Candida is a fungal infection the for the most part affects the mouth, private parts and toenails.  Candida is an overgrowth of the fungus which often happens after a course of antibiotics which destroys the friendly gut bacteria that keeps yeast and fungus in check. It is very annoying and can be difficult to get rid of especially toenail fungi.  I have direct experience with this toenail fungi which had been a problem for many years.

It is fair to say then that the key to treating candida is not necessarily topical.  The source is an imbalance of the gut microbiome. I have tried countless topical treatments for toenail fungi some have worked some have not, however until you address the cause it will always return.  The gut microbiome is where we must focus our efforts. 

Just for background the gut is populated by microorganisms living in the digestive tract that consist of bacteria, yeast and fungi.  Some are friendly and some are unfriendly.  Ideally, we want the balance to be mostly friendly bacteria and a nice variety of the same.  These as mentioned before keep the more unfriendly such as yeast and fungi at bay.  When there is an imbalance, the unfriendly little critters take over and manifest in and on the body in various ways, one of which being candida. There are three things you can do to address this imbalance and rid yourself of candida for good.

1. Vitamin D

Vitamin D3 is also known as cholecalciferol, this form of vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium and phosphorous.  It is initially made by the skin when exposed to sunlight, however, most of us especially in countries that have long winters or poor summers like the UK! are deficient in D3. Vitamin D is vital for bone health as it supports bone mineralisation and density.  It also plays a critical role in our immune system and muscle strength. 

That sounds great I hear you say but what does that have to do with getting rid of candida? Well, vitamin D has excellent antifungal properties and is also a broad-spectrum antimicrobial.  Vitamin D when taken in adequate quantities can help kill unfriendly microorganisms.  As I have already said the unfriendly gut microbes are the problem. Candida being a fungi vitamin D will help in the battle to keep this enemy in check! The official RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance) for this vital vitamin is about 2000 IU (international units).  If you are not getting this amount, you are definitely deficient as even this is considered to be too low.  It is recommended to get enough vitamin D you need 30-40 minutes of exposure to sunlight per day.  For darker-skinned people, this can be a problem in North American or European nations as of course the more melanin in the skin is designed to protect from the UV spectrum of sunlight, therefore, the more melanin you have the less UV you absorb thus inhibiting the production of vitamin D. To address candida 20,000 to 30,000 IU’s should be taken per day.  Remember to take a supplement that combines D3 with vitamin K. The best sources of vitamin D are oily fish such as salmon and sardines, egg yolks, liver (avoid if pregnant) cod liver oil. 

2. Remove sugar from your diet

I have some very bad news for you, candida and unfriendly fungi love sugar!  They thrive on it!  Too much sugar is an enemy of a well-balanced gut.  When I say sugar, we are not just referring to refined sugar such as the obvious foods; cakes, biscuits, sweets, chocolate and sugary drinks, the list encompasses carbohydrates in general.  You probably already know that bread and white flour foods (pastries etc) are not the best foods in the world, but did you know that even fruit is not best consumed in high quantities?  Why is this?  Fruit has fructose which is the form of sugar present in most fruits, at the end of the day sugar is sugar, whatever form it enters the body it gets converted into glucose!  So, whether it be from refined sugars, more complex carbohydrates such as potatoes or bread it all is still converted to glucose.  What is the problem with this?  The more sugar you eat the more insulin must be produced to keep your blood sugar levels at the body’s optimum level which is not very high between 4.0 to 5.4 mmol/L

For a normal adult.  Don’t we need sugar for energy I hear you ask?  Yes and no.  If you are overweight for instance, you have plenty of energy for your body to run on it is called stored fat!

Even if you are not overweight you still have quite a bit of fat your body can run on without the external fuel sources from consumed sugar.  I recommend that you eliminate sugar from your diet, main foods to focus on:

Bread

Cakes/sweets/chocolate/pastries

Potatoes

Rice

Seed oils

Most Fruit (except some berries)

I also recommend a healthy keto diet; this will not only deal with the sugar cravings and the candida, but you will also lose weight to boot!

3. Probiotics Foods

What are probiotic foods?  These are foods that have been fermented.  They have been produced using certain bacteria, yeast and other friendly bacteria that break down the sugars, this is known as fermentation. It was originally in tradition used to preserve foods in times when there was no refrigeration. The benefits of fermented foods are that they are chock full of live probiotics, very often called a superfood.  We have already discussed the importance of a healthy microbiome to get rid of candida.  Fermented foods will help to repopulate your gut with friendly bacteria to assist in the elimination of these annoying fungi. 

Ensure that when you purchase it is a product that contains live probiotics and is not pasteurised. Pasteurisation subjects a product to extremely high heat which of course will destroy the live bacteria.  Another benefit of fermented foods is that they enhance the taste of what can be quite banal foods such as cabbage (sauerkraut). So, the most popular fermented foods include:

Kefir

Kombucha

Sauerkraut

Tempeh

Natto

Miso

Kimchi

I hope you found this information helpful please share and subscribe to my blog. Also, let me know what you did with the advice provided email me at [email protected].

See you again soon.