Originally published October 20 2014
How Candida makes you crave junk food
by Michael Edwards
(NaturalNews) You make a resolution. You are going to eat plenty of organic produce every day. No more junk food. And then it hits--those cravings. You have to have chocolate. You'll die without a chocolate!
Chocolate's my thing. So is pasta. For many it's breads, cookies, white rice, yogurt, sugary smoothies, and/or alcohol.
There is no doubt that your blood sugar has a lot to do with sugar cravings, but blood sugar is not the only metabolic process driving you. If you are living with an overabundance of Candida in your system, it wants to be fed. And it's preferred food is sugar. The relationship we have with Candida can create much stronger cravings for sugar and alcohol than blood sugar or other known factors.
Our bodies contain 10 times as many microbes as human cells. Many of these microbes are beneficial. We actually enjoy a symbiotic relationship with many of the bacteria (they help digest food, create serotonin, create B vitamins and more), but other microbes can cause disease, especially when they are out of balance.
In today's bacteria phobic world, we use antibacterial soaps, we pasteurize milk and juice, and we kill as many bacteria as possible in an attempt to create an antiseptic environment with no regard to the healthy bacteria we destroy. In addition, we take antibiotics without considering the indiscriminate destruction of the healthy bacteria we need for optimum health.
Candida is opportunistic. Whenever it sees an opening, like when we consume refined foods, Candida increases its numbers. It flourishes. And when it does, it wreaks havoc on its host. It doesn't just live inside of us, it feeds off of us. It changes from a one celled yeast to grow filaments that bore through our tissues--not only in the gut, but in other organs as well. Enzymes are released from these filaments that digest our tissues. Then the Candida soaks up nutrition from the cells it destroys as well as the food we eat.
The balance of Candida to beneficial flora is ever changing. Beneficial bacteria vie for dominance in the gut. As the balance shifts (like when we aren't eating foods that feed it) and Candida die off, the dying Candida releases 79 different toxins into our system. These toxins make us feel ill. As it continues to attack us from the inside, we eat a little sugar (or a lot of sugar) and we feel better because we have just fed the Candida and ended the die off process. Candida flourishes again (along with bad bacteria, which also likes sugar). You eat a little better, Candida dies off. You feel bad. You eat sugar. The cycle continues.
When the level of Candida rises to the point it causes ear infections, gum infections, sinus infections, vaginal infections, tooth infections, or skin infections, we may put two and two together and realize there is a cause and effect every time we eat sugar because we feel the negative results almost immediately. This is due to a low level of chronic infection that flares every time we feed the Candida.
Foods that feed Candida include concentrated sugars (corn syrup, sugar, agave, fruit juice, etc.). and other refined foods (sugars, flours, bread, pasta, white rice, etc.). Alcohol also indirectly promotes Candida growth. For those with particularly bad Candida, even a lack of sleep and other things that weaken the immune system actually can feed Candida (they feed off of our weakest cells, sleep deprivation depletes individual cell health).
You can rid your body of Candida naturally and get of the sugar roller coaster ride, but it will take time and discipline.
There are a number of herbs and supplements that will boost your immune system, kill off the Candida, and increase your beneficial bacteria.
Once that's over, you'll have no excuses. If you eat that chocolate, it's on you. Check out How to Kill Candida and Bullet Proof Your Immune System. If you're consuming sweets and other refined foods over the holidays, be sure to have a good probiotic and a couple of other items on hand to kill excess yeast. Garlic works great too (see the first source below for more on that amazing herb).
Sources:
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/garl... target="_blank">http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://truthwiki.org/Garlic
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/issu... target="_blank">http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com
http://www.naturalnews.comhttp://www.natural... target="_blank">http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/047068_immune_sys... target="_blank">http://www.naturalnews.com
http://www.naturalnews.com/047184_candida_de... target="_blank">http://www.naturalnews.com
About the author:
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for' target='_blank'>http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/"> Organic Lifestyle Magazine and Green' target='_blank'>http://www.greenlifestylemarket.com">Green Lifestyle Market. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from ADHD, allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia.
Conventional medicine wasn't working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.
Michael Edwards is the founder, owner, editor-in-chief, and janitor for Organic Lifestyle Magazine and Green Lifestyle Market. At age 17, Michael weighed more than 360 pounds. He suffered from ADHD, allergies, frequent bouts of illness, and chronic, debilitating insomnia.
Conventional medicine wasn't working. While he restored his health through alternative medicine he studied natural health and became immersed in it.
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