Candida Specialist

What is yeast?

Yeast is a living organism -- a fungus --  that co-exists with humans. People always have yeast living inside of them. Candida is sometimes referred to as a "yeast infection" when the yeast becomes imbalanced and starts to overpopulate in your body.

What are the symptoms of a candida infection?

Candida causes a number of uncomfortable symptoms, including:

• Frequent or chronic stomach bloating
• Chronic vaginal yeast infections or chronic jock itch
• Foot and toenail fungus
• Skin rashes and chronic itchy skin
• Oral thrush
• Sugar addiction
• Brain fog

What causes candida?

Candida can be triggered by normal hormone changes, such as those that occur with pregnancy. However, in our modern era, it’s frequently caused by overuse of antibiotics. In addition, it often strikes when your immune system is compromised.

Why are yeast infections so difficult for many people?

The problem is that yeast loves the human body. It likes to be warm, damp and moist, so it often makes a nice home for itself in the gut, causing chronic bloating and swelling. Yeast also loves sugar, which means it thrives every time you ingest sugars and carbohydrates. It can even cause sugar addiction, which only perpetuates the problem and may lead to weight gain. Yeast is especially a problem for younger women, as it loves estrogen. That’s why pregnant women are prone to vaginal yeast infections.

What is a naturopathic approach to candida?

While most mainstream doctors treat you with drugs, Dr. Scanlan's approach is thorough, practical, and natural. Instead of treating your symptoms, she gets to the root cause of your condition, thus giving you the best chance for a permanent solution.

After discussing your health history and symptoms, Dr. Scanlan has you take an IgG food sensitivities test, and possibly a stool culture, to determine whether there is evidence of candida overgrowth or any specific food intolerances.

The next step is to do a thorough candida cleanse, to flush the yeast out of your system. She also encourages you to do a food allergy elimination while you’re doing the Candida cleanse. Once your body has stabilized, you can test whether you’re able to bring some of the previously eliminated foods back into your diet. Doing this slowly and carefully is crucial, lest you undo all the good work you’ve done so far.

Finally, she helps you create a long-term regime to keep candida from overtaking your system again.