In this post I want to touch on Candida in bowel, how it affects your acne and health and what I think is the best way to deal with it.
I haven’t talked about Candida in bowels because I don’t think it’s an issue you should concerns yourself with. Not because I dismiss it but because it takes care of itself when you follow the diet and lifestyle guidelines in Clear for Life.
This was probably a mistake because it left some unanswered questions. Here’s one comment I got few days back.
As I wrote on one of your blogs, you dismissed some valid concerns a few candida sufferers have about following the method of upping carbs and reducing fat. In one lesson I was informed that insulin resistance due to high fat diet was really the culprit of candida, however later this was proven to only be applicable to the naturally occurring candida in the bloodstream- the back up plan our body has as you said. In another lesson you discussed the concept of leaky gut syndrome that could arise in individuals whose intestinal flora is unbalanced, increasing harmful parasites and yeast such as candida. The candida (as i have confirmed through extensive research) then morphs into a more invasive fungal form, and compromises the integrity of the intestinal wall allowing toxins (and quite possibly the fungal candida itself) to enter the bloodstream. Your reply to my query was that sugar has no effect on the growth of candida and the only chance of eliminating hostile candida was to go on a low fat diet…which makes absolutely no sense b/c if as you said the insulin is unable to (at the moment) stabilize blood sugar, blood candida will have to do the job and the sugar will also feed the candida in the gut…so really you are asking all of us with Candida infection to give the lil buggers a feast.
Two Candidas - one solution
There are two issues here.
- Insulin resistance and other blood sugar problems that allow, or demand, Candida in the bloodstream to multiply.
- Overgrowth of harmful bacteria, Candida and pathogens in the digestive track, also called gut dysbiosis. This can lead to leaky gut syndrome, where toxins from the bowel leak into your body and increase inflammation and overload the elimination organs.
Both of these are important for acne sufferers. If you want to permanently cure your acne you need to deal with both of them. Blood sugar problems lead to constant stream of hormones that increase sebum production. Leaky gut syndrome leads to constant stream of inflammatory toxins into your bloodstream. Both must stop before you can get clear.
I haven’t separated these issues because the same solution works for both problems.
I’ve beaten the issue of blood sugar problems and the role of fat to death, but I’ll touch on it briefly here since she (the person sending the comment) was still concerned about it.
First, high-fat diet is not the only reason behind insulin resistance. Your other lifestyle choices affect it also. Anyway, cutting out fat from your diet is one of the best ways to increase insulin sensitivity. This inevitably means eating more carbohydrates. And since fruits are the healthiest source of carbs, it means upping your fruit intake.
Keeping blood sugar levels stable with high-fruit diet
Second, I never said that sugar has no effect on Candida. Obviously it has. But you need to understand that the key is blood sugar levels, not how much sugar you eat. High and erratic blood sugar levels = Candida, stable blood sugar levels = no problems. And as you’ll see eating sugar doesn’t lead to high blood sugar levels, contrary to what 99% of Candida websites tell you.
In her comment she said that upping carb intake makes no sense because insulin cannot transport the glucose to cells. If this were true it eating more fruits wouldn’t make sense. It would be a very stupid idea.
But it’s not true. As you eat less fat, and fix all the other lifestyle choices that affect insulin sensitivity, insulin starts working again. Yes, you have to go through a transition period, but for most people it’s very short. Like few days. New Clear for Life customers frequently email me telling that the oiliness of their skin reduced almost overnight after switching to Clear for Life diet and lifestyle. A clear indication that their insulin sensitivity improved.
19 bananas a day, no effect on blood sugar levels
When your insulin receptors work well glucose won’t stay in the bloodstream long enough to feed Candida overgrowth. You can eat all the fruit you want and your blood sugar levels remain stable. Steve Pavlina commented about this in his raw food diet trial. Here’s what he had to say.
I monitored my blood sugar using a blood sugar testing device, the same kind diabetics may use. It showed no discernible spikes in blood sugar throughout the trial whatsoever — absolutely none. In fact, my blood sugar remained incredibly steady throughout the trial. My highest blood sugar reading of the trial was 94, which is still medium-low. All that sweet fruit in my diet simply did not have any adverse effect on my blood sugar.
Eating this way gave my blood sugar more consistency than ever. I couldn’t spike my blood sugar on this diet if I tried. Even eating 19 bananas in one day made no difference.
19 bananas a day, and no effect on blood sugar levels! All that evil sugar and yet where’s the spike on blood sugar and insulin levels all those Candida websites claim will happen? It flew out the door with the fat.
So you are not giving the lil buggers a feast by eating lots of fruits. And neither are you feeding the Candida in the bowel, as I’ll explain later.
Note, processed sugar is still evil. It has no nutrients and eating it forces the body to dip into its reserves to digest it. So stay away from processed sugar but eat all the fruit you want.
Candida in the bowel
Now let’s talk about the other issue of Candida. Candida in the bowel.
The prevailing wisdom is that Candida turns invasive because the harmful bacteria in the gut overwhelmed the probiotic (beneficial) bacteria. The solution to the problem is to help probiotic bacteria grown and ‘rebalance’ the colon micro flora.
Bowel dysbiosis can happen for many reason, such as:
- Frequent use of antibiotics and other drugs
- Pesticides and other chemicals in food and water
- Poor diet and lifestyle
I want to focus on the diet aspect here.
Indigestion = leaky gut = Candida
In the Acne 101 lesson where I talked about leaky gut syndrome I explained that indigestion is the main dietary cause for leaky gut syndrome. Undigested food enters the gut where the bacteria ferment and putrefy it, which leads to many toxic compounds. What happens in the gut depends mainly on two things:
- Substances (foods) available for fermentation/putrefaction; for example when bacteria feast on meat they create different toxins than when they feast on vegetable matter. As a rule of thumb, fiber from fruits and vegetables supports the beneficial bacteria, whereas most other foods help the harmful bacteria grow.
- How long the food stays in the gut. Obviously the longer the food stays in the gut the more time the bacteria has to feast on it. Also if the transit time through your digestive system is 48 hours the bacteria have more food than they would if the transit time would be 18 hours.
So your goal is to give the beneficial bacteria as much food as possible and to make sure that the bad stuff doesn’t stay there too long.
Raw food diet helps probiotic bacteria
This just screams for increased consumption of plant fiber. More fruits and vegetables.
First because the fiber in fruits and vegetables contains prebiotics, substances that feed the beneficial bacteria. This article has lots more on the topic (I recommend you read it): http://www.jacksongi.com/DIETS/Colon-Gas-Flatus-Prevention/colon_gas.aspx
Second, plant fiber reduces the time food stays in your large intestine and it scrubs your colon clean of any impurities. So there’s less food for the harmful bacteria.
This is another reason why standard Candida diet advice borders idiotic. By reducing carbohydrate consumption you need to eat more meat and fats - the exact substances that feed the harmful bacteria. And the food also stays longer in the gut. On the positive note they often recommend eating more vegetables, which at least partially corrects this.
Finally, raw fruits and vegetables are the easiest foods to digest. Your meal is completely digested before it enters the gut. Sugar and other things the harmful bacteria and Candida could eat are absorbed before they can get their hands on it. The only thing that’s left is the fiber, which feeds the probiotic bacteria.
Compare that to meats and fats the dominate the standard Candida diets. These foods are hard to digest. Digesting them demands lots of time and effort. And when eaten in poor combinations, which almost everybody does, they are never digested fully.
So standard Candida diet gives plenty of food for the harmful bacteria to produce toxins that just prolong leaky gut syndrome and your acne problems.
Conventional Candida diet is plainly irrational
Here we have the standard Candida diet that:
- Perpetuates insulin resistance by saturating blood with fat
- Feeds the harmful bacteria in the gut and allows leaky gut syndrome to continue
Then we have the diet that makes sense. A diet that:
- Helps to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce blood sugar problems
- Helps the beneficial bacteria to kick bad bacteria butt
None of this information is in anyway controversial or difficult to understand. All of this is easily available from public sources, makes perfect sense and produces very quick results.
But for some reason people have just been blinded with the fear of sugar and cannot see these glaringly obvious and very rational points. And so we have saturated the Internet with Candida websites that offer advice that is irrational and borderlines idiotic - and keeps recreating the very problem they propose to solve over and over.
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Clear for Life - The lifestyle for health, happiness and clear skin
November 21st, 2008 at 5:37 pm
Wow..this helps a lot. All this time I’ve been afraid to eat lots and lots of fruits because of the “evil sugar”, but now I’m gonna go down some strawberries in celebration! =D Thanks, Seppo
November 22nd, 2008 at 5:52 pm
i have to say everyone here reading this listen to seppo he knows wat he is talkin about since i got clear for life it really changed my life…ive been wonderin for years wat was wrong with me and my health and to recently i was a sufferer from candida overgrowth goin to the doctor always to hear it was all in my head…but since i change my lifestyle i have to say wowwwwwwww!!!!! i cant believe i would be on the right track to actually enjoy life again feelin as energetic as i did wen i was 12 years old i still dont believe it sumtimez my skin and complexion is the best it ever been since about 8 years old its like im gettin younger and younger everyday thk god im never goin back to meat… i love raw fruits and veggies=) rite now im a vegan and i love it!!! this is the life!!! bye bye acne whoooooooo
November 25th, 2008 at 12:36 am
I’m a little confused about fats. I’ve been told that ingested coconut oil and coconut in general is quite good for acne. Although I am still plagued by acne, I consume a lot of coconut because I’m thinking it will help. I no longer consume grains, and only cook with coconut flour/coconut oil. I also eat a lot of creamed coconut sachets because they are easy to carry around. Is this likely to be causing problems? Would appreciate any reply, thanks.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:52 am
Angel,
Sorry for my late reply. Been a bit lazy recently. Have to kick my own butt on again…
Anyway… Coconut oil is definitely a good fat. But too much of any fat is going to give blood sugar problems.This is not about good fats vs bad fats. It’s about the properties of fat. Fat is an insulator. It coats stuff. When it coats your blood cells, insulin molecules and insulin receptors it may lead to insulin resistance.
That’s going to cause problems if you eat plenty of fruits or carbs. It’s not a problem on a low-carb diet. So it depends on what you eat.
November 27th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Troy… thanks again for the great comments and keep up with it!
December 11th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
[…] Candida in bowel and acne […]
January 26th, 2009 at 3:10 pm
[…] Candida in bowel and acne I haven’t talked about Candida in bowels because I don’t think it’s an issue you should concerns yourself with. […]
October 14th, 2009 at 3:56 am
hi.
ive recently developed acne.
ive had clear skin my entire life and just this past may, i moved back to my home town (vancouver, bc) and all of the sudden i have back, chest and face acne!! i’m struggling with depression because of this and i just really want it to go away. ive just recently done a detox for my liver, bladder, etc. and have noticed an improvement in my face, so i’m hoping maybe i’m on the right tract for perhaps a candida infection. i have always had a yeast build up, i have always suffered from reoccuring yeast and bladder infections. i recently went vegan, about a year ago, and am wondering if maybe the cutting out of fats and protein and the consumption of more carbs, sugars (mostly in form of fruit, i dont have a junk food habit) and alcohol (stress related) i may have fed a slight build up to a case of candida. i currently moved from calgary, ab ( a very dry prairie climate) back to vancouver (humide rainforest) and all of a sudden i have acne. if someone thinks they could put me on the right track, i would be so so so so grateful. it might be useful to note that when i go back to the prairies to visit, my acne seems to dry up and go away…but always comes back full force when i come back to vancouver….please help!
October 16th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Annice,
Sorry to hear you started breaking out again. Environment certainly can play a role in acne, though I’m not sure how it happens. Anyway after building health you should be able to remain clear in any environment.
I’d prefer not to say anything yeast infection. Better you get advice from a professional who can diagnose and asses your situation.
Emotional Freedom Technique works well for depression and emotional problems. http://www.emofree.com/
January 26th, 2010 at 5:10 am
Hi Seppo and fellow bloggers.
I don’t do much blogging, but I felt compelled to share my story in the hope that it might help others to make the necessary changes and persevere.
I have had problems with acne and hormonal imbalance since I was about 9 years old and I’m 40 now. Until recently, I thought that food had nothing to do with it because all the experts in the medical field had said so. I thought I had a good diet and therefore my problem could only be rectified with taking Oral Contraceptives which I have since learned could be mucking up my system even more in the long term, even if they did in fact help me in the short term, which they did. I have also in the last few years lost weight and increased exercise which was great, but still my skin suffered and I also felt moody and depressed for no real reason and experienced a tough time around the time of the month. But having found the CFL website and reading everything Seppo has had to say I am now convinced more than ever that diet, stress, lack of sunlight exposure and fresh air, pollutants in our food and environment and differences in individual tolerances to these things and different foods is very much a contributing factor to our health, hormones and skin. Also many of us have strayed away from real food and eat to much processed foods.
I have consumed a lot of dairy all my life in the belief that it was doing my teeth and bones the world of good, but for the last 6 weeks have reduced consumption to a bit of cheese in my food about once a week if that. I don’t even miss dairy although I love it.
I have also started making and consuming almond milk in place of milk and given up consuming caffeine, preferring coffee alternatives and herbal tea. I have reduced my sugar intake immensely and if I need to sweeten anything I use Xylitol, Stevia, rapadura or agave syrup, but not in huge quantities. I am a chocoholic, but have also discovered cacao nibs and powder. I also eat more organic foods and wholefoods and have cut back on wheat, preferring to eat quinoa, buckwheat, spelt, oats, millet and wild rice. As for omega -3s I try to consume fish a couple of times a week and sprinkle freshly ground chia seeds or flaxseeds on food or in smoothies. I try to eat lots of vegetables both raw or lightly cooked most of the time and would say I stick to my improved diet 95/10. When I don’t stick to it I feel my energy levels drop and I don’t sleep as well either.
Exercise is important too and I try to do it most days of the week, but I’m not fanatical about it anymore as I think it can be overdone and cause a different type of stress in the body. But, of course I speak only for myself as everyone is different. All in all I have to say that I sleep better, emotionally I’m more centred, less fatigued, less stressed, I have improved mental clarity and a better positive outlook. My skin is also calmer and clearer. I do need to get more sunshine and fresh air and get away from the computer more, so there is still room for improvement.
Anyway, all these changes have been progressive for the better and my health and acne has improved. My eczema has also gone away and hopefully will stay away. I started to get it around the age of 32 and no real medical reason why. My face was oily, but the skin on my body dry and sensitive.
The only supplement I take is calcium hydroxapatite with vitamin D and a few other trace elements, but I still firmly believe that food is the best source for vitamins and minerals.
I eat animal protein in moderation (preferably free range and organic and rarely eat processed meat now) as I don’t believe that it is the be all and end all of good protein. Fruit…I love fruit, but find when I eat too many bananas I put on weight. I go easy on the whole grains and nuts because they too will cause me to gain weight if I eat too much. However, I will never give them up. I know from experience that as soon as I try to give something up I then want to automatically eat more for some reason and feel stressed. Alcohol is another one I do only occasionally now. Once I step up my resistance training (I’ve been taking it slow lately) I know my food requirements will also need to adjust, but I will know just from instinct what my body will need. For example, I love cold pressed oils and coconut cream in my food, but if I over do it my skin gets oily for a few days. But, eating whole raw nuts, seeds and olives in moderation seems to be ok! Amazing isn’t it?And yet this may well be the complete opposite for someone else.
Seppo thanks for your great information. Some people may want to pick it to bits in some places, but you have made the message loud and clear to me that what works for one person may not work for another. People just have to want to embrace the advice and experiment a little to find out what works for them and stop comparing themselves to others. People who trash their bodies with bad food, alcohol and cigarettes and have perfect skin will suffer in the long run with poor health as they get older in one way or another. The healthier a person is and the better they look after their body, then the better off they are even if they still have acne. They just need to keep trying to find the weak link in what they are doing or not doing. My skin is not perfect, but compared to how it was I am very pleased. Plus I feel so much healthier! It has only been a couple of months so perhaps things will get even better. I won’t go back to what I used to do, but I won’t stress over a few slip ups every now and again as I still want to be socially accepted when catch up with friends.
Keep up the good work Seppo! I firmly believe that information is empowerment and you are truly helping people.
Kind regards
Carla
January 26th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
@Carla
Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences. I’m really glad to hear you’ve already seen big positive changes in your life, and, perhaps more importantly, are embracing this change with a positive attitude.
As far as diet goes you pretty much nailed it. Eat natural foods and enjoy doing so. One doesn’t need a perfect diet to get clear. And I would so far as to suggest that trying to stick to a perfect diet often causes more harm than it helps. It’s hard to stick to a very pure diet in today’s society, and it often leads to stress.
I try to emphasize that diet is just part of the solution. It really is, even if our Western society is totally fixated on it. The other lifestyle elements are at least as important.
In Clear for Life I didn’t talk much about the importance of being outdoors. Humans aren’t meant to stay inside concrete boxes, so try to spend as much time outdoors as possible. It’s not always convenient, but do your best. It really helps with all the other elements of health.
Keep up the good work, Carla!