Just been looking for symptoms of candida overgrowth. there is so much overlap between mercury and candida symptoms, i had no idea. it must be difficult to tell which is caused by which. Especially if your still full of amalgams.

Heres a list i found:

Some of the most frequent Candida symptoms are:

abdominal gas and bloating

headaches

migraines

excessive fatigue

cravings for alcohol

anxiety

vaginitis

rectal itching

cravings for sweets

inability to think clearly or concentrate

hyperactivity

mood swings

diarrhea

constipation

hyperactivity

itching

acne

eczema

depression

sinus inflammation

pre-menstrual syndrome

dizziness

poor memory

persistent cough

earaches

low sex drive

muscle weakness

irritability

learning difficulties

sensitivity to fragrances and/or other chemicals

cognitive impairment

thrush

athlete's foot

sore throat

indigestion

acid reflux

chronic pain

a lot are ticked for me, but have contributed them to mercury. but there are other things i have which i now know are candida. Thanks Bex for steering me this way. Guess its a candida diet for me now.

Candida is opportunistic, as are parasites. When the immune system is weakened by mercury, these things can take hold. I think people need to focus on taking supplements that will help boost the immune system as they are struggling to get the mercury out of the body.

"Mercury from amalgam interferes with production of cytokines that activate macrophage and neutrophils, disabling early control of viruses and leading to enhanced infection(131,251). Mercury’s activation of inflammatory cytokines and Th2 helper immune cells suppresses the cytotoxic response of T-cells and natural killer immune cells that are the body’s main defense against viruses and such biological pathogens(181,472,580). Animal studies have confirmed that mercury increases effects of the herpes simplex virus type 2 for example(131). Mercury damages the immune system and in those with chronic conditions has been found to commonly facilitate infestation by pathogens such as viruses, harmful bacteria, candida, mycoplasma, and parasites(131,251,386a,404,460,470, 473,485). The majority of those tested who have CFS or FMS have been found to have infections of mycoplasma, Human Herpes Virus-6,XMRV, Cytomeglivirus, or bacterial infections such as intracellular chlamydia(470,575,580). Clinics treating these conditions commonly find such pathogens to be a factor in the condition (470,473,485,487,488, 580). Mercury detoxification and treatment of these pathogens results in significant improvement in the majority of those treated"

http://www.flcv.com/cfsfm.html

Hi Wenpam3,

Yes, it's hard to know exactly which problem is causing what when you have mercury and candida. The symptoms can be very similar and cross over.

The problem is, candida puts more stress and strain on the gut/liver and immune system and in turn makes a mercury toxic body more toxic and makes it more difficult to detoxify. So it makes every sense to treat the candida as well as the mercury.

Bad candida can also interfere with nutrient absorption from foods/supplements, as I found out. I remember I was not able to experience any real benefits from supplement intake, until I treated candida and then I noticed a difference when taking them.

Without treating my candida, I was suicidal most of the time and had some frightening mental symptoms - strange phobias, anxiety and depression. Plus extreme fatigue.

After treating candida, many of these symptoms improved and lifted. Still mercury toxic, but stronger and happier and more motivated.

I'd be cautious about taking aggressive antifungals. The best approach in my opinion is simply addressing the diet by excluding sugar/gluten/yeast and reducing high carbohydrates as necessary. There are plenty of natural antifungal type foods. I think the natural and gradual approach is wiser, especially in the early stages to give your body a chance to process the die off that comes from excess yeast dying off and other toxins that also come out from the healthier diet.

It is not always easy because you can really start craving the foods you have to stop eating because the candida wants to survive. Plus the detoxification symptoms that can come with it. It's about hanging in there and being determined and sticking to the plan. Usually after a few weeks, ther should be some improvement if the plan is stuck to. Cheats on the diet will usually lead to one having to start again, unless they've been on the diet already for sometime and the body is stronger and can handle a few cheats.

I'd up your water intake during this time and take vitamin C and whatever other supplement that helps.

There are many diets out there to deal with candida and alot of them do disagree on certain things being ok or not ok. So it may differ for each person how strict they need to be in respect to high carb foods. But certainly keep off all sugar/yeast/gluten containing foods/products/supplements at the bare minimum. Fruits/grains/high carb vegetables may also need to be reduced or even eliminated from the diet if the candida is serious enough and the person finds they need to go the extra step to gain relief.

Make sure you eat enough food to help you when the cravings hit. So tuck into the "safe" foods - meats, eggs, low carb vegetables, seeds/nuts, sugar free acidophilus yoghurt. Water/tea. Natural fats/oil like butter, fish oil (mercury free), extra virgin olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil (this is a natural antifungal and may create symptoms, so go easy).

Hi Bex,
The whole family is gearing up to go on the candida diet. We are going to have a few last days to clear up the remainder of things in the cupboards and also to build up the mental courage.
We cut out white bread quite sometime ago and have only been eating wholemeal pitta. But even that will have to go.
i have three of my kids at home and it makes sense that they will all have candida. they all had it as a baby at one time or other so they must be carrying it. i have not used pharmaceuticals for just over a decade so its been a case of feeding them loads of live yoghurt, no sugar and keeping the nappie area clean. I found that within a couple of days it all cleared up. but i know its sitting inside, spreading surreptitiously within.
But hopefully it can be controlled. I know the taste buds have a 5 day memory so after the first week it shouldn't be too difficult to replace the cravings with the good stuff.

i think i will keep a diary to log all this what i am doing. i forget so much so it will help me remember all the info.
thanks a lot, keep strong
wenpam3

There is always candida in the gut. The question is whether it is under control, or if is overgrowing and crowding out healthy bacteria. Diet and the strength of the immune system are what is key. If also seems impossible to completely avoid all parasite exposure, however with a strong immune system they will not be able to cause infection. Eating a diet that contains herbs such as garlic, turmeric, cayenne pepper, black pepper, ginger, etc. will also help avoid parasite infection and candida overgrowth.

my hubbi is from africa , in his childhood they would give the kids, large amounts of crushed garlic, olive oil, honey and black pepper all mixed in a paste. morning and night. One of his cousins woke in the night screaming, and the whole family watched him 'pass' out a whole tapeworm, it was dead, and all intact, and loooooong. so gross. but it seems they were subjected to this treatment periodically to keep them clean. Not sure if i would like it, the idea of the garlic is enough to make my head throb, but it seems to have worked.
He has a much healthier attitude to 'purging' than i do. when he heard about hydrotherapy he wanted to sign up for one a week. lol

luckily we do eat a lot of those spices plus cinnamon, paprika, cardomam pods, cloves etc. plus a lot of different herbs. so maybe that's keeping the candida under some kind of control, we stopped eating any processed foods a while back, cook everything from scratch, i think this is one of the most beneficial things to do in any kind of health crisis.
Take your diet back to basics, eat only a few good ingredients at each meal, and cook it all yourself. Be as organic as you can afford to be. If you cannot afford to be 100% then make sure that those foods you eat a lot of regularly are organic. Especially dairy produce. Cut out aspartame, asculfame, msg (mono sodium glutamate) other sweeteners, hydrogenated fats. just these basics will make a difference, when i cut out aspartame my migraines went from almost weekly to about every 3 months, headaches from daily to weekly. Its been over a decade since i have eaten this stuff. but occassionally i get given some aspartame when visiting people. (we usually try to surrepticiously check the label and ask for water, but this is not always possible, and i hate being impolite, so there are times when i drink a glass of 'mystery juice'. i soon know if it had aspartame in as i will get a headache soon after and a migraine within a few days.
I wonder if these additives have a direct effect on the candida, i know they will add to the damage to the immune system which will impact on the candida, but do they have a direct effect? does anyone know?

live yoghurt is a staple on our dinner table, eaten with almost every meal. i need to have a probiotic to feel ok. But i feel like i need more. i been looking at those little yakult things, but not sure if they are any good, what's hte best probiotic to take to keep the gut flora high.