Tag Archives: Yeast Infection

Questions & Answers

Are CanXida Products And Hydrochloric Acid Supplements Compatible?

I had someone with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis ask me if it okay to take hydrochloric acid tablets while on CanXida.

The answer to that question is, “Yes.” Many people with Hashimoto’s don’t produce enough hydrochloric acid in their stomach. When taking CanXida Restore, it may be possible to reduce the dose of hydrochloric acid because the product contains digestive enzymes.

I also strongly recommend getting a comprehensive stool analysis in the presence of an autoimmune disorder like Hashimoto’s. Use either Genova Diagnostics out of North Carolina or Doctor’s Data out of Chicago. It’s vital that you know exactly what is going on in the bowel, and particularly with the small bowel when autoimmune issues are present.

Further readings:

For nearly every one of my clients with an autoimmune condition, I found a bacteria infection. High amounts of Citrobacter and Klebsiella is a common stool test finding in people with autoimmune issues.

Often there is also a yeast infection. Sorting those issues out is very high-yield. If you start working on cleaning up the gut, you’re going to be pleasantly surprised by what the antibodies do over time. That’s my experience with the majority of people with autoimmunity. You can look in other places, but the gut is your foundational starting point really to get things right. CanXida Remove will help clean the gut up.

Hashimoto’s is one of the very few conditions where I believe getting off gluten is the right thing to do. I also recommend a period of strict gluten-free eating for psoriasis. There is lots of research linking gluten and Hashimoto’s, so it is vital to take all traces of that protein out of your diet.

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Questions & Answers

Treating Vaginal Yeast Infections With Pau D’arco

Pau D’arco is very good for vaginal yeast infections and symptoms such as burning or itching.
For those of you who don’t know, Pau D’arco is a supplement that comes from tree bark.

If you’re going to treat vaginal thrush with Pau D’arco, you need to get about 15 to 20 grams and place it in about five to six hundred millimeters of good quality water in a good quality steel saucepan. Don’t use tap water.

Make sure you are using authentic Pau D’arco. You’ll have to do your own online research to source it appropriately. It should be between two and four percent lapachol content. If the Pau d’arco you buy has less lapachol than that, you won’t get the results you want.

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Next, bring the bark and water to a rolling boil and simmer for about twenty minutes. Cool the mixture down. When it is tepid, soak a tampon in the liquid. Insert the tampon and leave it in overnight. You can do that for several nights if comfortable.

This treatment has helped a lot of women tremendously, particularly if they were getting thrush premenstrually. Pau d’Arco offers an alternative to other treatments for vaginal thrush.

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Questions & Answers

What You Need To Know About The Ileocecal Valve

I often get asked questions about the ileocecal valve.

All sorts of gut issues, including SIBO, can lead to tenderness in the area of the ileocecal valve. The valve is located approximately halfway between the belly button and the right hip bone.

There are three sections of the small bowel and one major section of the large bowel. The ilium is the last portion of the small intestine, and it connects to the cecum, the first region of the large intestine. The ileocecal valve is a one-way valve that connects the ilium to the bowel.

The ileocecal valve only opens for brief periods to allow food to pass through. Nerves in the region help control the opening and closing of the ileocecal valve. These nerves and cells lining the ileocecal valve can be damaged by toxins produced by bacteria such as Campylobacter or Shigella. Some of these toxins are so potent that they can partially paralyze the ileocecal valve.

Further readings:

I have seen many patients over the years with ileocecal issues. Fortunately, these issues can be fixed.

If you have tenderness in the ileocecal region, I would inquire as to whether you also have pain in the lower back or right side of the body. You might be feeling pushing, griping, stabbing, or shooting pain. This pain is linked to ileocecal valve dysfunction.

Other symptoms of ileocecal valve problems include gas and bloating.
A smart step to take would be to get a comprehensive stool analysis. You want to know if there are any bacteria, yeast, or parasites in your gut that could be interfering with proper ileocecal function.

I had a client whose most prominent symptom was tremendous pain around the ileocecal valve. In cases like that, you may be able to get some relief by using a nice hot pack with castor oil while gently massaging the abdomen. Chiropractors and osteopaths can also sometimes help with ileocecal pain. It’s also handy to learn how to gently massage the ileocecal valve on your own while you’re addressing the underlying cause of the dysfunction.

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Questions & Answers

SIBO And Low Fermentation Diets: Yes Or No?

I read an interesting paper about using a low-fermentation diet for SIBO. This diet comes out of a laboratory at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

I don’t agree with all of the recommendations out of this diet. For example, it recommends against yogurt, and yet, in my experience, yogurt is one of the best foods to help clean up the gut. Of course, I’m talking about high-quality, sour, Greek yogurt, not the artificially sweetened industrial type that fills the supermarkets. The yogurt I eat contains plenty of beneficial bacteria. Most of the lactose has already been digested by bacteria.

I’ve yet to meet a sick person whose gut can’t tolerate a teaspoon of yogurt. I’ll often start with that dose. If even that amount is hard to tolerate, we’ll work on cleaning up the diet in a different way.

The low-fermentation diet describes rice, potatoes, and sweet potatoes as the best carbohydrates for SIBO. That’s true but they should also clarify that it is best to cook these carbs first and then bake or fry them the next day. This allows the starch to become more digestible. If you have a gut issue, baked rather than boiled or mashed potatoes are much more tolerable.

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Peanut butter is compatible with a low-fermentation diet. I beg to differ as I consider peanut butter to be an unhealthy food choice. The mold and aflatoxin found in peanut butter pose a risk to liver health. In my experience, peanuts are particularly allergenic for people with SIBO or leaky gut. If you want a gut-healthy nut, have a serving of almonds or Brazil nuts.

Although chocolate is deemed acceptable on the low-fermentation diet (with a warning to watch out for milk chocolate), I disagree. Dark chocolate is fine for healthy people, but if your gut is giving you any trouble, I’d stay away.

What really surprised me was reading that Rice Krispies are considered an ideal breakfast on the low-fermentation diet. I would never recommend refined, starchy rice. Oats or eggs are definitely better breakfast options to my mind.

There’s a warning to watch out for butter, but I personally have never seen clients run into problems from using a high-quality butter.

If you have SIBO, my recommendation is to follow a common-sense diet. If a particular food causes you distress, eliminate it from your diet. Once your gut has improved, you can always rechallenge yourself.

I’ve been working in the field for over thirty years, and I’ve seen hundreds of diets. In my experience, they aren’t individualized enough to help people. The best diet for Mary Jo is Mary Jo’s diet. Our guts are unique, which is why I recommend avoiding cookie-cutter, one size fits all diets. I’ve yet to meet two people with SIBO who have identical microbiomes.

Please don’t fall for the line that we all have to be gluten-free, lactose-free, and dairy-free. Modify your diet to meet the needs of your gut, particularly if you have SIBO or inflammatory bowel disease.

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Questions & Answers

Can I Catch SIBO From Someone Else?

Is SIBO a contagious disease?

No, not at all. It’s a digestive condition in which there is an overgrowth of bacteria in the small bowel. SIBO can’t be passed from one person to another.

Many people worry about contagion when it comes to digestive disorders. Helicobacter pylori can indeed be passed by sharing utensils, but it very rarely happens unless someone is immunosuppressed. However, SIBO is not contagious under any circumstances.

Further readings:

Samuel Hahnemann, the founder of homeopathy, believed that people attracted disease to them a little bit like iron. A magnet and iron are attracted to each other. For you to attract illness, you have to have a certain susceptibility. His idea is that if your energy is vibrating at a certain level, your body will reject rather than attract a disease. It follows from this theory that if you keep yourself in pretty good shape, you’re less likely to get sick. Healthy people have a much lower chance of getting sick than someone who is already unhealthy.

SIBO, inflammatory bowel disease, and constipation are all examples of GI conditions that are not contagious. You don’t “catch” these illnesses. However, when your body is susceptible, you’re much more likely to develop a health condition.

Stress often contributes to reduced resistance to illness. It’s stress and a lowered resistance rather than catching SIBO from someone else that should worry you.

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