Candida Overgrowth : Causes, Symptoms, Tests & Treatment

Candida overgrowth or yeast overgrowth is a common fungal infection caused by a yeast-like fungi called candida.

In a healthy state, the good bacteria in the gut controls the growth of candida. When this balance is being disturbed, candida changes into a more aggressive fungal form that spreads and causes a wide variety of symptoms all over the body.

Most candida overgrowth and yeast infections in humans are caused by a strand of yeast called Candida Albicans.

Treat The Cause Not The Symptoms

If there’s one thing you should remember from this article, let it be this.

A common problem with candida overgrowth is to only treat the symptoms without addressing the source of the overgrowth. You can take the strongest candida medication, as long as the source of the infection is left untreated, chances are you will keep getting chronic candida and yeast infections.

Finding the cause, however, is not always simple. To help you with this process, you may want to see the sections below in this article:

Candida Test & Diagnosis.
Symptoms.
Causes.

Candida infection and candida overgrowth

how do you get candida?

It is believed by many health experts that in north America 7 out of 10 people suffer from yeast and candida overgrowth issues. The excess candida yeast overgrowth can cause multiple issues in different parts of the body; having to deal with all these unpleasant symptoms of candida overgrowth all at once can be unbearable in many cases.

One of the main reasons candida overgrowth has become so common, has to do with the way modern life has changed our health. Poor diets, processed foods, high usage of medications, ongoing amount of stress and many other unnatural factors can put our bodies into a state that it is designed to handle (source).

As a result, our body’s entire ecosystem changes, with less good bacteria to support good health and protect us against various pathogens and threats. In this environment, candida thrives, grows out of control and cause many health problems.

In order to properly treat candida and yeast overgrowth, the first step is to understand what is causing candida to overgrow in the body. Each case may be different and therefore the needed treatment may be completely different as well.

The bottom line: before you try to kill candida by taking any medication for candida overgrowth, candida remedies, herbal remedies for yeast infection or other yeast infection remedies, you have to find out the reason and the yeast infection causes.

What is Candida Overgrowth?

Also known as: candidiasis, yeast overgrowth, systemic candida, systemic yeast infection, candida overgrowth syndrome

Candida overgrowth is a common fungal infection caused by a yeast-like fungi called candida. Candida is normally found in small amounts in the digestive system, mouth, vagina and skin. In a healthy state, the growth of candida is being controlled by the good bacteria in our body (source 1, source 2, source 3)

Candida overgrowth syndrome occurs when the balance between candida and the good bacteria in the body is being disturbed. Candida as an opportunistic organism (source), changes into a more aggressive fungal form that spreads and releases over 80 different toxins. These toxins can get anywhere in the body, suppress the immune system and cause a wide variety of health issues all over the body. Most candida overgrowth and yeast infections are caused by a strand of yeast called Candida Albicans. (source 1, source 2, source 3).

Yeast overgrowth symptoms and your well-being

When you have candida yeast overgrowth, it means that there a problem in your body causing candida and yeast to grow out of control. As a result, your body has excess amounts of yeast and candida.

The excess candida and yeast usually cause multiple symptoms in different parts of the body. Many of the candida overgrowth symptoms are physical. Common symptoms include painful vaginal yeast infections, oral thrush, digestive issues, bloating, skin rashes and others.

There is however, another side to the yeast overgrowth symptoms: Very often, yeast overgrowth can affect your well-beings.
Many people that have yeast overgrowth experience alarming symptoms such as mood swings, depression, brain fog, extreme fatigue, low levels of energy, strong “uncontrollable” cravings for sweets and more.
This is very common and often a part of a healing crises of candida die off symptoms during the treatment due to the high toxins levels released by the dying candida.

If you are currently trying to treat your candida overgrowth and notice worsening in your symptoms, you may have healing crises. For more info, please see our candida die-off symptoms expert guide. It is specifically designed to help avoid and minimize these unpleasant symptoms.

Candida Overgrowth Symptoms

Candida symptoms list

Candida overgrowth symptoms usually affect multiple areas in the body, both internal and external. Identifying the connection between the different candida overgrowth symptoms to the systemic candida overgrowth problem is one of the most important parts of the candida treatment.

Health providers usually look for these signs of yeast infection during the candida overgrowth test for candida overgrowth in addition to risk factors based on your medical history, lab tests such as candida stool test, urine test and others. The goal is to find out how did you get candida overgrowth and treat the root cause of these symptoms rather than treating each symptom individually.

Identifying the connection between all the symptoms and the candida overgrowth problem is sometimes challenging. One example is candida in men which is very common, although often overlooked. A lot of men have untreated candida overgrowth symptoms all over their body for years as a result of a systemic candida overgrowth. In many of these cases however, the candida overgrowth problem is only identified once the symptoms become more severe.

Common signs of candida overgrowth may include:

External Symptoms of Candida Overgrowth

Skin: Skin breakouts, acne, itchy skin, candida rash, yeast rash, eczema, psoriasis, hives, skin fungal infections such as: athlete’s foot (tinea pedis) , jock itch, ringworm.
Nails: Toenail fungus and other nail fungal infections.
Mouth: Oral thrush, coated tongue, throat infection.
Genitals: Recurrent vaginal yeast infections or male yeast infection, urinary tract infections (UTI), anus itching, rectal itching, vaginal itching, irritation, burning, thick vaginal discharge.
Respiratory system : Sinus infection, sinus drainage.

Internal Symptoms of Candida Overgrowth

Well-being: Irritability, anxiety, fever, mood swings, depression, dizziness, increased sweating, craving for sweets or high carb foods.
Cognitive function: brain fog, poor memory, difficulty concentrating, lack of focus, ADD or ADHD.
Pain: Headache, increased joint or muscle pain, fibromyalgia like symptoms (fibrositis).
Energy levels: Chronic fatigue, feeling constantly tired, exhaustion.
Immune system: weaken immune system, constantly sick, allergies.
Digestive System: Intestinal distress and digestive issues: indigestion, bloating, gas, constipation or diarrhea, nausea, acid reflux, mucus and candida in stool.

For a complete list of candida overgrowth symptoms, see candida symptoms list.

It is very important to identify all the symptoms of candida overgrowth, as they may help uncover the root cause of the overgrowth. As we mentioned earlier, the root cause of the overgrowth may differ from one person to another and therefore the needed treatment may be completely different as well.

How to Diagnose Candida Overgrowth

Many people that get tested for a yeast infection, often find themselves more confused after they get the results than before they got tested. The candida tests that are commonly available today do not always identify the overgrowth or its severity. In addition, people’s tolerance and response to the candida overgrowth may be different in terms of symptoms and the way they feel. For this reason, healthcare professionals usually rely on multiple factors to diagnose candida overgrowth, including the patient’s symptoms, medical history, physical examination, and laboratory tests. In many cases, the existence of multiple candida overgrowth symptoms along with risks factors are good indications to start the treatment for candida overgrowth.

Candida Overgrowth Test

Candida overgrowth test and yeast infection test often present challenges to patients and health practitioners in getting an accurate candida diagnosis. Many of the candida test kit and lab tests that are commonly available are not always enough to identify the candida overgrowth or its severity. One of the reasons for this is that it is normal to find candida in the body. People’s tolerance and response to the candida overgrowth may be completely different in terms of symptoms and the way they feel.

For this reason, healthcare professionals usually rely on multiple factors to test for candida overgrowth and yeast infection issues (source). These candida overgrowth tests include:

Existing candida overgrowth symptoms.
Medical history of the patient.
Physical examination.
Laboratory tests such as candida stool test, saliva test (not the candida spit test myth!), blood test, urine test, candida antibodies test, skin test, vaginal discharge test, and others.

The existence of multiple candida overgrowth and yeast infection symptoms along with risks factors are usually good indications to start the treatment for candida overgrowth.

Regarding the candida spit test myth, we get many questions on the candida spit test accuracy, so we published a brief experts review on the candida spit test. The bottom line: if you are looking for a reliable yeast overgrowth test, this test for candida is not a good option. To learn more: candida spit test.

Do you have signs of candida overgrowth?

This online candida overgrowth test was specifically developed to help you identify if your symptoms and medical history might be related to candida and yeast overgrowth.
We start with the major ones, and continue with more detailed symptoms based on your individual findings.

Becoming aware of all these symptoms and how they are all related are the keys to a complete candida overgrowth cure. Seeing the complete picture can help to find how exactly did you get candida overgrowth. It is very important to identify and address the root cause of your issues rather than treating individual symptoms. Learn more.

Candida Overgrowth Causes

Candida overgrowth causes must be clearly identified before starting the candida overgrowth treatment. You want to understand what causes candida overgrowth in your body.

We can’t stress this enough. The root cause must be clearly identified in order to know how to cure candida overgrowth in your body. The needed treatment may be completely different from one person to another. The one treatment plan fits all doesn’t work for candida overgrowth since there are many different causes of candida overgrowth. Each case may be different.

The first step in knowing how to treat candida overgrowth is to identify what causes candida overgrowth in your body.

Common Candida Overgrowth Causes

Below are the most common candida overgrowth causes. If any of these apply to you, we included quick links to relevant experts guides that may help you to treat and learn more about these causes.

Candida Overgrowth Cause	Candida Overgrowth Treatment to Include
Antibiotics, corticosteroids (source).	Probiotics for candida.
Contraceptive pill, birth control pill (source).	Probiotics for candida.
Blood sugar issues or uncontrolled diabetes (source).	Candida diet.
Diet high in sugars (source).	Candida diet.
Food allergies.	Candida diet Digestive enzymes for candida.
A weakened immune system (source).	Natural remedies for immune system.
Chronic constipation.	Overnight toxins flush.
Digestive issues.	Overnight toxins flush Candida diet Digestive enzymes for candida.
Chronic stress (source).	Dietary antioxidants.
Reduced Antioxidant Capacity (source).	Dietary antioxidants.
Heavy metals or chemicals toxicity issues.	Heavy metals cleanse protocol.

Other causes and risk factors of candida overgrowth may include:

Hormonal imbalances.
High estrogen levels due to birth control pills, hormone therapy, during pregnancy or others.
High levels of stress (ongoing).
Cancer treatments.
Being overweight.
Ongoing lack of sleep or insomnia.

When it comes to vaginal yeast infections which is one the most common symptoms of candida overgrowth, the following may cause or contribute to the vaginal infection:

Using tampons or perfumed toilet paper.
Wearing tight clothing.
Use of certain feminine hygiene products that alter the good bacteria in the vagina.

These cases can be easily prevented with proper care and are also beneficial for yeast infection cure. To learn more, see: prevention treatment for vaginal yeast infections.

References: (source 1, source 2, source 3, source 4, source 5, source 6)

Candida Overgrowth Treatment

Cleanse the excess candida, repair the damage caused by the overgrowth.

Our candida overgrowth treatment plan is very simple and has proven to be very effective – create a natural environment in the body where candida can’t overgrow while optimizing the body’s ability to repair the damage caused by the overgrowth.

Mail me the plan.

STEP 1 Candida Diet
Avoid foods that overfeed candida or weaken your immune system.
Consume foods & remedies that help your body to naturally balance the overgrowth.
Digestive enzymes to help with the transition to the candida diet.

STEP 2 Anti Candida Supplements

Colon Cleanse, Probiotics, Enzymes, Antifungals, Vitamins.
Cleanse the candida overgrowth and excess yeast toxins.
Help your body repair damage caused by the overgrowth.

STEP 3 Remedies for Quick Relief
The overnight toxins flush remove candida yeast toxins and accumulated waste from your body.
Topical skin creams ease skin discomforts such as yeast infection rash, eczema, itchy skin.
Topical nail creams help with the nail and toenail infections.
Vaginal yeast infection creams or Male yeast infection creams.

STEP 4 Check Your Progress
Candida test : Did your score and symptoms get better?
Update the candida overgrowth plan (when needed).

Common issues with yeast overgrowth treatment

The candida and yeast overgrowth treatment should be tailored to the individual state of health, needs and lifestyle. What worked for 9 people can make the 10th person condition worse. Some people body is so sensitive, that any change can cause them severe discomfort and health issues. We see many protocols for candida treatment that require extreme dietary and lifestyle changes, while all that is really needed for some people are minor dietary changes.

A good example to that is the candida diet:

Candida overgrowth diet

One of the reasons many candida overgrowth diet plans fail, is that they operate under the assumption that all people should eat the same. Knowing what foods to eat on the candida overgrowth diet in general is one thing. Understanding what foods work the best for you may be a completely different story.

It is very important to remember that in order for the candida diet plan to work, it has to be tailored to the individual state of health, needs and lifestyle. An active person has significantly different needs than someone who is not active at all. They can’t be on the same candida diet meal plan.
In addition, people bodies, especially the digestion system tend to differ from each other. This is due to genetics, environmental diversity, and many other factors.

What does it all mean? The same food that may benefit some people, can harm others. This applies even to healthy foods that are on the candida diet food list that are considered to be the best foods for candida overgrowth. You have to make sure your body agrees with these foods and candida diet recipes with them. This is especially important since many people develop foods sensitivities due the damage caused by the candida overgrowth to the digestive tract. You can follow the best candida diet cleanse plans; as long as you are sensitive to some of the foods in your plan, you may not be able to resolve your candida issues.

Bottom line:

The one candida treatment fits all do not really exist. The candida overgrowth treatment that works is based on education. This way you understand the reason behind the changes you make and know how to read the signs your body is sending you as a response to these changes.

With this knowledge, you become more aware; sharing your new observations with your your health practitioner turns into a healthy interactive discussion and in many cases – a much more effective treatment.

To learn more about the candida overgrowth diet:

Candida Diet Experts Guide
A complete whole foods based candida overgrowth diet guide that covers all the facts you need to know so you can build your own candida overgrowth diet plan that meets your your body’s specific needs and also satisfies your taste buds and lifestyle.
Feeling satisfied after a meal is as important as getting the health benefits from it.
Inside:
Why candida diets fail.
Candida foods to avoid and to eat.
Candida cleanse diet food list.
Constipation and candida diet.
Probiotic Foods and Candida Diet.
Common candida diet mistakes.

Our Approach to Candida Treatment

Our approach to candida and yeast overgrowth is holistic. This means that we look at the body as a whole. Rather than trying to “fix” individual candida and yeast infection symptoms, we work with the entire body so it can naturally heal. We do it by removing “obstacles” that prevent your body from healing, as well as providing the body key nutrients that are required to correct the damage caused by the candida overgrowth.

This simple approach has proven to be very effective and also very safe. Overtime, you create a natural healthy environment in the body where candida can’t overgrow, while at the same time optimizing the body’s ability to recover and heal.

To learn more, see our candida treatment protocol experts guide.