Many girls ask ‘what causes candida infections’. It happens mainly when something causes rapid overgrowth of candida albicans, causing infection to the body. Candida is present in small spore-like form in moist dark surfaces of the body like mouth, vagina and intestines along with more numerous neutral bacteria waiting for the right conditions to cause infection.
When opportunity presents itself it transforms into multi-cellular rooted organisms that implants itself in body’s tissues, causing infection and symptoms.
Certain factors influence growth of candida like:
Factors that influence growth of candida
High blood sugar
Like all yeasts, candida loves sugar and they use it to grow and multiply. The vagina is especially rich in sugar. Frequent intake of sugary foods, sweets, foods with corn syrup, honey and white flour often causes elevated blood sugar levels that create a lot of fodder for candida. It gives large food supply to the candida, which in turn multiply and transform to infect body’s tissues.
Use of certain lubricants
There is a jungle of personal lubricants there in the market. But some lubricants use glycerin, glycerol or glycogen as thickening agent. In addition, many lubricants are flavored for better palatability. Glycogen is actually a converted sugar, and in addition to added sugars for flavor, it provides another source of fodder for candida to grow and multiply.
Long-term use of commercial douches
Commercial douches are often marketed as essentials in every feminine kit, that what advertisers want you to think. Douches should be used only when necessary, like in vaginal bacterial infections. Commercial douches often contain strong antiseptics which kill a large percentage of good bacteria that controls numbers of candida. Now that competitors are gone, candida is free to multiply and infect the body. What causes candida infections is frequent use of these products.
Improper use of antibiotics
Many people use antibiotics for almost everything, from simple viral colds to stomach upsets. Antibiotics should be used only under the direction of the doctor, as microbes often acquire resistance from improper use of antibiotics. In addition, antibiotics often kill a large part of good bacteria in our body, leaving candida mostly unscathed to grow and multiply.
Controlling and treating candida infections
These natural remedies help control candida population in your body:
- Stop using personal lubricants with glycerol, glycerin and glycogen. Choose other lubricants that are water or oil based.
- Minimize use of douches to once every two days. Washing vagina with mild soap and water twice a day is better to avoid harming good bacteria.
- Changing diet from high-calorie to high fiber diet is essential if you want to control candida.
- Probiotics can help repopulate good bacteria population in the body to crowd out candida. Have at least two servings of yoghurt products per day.
- Use gentle and pH friendly apple cider vinegar as feminine wash. Mix three tablespoons to a glass of water and use as douche.
Candida is a hardy pathogen; it cannot be completely eliminated in the body. So do not believe when you read a product that kills all candida in your body, which is clearly untrue. What causes candida infections is its overgrowth, and controlling its numbers is key to eliminate infection to your body.
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