Archive for April 20th, 2009
It is widely observed that patients with food intolerance often have candidiasis as well – and those whose main problem is Candida often turn out to have food sensitivities. Although there are no hard data to support these observations, many doctors working in this field feel that there must be a link between the two.
Sensitivity to man-made chemicals also seems to be part of the picture. Some patients date the onset of their candidiasis to some heavy chemical exposure, such as installing cavity-foam insulation (this releases large amounts of formaldehyde into the house). Others began to react badly to various chemicals at about the time they developed candidiasis.
One explanation for the link with food intolerance runs as follows: although Candida is normally a yeast (individual egg-shaped cells), it can convert to a hyphal form (tiny threads, as described above) in certain circumstances. In the laboratory, this occurs if there is a shortage of the vitamin bio-tin, or of other nutrients. Assuming the same thing happens in the gut, then a vitamin deficiency might make the yeast convert to the hyphal form. Once in this form, the hyphae grow into the gut wall, just as the hyphae of a mould penetrate a piece of stale bread. This creates tiny holes in the gut wall, making it more permeable. More undigested food molecules pass through the gut wall than in healthy individuals, making food intolerance much more likely.
Unfortunately, there is no evidence to support this explanation, apart from some rather dubious circumstantial evidence. Candida can convert to the hyphal form in infected areas of the skin or vagina, but it only does so partially – most of the Candida is still in the typical yeast form. Whether Candida ever converts to the hyphal form in the gut is unknown. Even if it does, the idea that it penetrates the gut wall, leaving tiny holes, is questionable.
This explanation also fails to explain the observed link with chemical sensitivity. Many of the chemicals concerned are airborne ones, such as exhaust fumes or solvents, which enter our bodies through the nose and lungs. So the leakiness or otherwise of the gut wall will not make someone more sensitive to such chemicals.
At present, there is no good explanation for the link between candidiasis, food intolerance and chemical sensitivity. It is clear that Candida interacts with the body in various ways, which are both complex and subtle – in particular, its relationship with the sex hormones and with the immune system. Perhaps these effects unbalance the body’s normal control mechanisms, and make food and chemical sensitivities more likely. Alternatively, there could be some underlying fault (in the control of the immune system, for example) that makes the body more vulnerable to Candida invasion, on the one hand, and more apt to react inappropriately to foods and chemicals, on the other.
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