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If you’ve ever taken a strong antibiotic, or have an impaired immune system, you may be susceptible to a candida overgrowth. While not dangerous, these overgrowths can cause fatigue, digestive and skin issues, or fungal infections of the skin, nails and genitals. How much is too much, and how can you get rid of excess candida if you are experiencing these symptoms?

Candida is a family of yeasts that are the most common cause of fungal infections worldwide. Most of the time, candida live harmlessly on the skin and in the mucous membranes of the respiratory, gastrointestinal, and female genital tracts, kept in check by the healthy bacteria in your gut and your immune system.

Overgrowths can occur when the immune system is compromised, or from taking a strong antibiotic that kills off that good bacteria. Other contributing factors to these overgrowths are a diet high in sugar, alcohol and refined carbohydrates—which feed the yeast—stress, and oral contraceptives.

The treatment for candida overgrowth is two-pronged: First, we want to get rid of the yeast overgrowth, and then we want to re-introduce gut-friendly bacteria that will keep the yeast in check in the future. In order to get the overgrowth under control, the first step is to eliminate all foods from the diet that are high in refined carbohydrates, alcohols and sugars, such as bread, pasta, candy, and even fruit and starchy vegetables.

Modifications in diet alone can take up to six months to produce a significant change in candida levels, so it’s also important to add a complementary candida detoxification formula, such as SafeCare’s Candida Rx Formula, the High Potency 9 Multi-Strain Formula from Aquaflora, or Innate Response’s DysBio formula. These products help get the yeast under control quickly so that you can begin to re-introduce healthy bacteria and enzymes to your system.

The second step is to introduce probiotics to boost the good bacteria in your gut. Increase your intake of foods that are rich in probiotics, such as yogurt and fermented products—pickles, kombucha or sauerkraut—to encourage the growth of these beneficial bacteria. Products such as Aquaflora’s Probiotic Restoration and Enzyme Restoration also help restore the good bacteria in the upper and lower GI tract, and may start relieving symptoms immediately. It’s also important to take a daily probiotic in order to maintain this yeast-unfriendly environment, such as Flora 50-14, or Probiotic 42.5.

Candida overgrowths can be stubborn and hard to treat, but with the right diet and the right products, it’s possible to get your yeast levels under control and find relief from a multitude of chronic symptoms.

At this point, we’ve probably all heard about raspberry ketones. Ever since Dr. Oz touted them as a “miracle fat-burner in a bottle” nearly two years ago, the market for the supplement has exploded. But what are raspberry ketones, and how do they help you lose weight?

Raspberry ketones are a naturally occurring phenolic compound found in raspberries—as well as cranberries and blackberries—that give them a sweet, fruity smell. They’re used in cosmetics, food manufacturing and perfumery to give products from candles to candy that familiar berry scent, and are one of the most expensive natural flavorings used in the food industry; one kilogram of raspberries only produces 1-4 milligrams of raspberry ketones! Because of this, raspberry ketones can also be synthesized using related natural compounds.

Dr. Oz’s exaggerated claims about the fat-burning capabilities of raspberry ketones have provoked a backlash from many experts, but preliminary clinical studies have shown some promising weight-management effects. [Read more…]

One of the most insidious of tricks played upon us by the universe is the activity of SLOW entropy or disintegration that sneaks up on us and does its work slowly. Think of Mr. Frog, who is sitting in a refreshing, cool pond on a hot summer day. Mr. Frog is unaware that he is sitting in a big black frying pan, so big that he cannot see the edges of this frying pan because they are camouflaged by trees in the distance.

What Mr. Frog doesn’t realize is that someone is slowly turning up the heat on the pan, and, as we all know, he never even realizes the change and eventually dies from the heat instead of leaving the confines of the pan.

Things that are gradual in nature tend to go unnoticed by humans in this insidiously slow way, too. It is the same thing with toxin accumulation, as explained by the brilliant Hans Reckeweg and his work in homotoxicology, which is Naturopathic Learning 101.

Humans today are facing many similar situations regarding the poisoning of their bodies via air, water, food, cosmetics, medicine, and now even some of the vitamins they consume. Right now everyone in the world is being affected at some level, not only by Fukushima, but by many other pollutants in our exterior and interior environments.

There is probably nothing more important than indulging in lifestyle habits that help to keep your body clean at the cellular level. Consistent detoxification habits will become a necessity for the foreseeable future for those wanting to maintain optimal health. In Naturopathic school (a few years back) we spoke of the emunctories. Emunctories are the organs of elimination, and while many people equate elimination with the bowels, detoxification occurs through our lungs, kidneys, skin, eyes and ears.

While many people would say that the skin is the largest organ of elimination because of its surface area, it is actually the intestinal system of the body that has the largest surface area if you were to spread it out; it also weighs vastly more than the skin and has many more cells.

While much can be written and discussed about what organs and systems to detoxify and what toxins to detoxify, I prefer to begin detoxification with the intestinal tract. From there, we can begin to talk about deeper detoxification with more and more refined products and protocols.

Since our bodies are 70-80% water depending on our age, it is important that we have a daily intake of clean water that is biologically beneficial in regards to its dyne potential and ORP. We will revisit the complex subject of water at a later date, but for now, know that consuming adequate levels of water is important.

I do not subscribe to the crazy notion that you should drink half your body weight in ounces per day, as this is an unscientific myth and harmful to certain people with low mineralization. Your water intake will also depend on the effectiveness of the water given its biological properties, and your activity levels, types of foods ingested, and physical climate.

The place to start in detoxification is a place that can reduce the number of toxins we create in our bodies in the first place. While we must be aware of and combat external toxins, we are much more affected by toxins being produced in our own bodies from improper diet and faulty digestion.

My favorite LEVEL 1 cleanse starts by implementing a light, wholesome diet of ionized water, 20% fruits, 60% vegetables, and 20% easy-to-digest proteins such as fish, eggs and healthy-detoxification protein powders for more rapid detoxification. Metabolic Detox Complete, made from hemp, rice and pea protein, is an excellent meal-replacement detox formula with increased liver-detoxification nutrients, which also comes in a chocolate flavor, as well as convenient on-the-go packets.

One World Whey raw, unpasteurized whey protein is also a favorite due to its ability to raise glutathione levels and its phenomenal taste. It is available in four great-tasting flavors (vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and unflavored) in 1-lb. and 5-lb. containers.

Because of improper time spent chewing, and the reduction in digestive enzyme strength as we age, the next component to add to a LEVEL 1 detoxification program is a broad-based, effective enzyme product like Digest from Transformation Enzymes, or our all new DigestKare from BioKare.

Foods today are more difficult to digest due to hybridization, the processing of commercial foods and overcooking. By breaking down difficult-to-digest foods with supplemental enzymes, we begin to reduce toxins from undigested proteins (putrefaction), fats (rancidity) and sugars (fermentation). Adding a high-quality probiotic such as the fourteen-strain version found in Innate Response’s Flora 20-14 and Flora 50-14 would be very beneficial in the digestive breakdown process, as good bacteria help to convert foods into more efficient energy production and help eliminate waste materials.

Next, we add a high-quality systemic enzyme product with high proteolytic activity to break down proteins and circulating immune complexes that contribute to food allergies and sensitivities. Between meals, proteolytic enzymes clean the blood stream and improve blood rheology, and, at the same time, purify the lymphatic system from many harmful compounds that would otherwise circulate and deposit in tissues. Anova Health offers Protease from Transformation and the NEW SerrapeptaseKare from BioKare for top choices in high activity systemic proteolytic enzymes.

Finally, we add an easy-to-take and water-based homeopathic formula from SafeCareRx called Total Body Detox to begin to gently cleanse all tissues of heavy metals and chemicals.

This is an excellent 1-3 week program and preparation for a weight-loss program or deeper cleansing programs.