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Bloating, brain fog, fatigue and sugar cravings: could candida overgrowth be part of the picture? Dr. Taz explains the signs she considers, how she approaches candida testing, and what to discuss with your healthcare provider about next steps.

Candida is a yeast that naturally lives in the body. In this episode, Dr. Taz explores the debate surrounding gut yeast overgrowth, shares observations from her clinical practice, and discusses the limitations of current research.

Learn about the testing approaches she uses, the connections she considers between the gut microbiome and hormonal health, and why she has moved away from highly restrictive candida diets toward more personalized plans.

In This Episode
• Symptoms often discussed alongside candida, including bloating, brain fog, fatigue, sugar cravings and a white tongue
• Research on antibiotics and changes in candida levels
• Blood, stool and other candida testing approaches
• How diet, stress, medications and hormones fit into Dr. Taz’s assessment
• Her evolving approach to the candida diet
• Probiotics, antifungal treatments and individualized care

Chapters
00:00 Could your symptoms be related to candida?
01:20 What the research says and where questions remain
03:20 White tongue, bloating, brain fog and other symptoms
06:15 How Dr. Taz approaches candida testing
07:20 Go deeper with The Circle
08:05 Diet, hormones, medications and stress
11:00 Rethinking restrictive candida diets
12:10 Probiotics and personalized treatment approaches
13:25 The debate, clinical observations and next steps

#CandidaOvergrowth #GutHealth #candidate

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Produced by https://ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)

[00:00:00] I’m about to go into contested territory, into a topic heavily debated, [00:00:05] sometimes verified, sometimes dismissed, but in the middle of all that is [00:00:10] you, the patient. Let’s talk about candida. If you’ve got sugar cravings [00:00:15] you can’t explain, bloating that will arrive with every single afternoon, brain fog, [00:00:20] fatigue, and here’s the tip, a white coating on your tongue, you [00:00:25] may have an issue with candida, a yeast that lives in our guts and is [00:00:30] natural and normal for all of us to have.
But in today’s environment and [00:00:35] landscape, I see over and over an overgrowth of candida. [00:00:40] But we continue to dismiss this as something that’s not real and something we [00:00:45] don’t need to pay attention to. This debate started a long time ago, almost 40 years [00:00:50] ago, when researchers and scientists started to talk about fungal overgrowth [00:00:55] and is it something that they needed to be thinking about and really training [00:01:00] clinicians to look for.
The answer at the end of the day was no, but only with a lot of [00:01:05] back and forth in between with people arguing and debating [00:01:10] and saying sometimes that this is real and sometimes that it’s irrelevant. [00:01:15] So let’s get a little bit into the debate and see what’s going on. And I wanna share [00:01:20] with you a study that was done about 20
Let’s see, this study is about 20 [00:01:25] years old. Researchers took 22 healthy people, no symptoms, [00:01:30] no illnesses, and then tracked them over six months. They gave them a three-day course [00:01:35] of antibiotics and followed them, and every single one of them [00:01:40] originally was carrying candida, and then over the course of the six months, every [00:01:45] single person’s levels of candida were out of control.
What the study answered [00:01:50] was that, first of all, candida is real, and secondly, candida levels [00:01:55] change depending on what you’re doing in your body or with your body. But then there [00:02:00] were arguments against candida as well. So here’s another study that came out from a [00:02:05] gastroenterologist at Weill Cornell who wrote a piece for the International Scientific Association for [00:02:10] Probiotics and Prebiotics calling most candida claims misinformation.[00:02:15]
He points out that a study of 150 patients with fungal overgrowth [00:02:20] couldn’t actually attribute their symptoms to the fungus, ’cause nobody ever documented whether [00:02:25] the treatment for it actually helped. So that’s fair criticism, right? It’s a real hole, [00:02:30] and I think that’s something we keep seeing kind of in the integrative and functional medicine world, [00:02:35] where there’s an opportunity to do more diligent and effective research.
But the [00:02:40] challenge that we have as a clinician and in the exam room is that the research is [00:02:45] not catching up to what we are seeing, and you, the patient, is caught in the middle. [00:02:50] So yes, we need more research on candida and more controlled studies, and [00:02:55] our clinics, uh, hope to do that in the years ahead with the population base that we have.[00:03:00]
But we can tell you whether you are a child, a teenager, someone in your [00:03:05] 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, or beyond, candida is real, [00:03:10] and we’re actually able to look for it, measure it, and see what the progress [00:03:15] of it is, and that’s been some of the greatest success stories that we’ve seen in practice. [00:03:20] We can try and begin the story with you.
Stick your tongue out for a second [00:03:25] and take a look at it. Again, if you’re driving, be careful. If your tongue is coated and [00:03:30] you have a white, thick coat, Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, [00:03:35] and even today, to a certain extent, conventional medicine tells us that is a [00:03:40] sign of some level of yeast overgrowth, more than likely [00:03:45] candida, because it is the most predominant yeast in the body So again, that [00:03:50] could be your starting point.
But there are so many other ways to know that candida is [00:03:55] an issue for you. One of the things that we have seen over and over again is [00:04:00] symptoms like bloating or brain fog, weight gain are all often driven [00:04:05] by candida. Candida also seems to be intricately related [00:04:10] to the concept of insulin resistance. So for example, when there is a shift in [00:04:15] the microbiome towards a higher candida or higher yeast state, that is [00:04:20] also when we see more insulin resistance, and the two are interconnected.
More [00:04:25] yeast, more candida, higher blood sugars, higher fasting insulins, higher [00:04:30] A1Cs, higher visceral fat, more fatty liver, more belly fat. I can [00:04:35] go on. It’s definitely a path, right, that we see play out [00:04:40] over and over again. I should say pattern. Definitely a pattern we see play out over and over again [00:04:45] Let’s bring in one more variable, because I often talk about the three-hit theory and how there are three [00:04:50] hits for everything and everything is interconnected.
For many of our patients with [00:04:55] PCOS, what we find, or now PMOS, what we find is that [00:05:00] they have candida as the root gut cause that then drives the insulin resistance, [00:05:05] that then influences expression of the androgens, ’cause they’re a little bit more [00:05:10] androgen sensitive to begin with. So you have this candida insulin androgen [00:05:15] triangle, which is driving the autoimmunity and inflammatory response of something [00:05:20] like PCOS or PMOS.
We also know that when there [00:05:25] are higher levels of candida, and we’ve been able to measure this in practice, there is a higher [00:05:30] histamine response. So many of the patients that come in with MCAS, mast cell activation [00:05:35] syndrome, for example, or chronic allergies, chronic urticaria, [00:05:40] are all, at the end of the day, candida patients, believe it or not, and we find that [00:05:45] candida is the root cause of that.
We also find candida tied [00:05:50] to many skin infections, whether it is psoriasis or vitiligo or [00:05:55] psoriatic arthritis or eczema or acne. Bottom line, what the [00:06:00] microbiome is doing is important. It always has been. But what’s getting missed [00:06:05] in the exam room, and also in research, is the importance of screening and [00:06:10] understanding what to do for candida or for yeast overgrowth.
[00:06:15] Those are some of the common conditions and symptoms that I will see and my team will see at Hol+ [00:06:20] over and over again with candida. But then we go into how do we [00:06:25] nail it, right? Beyond the coated white tongue, beyond the symptomology that I just talked [00:06:30] about, what else can we do to help somebody understand if this is a risk [00:06:35] for them?
And this is where testing and screening actually does make a difference. [00:06:40] A lot of times you have to test at multiple points, and again, [00:06:45] really embrace that idea of patterning and trending and tracking to make a [00:06:50] diagnosis of candida. We look at blood level tests. We look at a candida [00:06:55] IgA, IgM, and IgG. Each of those tell us something about [00:07:00] candida.
Is it in the gut? Do you have an active infection, or were you exposed to it before? [00:07:05] We like to look at stool tests as well to see if you’re growing candida in your stool. [00:07:10] It’s oftentimes a quick reflection of what’s going on in the gut. And then there are other [00:07:15] yeast markers that you can measure in urine or also in blood to help [00:07:20] make that determination.
I wanna pause here because I see this pattern all the time. [00:07:25] People are doing the research, they’re listening to the podcast, they’re trying to take better care of themselves, [00:07:30] and they still feel so stuck, especially when it comes to their health, their hormones, [00:07:35] their stress, and even taking care of their families.
That’s why I created The Circle. [00:07:40] The Circle is my private membership where we go deeper into these topics with real [00:07:45] guidance, demos, live sessions, and a supportive community. If you wanna try it, there’s [00:07:50] a one-month trial available right now. You can learn more at [00:07:55] Holplus.co/circle. That’s [00:08:00] Holplus.co/circle or just click the link in the description below and use the code YouTube.[00:08:05]
Now let’s continue the conversation. But once you have an understanding that candida [00:08:10] is the risk for you, then it’s important to build a plan that gradually helps to [00:08:15] reverse it. And this again enters yet another contested area of [00:08:20] medicine. First, there’s the acceptance that candida is real. Now there’s the [00:08:25] acceptance, okay, it’s real, but what do we do about it?
And here’s where it [00:08:30] needs to be a personalized story, and I wish I could make it simpler. But what I can do is make you an [00:08:35] advocate for your own health so you can start to think about this and ask for some of these things as you [00:08:40] move forward. Candida comes from a number of different sources. There [00:08:45] are genetics that drive candida.
In particular, MTHFR [00:08:50] C677T is a gene that drives a tendency towards yeast or [00:08:55] candida. In addition to the genetics though, we know that [00:09:00] consuming a diet high in fructose or processed foods and refined [00:09:05] carbohydrates is going to contribute to candida in anyone, whether you have the genetics or you don’t.[00:09:10]
But if you have the genetics, it’s going to make it so much worse. You’ll have a much [00:09:15] more exaggerated response to it. We also know that hormones [00:09:20] impact candida. Low progesterone states trigger higher yeast states, [00:09:25] as do low estrogen states. It’s fascinating. It’s that gut hormone connection [00:09:30] again We know, for example, that certain medications, [00:09:35] like antibiotics that I cited in the study, and even antidepressants and [00:09:40] anti-anxiety medications can skew the microbiome towards [00:09:45] candida.
Everything is connected. The environment plays a [00:09:50] role in this as well. The toxins that we get exposed to day in and day out, [00:09:55] glyphosate, the pesticide now in our drinking water and in so many different [00:10:00] places, influence the load of candida as well. And last but certainly not [00:10:05] least is stress. There’s a strong connection between cortisol [00:10:10] and the stress response and an overgrowth of yeast in the body, specifically in [00:10:15] the gut.
We can always argue chicken and egg, what came first? Did cortisol crash the [00:10:20] hormones or the neurotransmitters, and that impacted the gut? Or did cortisol crash the [00:10:25] gut, which then impacted everything else? You can debate all that stuff, but it doesn’t matter when you [00:10:30] take the holistic approach. Because if you enter this conversation understanding [00:10:35] that there are three hits to everything, and everything is interconnected, and the journey [00:10:40] of health and the roadmap of health is really more about connecting the dots and winding your [00:10:45] story together, then you understand arguing and debating about what came [00:10:50] first is irrelevant.
Instead, helping to really [00:10:55] nail that this is the thing that’s driving all these different symptoms is much more [00:11:00] helpful Once that acceptance happens and once that diagnosis is [00:11:05] made, turning candida around really involves a holistic [00:11:10] plan, and that’s why it’s so frustrating. You know, in the early days of practice, I would tell people to go on these [00:11:15] candida diets, and they were miserable.
It took everything out. It took out, [00:11:20] you know, dairy and gluten and sugar and yeast and alcohol, and people were like, “What do I [00:11:25] eat?” Right? Not everybody wants to live on protein and lean meats and [00:11:30] vegetables all the time. As I’ve practiced over the years, my tone has changed a bit, and [00:11:35] I’ve realized that we wanna do things that are sustainable and realistic.
So now my [00:11:40] recommendation is usually can you be candida-free from a dietary [00:11:45] standpoint at least 80% of the time? Meaning take out the biggest [00:11:50] hits, the biggest culprits, which are dairy and alcohol and sugar. [00:11:55] If you can take those three out, go dairy-free, drop alcohol [00:12:00] for six to eight weeks, really watch your intake of refined sugar, maybe we [00:12:05] can let up a little bit on the yeast products and the gluten and all this other stuff.[00:12:10]
But pair that type of diet with a plan to minimize candida in your [00:12:15] body, and that means going on the right probiotics so that you can balance out the gut [00:12:20] microbiome. In patients that are a little bit more severe, we will do things to [00:12:25] minimize the load of candida, whether those are natural herbal supplements like berberine [00:12:30] or we’re moving more towards, uh, doing medications like an [00:12:35] antifungal to lower the load.
Again, at the end of the day, it’s really looking at the [00:12:40] patient and trying to get that story. The frontiers in medicine are exciting because they’re looking at [00:12:45] things like peptides to minimize candida. So KPV, for example, is a peptide that we’ve [00:12:50] seen a lot of benefit from that helps to lower the load of candida in the body.[00:12:55]
So for each patient, we’re trying to stitch together what really makes sense. Are you mild, moderate, or [00:13:00] severe? And that sometimes will determine what we reach for in the toolbox. [00:13:05] But we also know that hormones will influence this, medications will influence [00:13:10] this. You know, for anyone going through PCOS, perimenopause, menopause, on [00:13:15] fertility treatments, off fertility treatments, and everything in between, candida [00:13:20] is sort of a running theme that we are looking for to see if we need to [00:13:25] do anything in that regard.
And in the weight loss and metabolic health conversation, [00:13:30] candida needs to be accounted for as well. So as we’re going through [00:13:35] this idea of candida, again, I started by saying this was a highly contested and highly [00:13:40] debated topic in medical literature, where most doctors dismiss it, most [00:13:45] gastroenterologists dismiss it, and don’t believe it’s a condition that necessarily [00:13:50] needs to be treated.
I would push back. I would say, yes, I [00:13:55] understand that some of the research that’s been done to date has probably not been effective in [00:14:00] nailing it, but I think we need better research, and I think we need to [00:14:05] control for things like where hormones are and what the environmental load is, and [00:14:10] what a normal or acceptable level of healthy bacteria and candida is [00:14:15] given the environment we live in today.
There are so [00:14:20] many successful patient stories that I could tell you where once we treated [00:14:25] candida as the root cause, that is when something like MCAS went away, [00:14:30] or POTS got better, chronic urticaria got better, or even hormone [00:14:35] imbalances improved. And that once we balanced hormones effectively, [00:14:40] which you can do, that’s when candida got better.
And that [00:14:45] candida, if you are seeing it, is really a sign and a signal to begin [00:14:50] with the gut as your first stop when it comes to roadmapping out your health [00:14:55] So while this topic is debated and contested and [00:15:00] maybe buzzed around in the wellness world or dismissed in the medical world, [00:15:05] I urge you to take the middle path.
As a holistic and integrative and functional medicine [00:15:10] doctor that has been seeing patients for a really long period of time, this is real. [00:15:15] The research is behind, and I need you to connect the dots on your [00:15:20] story so that you can change the course of your health. If you think you might have [00:15:25] candida and you’re curious, we have so many resources for you.
Of course, you can book an [00:15:30] appointment at Hol+. Head over to Holplus.co\appointments if you want [00:15:35] to really begin a personal roadmap in understanding what your variables are [00:15:40] when it comes to something like candida or you’re dealing with an autoimmune disease that nobody’s been [00:15:45] able to really nail.
But if you just want to dip your toe into this [00:15:50] conversation, we have a lot of things within our store if you head over to [00:15:55] shop.Holplus.co which do target candida as a starting step. [00:16:00] But regardless, even though we use these products and we talk about them day in and day out, [00:16:05] each of you should own and know your story and really [00:16:10] have a partner to help you along the way.
All right. This is an important topic. I think [00:16:15] candida’s only getting worse. It applies to our children, it applies to our seniors, and everybody in between. [00:16:20] Share this with someone who might need some help in understanding around the [00:16:25] idea of candida. And don’t forget, I’m posting episodes here every week.
[00:16:30] Subscribe to the podcast where we really try to push the future of medicine forward. [00:16:35] Before you go, remember healing doesn’t happen all at once. It happens in [00:16:40] moments. If today’s episode gave you one of those moments, subscribe and keep [00:16:45] learning with me. The next video is right here, and it picks up right where this one left off