Concerned About Candidiasis?

I am a physician assistant and have a patient who is asking about “candida intolerance” as
a cause of stomach ailments, fatigue, weight problems, etc. I haven’t heard of this and
cannot find any good literature regarding it. Any ideas?

-- Amber Reece

Answer (Published 10/25/2002)

Your patient has bought into the scientifically unfounded Top 10 Q&A's:
notion that Candida albicans, a species of yeast that Click Here to see the 10 most
normally lives harmlessly in the gastrointestinal tract and recent Q&A’s to appear on
vagina, can routinely become a serious systemic infection DrWeil.com.
responsible for a host of ailments. Systemic candidiasis is
said to cause fatigue, depression, anxiety, skin eruptions, Q&A Library:
and immune system malfunction. Looking for an old question?
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In fact, Candida albicans, sometimes can get out of control, Click here for Dr. Weil's
causing vaginal infections, intestinal upsets, or infections of complete library of questions
the mouth and throat (called thrush). In most cases, this is and answers.
the result of prolonged or frequent use of antibiotics, which
can wipe out the “friendly” bacteria that normally keep yeast
in check. Other drugs that can wipe out intestinal flora or encourage overgrowth of yeast are
steroids and estrogen, either in the form of birth control pills or hormone replacement therapy.

A book called “The Yeast Connection” by Dr. William Crook popularized the hypothesis that
Candida is a major pathogen that can
weaken the immune system, allowing other advertisement
infections to occur. Dr. Crook also contends
that toxins produced by Candida could
contribute to the development of multiple
sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other
autoimmune disorders.

There is little hard evidence for these ideas.

Diagnoses of systemic candidiasis usually
have no scientific basis, and most of the
recommended treatments for it waste time
and money. Anyone with yeast growing in
the blood or vital organs would be critically
ill in an intensive care

Despite this medical reality, systemic

candidiasis remains a popular diagnosis in
some segments of the alternative medicine
community. My belief is that its persistence is an example of our fears of foreign invaders; it
satisfies a need to blame our maladies on an external cause.

Most of the treatments used for this “disease” are harmless except for drugs like ketoconazole
(Nizoral) and fluconazole (Diflucan) which can be toxic to the liver and should not be used except
on the advice of an infectious disease specialist. A study reported a few years ago in the New
England Journal of Medicine found that the more commonly used drug nystatin (Mycostatin) was
no more effective than a placebo in treating people who thought they had systemic candidiasis.

My colleague and naturopathic physician, Judy Hutt, NMD, points out that although systemic
candidiasis is an unfounded diagnosis, one should not ignore chronic gas and bloating and other
refractory gastrointestinal complaints that develop after taking large doses of antibiotics or
steroids. In addition to oral or topical antifungal treatments, other natural therapeutic options
include taking a good acidophilus product (such as Lactobacillus GG) to help restore normal gut
flora, cutting back on refined sugars, avoiding dairy products, and eating one clove of garlic per
day, preferably raw.

Dr. Andrew Weil