So now you are convinced that sugar is a main culprit of leaky gut as we are trapped in an addiction managed by processed food companies. But before we move on, it is better to know what the tiny thing, Candida, is. Why? Because this tiny thing is powerful and horrible.
Powerful that it is both a lover (romantic but toxic) and a team player that it can get into our bloodstreams and escape from the radars of our immune system. Horrible that it is related to diseases such as depression, multiple sclerosis, and even cancer (a message delivered by Ann Boroch, a passed naturopathic doctor in Los Angeles).
What (on earth) is Candida?
Most female IBS people know that Candida is a yeast that lives in vagina. Actually, Candida is a type of yeast (a kind of fungus) that also naturally resides in our digestive tracts (Wallace, 2017). As mentioned in post 1, it is a friendly bug when kept in small amounts.
Well, yeast might seem harmless, barely worth a second thought. But hold on, because what if I told you that fungi, a tiny creature, may have played a part in wiping out another creature that is really huge? Let me share with you a horrible theory mentioned by Keith Seifert (a fungi expert).
Fungi: the murder?
You know that a long time ago the earth was hit by a asteroid, a big, rocky marble from space. You also know that the hit killed off dinosaurs. But did you know that the asteroid lowered Earth’s temperature? And do you know what happened when dinosaurs were not able to increase their body temperature under such cold conditions? Their body could not fight against fungi that were pathogenic.
So what happened finally? Without the ability to fight off deadly fungal infections, dinosaurs’ days were numbered. (This concept—called fungal infection-mammalian selection—is explained in Chapter 7 of Seifert’s book.)
Now that you know what fungi might have done to dinosaurs, it is time to turn the focus to us, IBS people, to find out what they do in our guts.
Candida & sugar: The love that is romantic but toxic
In our guts there is a special bond between sugar and Candida, so special that they cannot live without each other. And because Candida loves sugar so much they will send this signal of love through the gut-brain axis to our brains. (Yes, some of you may have already known about the axis. Microorganisms, candida included, in our guts ‘talk’ to our brain through the axis, a piece of information explained by Steve Gundry in his book, Gut Check). With that calling, you will look for, long for, and rush for, your favourite desserts and processed food. So, next time you crave desserts, remember it is actually not you wanting more sugar, but Candida in your gut. Candida ‘communicates’ with your brain, compelling you to grab sweets. Its love for sugar hijacks both your mind and body.
As a result of the bonding, Candida will swim in our bloodstream and treat every part of our bodies as travel destinations (another way to describe the leaky gut we just mentioned). In a word, the bonding and love between Candida and sugar is romantic, but toxic to us.
The team work of Candida against our internal defenders
However, it is not just the romantic love between Candida and sugar you have to combat. Candida will go hand in hand with others to form a team, and worst of all, such a team can produce a shield (doctors call it biofilms). Such a shield acts as a protective layer, making it hard for medicines to reach teams of Candida, not to mention killing them. Making it hard? What does that mean?
First, the teams of Candida weaken the power of a crucial type of white blood cells (macrophages). Macrophages? They are defenders of our bodies with three grand tasks: detecting, engulf and destroying harmful things. However, the protective shield of Candida is so thick that our great defenders cannot get through it, making the Candida undetectable. Worst of all, the shield has the ability to prevent macrophages from becoming active and producing necessary signals, chemical messages telling other cells in the immune system to be on alert.
Second, another line of our immune system is also blocked. Neutrophils ( ) are skillful at attacking Candida when the fungal is in on their own, in a free-floating state. However, the shield of Candida
Neutrophils, important immune cells, struggle to fight biofilms. They are good at attacking free-floating Candida cells but less effective against biofilms. The structure and secretions of biofilms block neutrophils from getting in and engulfing the cells. Biofilms can also cause neutrophils to form traps, which Candida can use to strengthen the biofilm. This shows how biofilms can manipulate the immune response to their benefit.
(Macrophage Evasion
Macrophages, a critical component of the host’s defense, are often impaired by biofilms. The dense matrix obstructs macrophage penetration, while biofilm cells can alter their surface antigens to avoid recognition. This evasion extends to the secretion of immunomodulatory molecules by the biofilm, which can inhibit macrophage activation and cytokine production. By skewing the immune response, Candida biofilms create a microenvironment that favors their persistence, complicating infection clearance.
Neutrophil Interactions
Neutrophils, another frontline immune defense, face challenges in combating biofilms. While neutrophils are adept at targeting free-floating Candida cells, their efficacy diminishes against structured biofilms. The biofilm’s architecture and secreted factors hinder neutrophil infiltration and phagocytosis. Additionally, biofilms can induce neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) formation, which, although intended to ensnare pathogens, can be exploited by Candida to enhance biofilm integrity. This dynamic interaction highlights the biofilm’s ability to manipulate immune responses to its advantage.
source: Candida Biofilms: Formation, Structure, and Antifungal Resistance – BiologyInsights)
source from National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560624/
Fungi are eukaryotic organisms found in the form of yeasts, molds, or dimorphic fungi.
Candida albicans can cause mucosal candidiasis in these areas where they usually are present in an immunocompromised host.
There are three major routes by which Candida reaches the bloodstream: the most frequent route is via the gastrointestinal tract mucosal barrier
They are also a part of the normal gut microflora, and any condition that may make a person immunocompromised can lead to candidiasis in the bloodstream.
References
Wallace
Gundry in his book, Gut Check
Seifert
