Intestinal yeast and bacterial overgrowth

The low-carb craze is in full swing and doesn't appear to be going away any time soon. As I mentioned in last month's article, the great thing about low-carb eating plans is that they require you to give up processed, nutrient-depleted carbs.

One of the issues that many of the low-carb diets don't address is the overgrowth of yeast and bacteria in the small intestine that is prevalent in much of the population. While a few of these diets may briefly mention the yeast issue, they don't provide the reader with detailed information about the root cause and the cure of this problem. And unless the intestinal overgrowth is fixed, over the long term, cravings for sugar and other high-carb foods will return for many people, threatening to sabotage their best attempts to avoid these unhealthful carbs.

The Candida Connection

Yeast (also known as Candida yeast) are members of the fungus family. They are normal inhabitants of your large intestine, and their job is to turn you into compost when you're dead. Candida yeast are strongly inhibited by acidity, and they are content to hide away in the nooks and crannies of your large intestine--wherever the pH is acceptably alkaline. Your main defense against them is billions of acidophilus bacteria, your "good" intestinal flora. These friendly bacteria ferment carbohydrates into lactic acid, which maintains an acid pH in your large intestine, thus inhibiting yeast growth.

Anything that interferes with the health of your good bacteria and disrupts the pH of your intestine--such as antibiotics--allows the yeast to begin the composting process while you're still alive. If you've ever taken antibiotics for an extended period of time, it's bye-bye to your good bacteria because antibiotics can kill them as well as killing the infections bacteria for which the medicine was prescribed. This makes your large intestine more alkaline--and therefore more inviting--for yeast: In addition to antibiotics, some of the other factors that can affect your intestinal flora are chlorinated water, antacids and cortisone.

Intestinal Fortitude

Another way the yeast can become active is when your ileocecal valve is weakened. The ileocecal valve is located between your small-intestine and your large intestine. This valve is usually kept closed so that the food you've eaten stays in your small intestine long enough to be digested and absorbed fully. It also prevents the good microorganisms in your large intestine from getting into your small intestine, where their waste products could easily be absorbed. As digestion and absorption are completed in your small intestine, your ileoceeal valve opens, and the food that hasn't been digested and absorbed passes into your large intestine.

When your ileoceeal valve is weakened, it doesn't function properly, and the yeast and bacteria that live in the large intestine get through the valve and up into your small intestine--where they're not supposed to be--and become "bad guys." The alkaline pH of the small intestine allows the yeast to multiply vigorously, causing havoc to your system (see "Bad Times" below). As you can guess, when any of these things happen, it can lead to numerous health problems.

Persistent Problems

One of the chemicals that yeast secrete is salsolinol, which has the ability to rum your brain into their bartender, commanding you to fetch them their keats. High levels of salsolinol can lead to extreme cravings for--and even addiction to--alcohol or sweets, which yeast can ferment into alcohol.

Obviously, you want to get rid of any bad guys that have made their way into your small intestine. Trying to kill bacteria and/or yeast in your small intestine can be an endless task. If your ileocecal valve remains open, as fast as you kill the yeast, they're replaced by others moving in from your large intestine. So, it's crucial to first strengthen the ileocecal valve.

Improving your calcium absorption can help to accomplish this. Calcium is too large a molecule to be absorbed directly, so vitamin D is required to transport it across the intestinal membrane. However, vitamin D transports little calcium until it's activated fully by your kidneys. Increasing your kidneys' activation of vitamin D can be achieved by balancing your sodium and potassium intake to match the weather to which you're exposed. (For more on vitamin D and your kidneys' role in calcium absorption, see my book Eating Alive II).

Climate Change

All plants contain potassium. Generally, the more sun they're exposed to, the morn potassium and sugar they contain. Your kidneys determine what the weather is like outside by monitoring the ions in the foods you consume. During cold weather, when you eat foods that are high in potassium and/or sugar (such as salads and fruits), the high potassium and sugar levels alert your kidneys that you're out in the hot sun (because these foods grow in sunny climates), and that your skin must be making lots of vitamin D. Therefore, your kidneys don't activate vitamin D, and you don't absorb much calcium. This results in low calcium levels, forcing the body to take calcium from other sources such as bones, teeth and membranes (including those of the ileocecal valve), thus weakening these structures.