Candida albicans and some other species of candida live naturally in and on our body without causing any harm. Candida most commonly lives in our gastrointestinal tracts. It is, however, opportunistic in nature and when it gets an opportunity to overgrow and infect us, it does so. To prevent or treat these infection, we need to know few things:

1) the opportunities that candida can take to cause disease – aka, the primary cause
2) the opportunities WE provide to candida to grow and prosper – aka, the maintaining cause

Let us try and understand these in details.

Primary (Initiating) Causes

Sometimes our body becomes a fertile ground for disease causing organisms to grow. There are some situations that provide this fertile ground to candida – this is how it all starts. As soon as you find out that you have a yeast infection, it is worthwhile thinking back and looking at what you did differently/what was different in the last few weeks or months. Some primary causes for candida infections are:

a) Being admitted in the hospital: It is possible to get a candida infection while you are staying in a hospital – especially if you are very sick or have a weak immune system.

The infection with candida can be mild (like a skin infection) or be severe (like candida pneumonia). You might wonder what can give you these infections at a hospital. If you have had a catheter (a tube placed in the vein) to give you medicines or liquids, it can make it easier for candida to enter your body and increase chances to get a candida blood infection (candidaemia). Candida can also enter the body through cuts, wounds or burns, especially if your wounds are severe. Additionally, if you were admitted to the ICU and needed life-saving devices or procedures, you may acquire candida infections through those. You can also get candida infection at the site of surgery.

b) Having antibacterial antibiotics: If you have had a bacterial infection recently and had to take antibiotics, it may have increased your risk.

An adult person’s gut is believed to contain ten times more microbes than the number of his/her own body cells. These microbes play many critical roles in the body like stimulation of immunity, production of vitamins B and K, increasing the function of the gut, digestion, breakdown of plant compounds, etc. Another major role played by these microbes is to inhibit the pathogens (disease causing organisms).

Related articles:

• Vaginal Yeast Infection: Causes, Symptoms and Treatment
• Drunk Feeling All The Time – Is It Candida?
• Everything You Need To Know About Candida Auris
• I Keep Farting All The Time Can It Be Candida?
• Loss of Appetite And Candida: Is There A Connection?
• Aldehydes and Candida Connection

Now, when you get a bacterial infection, and are prescribed antibiotics, these antibiotics not only kill infection causing bacteria they also kill the bacteria in your gut and cause overgrowth of organisms that are resistant to these antibiotics. Pletz and colleagues from USA, Germany and Sweden showed with their research on healthy volunteers in 2004 that there was an overgrowth of yeast in the gut after treatment with antibiotics that reduced the population of bacteria like lactobacilli, bifidobacterium, clostridium and bacteroides.

Another source of antibacterial antibiotics is from commercial poultry, milk and meats. Recently many fast-food chains have pledged to not use antibiotics that are used by humans. Although this is a step forward in preventing antibiotic resistance, it is unlikely to change the scenario of gut-microflora imbalance. Any antibiotics that you feed on via your agricultural products will definitely impact your natural gut-microflora. Watch the video below to better understand what I mean.

c) Having periods of chronic stress and anxiety: Direct evidence of relation between stress and candida infection was shown by Meyer, Goettlicher and Mendling from Germany in their publication from 2006. Their study was done on 309 random patients – 117 of who had at least one episode of vaginal candidiasis and 192 had no such illness. They found that psychosocial factors – especially stress, is the primary cause of vaginal candida infections. They also mention that the traditional anti-fungal therapy treats only the symptoms not the cause. I have also done numerous videos on my youtube channel explaining the connection between stress and candida make sure to watch these:

Stress And Candida Connection Part 1 – Part 2 – Part 3

Ehrstrom and colleagues from Sweden had found earlier in 2005 that women with chronic vaginal candida infections had low cortisol in their saliva in the morning as compared to women with no infection. This low cortisol indicated chronic stress in these women.

Stress and anxiety can cause candida infections through different mechanisms:

• Chronic stress leads to chronic production of cortisol. Cortisol is good in small amounts – it is anti-inflammatory and speeds tissue repair. Under some stress conditions larger and continuous amounts are produced, where it becomes harmful allowing continuous immune-suppression. Continuous immune-suppression predisposes a person to more infections. This is where candida can take advantage of the situation and cause infection.In some chronic stress situations the production of cortisol becomes lower than normal in the morning and higher than normal in the night. The sharp changes in the level of cortisol during the length of the day are not produced any longer – the cortisol profile becomes flat. This allows the immune cells to circulate in the body continuously, cause inflammation and slow down tissue repair. Even this situation is great for candida to grow as this provides damaged tissue for its growth and penetration.
• Stress can change the internal environment of the gut – decrease acidity, change gut movement etc. This in turn can inhibit the growth and adhesion of lactobacilli. Lactobacilli keep the candida population in check and if lactobacilli cannot stay in the gut, candida will overtake.
• Stress reduces the production of mucin and acidic mucopolysaccharides. These two do not allow disease causing organisms to bind to the gut mucosa and a reduction in their production allows pathogenic organisms like candida to colonize the gut.
• Stress reduces the production of IgA antibodies. IgA provides us defence against disease causing organisms, and so any reduction in IgA will make us more susceptible to these organisms.
• Stress also affects the gut organisms. Holdeman and colleagues from USA showed way back in 1975 that emotional stress like anger and fear can affect our gut microflora. They found a 20-30% increase in one type of bacteria in the gut in response to fear or anger. When the situation resolved, the number of this organism returned to normal.

d) Diabetes: If you have developed diabetes, you will have decreased immunity against infections, especially those from candida. There are many studies that show how different candida infections are more prevalent in people with diabetes. A 1990 review article by Hostetter from USA described how candida becomes more infective in high-glucose environment which is provided by poorly controlled diabetes. Candida produces a protein in response to glucose which can bind our immune cells thereby preventing their action against candida. Secondly, Hudson and colleagues from New Zealand showed in 2004 that glucose in our blood induces the change of candida into the infectious filamentous form. Thirdly, it was also shown by Rodaki and colleagues from UK in 2009 that candida switches on stress response in the presence of glucose. This means that when glucose is present it becomes resistant to the environment that our immune cells create against it. Thus, poorly controlled diabetes provides the higher glucose conditions that candida can utilize to its advantage. I did a full case study of one patient on my youtube channel which you can watch by clicking here.

e) Corticosteroids: If you have had a condition like arthritis, asthma, allergic reactions or autoimmune disease that required you to take oral or inhaled corticosteroid, you are at a higher risk for being infected with candida. This is because corticosteroids suppress your immunity. While oral corticosteroids may increase your chance of getting a serious candida infection (invasive candidiasis), inhaled corticosteroids put you at higher risk for getting oral thrush.

f) Fluconazole anti-fungal therapy: Use of fluconazole to treat candida may lead to infections with fluconazole resistant types of candida (non-albicans candida). Tyczkowska-Sieron and colleagues from Poland published an analysis in 2014 that suggested that fluconazole therapy is a risk factor for non-albicans type candida infections.

g) Hormonal imbalance: This can be internal – brought about by stress, poor diet, lack of sleep or by changes in your gut microflora, or external – brought about by endocrine disruptors (molecules that affect out hormones, for example, pesticides, herbicides, or phytoestrogens – the plant derived compounds that behave like estrogens), hormone replacement therapy, birth control pills etc. Hormonal imbalance may provide candida the opportunity it needs to establish itself in your body and grow.

Higher estrogen increases growth and survival of candida as Zhang and colleagues from USA showed in 2000. In 2006, a study by Cheng, Yeater and Hoyer also from USA showed that estrogen also allows candida to convert to the infective filamentous form. Estrogen also has immune suppressing effect which allows yeast to cause infection as was showed in 2012 by Wagner and Johnson from USA.

On the other hand, progesterone has been found to suppress candida genes needed for establishment of infection. This was demonstrated in a 2014 study by Alves and colleagues from Portugal.

Maintaining Causes

If you keep doing certain things and do not remove these from your lifestyle, you will provide an environment to candida that does not allow its elimination from your body. Of course, if you continue experiencing the primary causes like stress, taking antibiotics or have uncontrolled diabetes, you will not be able to clear candida from your system. Some of the other maintaining causes (which also could be the primary cause) are:

Diet

Sugar: If your diet is rich in sugar and refined carbohydrates, you are giving candida permission to keep staying and continuing the infection. One can’t emphasize enough on how important it is to remove sugar from your diet if you are serious about getting rid of candida. A 2005 data analysis study done by Turina, Fry and Polk from USA showed that excess of glucose in your blood lowers your immunity and impairs your ability to fight infection. Apart from this, as mentioned in the Primary cause section, candida uses glucose to its own advantage to establish itself. You can read more about sugar and candida connection here.

Vitamins and minerals: These micronutrients are important for our cells to keep functioning properly. Many studies have linked deficiency of different vitamins and minerals to impairment of ability to keep disease causing organisms at bay. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, most people’s diets still are short of enough micronutrient intakes. “Low fruit and vegetable intake is major contributing factor to such micronutrient deficiencies” says FAO. Fruits and vegetables are not only full of vitamin and minerals that help immunity but also some “phytochemicals” that the plants produce to fight against viruses, bacteria and fungi. “The best advice is to eat a wide variety of foods” says William D. Clay, Chief of FAO’s Nutrition Programmes Service. This is recommended because some vitamins and minerals and some phytochemicals are dependent upon other nutrients to be absorbed and used by our body. So, if your diet is not balanced and varied, you are likely to be deficient in these micronutrients.

Alcohol: If you are used to having alcohol, you are more likely to keep your infection going. Alcohol is harmful in multiple ways and taking it supports candida growth. We have a detailed article on alcohol and candida connection which you can access here.

Digestive problems: Chronic digestive problems may by themselves indicate a presence of candida colonization in your gut.

There is evidence that candida colonizes the guts of people suffering from various disorders of the gut, for example, crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis and gastric ulcers. There are also studies carried out in mice that show that inflammation of the gut promotes colonization by candida, and also that candida reduces the healing of lesions and uses the lesions to its own advantage. You can cause inflammation to your gut through drinking excessive alcohol, stomach infection, drugs like aspirin, high stress etc. This will either allow candida to colonize your gut, or if you already have candida, it will not allow you to get rid of it.

Digestive problems also may reflect an imbalance of the gut microbes, and if that is the case, candida will be difficult to get rid of unless you achieve a good balance again. Watch this video for better digestive health.

Secondly, if you take a lot of a type of antacid (proton pump inhibitors) like omeprazole, esomeprazole, pantoprazole for acid reflux or stomach ulcer, you may inadvertently promote candida overgrowth as the study by Rao and colleagues from USA in 2013 showed. These antacids change the pH of the stomach and the initial part of small intestine (make it more alkaline) which could give candida an environment more suitable for colonization.

Chemicals: As post-industrial age humans, we are exposed to more and more chemicals in our environment and food. Research has showed that we absorb these chemicals and accumulate them in our body. Accumulation happens because our bodies cannot break them down fast enough. Brauch and Rand from USA expressed their concerns regarding personal care products and the chemicals therein in an article that was published in 2011. The authors say that because there are multiple sources that we could accumulate these chemicals from, there is more reason to be concerned. Additionally, these chemicals also seem to get into surface water from washing etc. The authors are concerned about the accumulation of these chemicals in aquatic creatures like fish – which also could become an additional and more potent source of these chemicals when we eat them.

Evidence is now emerging about how some of these chemicals actually promote the life of candida within us. Here is a list of some chemicals and how these may promote candida growth and maintenance:

Parabens: Parabens have been used for decades as preservatives. These have been used to prevent growth of yeasts in consumer goods (cosmetic and pharmaceuticals) including vaginal products. In 2009, Mundy and Cormack from USA described their research on the effect of these on candida. They found in their lab experiments that when candida was grown with parabens, a protein called EPA6 was produced which increased the adherence of candida to human vaginal cells. It seems to be a stress response of candida against parabens and seems to be on the path to biofilm formation.

Additionally, parabens mimic estrogens and can act like them. As their activity is weaker than natural estrogens, they are not considered a risk. However in a 2013 article Karpuzoglu, Holladay and Gogal – scientists from USA express their concern and argue that people are exposed to multiple cosmetics or personal care products containing this chemical while the studies that say that the estrogen effect is minimal are studies that used only single exposure to paraben. Estrogen is a known promoter of candida colonization – you can read more about this here. It follows that parabens due to their estrogen like activity, could help promote or maintain candida in the body.

BPA: Bisphenol A (BPA) is present in some plastics. It can leach out into water and food stored in any container that has BPA (for example, canned tomatoes, water in plastic bottles). BPA is an endocrine disruptor – meaning that it disrupts the normal hormonal functioning. A 2012 review by Dunbar and colleagues from Kenya and USA discusses how endocrine disruptors can potentially affect the immunity of the female reproductive tract. Lower immunity can cause your candida issues or even help maintain them.

Pesticides: Pesticides have different effects on human health. Many pesticides can disrupt hormonal function and cause imbalance of the immune system. Both these effects are pro-candida growth. An exposure to pesticides either because you work with agriculture or through fruits and vegetables that you eat makes you a sitting duck for candida infections and for these to become chronic. The higher your exposure, higher is your risk.

Halides: Halides are compounds containing chlorine, bromine, fluorine or iodine. A large amount of these in your system can cause thyroid dysfunction. Fluorine and iodine are naturally high in waters of some regions of the world. In other parts, external fluorides and iodides are added to water/dental care products and salt respectively due to their positive impact on bone/teeth and thyroid health respectively. There is evidence from studies like the one by Liu and colleagues from China (2014) that excessive fluoride and iodide affect the thyroid cells – decrease their life and trigger cell suicide. If you are suffering from low thyroid function (because the cells of your thyroid are not surviving long enough in this case) you are more at risk of getting infections. This is because thyroid hormones regulate the metabolic rate of the cells and influence a large number of enzymes which are involved in maintaining body’s defences.

Although there may be positive impact of the two halides, these may have different impact on different people with different immune, hormonal and thyroid status.

Chlorine added to drinking water to make it free of disease causing organisms (and also fluorine) will actually also cause imbalance in your microbiota. And as we know, imbalance of microbes in the system leads to candida infections. Chlorine is also added to swimming pools – it not only kills the harmful bacteria in the water, but also good bacteria on your skin. The right mix of low immunity, hormonal imbalance and microbial imbalance can be used by candida to its advantage.

Bromine can be found in pesticides, plastics, brominated vegetable oils that are used by the soft-drinks industry, some medications, and fire retardants that are used in carpets, upholstery, mattresses etc. Bromine causes thyroid problems as it can very easily replace iodine in the thyroid hormones. Thyroid hormones are not functional without iodine. As described earlier, a low functioning thyroid can put you at higher risk for infections.

Mold: Molds of different types are found in our environment. Some are edible – like mushrooms, others are used in cheese and beer production while some others cause spoilage of food and some grow in buildings. Many of these molds can have health effects – they can produce allergens, irritants and toxins. The reaction to mold differs from person to person and may depend on their immune status, nutritional and general health status and other infections. When your system is already weakened by candida infections, it is very likely that these other molds from moldy foods or from a moldy house will affect your system more. Not only may they worsen your candida, but may also cause other fungal infection like fungal pneumonia or cause asthma.

So if you want to prevent or treat candida infections, you will have to find out the possible cause in your case. Just getting rid of the symptoms will not change anything in the long term – you need to make sure that you do not do anything that allows candida to invade or gain a strong hold in your body.

Some frequently asked questions

I hope the article answered a lot of your questions however below you will find list of some questions I get asked all the time regarding the causes.

What are some antibiotics that cause it? Can you list few?

A review article published by Hawrelak and Myers from Australia in 2004 lists some of the antibiotics that have been found through research to promote candida colonization – Ampicillin, Amoxicillin, Cefmenoxime, Cefoperazone, Cefotiam, Cefoxitin, Ceftriaxone, Ciprofloxacin, Enoxacin, Erythromycin, Moxalactam, Ofloxacin, Pivampicillin, and Tetracycline.

Can B12 deficiency cause it?

Vitamin B12 has many beneficial effects in our body – one of these is boosting immunity. Studies in animals deficient in this vitamin have showed that the protective immunity is suppressed by the deficiency. Although there are not many studies on humans, a 1999 Japanese study by Tamura and colleagues on 11 patients with this deficiency showed that vitamin B12 modulates a part of our immunity – cellular immunity. Apart from this, vitamin B12 is needed to make red blood cells and a deficiency will cause low red blood cell counts. This will affect all the different systems including the immune system and increase your susceptibility to infections including candida.

If I drink a lot of kombucha can it be the reason I have this problem?

Kombucha is generally known to have many beneficial effects – although there are not many studies to prove or disprove this. If your kombucha is fermented using the right organisms, it may be alright to consume it. However, if you are noticing worsening of your candida, it may be because your kombucha culture is contaminated – such a contamination could be the initiating cause of your problem. It may also be possible that you are extra allergic/sensitive to yeasts because of your candida infection. It is recommended that you listen to your body, how it responds to kombucha and modify your intake accordingly.

How big of a factor is stress when it comes to the cause?

Stress is a big causing factor. Please refer to the Primary causes section of this article for details on connection between stress and candida infection or watch the videos shared in the section.

What are the emotional reasons?

A study by Irving and colleagues from UK, published in1999, found various psychological factors associated with vaginal candida infection. These factors were clinical depression, lower satisfaction with life, poorer self-esteem and perception of life as being stressful.

Brod and colleagues from the UK describe and discuss the relationship between emotion and immune system in an elegant review published in 2014 where they analysed scientific evidence between the two. They found the evidence pointing towards increase in inflammation when one is angry. On the other hand they also find the evidence that when anger or stress becomes chronic, the immune response is dulled and healing is much slower. The opposite effects are seen by studies on relaxation and laughter – increase in immunity and reduction in inflammation.

As described in the stress section of this article, anger can also cause an increase in certain types of bacteria in your gut – this goes to say that if you harbour bad mood for a long time, it is likely that your gut flora may change causing disturbances.

Anger and bad mood can therefore make you more susceptible to infections including candida while a happy mood, laughter and relaxation can boost your immune system and help fight off any pre-existing infection apart from preventing any new ones.

Can zinc deficiency cause it?

Zinc has been shown to be important for the health of our immune system. A 2015 review article by Bonaventura and colleagues from France discusses the role of zinc on immunity and inflammation. They describe how acute zinc deficiency can reduce our immune response, while its chronic deficiency increases inflammation. Both of these are situations that are pro-candida. So, yes zinc deficiency can definitely be one of the causes. A word of caution: too much zinc can inhibit the function of immune system as well.

I have taken zantac in the past could that be the reason of it?

Zantac is ranitidine which is used to decrease acid production by your stomach cells. If you are constantly having indigestion and are having to take zantac, it is likely that your stomach and the upper part of small intestine have a change in the pH – from acidic to more alkaline. A change in the acidity could cause an overgrowth of candida in the stomach and upper part of small intestine.

I have heard Z-pak can cause it also. Is this true?

Yes, Z-pak is actually azithromycin, an antibiotic. Anything that kills the bacteria in your gut will increase your chances of getting candida overgrowth.

If I used cephalexin can it cause?

Yes, it can as it is also an antibiotic that can cause dysbiosis.

Can cipro cause it?

Yes, it can cause dysbiosis and resulting overgrowth of candida.

I take clindamycin am I at risk of getting it?

Yes. It can, being an antibiotic.

Can use of condom cause this issue, I mean can latex allergy be the cause?

Latex allergy can mimic yeast infections, so it is important to find out if you actually have candida when you have latex allergy. Apart from this, there is a 1990 study by McGroarty and colleagues from Canada which describes how one of the spermicidal compounds –nonoxynol9 – which may be present on condoms can increase the adhesion of candida to cells. Condoms without the spermicide are therefore recommended.

Does adderall cause candida?

Adderall is amphetamine and a research on rats from 1999 by Friere-Garabal and colleagues from Spain showed that amphetamine can, through known and unknown neuroendocrine mechanisms, injure the immune system which can make one vulnerable to candida. They found that the existing candida infection worsened the condition.

I drink alcohol can that be the issue?

Alcohol can be a major issue as you can find out here Is Alcohol Consumption Connected to Candida.

If I am suffering from anxiety attacks could that be the case?

Yes. The section of this article on stress describes this.

I know sugar is bad for candida, however I eat a lot of fruits could that cause the overgrowth?

First thing to remember is that a lot of anything is bad. Even vitamins in large amounts are bad! That being said, if you are trying to get rid of candida, a lot of fruit is generally bad. However, you can have sour fruits like blueberries and other tart berries, lemons, lime, kiwifruit, grapefruit. But again, remember the quantity – eat anything only in moderation.

I am overweight is that the reason I have this problem?

Obesity increases the occurrence of skin infections including those from candida. This stems from hormonal imbalances that overweight people tend to have. So, yes, this could be one reason for your problem.

What are some foods that can cause this infection?

Sugar and refined carbohydrate containing foods, alcohol, sweet fruits, dried fruits.

Does gluten cause candida?

Gluten intolerance by itself could be a sign of candida infection. There is evidence that celiac disease may be triggered by candida infection – as can be seen from a research by Corouqe and colleagues from France published in 2015. The protein Hwp1 which candida expresses in its pathogenic phase shares similarity with gluten protein. So when the body reacts to the pathogenic candida, it also reacts to gluten.

Thus, it seems more likely that candida causes gluten intolerance. However, it is possible that gluten somehow worsens the overgrowth due to its sticky nature.

Can the use of vibrator cause the yeast overgrowth?

Yes, vibrators and sex toys can cause yeast infections if they are not clean.

I have a stressful job and I have heard stress can cause candida is that a myth or real?

Stress is a big factor. Read more about it in this article above and on the following links.

• Yeast infection, stress and digestion
• Does stress feed candida? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
• Complete youtube playlist on videos related to stress and candida

I am a vegetarian and I only eat veggies does that put me in a risk of getting the overgrowth?

Yes, it does, especially so if you are vegan and eat only veggies and no animal products. Vitamin B12 is present in wide variety of animal foods including meat, shellfish, poultry, eggs, milk and other dairy foods. It is totally absent in any plant based food. The only way a plant based food can have vitamin B12 is through fortification. This vitamin is absolutely essential for your immunity and defence against pathogens. Being deficient in this can make you vulnerable to candida overgrowth.

What about penicillin?

Penicillin can cause yeast to overgrow and colonize.

I drink a lot of kefir. Can this trigger to make my condition worst?

No. Kefir has beneficial properties. It is a milk product fermented by a mix of different bacteria and yeasts present in the kefir grains (few types of lactic acid bacteria, few types of yeasts which include – yes – candida and acetic acid bacteria). It is very nutritious and contains vitamins A and C, calcium, iron, proteins and fat. Silva and colleagues from Brazil published an article in 2009 that reported on the antimicrobial activity of kefir fermentations with 3 kinds of carbohydrates. It was found that when fermented with brown sugar, there was production of most effective antimicrobial compounds that killed candida. So, it is only likely to make your condition better, not worse.

Apart from there is also evidence that kefir kills disease causing bacteria (we must remember that the antibacterial activity that kefir grains produce does not affect the bacteria in the kefir grains as they can be used over and over again indefinitely – which means that there is only selective killing of bacteria and the helpful bacteria will survive kefir). However, you say you drink “a lot” of kefir. You must remember always that a lot of anything is not good – do not overdo anything and have a well-balanced diet.

What about milk?

Cow’s milk and cow milk products have the highest potential to be allergenic. Cow’s milk contains a protein called beta-caesin. Type A1 caesin is what some people can have problems with. Although more detailed studies are needed, evidence does seem to point to the harmful effect of this on our health.

You should take the cow milk out from your diet as you would want to stay away from anything that causes your immune system to flare up or cause issues with your system. Cow’s milk containing A2 type beta caesin seems to be fine. Goat, sheep, camel milk are mostly or completely A2 and are therefore also fine. You can experiment with small amounts of good quality ‘real’ cheese after about 6-8 weeks on a candida diet and see how you feel – you should generally feel fine with it when you take it in low amounts.

Pasteurized milk (minimally processed) contains nutrition, beneficial fats and some enzymes that are not inactivated by pasteurization. In absence of a proper reliable source of raw milk, you should take pasteurized milk to avoid the diseases that may come from raw milk. However, don’t overdo drinking milk either.

Do birth control pills cause this syndrome?

Birth control pills contain high level of estrogen which is pro-candida. Candida infection is a known side-effect of birth control pills.

If I have HIV am I more prone to this problem?

Yes. Having HIV means that your immune function is compromised which will make you more vulnerable than normal to this problem.

What about mercury fillings?

There is one study by Muzurovic and colleagues from Bosnia and Herzegovina reported in 2012 which found that candida was present more among patients with amalgam fillings.

I am low on iron is that connected?

Do you have other signs and symptoms is what I would ask before I can answer this one.

I use lube because it is always dry down there for me, could that contribute to the overgrowth?

There is no evidence that the commercial lubricants cause vaginal candida infection. However, these have been linked with vaginal bacterial infections in a study by Brown and colleagues from USA (2013). The study however found a link between use of oils as lubricants and candida infection. That being said, the study does not describe what types of oils were being used by the women tested.

Related articles:

• Always Disconnected & Dizzy: Is It Candida?
• 8 Ways Fungal Candida May Reoccur
• Does Candida Cause Sinus Infections, Headaches, and Fatigue?
• Geotrichum and Yeast Infection: Are They Connected?
• Anxiety, Depression & Candida Connection
• How Your Gut Can Keep You Happy: Mood Disorders and Gut Dysbiosis

Can the use of these things contribute to the syndrome: Nexium or Valtrex?

Nexium is a proton pump inhibitor. It can contribute to the syndrome by changing the pH of the stomach and the upper part of small intestine.

Valtrex on the other hand is valacyclovir which is used against herpes.

Can flagyl or metrogel cause it?

Flagyl and metrogel are both metronidazole – an antimicrobial drug. A 2003 study by Greek scientists Marakis and colleagues found that metronindazole increased candida colonization of the gut, oral cavity and vagina in patients treated. However, this increase was only marginal but became significant when combined with doxycycline. Thus, flagyl may be able to cause it especially in combination with other antibiotics.

What about H. pylori?

A 2009 research by Karczewska and colleagues from Poland shows that H.pylori and candida can live together in the stomach lining and together could be responsible for the disorders of upper gut like gastric and duodenal ulcer. Additionally, research from Iran by Siavoshi and Saniee published in 2014 showed that H. pylori could actually live inside the yeast cells.

It is difficult to say what comes first – H.pylori or candida or if one causes the other to colonize. However, it is worthwhile keeping in mind that both these organisms can get a better environment to live in if the patient continuously takes drugs that stops acid production.

If I have herpes am I more likely to get this infection?

It is well known that herpes viruses affect our immune system. This would put you at higher risk to get this infection.

I am on a high fat diet because of bodybuilding is that okay?

Please refer to candida diet.

I do not drink a lot of water can it be an issue if I dont drink enough water?

Not drinking enough water can cause you to have chronic complaints. Water is needed by our body – water in the form of plain water, not water from juices, or hot/cold drinks. Water is important to keep our body cell functions going. It is needed for everything from digestion to proper circulation of blood, regulating temperature to waste removal. A lack of water can lead to a lack in some cellular or bodily function at some level. Drinking enough water can to a large extent protect you from getting the infection.

Does nuvaRing causes yeast infection?

A study by Camacho and colleagues from Brazil reported their research on combined conctraceptive vaginal ring (nuvaRing) in 2007. They saw using electron microscope that candida could adhere to the ring and could potentially facilitate vaginal candida infection and recurrent vaginal infection in susceptible patients. Apart from this nuvaring also contains estrogen which supports candida growth.