A newly published study in Nature Communications has discovered that a peptide found in tobacco plants, NaD1, is able to combat Candida albicans cells. The compound is found in the plant Nicotiana alata, which is one of roughly 70 species of tobacco not grown for commercial use. The outer layer of Candida albicans, the most common cause of yeast infections, is torn apart by the peptide, causing the death and explosion of the fungus. According to Dr. Mark Hulett, a study author from the La Trobe Institute for Molecular Science,

They [the peptides] act in a different way to existing antibiotics and allow us to explore new ways of fighting infections. It’s an exciting discovery that could be harnessed to develop a new class of life-saving antimicrobial therapy to treat a range of infectious diseases, including multi-drug-resistant golden staph, and viral infections such as HIV, Zika virus, Dengue and Murray River Encephalitis.”

Candida’s Diet

Candida is an especially insidious fungus. Since the candida is always present in the body, keeping the opportunistic microbe in balance is key. Unfortunately, the standard American diet, high in sugar and processed foods, is incredibly suited to the fungus.

Recommended: Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections

Figuring out the Future

The discovery of this plant’s effectiveness in killing Candida could be a breakthrough in treating the fungus. Or it could be devastating in a way we haven’t anticipated. Candida serves a necessary function, aiding in nutrient absorption and digestion. It also releases toxins as it dies, and death by explosion seems guaranteed to cause significant die-off symptoms.

Recommended: How to Avoid GMOs in 2018 – And Everything Else You Should Know About Genetic Engineering

Maybe this will work. Likely it won’t because it doesn’t deal with how the candida got out of control in the first place. The issue is diet, and that will take a more thoughtful and holistic approach than pharmaceuticals can offer.

Sources:

• La Trobe’s Infection-Busting Discovery – Latrobe.edu
• X-ray structure of a carpet-like antimicrobial defensin–phospholipid membrane disruption complex – Nature Communications
• 6 Most Common Types of Candida – yeastinfection.org
• Best Supplements To Kill Candida and Everything Else You Ever Wanted To Know About Fungal Infections – Organic Lifestyle Magazine

Brenda Fitzgerald reportedly said she resigned because she could not divest from certain financial interests “in a definitive time period.” A Politico article from Tuesday reports that Fitzgerald purchased shares in a tobacco company shortly after becoming CDC director.

The former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially resigned her position today after just six months, due to “complex financial interests.” She was repeatedly forced her to recuse herself from the agency’s activities, unable to testify before lawmakers on public health matters. And on Tuesday, January 30th,  Politico reported:

The Trump administration’s top public health official bought shares in a tobacco company one month into her leadership of the agency charged with reducing tobacco use — the leading cause of preventable disease and death and an issue she had long championed.

The stock was one of about a dozen new investments that Brenda Fitzgerald, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made after she took over the agency’s top job, according to documents obtained by POLITICO. Fitzgerald has since come under congressional scrutiny for slow walking divestment from older holdings that government officials said posed potential conflicts of interest.

Fitzgerald is 71 one years old. She is a physician who served as the Georgia public health commissioner until her appointment to the CDC post this last July. She said she and her husband had divested from many stock holdings in an interview late last year, but that she and her husband were legally obligated to continue certain investments in cancer detection and health information technologies. Fitzgerald apparently had to avoid government business that might affect those specific financial interests.

It is unacceptable that the person responsible for leading our nation’s public health efforts has, for months, been unable to fully engage in the critical work she was appointed to do.” – Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash

Dr. Fitzgerald’s tenure was unfortunately the latest example of the Trump Administration’s dysfunction and lax ethical standards. I hope the incoming Secretary of Health — nominated because his predecessor resigned for using taxpayer dollars for his personal luxury travel — will encourage President Trump to choose a new CDC Director who is truly prepared to focus on families and communities.” – Sen. Murray

Senator sent Fitzgerald a letter saying that the necessary recusals prevented Fitzgerald from engaging on public health issues like cancer and the massive opioid epidemic. Murray had voiced his concerns regarding Fitzgerald’s financial investments and the recusals necessary to avoid the aforementioned conflicts of interest since July. In December, the senator sent Fitzgerald a letter saying those recusals prevented her from fully engaging on public health issues including cancer and the opioid epidemic.

Fitzgerald had dismissed those concerns, saying that she was following ethics rules laid out by HHS and that her recusals were “very limited.”

About three hours after HHS announced Fitzgerald’s resignation, the CDC’s chief operating officer, Sherri Berger, sent an agencywide email that announced Fitzgerald’s resignation and said Anne Schuchat, the principal deputy, will be acting director effective Wednesday.

Recommended Reading:

• Detox Cheap and Easy Without Fasting – Recipes Included
• Start Eating Like That and Start Eating Like This – Your Guide to Homeostasis Through Diet
• How to Make the Healthiest Smoothies – 4 Recipes
• Holistic Guide to Healing the Endocrine System and Balancing Our Hormones