candida questions – Page 3 – Candida Crusher.Com

Candida Question #37 Can the estrogen pill cause a yeast infection?

I don’t think it can cause a yeast infection as such, but it can certainly help to proliferate or exacerbate a Candida yeast infection in a person’s body.

Estrogen pills, patches or creams are often prescribed for women for various reasons. It could be as part of oral contraception or also as part of the perimenopausal or menopausal treatment when a woman has a declining estrogen level. Estrogen is a proliferative hormone, so it has an interesting effect on tissue and what we do know of is it is certainly implicated in exacerbating or causing huge blow outs of yeast infections.

I have seen this on many occasions. Many women I’ve seen in their 40s, 50s, and 60s have, in fact, had quite a major problem with a yeast infection after being prescribed oral estrogen for menopause. And these products are often prescribed for anxiety or hot flashes or thinning of the vaginal tissue, and they can certainly be of assistance here, but we know now that these products are also implicated in increasing the risk of breast cancer. I have certainly seen many other side effects as a result of these. They can include breast pain or dizziness or even liver toxicity. There are many issues involved around estrogen in women.

So if you have noticed an increase in itching, discharge or yeast-related symptoms or signs, which you can read in my book, Candida Crusher, do see your physician. And one product I would certainly recommend you try is an herb called Black Cohosh. Black Cohosh is a good herb to use for perimenopause and menopause. Vitamin E is often of benefit as well. But do see your naturopath or health care professional regarding taking these kinds of products.

But if you believe you have an issue here, see your practitioner and discuss whether you need estrogen or not and what your alternatives are.

Candida Question #31 Is Candida Yeast Infection Common in Toddlers?

It certainly is and it’s something that I do see regularly. I saw more yeast infections in toddlers when I lived in Australia in a warmer client than I do in New Zealand.

There are a couple of contributing factors to yeast infections in infants and particular toddlers. And one of them is diapers or nappies. You need to be quite careful using nappies with children. Using the cotton nappies often will mean you’re going to use a plastic cover for this diaper, and if you don’t change frequently, you can get more skin irritation and also a lot more warmth or heat generation which can predispose toward yeast infection.

Remember that yeast likes warm, dark, moist areas and skin folds of a baby’s legs and thighs and groin area can be a perfect breeding ground for Candida albicans. Often your doctor can do a skin scraping and determine whether the child has a Candida infection or not.

So some good preventative measures for you would be to change the diapers more frequently, perhaps use some calendula cream which is anti-fungal, allow the child to run around and be exposed to air, light and some sunshine, and to be quite cautious with cotton diapers. Even though I’m not a big fan of disposables, I think, if a child does have a yeast problem or a skin rash, I would recommend you switch to disposable diapers and use them more frequently, and you’ll soon get on top of the infection.

Also be careful of what the child has to eat or drink because this can obviously cause a problem. And I’ve also seen cases of the mother taking an antibiotic. If she’s breastfeeding, the child will get a good dose of the antibiotics, which can help to bring on a yeast infection as well.

So these are all factors that you need to take into account with a toddler and a yeast infection. So I hope that answers your question.

Candida Question #30 Is There Any Benefit of Carrot Juice In Yeast Infection Diet?

I occasionally get patients asking me what specific juices can I have to really nail this yeast infection. I love carrot juice or I love apple juice or I love orange juice. Can these juices be of an advantage to me?

Yes and no. In my book, I write about the three different types of ways you can consume juices. I’ve got the beginner, the intermediate and advanced way of juicing. When you begin juicing, if you’re not used to it, the sweeter juices are often palatable. And as you progress and get more experience, you can go for the more bitter juices, including broccoli, kale, and spinach. These are the more beneficial juices, as they are more phytonutrient dense juices.

I would recommend that you be very careful with carrot juice because it has a high sucrose content. Many people tend to make juice and they tend to throw the fiber out and just consume the juice. This is quite a high sugar load and is not a very good idea when you’ve got Candida to consume a high sugar load.

So I would recommend that you would not have carrot juice, initially, unless you consume it in small amounts along with celery and perhaps some green tart apple. In small amounts, you’ll probably be okay. But you really want to reserve carrot juice until your gut improves down the track. And when you do do it, perhaps a good idea for you is to look at perhaps a Vita Mix juicer, which I use, which will incorporate all the fiber as well as the juice which you can dilute with some water. That way, you’re going to slow the amount of sugar uptake in the gut.

In nature, you don’t find things growing as pure sucrose or fructose. They will always come in combination with fiber. And I believe the best way to consume vegetable juice or fruit juice is by consuming the fiber along with the juice. So give that a try.