago)

      Lizzy, as I increasingly read more about Candida, the idea that if you try to starve the Candida, they might travel to other places in the body. This is definitely a very high risk and possibility. I read this somewhere too; but have not heard of the candida protocol that you mention. As for Saccharomyces boulardii, yes, heard of it… I would love to give it a try. I was also recommended HSO (soil based) probiotics; which have quite a number of rave reviews. I have not tried this yet, but definitely would be another product that I’m going to look into. TQ for sharing!

      Reply
  5. Anne
    March 5, 2015 at 7:58 am (9 years ago)

    Lanks so much for the great info. Please clear up, I was told xylitol was the best sweetener for candida.I have been eating it like crazy. Please help!

    Reply
  6. Susan
    June 22, 2015 at 12:19 am (8 years ago)

    whats your FB page called?

    Reply
    • diana
      July 6, 2015 at 1:30 pm (8 years ago)

      Hi Susan, please click on this link https://www.facebook.com/MyRADiary. The FB page is administered by a wonderful lady, June. She’s been most supportive & compassionate and do not hesitate to join us there. See ya.

      Reply
  7. Andrew Roth
    April 5, 2016 at 10:22 pm (7 years ago)

    Careful with the psyllium husk, folks. Studies show five days of use as a suggested maximum, and more can cause serious gastrointestinal inflammation and (ouch) arthritic as well. I found this out myself recently: fingers went from painful swelling to full on flexion, with the effects lasting for several days after I ended the psyllium. It’s not an effect of cleanse or healing; psyllium has now been shown to do that, when used continuously, in many people.

    Good post otherwise 🙂

    Reply
  8. Olga
    April 13, 2016 at 7:34 am (7 years ago)

    What about Whey protein and why is goat cheese and butter permited?

    Reply
  9. billiga herrskjortor
    December 27, 2016 at 6:31 pm (7 years ago)

    Me and my good friend were arguing about an issue similar to that!
    These days I know that I was best. lol! Thanks forr the information you post.

    Reply
  10. MASON
    December 6, 2017 at 6:10 am (6 years ago)

    HELPED

    Mason Noah
    I was diagnosed with RA at age 50. Now I’m 55 and I was in pain constantly, not to mention the intense fatigue. I was on Remicade, Arava, folic acid, and Percocet. It started in my neck and spread to both hips, hands, feet, back and just in the last two months, to my knees. I purchased RA herbal remedies online from a great herbal home called GOOD HEALTH HERBS HOME,I only used the herbal remedy for 5 weeks, my RA disappeared.pleases anyone out there going through RA pain don’t hesitate to purchased RA herbal remedy from GOOD HEALTH HERBS HOME,

    Reply

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