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Recent studies show that probiotics may
help to treat candida albicans. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, probiotics are live microorganisms that can
provide several health benefits when taken in adequate amounts. They’re natural sources of
healthy bacteria and you can find them in foods such as yogurt, miso, tempeh, kefir, soy beverages, some juices, and fermented or unfermented milk.
What is Candida
Albicans?
Candida, also called oral thrush, is an overgrowth of yeast inside the
mouth and commonly affects babies and elderly people. Left untreated, candida can lead to
infections in the mucuous membranes.
What Causes
Candida?
Candida has been linked to a variety of causes including overuse of antibiotics, a poor diet, severe burns, a weakened immune system,
AIDS, and cancer. Medications that weaken your immune system such as corticosteroids may also be
to blame. If you’re pregnant and have a yeast infection, which is also caused by candida, you
could pass it on to your baby during delivery.
Older people are more vulnerable to candida if they wear dentures. They also tend to be more likely
users of systemic corticosteroids and to have weakened immune systems.
Symptoms of
Candida
Common symptoms include creamy white, slightly raised lesions usually on
the inner cheeks or tongue. They may also show up on your gums, tonsils, back of your throat, or
roof of your mouth. In severe cases it may also travel down to your esophagus. The lesions may be
painful and look like cottage cheese. If scraped with a toothbrush or other instrument, these
lesions may also bleed slightly.
How Probiotics Treat
Candida
Probiotic bacteria have ability to inhibit the growth of pathogenic
microbes. Two of the most common friendly strains are bifidobacteria and acidophilus. The first
type of probiotic inhibits the growth of candida and the latter prevents overgrowth of pathogenic
bacteria and fungus.
In the Journal of Dental Research researchers evaluated the effectiveness of using
probiotics to treat candida in the elderly. During the 16-week study, 276 elderly people ate 50
gram of either probiotic or control cheese daily. By the end of the study, high salivary yeast
count declined by 32 percent in the probiotic cheese group and increased by 21 percent in the control group. The
probiotic treatment reduced risk of high yeast counts by 75 percent and hyposalivation by 56
percent.
These results show that probiotic bacteria can effectively control oral candida and hyposalivation
in the elderly. Researchers believe probiotics may effectively treat Candida because they reduce
the subjective feeling of dry mouth and the prevalence of hyposalivation. However, the precise
reason for these reductions is unclear. Probiotics may also affect saliva composition, specifically
the concentrations of mucins and salivary immunoglobulins, as evident in other test subjects.
If you want a natural remedy for candida, probiotics are ideal. Probiotic fermented foods and cultured milk products have existed since ancient times and have no known
side effects. You can find probiotics readily available in drugstores with probiotics and
dietary supplements, and as well probiotic supplements are available online. For
standardized doses, supplements are considered to be more reliable as the probiotic content in
food varies and may be lower than the amount found in supplements.
Study Source: Journal of Dental Research, Vol. 86, No. 2, 125-130,
2007; Probiotics Reduce the Prevalence of Oral Candida in the Elderly-a Randomized Controlled
Trial; K. Hatakka, A.J. Ahola et. al.
Next: Probiotics and Cancer
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The above information is provided for general educational purposes
only. It is not intended to replace competent health care advice received from a knowledgeable
healthcare professional. You are urged to seek healthcare advice for the treatment of any illness
or disease. The statements made within this website have not been evaluated by Health Canada and
the Food and Drug Administration (USA). These statements and products on this website are not
intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
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