Home > Resources and Education > Article - Candida

Want to share this article? Visit our re-post guidelines. Article summary: Making sure you have open and free-flowing drainage pathways in your body is an essential first step in detoxing candida. Candida albicansis an opportunistic, and potentially pathogenic, yeast. An overgrowth of candida can cause a yeast infection called candidiasis. When candida levels balance out with the other bugs in your microbiome, this microbe plays a beneficial role, aiding digestion and absorption of nutrients. If candida levels get imbalanced, uncomfortable symptoms may arise. This includes symptoms throughout the body and not just symptoms in the gut. Invasive candidiasis may cause or worsen chronic illness. Many circumstances can give candidiasis the upper hand, allowing it to run amok. A healing crisis, called a Jarisch-Herxheimer (Herx) reaction, occurs when microorganisms like candida die, and the body reacts with unpleasant symptoms to the sudden release of toxins. Symptoms of a Herx reaction appear within a few hours or days after the candida organisms start dying. You can avoid or lessen the chance of a severe reaction by ensuring all your body’s drainage pathways are open and free-flowing. The brain and body dump their trash through the glymphatic system, lymphatic system, liver/bile duct, colon, and kidneys. Other methods to support drainage include staying well hydrated and taking supplements, including Mimosa pudicaseed, BioActive Carbon, and aloe vera. Are you planning to undertake a protocol to get rid of candida infection? If so, you should know about the potential challenges to your success. This yeast microbe releases toxins when it dies off. This sudden release of toxins by many of the microbes at once can cause you to feel utterly miserable and derail your detox. You can prevent this misery from happening, although the solution may not be what you expect. This missing link in combating candida die-off is making sure you have open and free-flowing drainage pathways in your body. Let’s review how to open the body’s drainage systems, an essential first step in avoiding the discomforts of candida die-off. PLANNING TO DETOX CANDIDA? YOU MUST DO THIS FIRST Candida albicans is an opportunistic, and potentially pathogenic, yeast that lives in the human gut flora. When it’s in balance with the other bugs in your microbiome, candida plays a beneficial role in the body. It aids in absorbing nutrients and keeps digestion running smoothly. But when candida levels become imbalanced, unpleasant symptoms may arise. And not just candida symptoms in the gut — which you might expect — but symptoms throughout the body. Many circumstances can lead to an imbalance in your microbiome and causes candida to run amok. This may result in candida overgrowth, or candidiasis, which can cause or worsen chronic illness. There’s plenty of reasons to kick excess candida to the curb. Many people go after the yeasty microbes head-on, only to find that they feel more miserable than before they tried to detox them. This can be confusing and frustrating. Killing off the little critters is supposed to make you feel better, right? Candida die-off Once candida levels return to a proper balance, you will likely experience a much-improved quality of life. The trick is getting there. But getting there can be hampered by candida die-off. Candida die-off is an adverse reaction that happens when the microbes die. The body must process the waste and debris from the dead organisms. It must also eliminate the endotoxins the bugs release when they expire. The onslaught of those wastes and toxins can send the body into a Jarisch-Herxheimer (Herx) reaction. WHAT IS THE HERXHEIMER REACTION? As your candida cleanse proceeds, the dying organisms and their toxic waste products must go somewhere. When microorganisms like candida die, they release toxins into your body. If you don’t detox them from your body quickly, you can have a healing crisis called a Herx reaction. The body reacts with unpleasant symptoms to the sudden release of toxins. If the die-off process is quicker than your body’s ability to clear away these toxins, you will probably feel ill. A Herx reaction is typically not life-threatening. However, it often causes temporary discomfort, pain, and worsening of symptoms. Common symptoms that may appear or worsen due to a Herx response include: 1 Headaches Fatigue Joint and muscle pain Lethargy Low-grade fever Brain fog Chills Cold sweats Nausea Bloating Constipation Cramps Diarrhea Irritability Skin irritation, eruptions, or rash Sore throat Stuffy nose Typically, symptoms develop within a few hours or days after the cleanse starts to kill off the organisms. If the symptoms worsen, you may have the urge to end your candida cleanse. To avoid or lessen the chance of a severe reaction, make sure to support your body’s drainage pathways throughout the die-off process. In short, a candida cleanse mobilizes dying candida organisms. Their membranes break down, and toxins are released. But if your body’s drainage pathways aren’t open and free-flowing, you will reabsorb the toxins. SUPPORTING DRAINAGE DURING YOUR CANDIDA CLEANSE Proper drainage and clearing toxins from the body is imperative to wellness. Drainage occurs via a complex system of organs, vessels, and tissues that clear debris, waste, toxins, and pathogens. Rehabilitating and reinstating excellent drainage is an essential early step in preparing for and executing a candida cleanse, particularly for people with chronic illnesses. Let’s take a look at the organs and systems involved in keeping your drainage free-flowing. THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM Your brain accumulates waste that you must clear out and discard. The brain dumps this trash through your lymphatic system. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) collects waste from the blood and lymph vessels in the brain, which it delivers to your body’s lymphatic system for removal. If this pathway becomes blocked, then toxins, wastes, and pathogens build up in the spaces around the brain cells. 2 Many neurotoxic heavy metals and environmental toxins make their way across the blood-brain barrier. Once there, they settle into the brain tissue. These toxins need to be drained out. But when your glymphatic system gets congested, the pathogens, waste, and toxins stay put. A brain with clogged glymphatic function may manifest cognitive and functional brain issues. 3 Ways to keep the lymphatic system flowing include: Sinus rinsing, especially with Nasya, an Ayurvedic therapy Deep breathing exercises Standing Sleeping on your side Physical activity and mindful movement