Germ History 101

Humans and microorganisms have lived together for hundreds of thousands of years. Many bacteria are beneficial and live with us symbiotically, especially in our gut, where they promote our health in exchange for luxury intestinal hotel accommodations. The vast majority of microorganisms are neutral. And a few are called pathogens, meaning they make us sick.

A pathogen can be a bacteria, fungi, or virus. And they don’t make us sick because they want to destroy us, though sometimes, by accident, they do.

Pathogens make us sick to spread their numbers, to grow and proliferate. Whenever you cough or sneeze, you are sending these pathogens into the air to set up housekeeping in new hosts (people), where the cycle can repeat itself. Like blowing on a dandelion, the microorganisms are sent into the world.

Other pathogens get into our bodies by hitchhiking a ride on our food or drink, and some get into our bloodstream by cuts or open areas, or sharing needles.

Our Immune System

The good news is we have our own defense force, constantly patrolling to find and destroy the bad guys. This is our immune system, and the most active parts of the blood-based immune system are our white blood cells.

The pathogens that cause all colds and flu (influenza) are viruses. Viruses are hard to deal with because there are almost no drugs that can treat the cause of colds and the flu. Antibiotics don’t work—they only kill bacteria.

The best way to deal with colds and the flu is to not get sick in the first place.

To avoid illness, you need three things. First, block or remove the virus before it gets in your body. One example: wash your hands! Second, make your immune system as powerful as it can be, and third, kill the viruses directly. These latter two strategies will also help you recover much faster should you become ill.

The intelligent use of dietary supplements can be a powerful weapon against these illnesses. Here are some of my favorites.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D has had a great deal of renewed interest with the advent of clinically supported higher dosages. While using 200 IU of vitamin D may not do much for cold and flu prevention, 2,000 IU (or more) can make a huge difference.

In a study involving school-age children, the effect of vitamin D was investigated for its effects on seasonal influenza A. The children were given either 1,200 IU/day of vitamin D or placebo. The vitamin D supplemented group experienced over a 40 percent decrease in influenza A infection, compared to placebo. Additionally, children with a previous history of asthma had a significant reduction in asthma attacks when supplemented with vitamin D.

Elderberry

In a 2016 study involving overseas air travelers, participants were given an Austrian Haschberg elderberry or placebo for cold prevention. The elderberry group had half as many illness (cold or flu) as the placebo group, and those in the elderberry group who did get sick recovered two days faster and their symptoms were not as severe

Scientific studies have shown that elderberry is a strong antiviral agent. In a cellular model, it was even effective against avian influenza (bird flu).  

Elderberry acts against viruses in two ways. First, it neutralizes virus particles so that they cannot enter host cells. Viruses cannot reproduce outside of cells, so keeping them out means they cannot replicate. Second, elderberry causes the immune system to activate, which can help control the spread of a viral infection.

Elderberry can be even more powerful when it is taken with zinc, mixed bioflavonoids, and vitamin A.

Propolis

Propolis is collected and transformed by bees prior to being used in the beehive for fortification and protection. In fact, propolis means “Defender of the City.”

Propolis is antiviral, which is great news for a cold or flu, but also possesses some antibacterial properties as well. This means that propolis may be useful for preventing secondary infections triggered by a cold or flu—like pneumonia—which are usually bacterial. Many of the antiviral studies were done on a purified propolis, removing wax, resin and impurities to yield a more powerful concentrated extract, called GH2002 in Germany.

Sleep

OK, not exactly a dietary supplement, but sleep is incredibly important for preventing and recovering from colds and influenza.

In a survey of sleep patterns and colds in over 22,000 adults, researchers found that “short sleepers” getting five or fewer hours of sleep a night were 28 percent more likely to have experienced a cold and 82 percent more likely to have the flu or ear infection in the preceding month than those sleeping seven or more hours a night.

Aside from feeling tired and run down, researchers have found that sleeping only four to five hours a night leads to up to a 70 percent reduction in natural killer cells, white blood cells that fight infection.

Stage four sleep is also the time you make most of your human growth hormone, which is used in the repair and rebuild mode the body enters in deepest sleep. That is one reason you are so sleepy when you are ill—your body wants you to shut down so it can get busy with the business of healing you.

Candida is everywhere. It’s in the air you breathe, in the foods you eat, and is a normal part of everyone’s intestinal flora.

When your intestinal flora is thriving, candida exists peacefully in the mucus membrane of your intestinal wall and is kept in check as part of a healthy balance. But, when normal probiotic defenses break down and conditions are ripe for Candida to overgrow, it changes its form and goes into attack mode, wreaking havoc in your body and causing a host of symptoms and problems.

The changing face and form of Candida is what makes it such a challenge to effectively treat.

The Many Faces of Candida

More than 20 strains of Candida have been identified in the human body, and this fungus takes on several different forms in order to protect itself from being eradicated.

Candida normally exists as a mild-mannered single-celled organism, nestled in the mucus membranes of the gastrointestinal tract, feeding on excess sugar to grow and reproduce. This is the lens through which researchers view it, and how drugs and even natural approaches are developed to counteract it.

The problem is, when Candida becomes pathogenic and no-more-mister-nice-guy, it joins itself together in long strands called hyphae that drill into the walls of the intestines, allowing fungus, toxins, and other debris direct access to blood vessels and other organs.

These root-like structures also bore into macrophages, the immune system cells designed to kill Candida, and render them helpless to mount a defense against this aggressive invader. As if all that isn’t enough, it then groups together and forms a protective shield around itself known as a biofilm.

This protective biofilm allows Candida to create an environment it thrives in, with just the right pH and plenty of food to keep doing its dastardly deeds and growing its population. As this yeast spreads, reproduces, and distributes its toxic entourage, it can affect virtually any part of your body and cause a wide variety of symptoms.

Signs You May Have a Candida Overgrowth

Candida has won the popularity contest as the most common fungal infection, with one in three adults having an overgrowth. While it typically starts in the digestive tract, symptoms can be wide-ranging and varied, as it changes form and spreads to other areas of the body. 

Symptoms You May Feel with Candida Overgrowth:

• Intense fatigue, headaches, insomnia, weight gain or loss, mood swings, pain, jittery feelings, appetite loss, agitation.
• Bloating, flatulence, indigestion, constipation, diarrhea, stomach pain, stools with mucus.
• Burning, frequent, and/or urgent urination, recurring bladder infections, cystitis.
• Cramps, irregular periods, depression, severe PMS symptoms.
• Itching, burning, white vaginal discharge.
• Dry mouth, rashes, sore and/or bleeding gums, white patches, white or brown coating on the tongue.
• Nasal itching and sinus congestion.
• Psoriasis, rashes, acne.
• Burning sensations in the eyes, blurry vision, floaters, chronic inflammation, tearing, sudden changes in vision.
• Loss of hearing, fluid in middle ear, recurring infections, ear pain.

Yeast Overgrowth Risk Factors

Candida overgrowth is so prevalent, with such a variety of symptoms, it makes it difficult to zero in on the causes of this stealth infection. Fortunately, we know several risk factors, which greatly increase your chances of overgrowth. In truth, most of our difficulties with yeast are the unintended consequences of lifestyle habits and choices that were supposed to improve our health or help us lose weight.

The Most Common Risk Factors for Yeast Overgrowth Include:

• Repeated course of antibiotics
• Impaired immunity, including from immunosuppressant medications
• Hormone fluctuations
• Female anatomy
• Diet high in carbohydrates and sugars
• Underactive thyroid
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Living in a cool, damp, rainy climate
• Other fungal exposure, like mold in your home
• Heavy metal toxicity

Could You Have Excess Yeast? Take the Quiz!

With the wide variety of symptoms Candida overgrowth can cause, it can be confusing to determine if Candida is truly at the root of your issues.

While this quiz can’t give you a definitive answer, it is helpful in narrowing down its potential role. This survey was originally created by the late William Crook, MD, a wonderful personal friend of mine who was considered a pioneer in researching the role of Candida in a plethora of health issues, and who authored several books on the subject.

Candida Quiz

If your answer to any of the following questions is “yes,” write down the number of points for that question. At the end, add up the total points. Your final score indicates the probability of a yeast connection to your health issues.

1. Have you taken repeated or prolonged courses of antibiotics? (4 points)
2. Have you been bothered by recurrent vaginal, prostate, or urinary infections? (3 points)
3. Do you feel “sick all over,” yet the cause has not been found? (2 points)
4. Are you bothered by hormone disturbances, including PMS, menstrual irregularities, sexual dysfunction, sugar cravings, low body temperature, or fatigue? (2 points)
5. Are you unusually sensitive to tobacco smoke, perfumes and colognes, and chemical odors? (2 points)
6. Are you bothered by memory or concentration problems? Do you sometimes feel spaced out or in a brain fog? (2 points)
7. Have you taken a prolonged course of prednisone or other steroids, or have you taken birth control pills for more than 3 years? (2 points)
8. Do some foods disagree with you or trigger your symptoms? (1 point)
9. Do you suffer with constipation, diarrhea, bloating, or abdominal pain? (1 point)
10. Does your skin itch, tingle or burn; or is it unusually dry; or are you bothered by rashes? (1 point)

Women’s scores: If you score 9 or more, your health problems are probably linked to yeast overgrowth. If you score 12 or more, your health problems are almost certainly connected to yeast.

Men’s scores: If you score 7 or more, your health problems are most likely linked to yeast. A score of 10 or more indicates that your health problems are almost certainly connected to yeast.

Break the Biofilm to Beat the Candida

Recent research shows biofilms make yeast much more resistant to treatment and hide it from your immune system.

When Candida groups together, it’s more aggressive and doesn’t respond to treatment the same way a cell on its own would. A large, well-established population forms a biofilm that seems to withstand most of what you throw its way. The longer the Candida is allowed to overgrow, the stronger the biofilm and the more it can resist treatment.

What is Biofilm?

Biofilms are matrices made of complex sugars called polysaccharides. One-third of a biofilm is comprised of glucose, the sugar your body uses the most. So, Candida not only feeds on sugar to grow and reproduce, it also uses it to form the protective shell around each colony. It would seem the logical approach is to cut the sugar out of your diet and use anti-candida herbs, but because of the strength of the biofilm and its ability to use your body’s own blood sugar supply, a more coordinated, 4-pronged approach is needed to beat the biofilm and truly tame Candida into submission.

Four Ways to Fight Candida

1. Cut Off the Food Supply to Candida

   All carbohydrates can be broken down into the sugars Candida feeds on. So it’s not only essential to eliminate all obvious sources of sugars, but also to severely restrict carbs in the diet. This includes fruits, juices, alcoholic beverages, and not just processed grains but whole grains that contain gluten as well. I also recommend removing mushrooms and fermented foods (except raw apple cider vinegar) while you are cleansing your body of yeast, because these also encourage Candida overgrowth.

2. Add Enzymes to Break Down Candida Biofilms

   Proteolytic enzymes are enzymes that “chew up” and break down the bonds holding the biofilms together. Lumbrokinase, nattokinase, and serrapeptase are among the most powerful biofilm disrupting enzymes we’ve discovered to date.

   Anti-inflammatory enzyme products like Wobenzym and Inflazym are also heavy hitters when it comes to breaking down biofilms. Anytime you break open a biofilm, the toxic contents are no longer walled off and your body is exposed in proportions it’s not accustomed to. It’s akin to cracking open the shell on an egg. This means you may experience a worsening of your symptoms temporarily while the toxic contents are being flushed out. While this is unpleasant, it’s a good sign you are on the right track.

3. Use Antifungal Supplements to Eradicate Candida

   Once the biofilm is broken down, Candida is wide open for attack. I recommend bursts of broad-spectrum germicides like oil of oregano and Pau d’Arco.

4. Use Probiotics to Fight Candida

   Having an overgrowth of Candida is already a sign you are low on the healthy bacteria that normally fortify your immune system and colonize your gut, but addressing Candida naturally can have the unintended consequences of reducing the population of “good guys” as well. Refortify your immune system and your gut by supplementing with a good quality probiotic.

When nothing is off limits to your diet anymore, sometimes you don’t have a clue what you want to eat anymore! You might wonder what to expect when you stop dieting once and for all and how life will be different.

Humans love to collect evidence and data to help influence their decisions, it helps us to feel confident we’re making the right decision. We read reviews before making a big purchase, we research a company before accepting a new job, we ask friends for recommendations when planning a vacation. Sure, some of us like to jump off willy nilly and be spontaneous when trying new things, but more of us like to have as much info a possible! So, for you, my friend, who is currently googling how to stop dieting or what to expect when you go off a diet, this post is for you.

What Happens When You Stop Dieting

Expect people to ask you questions about what you are eating or not eating. When you’ve been dieting for years or eating a certain “way” (i.e. dairy free, vegan, paleo, “clean,” etc.) people come to expect certain behaviors of you. Especially if you were someone who was very vocal about what you were or weren’t eating. Even if you weren’t vocal, if you were someone who ate very differently from everyone around you, people noticed.

People are going to notice changes from what you do normally, even if you don’t want them to. A lot of folks think when they make an eating change it’s something that they will do forever and is permanent, but people change their minds and what foods work best for our bodies change over time too. It’s okay to do things differently.

Be prepared for lots of questions and decide ahead of time if you are interested in sharing about your journey.  If you aren’t comfortable discussing the reasons you are eating the way you are (there are many reasons people don’t want to discuss their eating habits), all you have to do is say “I don’t feel like discussing my eating choices. Thanks for respecting that” or something like it!  You are not obligated to talk about this stuff to anyone you don’t want to, but just know that if you were chatty about it before, people may not “get” that it’s not something you want to discuss now and you may have to repeat yourself a couple of times before people “hear” you.

Know that these questions aren’t usually a judgment about you or your choices, people are just very curious about how others eat. They’re often looking to understand the reasons behind a change. Frequently we think other people must have more information or knowledge about something than we do, especially in this day and age of health information overload so to see someone who others assume is very knowledgeable about food and health eat foods that may have been off limits for years is a big surprise and they’re just trying to make sense of it.

You Might Gain Weight

Know that you might gain weight. Or you might lose weight. Or your weight may stay the same. I think this is the thing that freaks people out the most when they stop counting calories or start eating foods that they haven’t allowed themselves to have for a decade. If they had to do x, y and z to maintain or lose weight before, won’t not doing those things automatically lead to weight gain? That’s not something anyone can have the answer for ahead of time. Everyone is different.

Most often I see people gain weight initially as they start allowing themselves to explore foods they haven’t had in years and as they try to understand their own hunger and fullness signals. Some of those folks do lose that weight naturally over time, but there is no guarantee and it’s not helpful for us to hold onto that goal as we try to get back to eating the way our bodies would prefer us to eat.

The best thing you can do when you decide to stop dieting is to allow your body to do what it needs to do as you start to experience food in a more intuitive way (letting go of the desire to lose weight or control your weight is too big a topic for me to cover in this post). Listen to your body and see what you can learn from it (and try not to judge the changes that may happen during this time period).

You may realize you don’t like some of the foods you thought you liked. How many of us convince ourselves that we like rice cakes instead of bread or crackers? How many of us still buy rice cakes after we stop dieting? A lot! Rice cakes are such a common “diet” food that entire generations of women buy them even when they’re not dieting just because we’re so used to that kind of food.

But when no food is off limits and there aren’t strict rules to follow around food, you start to notice some of the weird diet habits you have and will have to decide if that’s something you want to keep. Rice cakes are just one example but there are tons of other foods that we start eating because of a belief that they are “healthier” or because they are low calorie, but when it comes down to it, we don’t enjoy eating them and they’re not adding anything nutritionally to our diet.

On the other end of the spectrum, last weekend, I ordered a jelly donut for the first time in years while grabbing a coffee at a drive thru. I was really excited to eat that donut as I thought about what it was going to taste like. But in reality, the texture was denser than I was expecting and the filling and dough itself tasted almost salty to me. It was not good and I didn’t finish it. I make a lot of food from scratch and have for many years (including my desserts) so when I eat something heavily and cheaply processed (like from a donut chain) my taste buds say “NO WAY.” Not dieting means every food will feel and taste differently than you remember it!

Your Social Media Strategy

You’re going to unfollow and unfriend lots of people on social media. The “hide” button on Facebook has become my favorite thing these days. The amount of people trying to sell weight loss as the cure for all your problems seems enormous when you stop dieting. And suddenly your whole social media newsfeed is full of smoothie bowls, juice cleanses, and powdered shake before-and-after photos.

You start to notice how often people say terrible things about their bodies (I’ve been no stranger to this myself – always working on it), how often they say terrible things about other people’s bodies and how much energy, effort, and money goes into attempting to achieve a particular body type. It’s all you can see sometimes. Use that unfollow or hide button and start clicking away more on the profiles and people who post the things that matter to you more. Cultivate a social media feed that is more of what you want to see.

You may feel like you have a never-ending hunger and want to eat all the things. Relax! This usually goes away as your brain starts to get the message that there isn’t a famine going on anymore. Allow yourself to eat as much as you need and want. I know that feels terrifying after coming off of a diet but it’s also what your body has been programmed to do. It wants to make sure you get what you need so it will increase the hormone ghrelin so that you feel hungry. Eat. Let your body know that you will satisfy your hunger. Don’t restrict. Don’t try to go hungry (you’ll just keep your body in a bit of panic about getting enough food). Trust your body, fuel it, feed it and listen to what it tells you.

You may experience some digestive discomfort (like bloating and gas) as you introduce foods you haven’t had in years or eat a larger quantity than you are used to. Drink extra water, make sure you get some physical activity (walking is great for digestion), and chew well. Some of this is just your body trying to break down different or a higher quantity of food which can be a little taxing on your system (taking a digestive enzyme at mealtimes can help temporarily). It’s no big deal.

If it keeps up over time, pay it a little more attention. Is it a particular food or food group that is causing you trouble? Is it when you eat it a certain way (for example, raw vs cooked vegetables or fried vs. baked chicken)? Note what might be causing it and decide if the discomfort you feel is worth the enjoyment and experience of eating the food.

For some of us, if we feel terrible after eating something it’s enough to say, ugh, I don’t want that anymore. For others it’s not enough, and it’s up to you to decide what you are willing to deal with. Here’s an example from my own life:  Eating dairy daily triggers my asthma really badly. I no longer eat it daily . . .but eating ice cream once in awhile is totally ok. I have weighed the repercussions of eating it and I’m willing to live with the discomfort that comes with occasional enjoyment because butter crunch and black raspberry are worth it.

You’ll start to feel like you don’t know what you want to eat. Previously, in a lifetime of dieting, there were always foods that you wished you could have or were waiting for a “cheat meal” to enjoy your favorite foods. But now that you will allow yourself whatever you truly want, when you want, after you’ve satisfied that for a while, you’ll find that meal time comes and you often have no clue what you feel like eating. Haha! Nothing will really appeal and ordering off a menu or making a meal plan for home will feel extra arduous. Just go with it, it will pass, like everything else!

You may feel a little bit alone. When you aren’t dieting, you start to notice that every woman around you at any given time is doing at least one of the following:  A) Dieting, B) Doing a LIfestyle Change (like Whole30), C) On a Cleanse/Detox, D) is eating “Clean” or E) Doing some sort of 30-day fitness challenge.

No judgements from me on what other people decide to do (I’ve been everywhere in my eating journey over the years), but when you’ve decide to try to find freedom with food and for you that means no more diets or rules, then all of a sudden having lunch with your coworkers who want to spend the whole time discussing what they AREN’T eating anymore can feel a bit distressing. When you get together with your girlfriends, it can feel like they’re bonding over something they all have in common while you sit there in silence, no longer willing to participate in that kind of conversation. It’s challenging. You’ll feel like you’re sticking out like a sore thumb, because everyone else is doing it but you. But that’s ok!

Find a way to change the conversation to something more helpful, interesting, and positive if you can. Ask people about their families, about the music they like to listen to, if they’ve got any fun upcoming travel plans, or if they believe in past lives. Ask questions that have nothing to do with health, food, or fitness (even though we all currently LOVE to talk about that stuff). A year from now no one will remember what diet details someone shared at lunch but they will remember the engaging and interesting person who asked them lots of questions about their life. You’ll make new relationships and find people who also are on the same path with you this way.

Okay, there are certainly way more things that will happen when you stop dieting than just these but for the sake of brevity I’m going to stop it there! Some of these things may sound like negatives at first, but I think if you stay firm in your desire not to diet anymore and tune in to trusting yourself and your body to lead you, you will find that it’s actually a much better place to be. You’ll start to see that not focusing on how food affects your weight so much actually allows you to experience and enjoy life more fully, and isn’t that what it’s really about anyhow? I think so!