Saturday, August 10, 2013

Could Candida Albicans be causing your histamine intolerance?

Oh hell, not another reason for histamine intolerance! The plot thickens! This post will blow your mind because it will leave you thinking maybe? Could be? Wait, do I even have histamine intolerance at all or do I have both C. Albicans AND histamine intolerance?

Yup I'm right there with ya, perplexed as hell. Because right when I thought I had this shit figured out it was like someone dropped a bomb on my head.

It seems that an imbalance of C. Albicans in the intestines can cause those same holes in your intestines that cause leaky gut where the Candida travels through them and into your bloodstream and wreaking havoc similar to that of histamine. So we all know most of us (unless you just lack DAO) have leaky gut which caused our histamine intolerance to begin with. But what if we were wrong thinking what caused our leaky gut (celiac, inflammation) and it was Candida instead? My brain is confused right now, wait, that's nothing knew I'm always is a foggy state, because of my histamine, err Candida?? Or both? This is NOT fun!

The symptoms of a C. Albicans problem and histamine intolerance are so eerily the same it would take both Einstein and Mr. Magoo to figure out this one (I say Mr. Magoo, because during this sleuth one would almost HAVE to add some humor).

First off let's go over what is Candida Albican? It's a chronic illness and should be taken seriously for one thing let us not forget that.

Copy and paste goin' on here: Candida albicans is a species of yeast-like fungi normally a part of human gastrointestinal flora, but can become pathogenic when there is a disturbance in the balance of flora or in debilitation of the host (also called thrush fungus).

When these suckers get out of control (an imbalance) they wreak havoc on our bodies.

Taken from Whole Approach website:


Candidiasis can present a wide variety of symptoms, the exact combination and severity of which are unique to each individual case. Because candidiasis can manifest itself through many seemingly unrelated symptoms, the diagnosis is very often missed. Please see our self-administered Symptom Assessment Questionnaire on our Candida Diet page. Candida symptoms are usually chronic and include but are not limited to the following:
  1. Allergies: to foods and/or airborne chemicals; particularly adult-onset allergies. The number of offending substances can keep increasing until an individual becomes so sensitive to the everyday environment that they must live in isolation.
  2. Fatique: continual, but often more noticeable after eating.
  3. Gastrointestinal: poor digestion (constipation or diarrhea, gas, bloating, cramps, heartburn, nausea, gastritis, colitis, etc.)
  4. Neurological: carbohydrate cravings, irritability, mood swings, headaches, migraines, "fogged-in" feeling, inability to concentrate/mind "wanders off", poor memory, confusion, dizziness, M.S.-like symptoms (slurred speech, loss of muscle co-ordination, vision affected), depression and/or anxiety without apparent cause (often worse after eating), paranoia without apparent cause, not in total control of one' actions (know right thing to do but unable to execute), mental incompetence (sometimes leading to institutionalization), a variety of other behavioral disturbances.
  5. Genito-urinary: vaginal infections, menstrual difficulties, impotence, infertility, prostatitis, rectal itch, urinary tract infection/inflammation (urgency, burning).
  6. Respiratory: compromised immune system (frequent colds, flus), hay fever, mucous congestion, postnasal drip, asthma, bronchitis, chest pain, frequent clearing of throat, habitual coughing (usually non-productive).
  7. Skin: athlete's foot, jock itch, skin rash, hives, dry brownish patches, psoriasis, ringworm, rough skin on sides of arms which gets worse at certain times of the month or under increased stress.
  8. Symptoms resistant to all modes of therapy. The physician may conclude that patient is a hypochondriac and/or neurotic and may suggest tranquilizers, anti-depressants and/or psychiatric help.
  9. Clinical history (early childhood): ADD, ADHD, hyperactivity, aggressiveness, SKIN problems (cradle cap, diaper rash, thrush), RESPERATORY problems (chronic ear infection, tonsillitis) or GI problems (colic).
  10. Miscellaneous: cold extremities, arthritis-like symptoms, etc.
You can get Candida from the over use of antibiotics from when you were a child and all your life, from chemotherapy or other cancer drugs, a poor diet (rich in sugars).

Candida is even responsible for endometriosis in women. I suffer from endo and have for 12 years. So my mind is zooming with do I have it or don't I? I never really took antibiotics and have eaten extremely clean for 6 years now and never used any cancer drugs. So what's the dealio????

You can take a test on Whole Approach's website here. To see if maybe you could be suffering from these yeastie beasties. I scored a whopping 200 points! So it would appear that I have an issues there. I would tend to believe mine are in the intestines going nuts as I do not suffer from any vaginal or thrush issues.

I do not represent Whole Approach's website in any way or form. I do not get a percentage of any of their products purchased etc. I highly recommend you visit their website for some great info regarding this issue. I have just ordered and received my starter package. I will try it for one month to see how I feel however they require you to be on it for 15 months. Which is QUITE pricey to be on for this long. I'm guessing it depends how bad you are infected. I don't really feel as though I am that bad as I eat very very clean. The only thing I can even think of as to why I scored so high on their quiz is because of progesterone. I use a monthly all natural progesterone cream. This causes candida to grow (although listed below it says "synthetic" progestins). Soooo maybe if I were to just quit taking it I'd be ok? Who the hell knows!! I will keep you updated on how I do. I figure either way histamine intolerance, candida or both it can't hurt to clean out my colon right?!

For the females reading this, this last bit you will find informative:
Female anatomy: Women are generally more susceptible to Candidiasis than men for several reasons:
  1. Female hormonal levels are constantly fluctuating and sustained high levels of estrogen can occur. This condition tends to impair immune system function.
  2. C. albicans growth is stimulated by the female hormone progesterone. Its levels are elevated during pregnancy and in the second half of each menstrual cycle. Synthetic progestins are found in oral contraceptives and also contribute to candida overgrowth.
  3. The female anatomy lends itself to the ready migration of C. albicans from the rectum to the genito-urinary system. Vaginal yeast infections are a common result.


Stress is also a MAJOR factor in both candida and histamine intolerance, because anything that  lowers your immune system is going to screw with your ability to fight off anything. So keep that in mind when you come home from a busy day at work and the kids have destroyed the house and your husband is snoring away on the couch while your dog is chewing on your favorite pair of shoes!

Go to Whole Approach to learn more about their protocol and products. Again, I just received my products and because there is die off associated with this cleansing I may wait until September to start this because I have an awesome vacation with the girls planned coming up in a few more weeks and don't want to be sick as shit trying to enjoy myself. I will definitely begin posting when I start and how I feel and my results, if any.  The real pain is that the foods you can eat on the candida diet you CAN'T on the histamine diet and vice versa. Okay someone just stick a fork in my eye pleeeeeaaaase!

Tomorrow I will be sharing with you the actual low histamine diet to follow (or try to) it's not easy and if you don't like veggies I'm gonna go ahead and let you know now you're screwed! There are sooo many low histamine diets out there that contradict each other and leave you frustrated wondering can I or can't I? Personally I have found that the Germans have gotten it right. So I follow a diet that was laid out by them. Nil research has been done in the states regarding this condition but the Germans as well as the Canadians seem to know their shit pretty good.

Stay tuned my histamine intolerant lovlies! I will be blabbing again tomorrow! Peace out and behave!

13 comments:

  1. Did you have any luck on the cleanse program? How did it affect your histamine intolerence?

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    1. Hi Kate, thank you so much for visiting my blog :)....I actually never did do the cleanse, I ordered it and just let it sit in my pantry and never used it. I ended up just giving it to a friend. I didn't feel I needed to use it after all because I was doing so good on the supplements I have listed here on my blog. I'm currently extremely well and haven't had an "incident" in 8 months. I'm convinced that I'm healed although I don't go balls out either with high histamine foods everyday. Like for lunch I'll have a salad with tomato, vinegar and hummus all very histamine foods and never have problems, but I don't have another high histamine meal in the same day. I have at times pushed the envelope and had two really high histamine meals in a day with still no problems but I don't want to over do (just in case). I feel that if you incorporated the supplements I have listed into your diet you wouldn't need this cleanse. But everyone is different so it's really a personal choice. I wish you well and hope you heal soon!

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  2. Hi Dani! I hope you are doing well! I would like to weigh in on this topic. I am starting to think Candida has been my issue all along. I have been following a strict low-hist diet for over a year and half (I know, its torture!) and on the supplements for almost a year and still I am not healed (and not to mention all the $$$ I have spent on them!). Some of my symptoms have gotten better but I have been still eating potatoes and fruit (no-no for candida) and I think that is why my gut hasn't healed because of the candida. Looking back i think symptoms started when I went on a fruit and vegetable kick and got into green smoothies and growing up I got strep throat quite frequently and was put on antibiotics a lot plus I have always kind of had a sweet tooth and ate a lot of fruit. I initially ruled out candida after taking the test you mentioned and not having a lot of the symptoms and not having any external signs or yeast infections but I think the supplements has had some affect on that. Anyway i read some where that one of the major signs of candida is major fogginess in the morning and thats what I feel EVERY day so I started digging around the net again and it is all making sense. Too bad it took me so long to realize this, I figure I have at least 6 months more now of diet and supplements to try and eliminate the Candida. I can only hope the supplements I have been taking over the last year has done some repair. Now I have the same question as you asked before, am I histamine intolerant or do I have candida? Or both? Aaaah!! So I'm now going to cut out all fruit, rice (which I already dont have too much of) potatoes, and sadly Quest bars(I dont even tolerate the stevia ones well) so an even stricter diet. I also started taking Candidase in addition to virastop and will continue all the other supplements. Also adding more coconut oil as I hear it helps and may take another shot with l-glutamine. I can only pray this works once and for all!

    These days my symptoms are headache, malaise, fogginess, fatigue which is better than what i used to have so i am hoping I have made some progress. Does my thought process make sense to you as far as having candida? I know you did not end up having this but I value your opinion anyway. :-) Any other advice?

    I also wanted to share my story to prevent anyone out there to really rule this out before spending over a year of time and money only treating half of the problem like I have. Wish me luck!

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    1. So update here, looks like it is Candida! Dead give away first was I ate a piece of fruit and my tongue turned white! Then to determine whether I was also histamine intolerant I ate some high hist items that are allowed on the candida diet. First I squeezed some lemon juice in my stir fry, no problems. Then I just went for it and ate an ENTIRE avocado...no reactions. Next day I tried some tomato...nada. Spinach the next day, still good! Then I made guacamole (lemon, avocado, tomato). So yeah if I had histamine intolerance, its gone now, if not I just spent a year treating the wrong thing...frustrating! I do feel relieved that I do finally know what it is so I can treat it. Yes it sucks, but it is what it is.

      Anyway thanks Dani for all your help through this, you really have been great and I have learned so much from you! Take care and stay healthy :-)

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  3. Kay, how is the candida treatment going? Are you still feeling great? How long did it take? Any tips?

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  4. I have Candida albicans it took me awhile to figure it out but good to know there is a solution. I am about to start Christa Orecchio's gut thrive in 5 because I also might have SIBO (I can't have fermented foods). I hope it works. I have heard a lot of good things about her program.i am ready to stop all my pain and bring down my histamine levels so I can have another baby.
    By the way my score was 400 from the whole approach quiz! ��

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  5. My Mom has Candida and/or histimine-allergy issues. She has been dealing non-stop for about a year now with this awful, chronic, itchy rash on her face that welts up and refuses to calm down or go away. It's maddening not to be able to scratch the heck out of it! She's 83, bless her heart, and I couldn't stand to watch her suffer, so I threw the whole family on an anti-candida diet which has morphed into somewhat of a Paleo Diet. It's been a challenging and difficult journey these past few months. Hindsight...although she lost 12 lbs and no longer suffers from debilitating gas pains where she looked about 8 months pregnant, and her labs look pretty good (cholesterol, glucose, etc), her rash/eczema has not been resolved. Fermented food also makes it worse for her. However, I recently added Neem Oil, DAO, and Manuka Honey MGO 550+ to her regimen and until we find a better solution, this has helped quite a bit. She was breaking out into chronic Urticuria several days in a row at night and the DAO seemed to have put a halt to the monster's rearing head. Thank the Lord for His wisdom!!

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  6. HI I have constant bloating even my back gets sore. I feel discomfort all over my body. Its weird how we can get used to things though. Like I have managed to ignore my symptoms while going to school. But now that I am not in school I notice my anxiety more and just wish I was better.

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    1. What other symptoms do you have? As the bloating could just be a basic food allergy or if you also have diarrhea you could have celiac disease.

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  7. I have celiacs and histamine intolerance, currently taking grapefruit seed extract to kill off the overgrowth of candida, also using one teaspoon of Food grade Diatomaceous Earth every couple days. This accompanied with strong Jarrow formulas probiotics and some good sources of real vitamins in easily absorbable forms seems to be working for my histamine intolerance. I usually break out in itchy hives but have managed to keep them under control for a week now (just started this cleanse) even with some High histamine foods. I hope this works for other people out there as well. What a long hard journey it is having food allergies.

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  8. I developed a huge burning rash in my armpit after starting a very low carb keto diet. turns out it is common in low carb dieters, they call it keto rash. however when i googled armpit rash i got candida and so i bought yeast infection cream and put on my rash. it is improving somewhat but still burns and stings periodically.some people say when you remove the yeasts food sources (carbs and sugars) they die off and that would explain my rash. other theories say the excess fat in my diet is causing this. i dont know what to do. im miserable. im taking all kinds of supplements.....they say eating a bunch of carbs will make this go away almost instantly, but im too scared to try it and i dont know what to do at this point. i have never experienced anything like this in my life. I have got to find a solution before i go mad.

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  9. Hello.
    When you start with your protocol .did you begin with all suplements? Or are there several phases?
    Thanks. My english is not good but your information is very usefull about histamine.
    Thanks

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    1. I did everything at once. Just start small on enzymes like I indicate. Thank you for stopping by my blog.

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