Who would have thought that one could have all the symptoms of alcoholism without drinking a drop of booze? It sounds very unlikely but it is likely, especially if you are one of the millions of humans who has an overgrowth of Candida Albicans in your gut. In 1985, I became ill after taking a round of antibiotics for a kidney infection. The symptoms kept getting worse. I felt the end was near. Then, I found an article in the March, 1985 issue of OMNI, a now defunct science magazine. The article discussed the role Candida plays in our bodies and what can happen if it goes amuck. Now, I don’t know if you believe in mini miracles of grace or not, but reading that article, An Epidemic in Disguise by Sherry Baker, described all my symptoms and gave methods to treat them. The first doctor I saw before reading the article gave me another round of antibiotics. For a brief spell, the symptoms disappeared then rebounded with a vengeance. Armed with a copy of the OMNI article, I went to an internist. He diagnosed me with Crohn’s disease and said he would have to operate. He looked at the magazine article with disgust. The doctor finally said he would read the article but it would not change his diagnosis. I visited three more doctors who had various diagnosis’s and similar attitudes. You see, when antibiotics are taken, they kill off all the good as well as the bad bacteria in our bodies. This also happens when chemo or radiation therapy is given to cancer patients. If Candida becomes the prevalent bacteria in your intestines with no counterbalance of good bacteria such as Acidophilus or Bifidus, it can colonize, creating raw breeding areas in the gut. When it goes into the bloodstream it can affect all the mucus membranes of the body. Although it is neither animal or plant, it derives its energy from the sugar, starch and carbohydrate products that we eat. Its waste product is acetaldehyde, a neurotoxin. This is the same chemical to which alcohol converts in the body. Acetaldehyde has devastating effects. “Biochemical research has shown that Acetaldehyde may combine with red blood cells, proteins, enzymes and other substances in the gut, and thus travel through the bloodstream to distant parts of the body, such as the brain. It can then detach from the red blood cells enabling AH (Acetaldehyde) to damage cells…” Chronic AH exposure stiffens red blood cells. The red blood cells ability to transport oxygen to the brain is reduced. “When this transport is compromised, dendrites (the extensions that connect nerve cells to one another in the brain) atrophy and die”. Think Alzheimer’s disease. AH also causes a reduction of Thiamin or Vitamin B1. “This vitamin is so critical to brain and nerve function researchers call it the “nerve vitamin. Low Vitamin B1 can cause “mental confusion, poor memory, poor neuromuscular coordination, and visual disturbances. Even mild B1 deficiency over a long period of time can cause apathy, confusion, emotional instability, irritability, depression, feelings of impending doom, fatigue, insomnia, and headaches.” Most often it is blamed on alcoholism.” AH has many other detrimental affects on the body. It induces deficiencies in Niacin (B3), Acetyl Coenzyme A, and Pyridoxal-5-Phosphate all of which are critical in helping the brain function. Prostaglandin metabolism negatively reacts with AH. It deactivates Delta-6-Desaturase, a key regulatory biochemical for both nerve cells and the immune system. Acetaldehyde promotes addiction to toxic substances. Acetaldehyde is a class one carcinogen.” You would think we have enough AH with just the Candida in our bodies, but no, it can get to our brain in small but significant amounts from air pollution. Other routes into the brain include alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking. But the good news is that one can help oneself balance and counteract chronic Candida and thus, AH. The daily ingestion of probiotics and B vitamins, zinc, and milk thistle extract will counteract AH toxicity. Other nutrients suggested include Lipoic Acid, vitamin C, and Gamma Linolenic Acid. Check the internet for more information on AH detoxification. As for myself, way back when the Candida was taking control of my body, I wrote a letter to the man (who was featured in the magazine article) asking for his help. Orion Truss was the forerunner in the research and treatment of chronic Candida. He was also the founder of the Critical Illness Research Foundation in Birmingham, Alabama. Dr. Truss responded with a concerned letter and a diet. After I had searched far afield for treatment, a local doctor quite close to home prescribed for me the medication needed. Eventually, the decision came to stop the medication and activate the diet. It was a difficult diet to maintain but it cured the chronic Candida. Thank God for his grace and little miracles (not coincidences!). Psalm 28:7 “The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.” (NIV) ©Ann Rains August, 2017
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