Paleo as a Solution for Yeast and Fungus
Yeast and fungus are related to mushrooms and they all like dark, moist acid places that are coincidentally low in oxygen. They thrive on carbohydrates and they love sugar as much as any eight year old at a birthday party. So traditional herbalists have always recommended reducing sugar and carbs which is not easy for most people, the average person consumes a cup of sugar (including such forms as corn syrup) daily as additives to their food. On top of that add the bread, bagels, pasta, beans and donuts, all huge sources of carbs in low vitality packages.
America’s favorite vegetable is probably the potato in the form of fries and chips and that South American root vegetable is packed with sugar carbs, and America’s second favorite is ketchup which is part of the deadly nightshade family (inflammatory and acid packed) which is sweetened with sugar. Then on top of this sugar fest we add alcohol in its many forms. What is alcohol? It is the sugar of the plant that has been consumed by yeast and converted into a solvent that is absorbed at an incredibly high rate of speed. That’s why the phrase ‘candy is dandy but liquor is quicker’ rings so true.
Alcohol is a strange contradiction. Part of the science of making wine is that when the alcohol reaches a certain level it kills the yeast and fermentation stops. So alcohol is antithetical to yeast, but when the alcohol is broken down and assimilated into the body its high acid content creates an environment that yeast thrives in.
It has been estimated that forty percent or more of the population has a problem with yeast in their system, the percentage would actually be higher if they measured by a different standard. They are basing it upon the body having clear symptoms of yeast infection, often recurring. If instead they based their measurement upon people suffering from a loss of vitality, mental clarity and cellular integrity due to yeast the number would be much higher, probably in the seventy percent range. The remaining thirty percent are fortunate thanks to age, activity level, diet, genetics and location, there are places that are more prone to yeast and fungus.
Fortunately for beer and wine lovers the Paleo Diet doesn’t completely exclude them, and two or three a week is considered perfectly acceptable. Of course the binge drinker would probably look at the Paleo Diet in horror for so many reasons, after all what’s an evening in the bar without pretzels.
By focusing on lean meats and fish, fresh vegetables and fruit, nuts and seeds the Paleo Diet depends on foods that are rich in the protective nutrients the body needs to defend against invasion by yeast and fungus. All of the carbs are complex and from vegetables which carry with them vital nutrients. In comparison grains and beans, even when they are complex carbs, carry relatively small amounts of nutrients, including the most vital, protein. Once you eliminate the foods yeast and fungus depend on it becomes easier to reduce it using foods like garlic and onions and herbs like pau d arco and black walnut.
But keep in mind that yeast like Candida live in even healthy bodies just like weeds live at the edge of healthy gardens, you never eliminate it, but you control it and prevent it from over growing the important parts of the garden and the body.
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