You may have read about the familiar symptoms of yeast or candida overgrowth. They’re often shared in articles related to fibromyalgia, Lyme, arthritis, diabetes, autoimmune disease, and chronic fatigue syndrome. But do you know about some of the less familiar symptoms? Are you still plagued by yeast/candida overgrowth?

Candida (also called yeast) overgrowth is responsible for many health challenges including leaky gut syndrome. In the workshops I lead, I share handouts detailing nearly FOUR DOZEN symptoms. But in the interest of brevity, here’s a shortlist.

Do any of these signs of candida overgrowth look familiar?

• Dry scaly patches on the skin — 

     Women: under arms, under breasts, around the waistline, etc.

     Children: cheeks, creases of the elbow or behind the knees, etc.

• Dry scaly scalp – dandruff
• Dry lips including cracks at the sides
• White spots (reverse pigment) on the face
• Cracked heels
• Toenail fungus
• Fatigue / cognitive dysfunction
• Irritability / moodiness
• Digestive dysfunction
• PMS and feminine infections, itchiness
• Allergies – itchy nose, itchy eyes, itchy ears
• Food allergies or sensitivities
• Poor memory, lack of focus, brain fog
• Intense sugar / sweets cravings
• Dry eyes (lack of moisture/tears)
• Dry cough
• Sore throats / hoarseness
• Thrush
• Body odor
• Skin conditions including eczema, psoriasis, hives
• Acne
• Stuffy nose
• Earaches
• Infertility
• Endometriosis
• Thyroid dysfunction
• Autoimmune conditions
• Fibromyalgia and / or chronic fatigue syndrome
• Asthma
• Fluttering heart rate
• Muscle and joint pain

Of course, many of those listed above are familiar. But, did any of them surprise you? I suspect so. It’s likely that some, if not several, symptoms of candida overgrowth were not on your radar.

It’s time to change that.

When we can read the signposts of what’s ahead, we’re able to make changes in what we do. In fact, that’s the only way that intentional change happens. We learn something new, and make new choices.

If you’d like to make a few new choices regarding keeping candida in check, here are a few landmines to dodge.

These behaviors and circumstances are the very basic ones that create and / or contribute to candida overgrowth:

• Sugar consumption
• Processed foods consumption
• Stress
• Birth control pills
• Antibiotic use
• Steroid use
• NSAID use

What to do?

In order to get rid of the overgrowth and restore balance to the health of your intestinal tract, candida must be kept in check. At first, it needs to be starved out. Additional supplements may even be necessary depending on your levels of overgrowth. Seeing a good naturopath who can do testing for this can get you off to a good start. He or she can test for food sensitivities, intestinal parasites, hormonal dysfunction, vitamin D levels, and more. Low vitamin D levels, in particular, can relate to intestinal inflammation, leaky gut, and the proliferation of candida.

What else?

Surprisingly, consuming healthy fats can really help to alleviate some of the above symptoms. In particular, your scalp (dandruff), heels, dry lips, and dry eye can benefit greatly from supplementing with healthy omega 3 oils as well as consuming healthy fats.

For your convenience, here’s a post with a downloadable PDF on which healthy fats you may wish to add to your diet.

Wrapping things up –

Gut health reigns supreme. When digestive health is restored, symptoms begin to diminish and eventually disappear. To learn more, here’s another article about healing the digestive system.

And, if you’d like 3 simple tips on how to reduce or diminish the belly bloat that accompanies candida overgrowth, check out this article for more information.

Are you sidelined with any of the symptoms listed above? Please share your experiences in the comments below!