Probiotics have an important role to play in establishing a healthy gut flora.
There was a fascinating study conducted in Russia in 2019 that looked at the impact of adding probiotics to yogurt. One hundred fifty volunteers participated in the study. The microbiome of each subject was checked on day one and day 30.
Each participant had 125 milliliters of yogurt with a small amount of added probiotics twice a day.
After 30 days, they noticed an increase in bifidobacteria. The more bifidobacteria in the gut, the more effectively lactose can be broken down by the body. Being able to digest nutrients more effectively provides a boost to the immune system as well as providing the body with more amino acids.
Other studies have found that higher bifidobacteria levels are associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Don’t let people pull the wool over your eyes and tell you that probiotics are a waste of time, and they’re useless. The Russians have been studying probiotics now for well over 100 years, and the benefits are profound.
If you’ve done multiple Candida cleanses without any benefit, the first thing to do is confirm that you truly have a Candida problem.
I would want to know if you’ve had a stool test done? I can’t tell you how many times people have said to me they wish they had a stool test done a long time ago.
I also want to make sure the stool test was done properly. Did you stop all dietary supplements for at least a week before the stool tests? Did you stop all probiotics for 14 days before the stool test? Did you complete a three-day collection, not just one random sample?
The goal of the stool analysis is to identify the nature of your gut bacteria? What are the levels of beneficial bacteria in your GI tract? Do you have dysbiotic flora, low Klebsiella, pseudomonas, or other bacterial problems?
Are there detectable levels of yeast in your gut? What species of yeast are colonizing your GI system?
There’s no point in making assumptions. Too many people I see make assumptions. They will say something like, “Oh, I just thought I’d try a Candida cleanse.” they’ll tell me? When I ask if they have a confirmed diagnosis of Candida, I’m told, “I don’t know, but I’ve got all the signs and symptoms.”
That’s not good enough. If you value your health and want to achieve fantastic gut health, you need to know exactly what problems you do or don’t have.
Before you do any cleansing, have the 3-sample comprehensive stool analysis completed.
Then, find an expert who can sit down with you and review the findings.
It could be a naturopath or a functional medicine doctor who provides the guidance.
If you use a lab like Doctor’s Data out of Chicago, your stool test results will also include a susceptibility panel. This panel will identify the natural and pharmaceutical agents that can treat the organisms identified in your stool.
If you have a confirmed case of Candida, and you’re still not improving, the most common reason is insufficient dosing or a life that is out of kilter.
If you’re staying up to three o’clock in the morning watching cat videos, you’re not getting the rest your body needs to optimize your gut health.
Start eating properly.
If your diet, lifestyle, sleep patterns, job, and relationships are in working order, you should recover.
If you hit a roadblock, try and identify what it is and go from there. It could be a new conflict in your life. It could be drinking too much alcohol. There’s usually some kind of snag that needs unsnagging, and then your health improves.
Charcoal has been used for thousands of years, probably since pre-Egyptian times.
Charcoal is the result of burning wood in the absence of oxygen. That process greatly increases the porosity of the material.
Charcoal can hold an incredible amount of stuff due to its porosity. Many people take charcoal as part of a detoxification regime. But, you need to be careful with charcoal, especially if you’re taking medications.
Charcoal needs to be taken well away from food. For example, between meals or at bedtime are appropriate times to take charcoal.
Dosages of charcoal can range up to as high as two grams or more. If charcoal is recommended, our clinic starts people on a low dose. It should be taken with plenty of water.
Being well hydrated will make such a difference in your life. I run a five-stage filtration system for the house with many different types of filters to take everything out of the water. I like drinking ultra-pure water and getting my minerals from eating good food.
For some people, drinking pure water and then taking charcoal can have a positive response on Candida. Charcoal can reduce the toxic bioload produced by dysbiotic bacteria like SIBO and Candida.
Some clients have reported that charcoal gave them tremendous relief from symptoms of die-off. Other people reported that they had black stools and experienced no benefit from the charcoal.
Some naughty people I know, take charcoal to reduce hangovers because it has an ability also to reduce the level of alcohol byproducts, particularly if taken before bed.
As I mentioned, be careful taking charcoal if you’re on pharmaceuticals. Also, take charcoal well away from any other kind of supplement.
If you want to make the most of the charcoal supplement, eat a high-fiber diet. I like to eat apples and pears, for example, and lots of berries in my diet and avocados. All these foods I grow them myself, so I’m quite lucky that I’ve got access to all these nice fresh, unsprayed produce. When you eat large amounts of fiber, and you have good bowel movements, charcoal is a significant benefit.
There’s no point eating fries, burgers, and a glass of pop and then taking charcoal supplements. I mean, that’s just a dumb thing to do.
Charcoal benefits those who have a good lifestyle and a good diet.
Charcoal is also a handy supplement to take with you while traveling, if you’re worried about getting sick from food or water. Charcoal is sometimes used in emergency rooms for acute detoxification from pharmaceutical drugs.
Charcoal definitely works for some people with Candida and SIBO, although I’m not sure if it is effective against parasites. If you have brain fog and you’ve got blastocystis, for example, it’s certainly worth trying charcoal to see if that reduces the toxic bioload.
Can eating raw garlic alone help with Candida, or will a garlic supplement alone help? The answer to that question is that both options are good.
I prefer to eat lots of garlic in my diet. I often add partially cooked garlic into my food, especially salad.
All spring and summer, I tend to have one or two cloves of garlic finely chopped, mix that in with olive oil, maybe lemon juice, a bit of pepper and salt, and that gets put on salads. This is a standard salad dressing I make.
A lot of people say they chop their garlic and leave it to stand for a little while to allow the active ingredient to come out into its own.
Dr. Benjamin Lau wrote an excellent book on garlic. Dr. Lau’s work was one of the first serious books on the science behind why garlic is such an effective immune stimulant and antifungal.
In many studies, garlic has been shown to have just as good, if not better, effect as an antifungal than drugs like fluconazole. We know that people who eat lots of garlic regularly in their diet are going to benefit.
Garlic supplements are also a good idea. I recommend buying a standardized garlic supplement. Don’t buy just any garlic supplement. Buy a garlic supplement that has a documented percentage of allicin in it. Allicin is converted to ajoene through an enzymatic reaction, and ajoene is an even more powerful antifungal agent.
By getting a standardized supplement with a guaranteed percentage of allicin, the benefits are even more potent than from garlic alone.
When you consider an antimicrobial for Candida, always try and get something with a bit of oregano in it, a bit of garlic in it, and a bit of grapefruit seed extract in it. You want antifungal, antibacterial, and antiparasitic actions all in one supplement. That kind of multi-modal supplement saves you taking ten different pills. It also has far better action, especially if the product is balanced.
Consider adding garlic to your diet every day. I also recommend ginger daily in your diet and taking garlic as a supplement. You’ll get much better benefit by including garlic both as food and as a supplement.
We are talking about peppermint tea, one of my favorites. I’ve grown lots of mint, especially peppermint. It’s incredible, especially in spring and summertime when it really starts to grow and you grab a handful and It just about knocks you out, that strong menthol smell.
I can remember several years ago when I was at a medical conference and I had a bursting headache. I don’t know why but I had this terrible headache in the afternoon. A lady came up to me because she saw my eyes and she just rubbed some peppermint oil on my forehead. Within about five minutes, the headache was gone. I was absolutely blown away by the peppermint oil.
Studies have shown that when applied to the head for migraines or tension headaches, it works probably better than 1,000 milligrams of acetaminophen or paracetamol. Peppermint oil is definitely worth using if you have a headache.
There are so many studies I’ve read about peppermint and the digestive system. For example, on study involving 926 people showed a 40% reduction in symptoms of IBS in response to peppermint oil capsules.
Peppermint definitely helps with bloating and flatulence. If you have IBS, you may get significant benefit from taking peppermint oil capsules.
I’ve also worked with a few patients with inflammatory bowel disease who benefited tremendously from drinking peppermint tea. Peppermint tea helps to ease cramps in the gut, spasms, and bloating.
Peppermint can also help with menstrual cramps. Drinking peppermint tea for the few days around menses can make a big difference to cramps.
I am a big fan of peppermint tea. I highly recommend it for a variety of gut problems…and headaches.