Natural Way to Reduce Candida

Candida albicans is an overgrowth of bacteria, or yeast, that impact health. If candida proliferates too much in your digestive system, it can weaken immunity, impair digestion, impact liver and bowel function and can even result in skin rashes. Candida is a single-cell fungus that likes a sugary, acidic and damp environment. It can inhabit the intestines, mouth and vagina. It is possible to get rid of a candida overgrowth without medications. Natural remedies, however, do not produce results overnight and take a concentrated effort. Using the “weed, seed and feed” method is effective.

Weed out the candida overgrowth by starving it. Cut yeast, sugar, alcohol, wheat, anything made with white flour, vinegar and mushrooms from your diet. Replace such foods with nutrient-dense foods as well as complex carbohydrates including well-cooked legumes, vegetables, protein such as deep sea fish and organic meat, and whole seeds and nuts, recommend naturopaths Sally James and Nicholas Foley of Bangalow, Australia.

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Seed, or kill, the candida, by consuming antimicrobial herbs and foods that boost your immune system and help your body resist candida. Choose among onions, garlic, dandelion, thyme, golden seal, geranium, rhubarb and pau d'arco, advise James and Foley. Take one or two of these immune boosters in supplement form if you have trouble otherwise including them in your diet. Also stimulate your immune system by eating whole grains, lemon and vegetable juices. Add in essential fatty acids daily such as those found in flaxseed or canola oil to maintain gut health, advises “The Candida Directory,” by Helen Gustafson and Maureen O'Shea 1. Take echinacea as well, which boosts immunity and helps purify lymph and blood systems.

Feed your gut with healthy flora by taking an acidophilus supplement twice a day with your meals. Supplement with vitamin C. Restore gastrointestinal membrane integrity to heal "leaky gut syndrome" with glutamine-rich foods. These include parsley, celery, spinach, lettuce, carrots and Brussels sprouts. Utilize enzymes during or just after a meal to help your stomach digest protein, because improper digestion often leads to problems with candida. Take either bromelain, derived from pineapple, or papain, derived from papaya, advise Gustafson and O'Shea.

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Boost your immune system further with aromatherapy, if desired. Utilize thyme or tea-tree oil in either a bath or a diffuser, recommends Diane Stein in “The Natural Remedy Book for Women. 2”