Candida Die Off Symptoms

Contents:
• Symptoms of Candida Die Off
• What is Candida?
• Candidiasis
• Invasive Candidiasis
• What Causes Candida Overgrowth?
• Toxins Released By Yeast Removal
• Treatment Options
• Conclusions

Candida die off symptoms include: weak/sore muscles, headache, digestive problems (gas, bloating, constipation or diarrhea), fatigue, fever, chills, rapid heartbeat, skin rashes/itching and a mild decrease in blood pressure. These symptoms arise when the Candida microorganisms living inside the body are rapidly destroyed, releasing waste and toxins that were once trapped inside these cells into the body all at once. These symptoms can arise from things like rapid changes in eating (candida diet), medications and the overgrowth hitting such a point that the offending fungus greatly outstrips its food supply. The process generally lasts about a week, be sure to report severe reactions or symptoms that last longer to your doctor.

Symptoms of Candida Die-Off:

• weak/sore muscles
• headache
• digestive problems (gas, bloating, constipation or diarrhea)
• fatigue
• fever
• chills
• rapid heartbeat
• skin rashes/itching
• mild decrease in blood pressure

The usual response to Candida Die-Off Symptoms is to manage the reaction at home using Over-The-Counter medications or natural remedies. Although uncomfortable, these symptoms should pass in about a week or less. Nonetheless, be sure to tell your doctor because the symptoms you experience because they can sometimes be mitigated by reducing doses of medications. Very rarely, a person will have a serious allergic reaction to a medication, so severe symptoms should be reported to your healthcare team immediately. If you think you are having a medical emergency, call 911. That said, most cases are not serious and the symptoms may resolve on their own.

This cluster of symptoms was first observed when doctors began using antibiotics to treat disease and is known as the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction. Doctors noticed a strange phenomenon when treating sick patients with high doses of antibiotics: killing off the infection and curing the patient often produced strange flu-like symptoms. The most common reason cause of the Jarisch-Herxheimer Reaction are taking high doses of antifungals or antibiotics, but the condition can also occur when rapid changes of diet cause large-scale die-off of gut microflora overgrowth (also see: SIBO Diet).

What is Candida?

Candida is a type of yeast (a single-celled microorganism of the fungus family). Small numbers of this yeast are commonly found in human gut flora, in the mouth, on the skin and reproductive organs. Candida Albicans is the most prevalent variety, and is present within the GI tract of about half of healthy adults. The presence of candida on and within the human body is usually harmless, but it is still considered an “opportunistic pathogen” because an overgrowth results in an infection known as Candidiasis.

Candidiasis

Candidiasis is a fungal infection defined by an overgrowth of candida yeast. The most recognizable (and usually least harmful) forms being oral thrush or a yeast infection. In healthy people, these conditions are generally not serious and can usually be dealt with using over-the-counter treatments or a simple visit to the doctor.

Invasive Candidiasis

Risk Factors for Invasive Candidiasis
• Being an ICU Patient
• Multiple Surgeries
• Central Venous Catheters
• Pre-term babies
• Diabetics
• People being fed via IV
• Hospitalized patients receiving high doses of antibiotics
• Those with weakened immune systems: organ transplant, cancer, chemotherapy, HIV/AIDS

In those with compromised immune systems due to severe injury or illness, candida overgrowth can be more problematic. In hospital Intensive Care Units populated by medically fragile patients, the fungus can infect the bloodstream as well as organs like the liver, kidneys, heart and brain. This is a more serious medical condition known as invasive candidiasis. Invasive candidiasis can be hard to prevent in hospitals because these yeasts are normally present in/on our skin, mucous membranes and intestines. Making matters worse, medical researchers note that some strains of candida are evolving to become drug-resistant, making treating the condition more difficult (PubMed: Drug Resistance in Candida).

Most people do not need to be alarmed by the above statements because invasive candidiasis is a concern in the hospital environment and for at-risk patient groups, it is not a high concern for generally healthy people. But, be sure to speak with your doctor about your risk factors.

What Causes Candida Overgrowth?

Contributing Factors for Candida Overgrowth

• The Western/Standard-American Diet
• Antibiotics
• Hormone Drugs (Birth Control, Hormone Replacement)
• Slow Digestion

A discussion of candida die-off deserves some mention of what would cause an overgrowth. While there are a number of factors associated with fungal overgrowth in the body, the most common contributing factor is consuming too much sugar and refined carbohydrates. Other health conditions that make yeast overgrowth more likely include heavy antibiotic use, hormone medications (including birth control) and steroid medications. Medical research also shows a link between Candida overgrowth and chronic inflammation. Although Candida Albicans in the GI tract is generally considered benign, a growing body of evidence suggests that inflammatory lesions in the gut promote excess colonization of opportunistic pathogen yeasts. In turn, excessive yeast colonization of candida in the intestines leads to the release of of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17 that leads to new lesions and even more yeast colonization.

…Candida colonization delays healing of inflammatory lesions and that inflammation promotes colonization. These effects may create a vicious cycle in which low-level inflammation promotes fungal colonization and fungal colonization promotes further inflammation. -PubMed, National Institute of Health

Research is ongoing, but the evidence that links chronic inflammation to a host of health conditions and GI issues is becoming increasingly compelling as our understanding of gut microbiome continues to expand. The Western Diet (Standard American Diet) has long been associated with a host of preventable health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and autoimmune conditions. With this new research into gut microflora, researchers are beginning to understand more about why & how the Standard American Diet is harmful.

The Western Diet that is high in refined carbs/sugar is the most common preventable risk factor among those with candida overgrowth. sweeteners like corn syrup and sugar alcohols like sorbitol that are found in many processed foods provide easy meals for yeast cultures that grow in the digestive tract. In fact, these simple carbohydrates are a perfect food-source for unhelpful

“Carbohydrates consumed in the diet are the primary and preferred nutrient sources for Candida albicans” -PubMed, National Institute of Health.

Anyone familiar with making bread or brewing beer will recall that these yeasts multiply quickly at warm temperatures when they have an ample food supply of simple carbohydrates. Bread yeasts are fed with carbohydrates in the form of flour or sugar, while yeast for alcohol is fed with carbohydrates like grains, sugar, fruit juice, honey, syrups/nectar etc. Given this, it makes sense that consuming large amounts of these types of foods would make one more likely to feed a candida overgrowth in the gut.

Hormone replacement drugs and hormone imbalance can also lead to increased instances of Candida overpopulation, particularly for cases of recurring female yeast infections. Hormonal changes create an environment wherein the balance between bacteria and fungus becomes imbalanced, leading to fungus (yeasts like candida) to take over. Interestingly, our food choices and gut health can have a notable influence on hormone imbalance (see: How to lose weight with Hashimoto’s). Poor gut health contributes to hormone imbalance, hormone imbalance encourages yeast overgrowth, yeast overgrowth promotes inflammation that taxes the immune system leading to even more fungal growth.

Another factor involved in properly balanced gut flora is GI motility. Overly slow digestion can encourage a number of unhealthy digestive issues including SIBO. It may be unpleasant, but when it takes too long to digest the food in our gut, that food can begin to rot inside us. This condition of food beginning to decompose inside of us can take the form of fungal proliferation.