Why and How the Two Go Together
The human body is colonized by an unfathomable number of different microbial species including bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Candida is a normal member of human gut flora. Virtually all of us have it. When beneficial bacteria is not present Candida can become virulent. Lyme patients often undergo long-term antibiotic therapy. Antibiotics destroy beneficial intestinal bacteria which then allows candida, other fungi, and other pathogens to flourish.
Most pathogens, including candida and Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme bacteria), need carbohydrates to survive. How they get their carbohydrates differs, but a diet high in sugars and starches literally feed Candida and Lyme as well as other living pathogens both directly and indirectly.
Since virtually all of us have Candida, those with Lyme are especially susceptible. Even without antibiotic treatments, a weak immune system allows Candida to flourish, grow hyphae, and colonize all around the body.
Some people are not susceptible to Lyme disease. Scientists think that genes and overall health determine susceptibility, but the presence of virulent Candida is probably one of the best measures of the health of a person. As mentioned, we all (or nearly all) have candida, but healthy bodies do not have virulent candida. Candida overgrowth is what happens in a compromised immune system. In other words, even if someone has not been treated with antibiotics, it stands to reason that virulent candida, and many other pathogens are present in the body of someone who is susceptible to Lyme.
Why Lyme Is Becoming More Prevalent
Ticks can’t survive in very cold climates. Warmer climates help ticks reproduce and survive longer, proliferate earlier, and live farther north. And yes, our climate is warming. We can argue that this is caused by man-made pollution or the reversal of our polarity, or the ebb and flow of the planet’s ecosystem, or even intentional geoengineering, but the climate is, without a doubt, getting warmer. Even a minor adjustment in average temperatures can have massive effects on the ecosystem. Warmer winters are also expanding the geographic range of animals associated with Lyme, helping to explain the spread of the disease in northern climates like Canada.
In addition, we have more deer. Deer were nearly extinct at the turn of the 20th century. Hunters decimated deer populations and Lyme disease is believed to be most often contracted by deer ticks. Over the last century, deer have obviously made a comeback.
It’s not just the deer, forty to 90 percent of white-footed mice carry Borrelia burgdorferi, and these mice are also proliferating and expanding their territories lately. There are other creatures that carry the ticks, and other parasites that carry the disease as well.
Some researchers estimate that global warming has doubled tick populations in the US, and increased populations by up to five fold in Canada.
Why Candida Is So Common
Our modern world’s continued fervor for irradicating germs, mostly bacteria, live us to deal with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi. Our sugar and starch consumption is also increasing while our diet diversity is decreasing, and consequently, our gut’s ecosystem diversity is also decreasing. Fungal infections are becoming increasingly prevalent in the human population. Candida albicans incredibly opportunistic and is the most common fungal pathogen found in humans worldwide.
Even the fruit we consume has far more sugar than what our ancestors were accustomed too. Check out the difference between our modern hybridized bananas and the wild ones:
Try looking into other fruit as well and you’ll see that we used to have to work a lot harder for that sugar.
Why You Have To Address Address Both Lyme and Candida
Candida overgrowth opens up the gut. There little tiny holes that are only supposed to allow digested, completely broken down foods. When Candida becomes virulent it makes the gut much too permeable, consequently, pathogens including parasites, undigested proteins, and sugars get into the bloodstream radically overwhelming the immune system. The body is not capable of handling Lyme under such stress. The immune system already has its work cut out for itself under healthy conditions. And, in case you haven’t heard yet, your immune system is only as good as your gut health.
Have you ever heard the phrase “feed a cold, starve a fever?” There is some truth to it, but its incomplete. The phrase should be, “feed a virus, starve bacteria and fungal infections.” But Lyme and Candida take a long time to get rid of, and fasting for months is not a good idea. But we can still starve them by restricting sugars and starches, and we can speed up their demise with supplements.
For more information on Candida, along with a protocol including recommended supplements and diet, check out my article Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections.
I also wrote, Best Supplements To Kill Lyme and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Lyme Disease, but I recommend starting with Candida.
Sources:
- Tetracycline Effects on Candida Albicans Virulence Factors – NCBI
- Carbohydrate utilization by the Lyme borreliosis spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi
- Dietary Carbohydrates Modulate Candida albicans Biofilm Development on the Denture Surface – Plos One
- Candida Related Complex: A Complicating Factor In Lyme Disease – Public Health Alert
- Adaptive immune responses to Candida albicans infection – NCBI
- Does Lyme Disease Thrive on a High Sugar Diet? – Alternative Health