I have had candida for a long time and it doesn't seem to be going away no matter what supplements and diet I try

It is probably a symptom instead of the underlying cause for problems in 90% of patients. It still causes problems but it is just another link in the chain.

I have tried many supplements, antifungals and everything and it always comes back.

For people battling candida, the only thing I have found to settle most of my symptoms is grapefruid seed extract liquid found here
http://www.vitacost.com/NutriBiotic-GSE-Liquid-Concentrate-Grapefruit-Seed-Extract

I take it every time I eat and the intestinal problems improve dramatically (I take about 30 drops in a big glass of water, I know it is a lot). That probably improves the nutritives my body collects and also improves well being.

We still have to find the underlying cause for candida, and that can be dozens of illnesses <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" />

candida is basically a result of immune system screwing-up. question is why? thus it's always a symptom.

Kriminal, did you try chelation?

Mercury is very toxic to most bacteria, and if its in your intestines (it will come out naturally in your bile and get into your intestines) it will alter the bacteria that can live there. There are few organisms that can thrive in the presence of high concentrations of mercury, and most of them are yeast, candida albicans being one of them.

So what I believe is the trick to getting rid of mercury is reducing what yeast feed on which is sugars, and getting extra amounts of good bacteria so hopefully some of them survive the onslaught of mercury. I do this by eating plenty of homemade sauerkraut and kim-chi, which contain a lot of natural beneficial bacteria and I also make yogurt and kefir out of fresh raw milk. Kefir is great because it has beneficial yeast which can help overtake bad yeasts. I keep my carbs low but I have to eat some or I will get liquid stools very very easily.

Kriminal, I have the same problem. Candida is nearly always a symptom, rather than in isolation. The only time it maybe candida alone, is when someone (previously ok) has been taking a lot of antibiotics for some kind of infection or something, and is also eating an average typical diet (with sugars etc), to where they may then need to take stock and temporarily change their diet and treat the candida. But in doing so, once they get the yeast back into balance, they are usually fine from then on and are able to relax their diet again.

Those like us with underlying illnesses continually posing a challenge, only get so far with candida treatment, but don't tend to really overcome it or get much further, plus one wrong move and the candida gets much worse again. Because whatever is allowing it in the first place, isn't being dealt with.

Easier said than done, some do not have a diagnosis to work with, so how can they then treat the underlying condition? If it's mercury, then people can get their amalgams replaced and start chelating, as well as treat candida at the sametime if it's a problem. Other people may not be able to pinpoint the problem, and therefore tend to continue on trying to keep candida reduced as much as possible, but never really being able to eradicate it or restore their health.

For me, I have no choice. Not adhereing to my strict regime is a recipe for disaster and I get even worse (if that's possible). But adhering to it is not getting me well either, it is just keeping things somewhat more stable and is the only thing my body has to rely upon, because it is under continual strain and to this day, I am not certain what exactly those strains are. I know they got worse after a virus that I never got rid of, but other things worsened too after wisdom tooth removal, which is why I suspect hidden infections/virus maybe the reasons.

Even with mercury poisoning, I never had candida this bad! I used to treat it with diet, but a looser diet than I am on now and I got really good results from it back then and the candida never got worse, so long as I simply excluded typical sugar/wheat/gluten/yeast....I could still eat some fruits, non gluten grain and potatoe (even potatoe chips). now things are much worse due to infections and they are not something I can just "detox" from or get rid of. I live with them, so I have to find ways of trying to reduce symptoms as much as I can and diet so far has been the only one that has given ANY relief at all.

I tried alpha lipoic acid recently to check for brain mercury and didn't really get anything out of it, though I was on a very high dose (100 mg). Instead, my yeast/pathogen issues worsened and so from then on, even though I stopped taking it, I had to battle through that as well. So much for alpha lipoic acid being good for pathogens, I've proven this wrong and many others also say they have to treat their pathogens much more strongly whilst chelating. DMSA does not seem to cause such issues with me, but it is also ineffective nowadays, which also confirms my problems now are probably not due to mercury so much, but the other problems I mentioned.

If I do try any form of chelation again, I'll probably try cilantro because I am well past recent exposure to merury and haven't had amalgams for many years, and DMSA doesn't work anymore. So I figure why not give this natural method a go....

I think strict diet, with proteins like eggs and meat and healthy fats and low carb vegetables and acidophilus yoghurt with probably probiotics and natural antifungals in foods like garlic, maybe the only real option to a person that is having to treat this everyday of their lives and has a really bad case of it. I do not consider medicated antifungals the way to go when someone needs this long term....because I know they are not good for the liver and eventually they may lose their effectiveness on the yeast, if they are used long term.