Scientists may have found a new culprit in our battle with excess fat: the common form of yeast called Candida. This little mushroom is always with us, both inside and out, but it usually doesn’t cause any problems. However, when things in our system get out of balance and the good bacteria in our gut (probiotics) cannot control the yeast, we can end up with a yeast infection.
Most women have experienced a yeast infection at least once in their life, but it is also possible to have a yeast overgrowth within our digestive system without us knowing it. For years, yeast has been suspected to be the cause of several diseases that defy normal treatment, notably fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. Is it possible that yeast is also to blame for our sugar cravings and excess weight?
According to researchers at the Fibromyalgia and Fatigue Centers in Dallas, Texas, yeast may be linked to a weight gain of more than 32 extra pounds, on average. According to their studies, there are three possible reasons why this fungus can make us fat:
1. Yeast can trigger sugar cravings. If you’ve ever baked bread, you know yeast likes carbs. If there is an overgrowth of yeast in the digestive tract, it can cause almost uncontrollable cravings for carbohydrates of all kinds, especially bread and sweets. Unfortunately, when we give in and eat these foods, the yeast population increases even more, they demand more high-calorie carbohydrates, and the cycle continues. In no time, we’ve added several inches to our waistline and the numbers on our bathroom scale keep climbing.
2. Yeast can suppress the immune system, which tries to destroy yeast overgrowth. Researchers are now studying the possibility that inflammation caused by the battle between the immune system and yeast overgrowth may inhibit thyroid function, reducing the body’s ability to burn fat.
3. When yeast causes carbohydrate fermentation in the digestive tract, the process produces gases and toxic chemicals. The body tries to dilute toxic waste by retaining water, which can add five to seven inches to the waistline.
To remove excess yeast from the body, many experts recommend a change in diet. Drink vegetable juices instead of fruit juice, eat lots of raw and cooked vegetables, and eat yogurt every day to add those probiotics to your system. This diet starves the yeast, restores balance to the body, and has helped many people lose the extra pounds.