If you've gotten to this page, you already know my story - how I spent 40 years obese and going up and down the out of control yo-yo of diet failure syndrome: how I was tired all the time, and felt older than I was: how I found out I had a Candida yeast infection (infestation) and got it under control: how I lost 186 pounds with no gastric bypass or lipsuction.
I know what it's like to be obese and unhappy about it; more importantly, I know what it's like to work very hard to lose it and time after time only lose some only to gain back more. I wrote Beauty and the Yeast Beast: from Fat to Fairy Tale to help others out there who were suffering from Candida symptoms and Candida obesity.
I spent much of my professional life as a public school teacher and administrator, and it was when I retired that I became interested in mold and yeast. I had taught high school Science, among other things, and had been a veterinary technician prior to becoming a teacher. My science interest kicked in, and two years later I was in the mold and yeast laboratory business. So it was only natural that I want my lab to develop an antifungal that would fight Candida and other yeast; as a naturopathic counselor and an obesity counselor, the product had to be natural, and it had to be effective; Candidacidin (TM) is that naturopathic antifungal, and Good To Go(TM) is a digestive stabilizer that is also antifungal. We didn't stop there; we developed an affordable home Candida Yeast Test Kit.
If you've read my articles or my book, you know I tell people you don't need to test; if you have the symptoms it is more expedient and cost effective to follow the diet and take antifungals; if yeast is a problem for you, within a week you'll feel better and know you're on the right track without testing. This is still true, but the the position came about because testing was prohibitively expensive - in the $100.00 per test range. Now, thanks to my lab, testing for Candida Spp. (that means all varieties of Candida) and other yeast is an affordable option: under $20.00 per test, and shipped free anywhere in the US.
So, why do I test for Candida yeast frequently anyway? In part it is because I am just one of those people who have to know. Mostly it is because I'd seen decades of the results of runaway yeast infection (infestation) and was never going to let it slip up on me again. I test often - at least five or six times a year, but as much as every week if I'm feeling a little yeasty -- and if I feel sugar flour cravings or swinging moods or unusual fatigue more than on occasion, I have learned I'm feeling yeasty and I test: right now. I test saliva, or skin, or vaginal smear or nasal drip or blood and if I get a rash I test that; yeast can be in many places. The third reason I test is that any doctor will tell you baseline information is important; where was the starting point? By testing fairly often I can see the ups and downs of my yeast population. Some yeast is just natural in the body and does not cause any problems. By watching the population with regularity I can easily detect when I'm exceeding the levels of what's normal for my body.
By the way, I always test after taking antibiotics (and right before taking them, if possible) as broad spectrum antibiotics kill off all the friendly micro flora in the body that is yeast's competitor for space and nutrients, thereby keeping populations down; a good dose of antibiotics removes the competition, leaving the playing field wide open for Candida. Yeast is opportunistic, and never misses a chance to do the only thing it lives to do: grow more yeast.
SO-- you don't have to test, but you just might want to, especially now that my lab has developed a home Candida Test Kit that is easy, affordable, accurate and reliable. And it's not a Petri dish in a baggie; it's an actual Laboratory In A Box(TM) -- a full test kit that is security sealed, which arrives in a box that functions as an incubator, a plate photography stand, and a safe disposal container.
For more information on our Candida Yeast Test Kit, click here.
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