Candida is a pathogenic yeast. While it occurs in small amounts in our gut it is ideally kept in check by healthy bacteria. Use of antibiotics, or eating too many carbs and sugars can allow bad bacteria to flourish and throw can throw off this balance.
One of the strangest things about going on the Candida Diet for me, was that every time kicked it up a notch in terms of what killed off the Candida in my system I noticed definite mood changes. I would experience definite changes in terms of anxiety or irritability. At first I wasn't completely sure that these two events coincided, but over time I have monitored my own situation closely to see. Still in the back of my mind, I wondered if I was just creating this all in my head? I mean how could working on my digestive system seem to affect my moods so closely?
Just recently, my sister brought an article to my attention that confirms just that.
Our digestive system, specifically the flora in our intestinal tract influences brain function.
Here's a direct link to the article:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-through-245617.aspx
Here are some of the high points from the article:
For sound downloads click here.
Just a personal note: There is nothing new under the sun. I am just attempting to present info. here that has helped me. I hope to present it in a clear way based on my experience with anxiety which was a spiritual, psychological and emotional awakening for me. In retrospect of this experience I have been reading as much as I could to come to a deeper and more grounded understanding of this seemingly mystical thing that happened to me (so that I could share it with you). I'm not a doctor or a scientist. Please know this is only my experience. Yours will obviously be different, but since my experience was so similar to others I've talked to, I am hoping this may be helpful or useful to you in some way. It's also a way that I hope to share my love with you. That is my purpose here.
One of the strangest things about going on the Candida Diet for me, was that every time kicked it up a notch in terms of what killed off the Candida in my system I noticed definite mood changes. I would experience definite changes in terms of anxiety or irritability. At first I wasn't completely sure that these two events coincided, but over time I have monitored my own situation closely to see. Still in the back of my mind, I wondered if I was just creating this all in my head? I mean how could working on my digestive system seem to affect my moods so closely?
Just recently, my sister brought an article to my attention that confirms just that.
Our digestive system, specifically the flora in our intestinal tract influences brain function.
Here's a direct link to the article:
http://newsroom.ucla.edu/portal/ucla/changing-gut-bacteria-through-245617.aspx
Here are some of the high points from the article:
UCLA researchers now have the first evidence that bacteria ingested in food can affect brain function in humans. In an early proof-of-concept study of healthy women, they found that women who regularly consumed beneficial bacteria known as probiotics through yogurt showed altered brain function, both while in a resting state and in response to an emotion-recognition task.
The discovery that changing the bacterial environment, or microbiota, in the gut can affect the brain carries significant implications for future research that could point the way toward dietary or drug interventions to improve brain function, the researchers said.
Researchers have known that the brain sends signals to the gut, which is why stress and other emotions can contribute to gastrointestinal symptoms. This study shows what has been suspected but until now had been proved only in animal studies: that signals travel the opposite way as well.
"Time and time again, we hear from patients that they never felt depressed or anxious until they started experiencing problems with their gut," Tillisch said. "Our study shows that the gut–brain connection is a two-way street."
During the resting brain scan, the women consuming probiotics showed greater connectivity between a key brainstem region known as the periaqueductal grey and cognition-associated areas of the prefrontal cortex. The women who ate no product at all, on the other hand, showed greater connectivity of the periaqueductal grey to emotion- and sensation-related regions, while the group consuming the non-probiotic dairy product showed results in between.
The researchers were surprised to find that the brain effects could be seen in many areas, including those involved in sensory processing and not merely those associated with emotion, Tillisch said.
The knowledge that signals are sent from the intestine to the brain and that they can be modulated by a dietary change is likely to lead to an expansion of research aimed at finding new strategies to prevent or treat digestive, mental and neurological disorders, said Dr. Emeran Mayer, a professor of medicine (digestive diseases), physiology and psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the study's senior author.
Finally, as the complexity of the gut flora and its effect on the brain is better understood, researchers may find ways to manipulate the intestinal contents to treat chronic pain conditions or other brain related diseases, including, potentially, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and autism.Also, see my original post about Candida here. What it is.. and some of the things you can do to kick it.
For sound downloads click here.
Just a personal note: There is nothing new under the sun. I am just attempting to present info. here that has helped me. I hope to present it in a clear way based on my experience with anxiety which was a spiritual, psychological and emotional awakening for me. In retrospect of this experience I have been reading as much as I could to come to a deeper and more grounded understanding of this seemingly mystical thing that happened to me (so that I could share it with you). I'm not a doctor or a scientist. Please know this is only my experience. Yours will obviously be different, but since my experience was so similar to others I've talked to, I am hoping this may be helpful or useful to you in some way. It's also a way that I hope to share my love with you. That is my purpose here.