Re: Candida Overgrowth Diagnosis?

 So does the stool analysis of ZERO candida albicans mean anything one way or the other?

I am not sure how they are getting a zero reading. And different labs can have different standards so I would have to see how they are testing and what their standards for findings are. All I can think of is that they are saying zero fungal Candida, which is Candida's pathogenic form.

What would constitute a diagnosis of candida overgrowth then?

Candida overgrows in an alkaline environment, which does two things. First the alkaline environment turns on the Candida growth gene. The second thing it does is to convert the Candida from benign yeast form in to an aggressive and pathogenic fungal form. Therefore the overgrowth would be excess fungal Candida. It is in this form that the Candida creates finger-like projections called hyphae that allow the Candida to dig in to tissues and cause its damage.

At what point would it be called systemic?

Systemic means throughout the organism. In other words the Candida has spread beyond the areas it is naturally found in such as the gut. If the Candida goes fungal for example the hyphae can allow the Candida to damage the intestinal wall and allow the Candida to go in to the bloodstream. This would be considered systemic.

I mean there's tons of information and websites out there that talk about candida overgrowth and how to 'fix' it. Is this just hype like the acid/alkaline thing?

Candida can overgrow, but it rarely goes systemic. From what I have seen I think the term is being used very loosely. And to make matters worse many of these websites are attributing symptoms that have nothing to do with Candida to Candida. People are reading these websites and misdiagnosing themselves with Candida, and especially systemic Candida, all because they read symptoms they have that may or may not have any relation to Candida.