candida

[Guest guest]

At PCOM today, we were debating the efficacy of treating candida

overgrowth using chinese herbs alone. Candida overgrowth, as it occurs

in modern patients, may not have existed in ancient times. Here's my

reasoning. The herbs that are used to treat infections in TCM tend to

have broad spectrum effects against a wide range of microorganisms. An

herb like huang lian is equally effective against many bacteria,

viruses, fungi and yeast. So when one uses such an herb to treat

dampheat, it is unlikely that either antibiotic resistance or candida

infestation will result. while such an herb will destroy beneficial

flora, it will not leave candida untouched nor will it completely

eliminate all the bacterial flora. Because of this, the remaining

bacteria will keep all the remaining yeast in check and the normal

balance will be restored over time.

 

However, modern use of antibiotics can virtually destroy all the

beneficial bacteria while leaving yeast untouched. This allows for

yeast to overwhelm the intestines after prolonged or recurrent treatment

with antibiotics. Naturopaths use a combination of subtonics to kill

the yeast while simultaneously restoring microflora with acidophilus.

Now, the question is whether the normal balance can be restored with

herbs alone in such cases. In other words, how will herbs restore the

microflora. Candida cases often present with some degree of dampheat,

possibly as gu syndrome. If the gut has minimal bacteria and lots of

yeast, using herbs that kill yeast will also kill bacteria and the

abnormal balance will be maintained (i.e. relatively high yeast and

relatively low microflora). While there are traditional fermented foods

that contain microflora (yogurt, miso, sauerkraut), these have not been

shown very effective at recolonization.

 

Has anyone found herbs alone to be effective? Have you confirmed this

with stool culture?

 

Do most use acidophilus?

 

How would we identify the need for acidophilus from a purely TCM

perspective?

 

How would we classify acidophilus in TCM?

 

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