I found the site for Three-lac some years ago and wrote an article Good bacteria or probiotics. I was put off the product because it contained a bad bacteria and lemon. Lemon kills good bacteria.

The company explained that the bad bacteria was there for a purpose and was dead anyway – I can’t remember for what purpose it was included, it seemed pointless if it was dead and that the lemon did not kill the good bacteria as there was little of it.

However from the blurb on their website it was also suggested that the person who had been healed of Candida was also still taking it years and years later and was presumably on it for life.

All this made me think about the gut and good and bad bacteria.

All bacteria does the same job, it scavanges and breaks down food and proliferates and helps to produce some B vitamins. Too much of certain types of bacteria can cause symptoms. But every type is needed in the gut for one reason or another. As in nature and in all things there is a balance. When the balance is disrupted symptoms can result.

I am not at all certain that bacteria that is eaten will get into the gut as it has to go through the digestion process. I know there are stomach acid protected bacteria that is said to get past the stomach acid but then as they are protected from the stomach acid, which is very powerful, then surely they are also protected from the digestive processes and so pass out of the gut entirely?

I do believe it is food that will ultimately balance the gut and that it is the digestion process itself that helps produce bacteria.

So what foods do you need that will produce bacteria in the gut?

All natural wholefoods without chemicals.

So what damages the gut and causes an imbalance? Anti-biotics, anaesthetics, STRESS, unnatural foods like margarines and white flours and refined products, allergens, excessive alcohol, excessive white sugar and foods that contain white sugar, pesticides and chemicals.

I think taking products that kill things in the gut will cause more problems in the long run.

I am not a nutritionist. These are just my thoughts on the subject. There seems to be a common trait with those people who say they are cured of the symptoms of candida – they have all adjusted their lifestyles to eat more natural foods, avoid allergens, avoid chemicals and reduce STRESS. So perhaps it is the healthy lifestyle adjustment that has improved their candida symptoms?

Always I feel better when I have consumed fresh fruit and veg. When I have had a day of no fruit in the mornings I feel worse, on those occasions a fresh apple bucks me up.

I know the argument from some nutritionists is that when the candida is being killed you can feel worse and that eating something remotely sweet will feed the dying candida and so the worsening symptoms disappear and this is why you feel better. I am not sure I entirely agree with this phase. Naturally as toxins leave the body some pain can result but it must be a very short phase.

It is all about balance. It is all about living a life according to what feels right. We are meant to enjoy this life on earth, not punish ourselves with rigorous routines that make us so different to everyone else and almost deny happiness.

While I am coming from a Christian perspective and the message of Jesus Christ, most ‘religions’ from China, India through to the Jews, Europe and America all agree that harmony and being peaceful and fair to your fellow man is what helps balance in one’s own life and body.

How do ‘they’ know when they test to see if the capsule with the good bacteria has proliferated the gut? How do they distinguish the capsule of bacteria from a better diet and better digestion producing healthier stools?

Just a quick little aside from my butterfly mind:
Did you know that adequate intakes of calcium can help relieve some symptoms associated with allergens? Vitamin C is also an anti-histamine so this can reduce the symptoms of allergy. Interesting isn’t it?

Eat an organic apple and organic banana a day! I am sure it will help more than ‘good’ bacteria capsules.

PS One should always consult your GP for any health issues or concerns. If someone came to me about candida symptoms I would suggest a healthier lifestyle and a visit to their GP and then for them to decide what suits them best and what advice to take. I would also suggest that some find probiotics helpful and would leave my personal opinion out of it unless directly asked.