Oral Thrush and Systemic Candida Overgrowth

by Emma
(UK)

I recently found a doctor who suggested I probably have a candida overgrowth.

I've had problems with my throat for the past 5 years. It got a lot worse a couple of years ago, and about a year ago it caused me to lose my job and get signed off work.

It's not often painful, just VERY dry and rough, and my voice gets weaker and weaker as I speak. No-one could figure it out until I got oral thrush on my tongue and mentioned that my throat often felt worse after sugar.. then they mentioned candida.

I've been on a strict candida diet for a week and a half so far.. my oral thrush went after just 5 days.

However I lost a LOT of weight and ended up catching tonsillitis (I haven't been taking any supplements cos I don't know where to start! plus I don't have much money..) so it's hard to tell how my original symptoms are doing right now. Though I guess the lack or oral thrush is a positive sign.

But my question is, if my symptoms are refined to just my throat, is that a good thing? Does it mean it was found before it got in to my blood stream?

As I have no digestive trouble at all and never have done. And if so, should it be easier/quicker to get rid of?

I've always felt pretty healthy other than my throat, and would love to just get my throat back to normal so I can get on with my life!

Thank you for making such a wonderful site :)

Emma


RESPONSE


Hi Emma,

Thanks for the compliments about my site. :)

Sorry to hear about your throat. At least it's not painful.

If I were you, I wouldn't worry too much about staying on a strict candida diet with just oral thrush symptoms. How long can one go eating just meat and starchy vegetables?

Besides, once you go back to eating more normally, I'd bet the scratchy throat comes back.

I like to think of the candida diet as more of a health experiment than a remedy. If you follow it and feel better after a few days or a few weeks, you know you are on to something.

But it doesn't address the cause of the problem – why you got candida in the first place.

You say you have no digestive problems, which surprises me. Let me explain why.

With candida overgrowth, the yeast start colonizing more and more of the digestive tract.

For oral thrush to happen, the yeast have to survive a trip through your stomach to reach your mouth. This can only be possible when we have too little stomach acid, as normal amounts of stomach acid will kill candida.

I would be surprised if you didn't suffer from acid reflux/heartburn or other similar digestive problems, which are almost always caused by too little stomach acid instead of too much.

Too little stomach acid also leads to nutrient deficiencies, so it's something to look into. Your body pH will probably be too acidic too.

See my page on HCl supplements effect on body pH for more info.

But back to your oral thrush – I would simply recommend adding organic virgin coconut oil to your diet.

You can swish around a spoonful in your mouth to kill the yeast, but you'll get even more of those great coconut oil benefits if you cook and bake with it too.

More details can be found on my natural thrush remedy page.

If you only have the oral thrush, and none of the candida symptoms that point to systemic candida, this should be enough.

Of course, I'm assuming your diet is decent – focusing on eating whole foods and reducing or eliminating processed foods is always the way to go for great health.

Use the comment link below if you have any questions or if something I said isn't clear.

Wishing you the best of health,

Melissa
Approach Wellness