At 11:38 AM -0800 14/12/03, Tad wrote:

>I've never heard of this. What are the usual symptoms of Candida overgrowth?

Bloating, gas, diarrhoea. Susceptibility to other yeast infections.
Lethargy. It can eventually degrade the intestinal wall leading to
"leaky gut" which in turn leads to the full array of auto-immune
diseases plaguing modern civilization.

Chronic Fatigue and IBS are often words doctors use to make patients
feel like they have a diagnosis when in fact the MD has no idea what
the problem is. Candida overgrowth is often the cause of the symptoms.

Candida is a yeast that grows naturally in the intestine along with
a plethora of other fungi and bacteria. But sometimes the candida
increases in population crowding out the other gut flora. The
trigger is often repeat courses of antibiotics which knocks out the
bacteria and allows the yeast to flourish uninhibited.

IMHO, antibiotics should always be taken with anti-fungals and once
the course is over probiotics should be taken in large doses to help
re-establish the healthy gut flora.

 ...R.