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Educate rather than medicate! It is obvious that no one diet or treatment suits all in the fight against Candida Albicans. The crucial element that applies to everyone is a healthy Gastrointestinal Tract, and our genetic makeup determines in part precisely how that functions. There are broad generalizations that can be made.

Antibiotics destroy friendly and non friendly gut bacteria, when this happens the bad overgrows and mutate into moles which can penetrate the intestinal wall and then is set free to become a systemic infection affecting the whole body. Replacing friendly bacteria, the acidophilus types of intestinal bacterium is crucial to the health of the gastro intestinal tract. While this is very important all the time it is most important during the die off period, when the Candida can thrive again in the empty pockets of the intestines.

Eating raw vegetables is good because raw foods have enzymes present which assist in the digestion of the food. These enzymes are often destroyed by cooking. When we do not digest food completely we fail to get all the nutrients out of that food. Plant based digestive enzymes in the stomach work whether our body is acid or alkaline the pH Balance is not critical, so our bodies find it easier to digest vegetables, once they reach the stomach the digestive process begins. On the other hand, animal based protein, fish or meat, do not begin to work until the stomach content has a pH balance of around pH 3, which means that it needs acid to be digested. Plants such as Echinacea, and thyme and marigold can build the immune system they do not cause the side effects of antibiotics.

The Immune system is the body's natural protection agent. Without it, the body would not be able to defend itself against invading bacteria, viruses, toxins and microbes. Building the immune system is an important part of keeping a healthy body that can repel attacks naturally. Unfortunately, the immune system works silently, we cannot see it working and it is only when factors such as stress or illness affect it that we realize that all is not well.

Homeostasis is a biological condition, which means the inherent tendency in an organism toward the maintenance of physiological and psychological equilibrium. When the body cannot maintain a homeostatic state, unpleasant symptoms occur, these symptoms are the bodies 'panic button', it is saying it is out of synchronization. The body will make sure that all essential functions receive the maximum support, this means the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys as vital organism will get the bulk of all available nutrients. Non-essential bodily functions, which include skin replenishment, muscle tone, skin tone, hair replacement, and keeping the joints healthy becomes secondary functions. Although they are not life threatening the effects of them not being carried out can be seen externally very quickly.

All drugs, including drugs considered safe to be bought without prescription such as aspirin, have negative side effects to the body, as they all deplete nutrients. The body can also be aggravated by exposure to environmental pollutants and stress makes it all worse.

Probiotics contain live bacteria and prebiotics are nutrients designed to promote beneficial bacteria in the gastro intestinal tract. The European union have invested over '15 million, which in dollars is nearer $20,000 in trying to find out whether they have a scientific basis. Michael Blaut, head of microbiology at the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam has pioneered a lot of this research. He maintains that we know little of the ecosystem in the human gut, other than the fact, it is normal for it to have 1.2 kilograms, 2.4 pounds of bacteria.

Molecular biologist Jo'l Dor' working with the French agricultural research agency (INRA) has found that the faecal matter of adults is quite different. Though his work is unpublished at the moment, it suggests that whilst the gut is capable of supporting thousands of different types of bacteria most people only cultivate about a hundred, partly because we all cultivate bacteria in different ways. Before we are born, our guts are sterile but we accumulate bacteria whilst being born from the vaginal passage and faecal bacteria of our mothers. By the time we are two we have ingested our complement of bacteria and that does not change much as we age. The good news is that this seems to thwart the invasion of new bacteria such as salmonella in the gut. Probiotics cannot permanently affect the contents of the gut; if they are to have any effect at all they must be ingested daily. Preliminary studies show that they can be effective for some people with some types of inflammatory bowel diseases, but not necessarily against a Candida infection.

One Finnish medical study that was conducted studied the effects on pregnant women of a daily dose of Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and later the babies were to these women were given a daily dose for the first six months of their lives. The results were quite conclusive; the babies were less prone to eczema, which is one of the symptoms of Candida. Dr. Erika Isolauri conducted the survey and whilst the reason why the children were protected is not understood she has hypothesized that the probiotic shifted inflammatory factors in the gut.

There are some dietary guidelines for cleansing the body of Candida:

Eat different foods and rotate the food groups daily.
Eat high fibre foods such as chickpeas to absorb the toxins
Drink at least two litres of pure water daily.
Snack on raw veggies.
Make certain that your foods do not form any form of mold, store them correctly in airtight tubs in the refrigerator and eat them before they get moldy.