Yeast and SCD

[Guest guest]

Originally posted in 2004....

Yeast and SCD

The list moderators have put their heads together in the past week to pull

together all the information we have, together with the experiences of many of

the SCD families, and the advice of Elaine Gottschall, in order to come up with

a clear statement on the issue of yeast. Here's what we've come up with. It will

be posted on the website for newcomers and future reference. We do want to

stress that it would be mistaken to say that SCD makes yeast worse in general...

or in the long run.... but, only that it can become an issue at first.

Hopefully, this will make the reasons a little clearer. Thanks to everyone who

gave their input. Here's the statement:

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We do occasionally see yeast flare ups when starting SCD. This should be a

temporary increase. As lots of pathogenic bacteria are the first to die off by

not feeding them with starches and sugars, yeast will attempt to take up that

empty space initially. By giving either powerful homemade SCD yogurt or

excellent probiotics, one can *usually* avoid this situation.

For those with yeast overgrowth...

" It is wise to cut back on honey ingestion at the beginning of the dietary

regimen (amount of honey in recipes should be decreased by at least 75%). The

amount

of honey may be increased as the condition improves. " (quote taken from BTVC)

We have found that using some form of probiotic is also helpful. Probiotics can

take the form of yogurt (made from goat, cow or nut milk), other fermented foods

(such as HOMEMADE sauerkraut or kimchi) or probiotic powder or capsules (in case

the child is not yet ready for any yogurts).

Ensuring that all vegetables and fruits foods are peeled and cooked at the

beginning is also helpful in controlling yeast overgrowth. Undigested foods can

feed microbes and delay healing.

The use of anti-fungals may be necessary. Some natural anti-fungals include:

Homemade carrot juice and garlic, oil of oregano, grapefruit seed extract (GSE)

with or without enzymes. Some decide to go with prescription anti-fungals such

as Nystatin. If using both a probiotic (or yogurt) and an anti-fungal, be sure

to give them at separate times in order to preserve the live beneficial

bacteria.