I have had a lot of interest in this post about ‘Toe Nail Fungus” and have been asked to enhance this article with more information.
In the healing world, I see so many people suffering from fungus in their toenails. This is a message from your body that you need to do an urgent detox of your body, especially checking if you have high levels of Candida.
We all carry the fungal strain called candida albicans in our bodies. For people with healthy immune and digestive systems, it causes few health concerns. But candida is an opportunistic micro-organism and becomes a problem from low immune, excess sugars, and even an overload of chemicals or Electro Magnetic Radiation, yet few are aware that toxins in foods such as pesticides and preservatives can cause candida levels to increase, or as we say multiply.
It is not just eating sugars or processed foods that increase candida, there can also be viral overload that can cause candida to overgrow, such as Epstein Barr Virus. This is for another post. But many people suffering from this virus are not only suffering from candida but also ‘leaky gut’ syndrome.
Then estrogen can help grow candida — so many women experience increased thrush infections (and issues like bloating and flatulence) during pregnancy. This is not just by chance as pregnancy and birth control pills lead to a spike in the body’s estrogen levels and estrogen can help candida grow.
Another study tested three different strains of candida in the lab and found that when estradiol (the antagonistic form of estrogen) was added to the mix, the candida showed an increase in growth and survived, even when temperatures were raised. The estrogen also helped to strengthen the Candid’s multi-drug resistance compared with cells not exposed to estrogen.
This overgrowth most often occurs in areas like your skin, digestive tract, mouth, and vagina. Candida also helps other unhealthy bacteria and parasites take hold and thrive in your body. And as your candida population grows, it starts to affect everything from your hormone balance to the function of some body systems and organs. These studies are wake-up calls for women — reminding us about the importance of hormonal balance. When women develop estrogen dominance there are many knock-on effects and one of those is clearly the risk of triggering or worsening candida issues, little discussed when a woman has her hormone tests done.
In our modern world, most women complain of living on the run, 24/7. And ED can sometimes kick in simply because women are so stressed that their immunity is constantly weakened and their progesterone levels drop. This makes sense because progesterone is a calming hormone and your body doesn’t really want that on board when it thinks you’re about to fight a saber-toothed tiger! By contrast, when estrogen and progesterone are balanced, women enjoy the health perks of progesterone, which helps lower anxiety and stress responses. Candida can be a constant roadblock to that balance.
There is also evidence that candida can bind to estrogen and prevent it from being taken up by estrogen receptors. Women who then take progesterone to deal with hormonal issues may not feel better. In fact, many integrative practitioners believe that a negative reaction to progesterone cream is a sign of candida issues. That’s why if you suspect you suffer from chronic yeast issues, it is important to treat both candida and hormonal imbalance at the same time. This is important for all women to understand — when looking at the feelings of hormonal imbalance.
As we mentioned Toe Nail Fungus is an outward manifestation of an underlying health issue inside your body. I have found after treating hundreds of clients, toenail fungus is linked to colon/intestinal health or gallbladder health. You may wonder, how does candida get from your gut to your nail beds?
Pathogenic fungi such as Candida have evolved to survive in a human host through morphogenesis, meaning they can change their cell shape and size. Candida changes from a rounded cell to an elongated hyphal cell. These elongated hyphal cells can then permeate the lining of the gut. This leads to leaky gut syndrome. A leaky gut allows the yeast to escape your gut via your bloodstream and colonize other areas of your body, including toenails and fingernails. This is how Candida can quickly escalate from a gut issue to a whole-body problem, and why it can be so difficult to pinpoint, as it can affect everything from your brain to your skin.
Candida or fungus clearing needs a change of lifestyle habits that work with your food choices, enhancing your gut health, learning how to manage stress, be aware that antibiotics knock out the good bacteria and the bad creating the perfect conditions for candida to enjoy a population boosts all over your body. That’s why treatment with a course of antibiotics can often lead women to develop vaginal thrush and more. Depending on the antibiotic, they can dramatically change the amount and type of bacteria in the gut.
Environmental toxins and chemicals are the culprits ranging from toxic metals to chemicals in your food, cosmetics, and environment. A good case in point is chlorine, which you can absorb by drinking unfiltered water. This can kill off good bacteria in your gut, making your belly ecosystem even more-candida friendly.
When you are taking medications they can trigger candida overgrowth in some women because of impacts on the liver, hormones, and microbiome: medications such as:-Birth Control Pills, Hormone Replacement Therapy, Steroids, Antacids, Antidepressants, Anti-inflammatory drugs
So often I see Candida overgrowth in my autoimmune patients, this is linked to the Epstein Barr Virus. All are found on my Natural Healing Resources on our website.
Diagnosing Candida Systemic candida is notoriously difficult to diagnose (and treat). Blood Tests are not reliable. If your doctor is willing to run these tests, it’s a good starting point but does not conclude you are candida-free just because they come back negative. Let your symptoms speak louder than the tests!
Here is a simple Spit test you can do at home to see if your levels of candida are high.
The Spit Test is my preferred method for candida detection. Though it has not been studied scientifically, I have found in my own practice that the test is very reliable.
To do the Spit Test you: Do not eat any dairy the day before your test. Fill a clean glass with filtered water at room temperature.
Spit some saliva into the glass in the morning before you have eaten, drunk, or cleaned your teeth.
Check the glass every 20 minutes over the next hour to look for:
Result #1: The saliva floats on top and nothing happens — it’s a great sign that you most likely do not have candida.
Result #2: The jellyfish effect, where strings start to grow, stretching down into the water from the saliva that is floating on the top, or specks of saliva suspended in the water — either one could be a sign of candida (that was my saliva)!
Result #3: The saliva sinks to the bottom — very likely it’s a serious case of candida yeast overgrowth.
Now you have the tools to test your body yourself and watch as you clear this from your system.
Natural solutions recommend our program for cleaning out the cells of the body. Step one is to starve the yeast by eliminating the foods that feed it, with no sugar, or alcohol, limiting carbohydrates, and starchy vegetables, limit grains, and legumes to no more than one cup a day. Preferably eat vegan for 40 days to give your body a chance to ‘Breathe’. Second Attack the yeast by taking Natural Solutions for Candida and Fungus, one Capsule of each after two meals daily.
Third-order a month’s supply of Intra Cellular Cleansing herbs, this includes Burdock Root as a blood purifier, liver cleanser, and kidney cleanser; Dandelion Root to purify the blood, liver cleanser, and kidney cleanser; Sarsaparilla Root as a Blood purifier, diuretic, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory; Stinging Nettle to Detoxify the body, promote healthy blood circulation and for cardiovascular health, for men helps with an enlarged prostate. Pure Berberine is anti-bacterial; balances blood sugar while detoxing, and helps balance the metabolism. Last bladderwrack and Sea Moss for their vitamin and mineral compounds. Instructions on how to take these are included in the package. Each herb is 30 capsules and one of each daily. Fourth, one hour before bedtime you take Natural Solutions Colon Cleanse which has the ability to ‘scrub’ the intestines and colon of excess mucous and candida. Last you soak your feet in Natural Solutions Fungus Foot Soak, natural and organic minerals, and herbs to help dissolve and eliminate toenail fungus.
To make this foot soak you take 1/2 cup of Bicarbonate of Soda, Epsom salts, and Sea Salt Crystals. Put this into a jar and it is a base for your foot soak. Purchase these salts from a health shop, not a supermarket. Fill a foot soak with hot water, and take 1/2 a cup of your base mix and put into a foot soak, Add 1 Tablespoon of Flowers Of Sulphur (we stock this) into the foot soak bowl, Now add 6 drops of Tea Tree Essential Oil, and 6 drops of Oregano essential oil.
Soak your feet for half an hour nightly and watch the fungus dissolve — within a month to 6 weeks you will have clear toenails. Remember you do need to work with your Gut Health.
We do recommend you work with a health care professional as often with Candida and gut issues the body is in need of probiotics, or good bacteria, that keep the yeast in check while you are healing.
Send me your comments or questions.
Yours in good health.