My Anti-Candida Diet and Natural Treatments

by Dr. John Dommisse

Nutritional & Metabolic TeleMedicine
1840 E River Rd, Ste 210
Tucson, AZ 85718-5892
Ph. 520-577-1940
Fax 520-577-1743

The issue of candida overgrowth (a yeast overgrowth anywhere in the body and in the blood), as opposed to just the local vaginal, mouth (thrush), sinus or skin infection, is a controversial one.

'Mainline' medicine and obstetrics does not recognize the systemic condition except in very rare cases of severe immune deficiency, such as in AIDS or terminal illness; most nutritional and 'alternative' practitioners do recognize and treat it.

It seems to me that the problem could be solved if more mainline and nutritional/ alternative practitioners would order the accurate blood-tests for the active antibody subclass titers - the tests done by the ELISA or MONA methods. They would find what I have: That the titers showing active systemic infection are very often raised in cases where one suspects this condition (repeated or persistent vaginal, mouth, skin or nail infections; or fibromyalgia; unexplained fatigue, or even chronic fatigue syndrome - another condition slow to be accepted by mainline medicine).

They would also find that, after a months-long continued no-sugar, no-white-flour, high saturated and omega-3 fatty acid diet; lactobacillus acidophilus or other probiotics, caprylic or undecanoic acid and colloidal silver program (or Diflucan, Nizoral, or Nystatin, except during pregnancy), the fatigue and fibromyalgia symptoms are eliminated or greatly diminished and the active antibody titers are returned to normal or near-normal. This is pretty convincing evidence, to me.

After about 20 years of accurately diagnosing and effectively treating candida-yeast overgrowth in the blood in virtually every case (when patients have complied with the diet and treatments), I have found the following diet and natural treatments (obtainable at health food stores) usually to be more effective than months-long, high-dosage Diflucan, Nizoral or Nystatin medications - and usually without side-effects, except in those 1-in-1000 persons who are sensitive to them:

DIET: This is a good diet for many reasons, not just for combating candida yeast overgrowth. Without strict adherence to the following diet, no anti-candida drug or treatment will succeed:

(1) Avoid added sugars (including fructose, fruit juices, honey, molasses,, etc.) and all sugar-sweetened foods and snacks, including cakes, cookies, candies, desserts, sodas, fruit-juice and ice-cream, unless they are made with sugar-substitutes like stevia extract, which is a natural sweetener, available at healthfood stores; or saccharin or asesulfame (these substances may cause problems for some people who are allergic or sensitive to them but, by and large, they are not as harmful as sugars). If you can cut out sugars for 3 days, their 'spell' will possibly be broken and you may be able to resist them quite easily, esp. once any thyroid, chromium and/ or manganese deficiencies, or a high free-insulin level ('Syndrome X'), which can cause hypoglycemia and sugar cravings, are corrected. 1-2 servings of whole-fruits per day (except the very sweetest kinds, like grapes, watermelon and mango) are OK.

(2) Avoid white-starch foods, like white bread, cakes, cookies, white pasta, white rice, potatoes w/o their skins, and all refined flours, etc.. Whole-grain flour, in moderation, is acceptable; also potatoes with their peels, whole-grain brown or wild rice, whole-grain pasta (usually available in the deli section of supermarkets), etc.. I see no reason to avoid other yeasts - they could compete with, help to contain, candida yeast. Nor to avoid dairy products, unless you are allergic to them. I believe some of the prohibitions bandied around are old wives' tales with no scientific evidence to support them. Avoiding them puts an unnecessary burden on the patient, discouraging adherence to any form of anti-candida diet and derailing the whole treatment-effort.

(3) Increase your intake of saturated fats* and essential oils, especially omega-3 oils, which are very lacking in the Western World's diet. These include meat, fish and dairy fat, including: Fish oils, and oily fish, like salmon, mackerel, tuna-in-oil, sardines-in-oil, etc.; Flax-seed and borage oils. One tablespoon of flax seeds or its oil, or one 1000mg capsule of each of these, twice daily, should fit the bill. Some of these oils can be used as salad-dressing, or on whole-grain breads or baked potato, instead of olive or canola oil. Avocadoes, nuts, olives and olive-oil, canola and other vegetable oils are mostly omega-6 oils, which are also good but not as lacking in our diets. Avoid trans-fats strictly.

*For all the reasons why I now strongly recommend lots of saturated fats, see the Weston A Price Foundation website and the work of Sally Fallon, Mary Enig, etc.

(4) Avoid antibiotics and synthetic cortisone-/ steroid-type prescriptions if at all possible. Natural hydrocortisone, as long as it is prescribed only for a documented free-cortisol deficiency, and its serum level is kept within its normal range for the time of day at which the blood (or saliva specimen) was drawn, is fine (and often essential in cases of chronic fatigue syndrome, esp. if with a chronically low blood pressure).

TREATMENTS:

(1) Acidophilus (or Bifidus, or other ProBiotic), usually 1-2 capsules, or at least 1 million organisms, after brkfst and after supper daily, indefinitely. This and the above diet are usually enough to prevent - or prevent the return of a previous - overgrowth of candida yeast in the blood and intestines. Homeopathic remedies, and some herbs, are also said to be effective. If stronger treatment is required, i.e. when you have elevated candida antibody titers in your blood, I recommend:

(2) Caprylic Acid (700-1000 mg caps.) or Undecanoic Acid 50mg capsules (e.g., Formula SF-722 by Thorne Research), 3 after brkfst and 3 after supper daily (6/day).

(3) Colloidal Silver (<0.01-micron particle-size, 500 ppm), 1-2 teaspoonsful after brkfst and supper daily (or 1-2 droppersful of a 2000ppm solution, diluted if desired), until the antibody titers are normal. I have not seen any evidence of 'argyria', a permanent unsightly silver-grey discoloration of the skin that can follow prolonged intake of large-particle-size colloidal silver (as in most home-made versions). This substance was used as an antimicrobial agent before we had antibiotics, and was safe.

References:

Crook WG: CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME and The YEAST CONNECTION. Jackson, TN: Professional Books, 1992.

Jesop C: The short, baffling mystery of chronic fatigue syndrome. Chapter 1 in LEARNING ABOUT CHRONIC FATIGUE SYNDROME (Bolles EB, ed.): 7-27. NewYork, NY: Dell Medical, 1990

Fallon S, Weston A. Price Foundation: "Dr. Price's research demonstrated that humans achieve perfect physical form and perfect health, generation after generation, only when they consume nutrient-dense whole foods and the vital fat-soluble activators found exclusively in animal fats." PMB 106-380, 4200 Wisconsin Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20016. Tel: (202)363-4394 Fax: (202)363-4396 Website: http://www.westonaprice.org

Solomkin JS: Pathogenesis and management of Candida infection syndromes in non- neutropenic patients. NEW HORIZONS 1 (1993), 2 (May): 202-13.

Leibowitz RA, Waltzman MN, Jacobs JB, et al: Isolation of fungi by standard laboratory methods in patients with chronic rhinosinusitis. The Laryngoscope, 112 (Dec. 2002):2189-91.

Schonheyder H et al.: IgA and IgG serum antibodies to Candida Albicans in women of child-bearing age. SABOURAUDIA 1983, 21: 223-31.

Kostiala AAI, Kostiala I: ELISA for IgM-, IgG- and IgA-class antibodies against Candida Albicans antigens: Development of, and comparison with other, methods. SABOURAUDIA 1981, 19: 13-34.

Dommisse JV: Cure of chronic fatigue syndrome by the correction of vitamin-B12 deficiency, mineral imbalances and candida yeast serum antibody elevations. Tucson: THE NATURAL MEDICINE NEWSLETTER, Vol.1, No.1, Sept., 1996; and Vol.2, No.1, Sept., 1997.

Revised Feb. & Oct., '97; Nov. '98; June, '02; May '05; and March '06