Phone & Video Consults Available 734-222-8210

Start today | ​

Candida & Chronic Infections

Candida may be the cause of your widespread disfunction

woman sitting in bed sick with a headache or insomnia

Candida overgrowth is linked to an increasing number of conditions as a systemic cause. Even without infecting other organs, it can damage your digestive system and exhaust your immune system. Symptoms can often be vague and not obviously connected to digestive health, as nutritional absorption and immune strength are crucial to all parts of the body. Candida yeast infections are rarely serious in otherwise healthy people. However, in rare cases, it may spread through other parts of the body.

What do you do when your unwanted guest decides they want to stick around awhile?

What do toenail fungus, mushrooms, and mold all have in common? Each is a type of fungus. Fungi are everywhere – in the air, growing on the surface of fruits (think of that white-ish film on the surface of a plum or grape), and they’re found in every human gut. 

Candida is an opportunistic yeast. In a healthy person, candida does no harm. But it will thrive & grow out of control if given the right conditions. In the modern world, we tend to give candida a lot of opportunities to thrive.

Causes of Candida Infections

1. Diet high in sugar or carbohydrates
2. Acid reducers or blockers
3. Other gut pathogens
4. A course of oral antibiotics
5. Weak immune system  
6. High-yeast foods like cheese or beer
7. Blood sugar imbalance

Once a candida infection takes hold, it can be challenging to conquer without a targeted holistic approach that addresses not only the overgrowth itself, but also the factors that created the overgrowth in the first place. 

Other Chronic Infections

1. H. pylori
2. Pathogenic gut bacteria
3. Parasites & worms
4. 
Borrelia & other Lyme infections
5. Epstein-Barr Virus (EBV)
6. Cytomegalovirus (CMV)

In a healthy person, the immune system and digestive system both do a great job preventing most infections from taking hold. Healthy levels of stomach acid neutralize most microbes, and the immune system and gut microbiome tackle whatever makes it past the stomach and deeper into the gut. But if any of those mechanisms have been suppressed for any reason – stress, a diet high in processed foods, antacids, autoimmunity – it paves the way for unfriendly species to make their way into the gut & become the dominant species. 

2 reasons Chronic Infections Cause Problems

1. They steal our nutrients & create a deficit of nutrients
2. They produce toxins that damage our gut

Friendly bacteria do the opposite – they help us digest our food & absorb nutrients, and they produce byproducts that are nourishing to the gut. 

The strategy to address candida or other chronic infections is simple: 

1. Increase gut friendly microbes
2. Decrease unfriendly microbes
3. Allow the gut to heal itself.  

Keeping Candida in Balance

Conventional medicine usually treats symptoms but not the underlying causes. It doesn’t investigate the reasons why the Candida fungus is running rampant. They can certainly prescribe drugs to address the current outbreak, but without discovering what’s causing the imbalance, it’s just a waiting-game until it happens again.

lab technician sampling from a test tube

Advanced Testing

Comprehensive Gut Health (GI-MAP) testing and Food Sensitivity (IgG) testing provide insight into the exact factors contributing to candida overgrowth and other infections.

fresh and healthy carrots tomatoes berries nuts and rosemary bok choy grapes

Food & Lifestyle

Certain foods and infections feed candida and other unfriendly microbes. Diet & lifestyle changes that feed the right bacteria & reduce stress on the body can have a profound impact on wellness.

Targeted Supplements

A short-term customized & targeted supplement protocol can aid in keeping candida in check and in restoring overall health.

When eating healthy isn't enough

At 30 years old, Natalie didn’t know what healthy eating was. She only knew how to stab the cellophane and toss her frozen meal into the microwave. But her list of ailments was long enough to fill 3 full sheets of paper. She wasn’t living, she was simply surviving. She knew she needed help. So she took a stand for herself and changed her diet radically. She went from pizza & pasta to regularly cooking veggies she didn’t even know the names of. Suddenly nearly everything she ate was home-cooked from scratch and within a few months, her health was very different. Her energy boosted, her diarrhea stopped, her belly was no longer in pain, and she slimmed down. 

But she quickly hit a plateau. No matter how well she continued to eat and take care of herself, she couldn’t lose the rest of the weight, couldn’t totally resolve her tummy problems, and she still had a lot of aches & pains. 

When she ran a GI-MAP gut health test, she discovered that she was full of parasites and other unfriendly microbes. No amount of healthy gut-loving foods were going to eliminate her infections. This was the puzzle piece she was missing! She worked with one of our holistic health experts to eliminate her infections, and she instantly hit a new healthy level; she lost more weight, belly problems disappeared, aches & pains diminished, and her headaches went away. 

This is the power of the right testing & guidance!

So much of our overall daily health depends on our gut. Don't you want to know what's going on in yours?

The GI-MAP gut health test provides a bounty of information on what’s going on in the gut… not only what’s there, but how much. It gives insight into yeast, parasites, good bacteria, bad bacteria, viruses, worms, quality of digestion, gut inflammation, gut toxins, immune function, and gluten sensitivity. 

Contact Ann Arbor Holistic Health in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to schedule your appointment and find out how you can get help for Candida yeast overgrowth and other chronic infections. 

The team at Ann Arbor Holistic Health is here to help you.

The right testing gives us info great insight into your microbiome so we can help your gut repair itself, help maximize the nutrients you’re getting from food, have healthy poops, strengthen the immune system, and minimize inflammation.

Learn More →

Did you know that nearly three-quarters of your immune system is in your gut? An overgrowth of candida in the digestive tract can cause serious gastrointestinal problems… and more. We can help.

Learn More →