7 Natural Ways To Defeat Yeast Overgrowth

You CAN feel better!

Get the free Grounding Guide, and sign up your uplifting weekly health newsletter.

summer

I’m so excited.

We are officially well into May and this month I am actually taking my first three day vacation in a long, long time!

 

I have not taken a vacation — not even one single weekend off — in over two years straight.

So to have a Friday, Saturday and a Sunday to hang out with friends by a lake and sleep in and stay up late and watch the kids swim and watch the sun set… yep, it’ll be heaven.

With all of this beautiful warmer weather, I’ve had lots of questions come up (in the work I do with patients) about warm weather related topics… that’s why I’ve been blogging recently about the importance of Vitamin D, Sunscreen, and treating Bug Bites!

And today is another warm weather issue:

 

Treating Yeast Overgrowth

 

If you’ve been noticing red, intensely itchy areas show up on your skin in skin folds, underneath the breasts, around waistbands, armpits, or groin… or noticing infections of the hair follicles that look like pimples, or suffering from an itchy scalp or nail infections… you might be suffering from yeast overgrowth (candida overgrowth.)

Check out these 7 holistic steps you can take to kick candida for good… these tips are especially important during the warm weather months as yeast thrive in heat and moisture:

 

1. First, the energetic imbalance behind a yeast overgrowth… being too sweet!

 

Literally!

Yeast tend to take advantage of hosts that are sending out the vibe that they will put up with stuff that they really don’t want.

Are you grinning and bearing something that you’d secretly like to say a firm “no” to?

Are you letting someone walk all over you? We know that yeast will take advantage of this and walk all over us if we let them.

Just take a bit of time to double-check that we say no when we need to and we have clear boundaries that allow us to do what we truly want to do and enjoy that without guilt.

If you are sucking it up and putting a smile on your face, your body feels this.

Your skin is working over time to set a boundary that you are failing to make for yourself.

There is no way your skin should be having to set boundaries that you aren’t being clear about. It just can’t keep up, and as a result, those yeasts are having a field day.

 

2. Let your skin air out

 

homeschooling at the beach

  • No wearing tight sweaty bras or swimsuits for hours and hours on end.
  • You’ve got to love the skin you’re in and give it time to air out.

 

I remember when my kids were super little and I loved nothing more but for them just to run around naked all day long, no diaper in sight.

That is something you should consider if you are prone to yeast… lots of time with no clothing! At least no tight clothing!

Perhaps consider sleeping nude?

I admit I’m on the modest side and do not feel comfortable being nude, but wearing a light bathrobe with nothing on underneath so there are no tight bra bands, arm holes, waist bands, or underwear on allows your skin to breathe and dry out just like being naked.

Try sleeping nude or almost nude every night and with a fan moving the air in the room if you have one.

 

3. Probiotics…

 

… and more probiotics. Honestly, what can’t probiotics do?

They lift your mood, help digestion, alleviate constipation, boost your immune system, control yeast and fungal overgrowth, promote healthy skin, and even help lower blood pressure!

Probiotics are a must to have on board when balancing your flora both internally in the gut and externally on your skin.

Here are my tried and true very favorite probiotics… not only are these the ones I recommend to my patients, but they are the ones I take every single day myself:

Flora 50-14 Clinical Strength Probiotics by Innate Response.

 

 

4. Colloidal Silver

 

Spraying colloidal silver on your skin topically works wonders against candida overgrowth because of its antimicrobial properties.

It kills yeast as well as lots of other pathogens, so it’s a great supplemental spray to have around.

Just as you might spray colloidal silver in your mouths at the first sign of a cold, you can spray it directly on skin infections — like if you have an infected bug bite or on areas of yeast overgrowth to get the upper hand on those buggers!

Ultra Colloid Silver Spray by Source Naturals

 

5. Proteolytic Enzymes

 

Proteolytic Enzymes like nattokinase break up the biofilm on pathogens to weaken them… allowing our bodies natural immunity to effectively clear them out for good.

The biofilm is exactly what it sounds like, a film over the surface of a foreign pathogen like yeast, and it’s purpose is to protect the pathogen from being defeated.

When you break up this biofilm by taking proteolytic enzymes, often this one supplement is enough to rid you of yeast for good! I’ve seen dramatic results in folks with resistant systemic infections such as candida overgrowth, chronic sinus infections, and even resistant lyme’s disease finally kick these infections for good once on a good proteolytic enzyme.

My favorite supplement with Nattokinase is Kirkman’s Biofilm Defense

 

6. Decrease consumption of sugar and simple carbs

 

I’m sure you’ve heard of this one before… and it’s true, even though I hate to admit it. I have a serious sweet tooth and it is nothing to be trifled with!

But yeast love to thrive on sugars and simple carbs like white flour, as well as alcohol.

If you can reduce your consumption of these foods (and pay particular attention to it if you have an active yeast infection!) and you’ll give the yeast less to feed on and a decreased rate of growth.

 

7. Sulfur rich foods

 

Sulfur rich foods like many spices, garlic and onion, help naturally defeat the yeast overgrowth.

Make them a part of your summertime diet on a routine basis!

And the good news is, if you load up on the garlic, you are going to naturally repel mosquitoes and other biting insects as well! So load cloves of garlic into spaghetti and pizza sauces, on garlic bread, raw in salads… you name it!

 

Barefoot Is Best

Treating Athlete’s Foot

 

Many of the same tips for decreasing yeast overgrowth will also work for decreasing fungal overgrowth as well…

…so read through the list above and incorporate those things into your fungal line of defense as well.

On top of this, be sure you are not keeping your feet trapped into hot, moist environments like closed toed shoes (just like giving your body naked time to air out, this applies to your feet as well!)

If you *must* wear closed toed shoes, be certain to wear socks and change them frequently.

Open toed sandals and flip flops are better, and barefoot is best as often as possible!!!

You can also wash with an all natural anti-fungal soap… I like FungaSoap and find it works really well. Keep it in your shower to give your feet an extra wash before stepping out… this soap works well for helping decrease fungal load in dandruff, seborrheic dermatitis, tinea versicolor (tinea on the body) and jock itch too.

sidelines

Also, soaking your feet in a basin of Apple Cider Vinegar and/or Tea Tree Oil for several minutes nightly (or using a cotton ball to apply either of these topically to your toes, nails and in between your toes after bathing and drying your feet thoroughly) will help treat the fungal infection…

…just dry feet extremely well after swimming or bathing, and use a cotton ball to dab on either apple cider vinegar or tea tree oil several times a day for several weeks and watch your athlete’s foot infection disappear for good.

For good measure, you can also spray on the Colloidal Silver as I mentioned above for candida on the body — just spray liberally on feet morning and night for two weeks and you should see an incredible difference in your feet!

 

I hope you have a spring or summer break to look forward to, even if it is just a weekend off for a Stay-cation with friends like mine is!

Much love your way…

xoxoxo, Laura