Energy Issues? This Chronic Infection Could be Why...

In this episode of the Unconventional Medicine podcast, Dr. Kate Davis discusses the impact of one particular infection's overgrowth on energy levels, gut health, and overall wellness. She explains how antibiotics, diet, stress, and other factors contribute to the overgrowth of this infection in the gut and offers strategies for healing and restoring gut health - in order to get your energy back online.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Functional Medicine and Gut Health

01:02 Understanding Candida and Its Impact on Energy

02:45 The Role of Diet and Lifestyle in Gut Health

07:18 Identifying Symptoms of Candida Overgrowth

09:09 The Connection Between Candida and Energy Crashes

13:04 Holistic Approach to Treating Candida Overgrowth

16:38 Personal Journey and Healing Process

18:45 Conclusion and Call to Action

Dr. Kate Davis D.C.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hello everyone. Welcome to the Unconventional Medicine Podcast. I am your host, Dr. Kate Davis. I am a licensed chiropractor and functional medicine doctor focusing on healing chronic gut issues in women. So things like constipation, IBS, bloating, food sensitivities, you name it. If you're new to the show, we talk about anything and everything, health and wellness, how to get to the root cause of whatever health issue you're dealing with, whether it's gut issues, hormone dysfunction, neurological dysfunction from a head injury. We're going to talk about all of it. So if you're someone who just loves nerding out in the health and wellness space and functional medicine world, you're going to love this podcast. So thank you so much for listening. And if you like the episode, please like and subscribe on whatever platform you're on and go ahead and leave me a five-star review wherever you're at. This really helps the podcast reach more people who are struggling with their health so that they can finally get some clarity on what's going on in their body. All right. So in today's episode, we're going to be talking about one of the most common infections that I find with chronic energy issues. So if you're someone who really struggles with energy, even though you sleep enough, you're, you know, taking care of your body, you're eating all the right foods, and you still just feel like your energy is absolutely tanked, you're going to want to listen to this episode. So I just want to start off by just giving you a little bit of an overview of the gut. So we have this whole ecosystem in our intestines of, you know, billions of bacteria in our in our body that helps with nutrient absorption, nutrient production, with digestion, with hormone regulation, producing and storing serotonin and dopamine or happy, you know, feel-good chemicals in our body. And so we want to keep this ecosystem alive and thriving with lots of diversity. And we don't want anything overgrowing because we also naturally have other things in our gut like yeast that also help aid in digestion, that also help with other functions in the body. And it's really just this balance of, you know, good and bad bacteria of yeast like candida that really just keeps us healthy. But when we do certain things, like when we're under chronic stress for long periods of time, when we eat garbage food, when we're not really taking care of ourselves, this bacterial balance can go really out of whack. And that can allow chronic infections to overgrow and start wreaking havoc on our gut lining and eventually lead to these energy issues that I'm going to talk about today. So I just wanted to start with just that basic overview of, you know, gut health. Basically, you just have this whole ecosystem in your body that really helps you function in so many different ways. And that's why I always talk about how almost everything starts in the gut. If you heal the gut first, you will see so many, so many different things in your body heal as well that you did not even think were related to gut health. So I'm really excited to talk about this topic today. Obviously, I'm, you know, I focus primarily on gut health. So I love anything that has to do with the gut, just from my own experience. All right, so the infection that I'm going to be talking about today is something called candida. It's a type of yeast that, again, like I mentioned before, is naturally found in your gut and actually does some really amazing things for digestion. Um, it also helps with nutrient absorption. So once you break down and eat your food, it helps actually absorb some of those nutrients. The problem comes about when this yeast starts to overgrow in the body. That's when it really creates those issues. And I'm going to break down exactly why this will completely wreck your energy and cause all sorts of other health issues in the process of doing that. And so major things that can actually allow this to happen, the number one thing is if you wipe out too much of the good bacteria in your gut, this yeast is will become opportunistic. It just starts overgrowing and creating an issue in the gut for you. So one of the biggest, biggest things is chronic overuse of antibiotics. And in America, we have the biggest misuse of antibiotics in the world. And that's why there's so many people with so many gut issues, because you know, you go to the doctor with a viral infection and they give you an antibiotic, which makes no sense. I'm, you know, an antibiotic to kill off bacteria for a viral infection. But a lot of times it's just because, you know, it's the standard of care. Oh, if you're sick, here, take an antibiotic. And yes, you might feel better temporarily, but eventually, you know, through an overuse and too much of those antibiotics, you can really just wipe out all this good bacteria that really helps with so many different functions in your body. And so antibiotics are number one. So that's why I always am a really big proponent of natural solutions before needing antibiotics. Obviously, there is a time and a place for antibiotics for some people, but I feel like they're over-prescribed in America way, way too much. And so that is a big, big thing that just allows that candida to start overgrowing and taking over parts of your intestines that it's not supposed to be found in. And then a highly refined processed food diet. So if you're someone who eats a lot of processed foods where there's, you know, 40 ingredients on the back of the box or bag of food that you're eating, or you have a really high sugar intake. I always tell people when they have candida, pop up on testing, don't feed the fungus. Sugar is the biggest thing that's gonna just allow that candida to just completely overgrow, start taking over in your gut. So refined carbs like potato chips and you know, candies, cakes, cookies, all that stuff is really gonna wreak havoc on your gut and just allow this yeast to overgrow. So cleaning up your diet is incredibly important for just preventing any of these infections from happening and just in terms of the inflammation that it causes in your gut lining that can lead to all these other health issues, like autoimmune disease and you know, energy issues, like we're gonna talk about. We definitely don't want to get to that point where we get leaky gut that can create all these other systemic issues in our body. So, diet is number one. You know, you've got to be eating like good quality whole foods diet. Go back and listen to episode one of my podcast. I talk a lot about food quality and what to look for, and you know, what kind of diet is really the best for you. And then chronic stress, huge one. So I have an episode on leaky gut, I believe it was episode two or three, talking about how that gut lining, it is supposed to have, you know, a slight bit of room in there to allow nutrients to flow into the bloodstream once your food is digested and broken down. But we don't want these giant holes in our intestines that allow toxins and infections and large food particles to slip through because that will trigger food sensitivities. That can also allow things like candida to start spreading systemically and creating all sorts of other issues as well. So chronic stress over a long period of time has been shown in research to create leaky gut. Um, if you look at research, they just call it increased intestinal permeability. So those are the terms you want to look for. But this is a big, big one because stress is so common in America as well. You know, everyone's go, go, go trying to, trying to, you know, do stuff all the time. It's like we we haven't really learned how to relax and rest, especially if you live in a big city. Now, obviously, people, you know, in the south are in more of the country, they're a lot better at this. But that's why you go to, you know, Europe, like Italy and Greece and all those places, and everyone's just sitting outside laughing, having a great time, taking four hours to eat a meal, really in community and really learning how to just calm their nervous system down. I feel like we struggle with that in America. So chronic stress, big, big one that will allow that leaky gut to happen and allow these infections that started in the gut to slip into your bloodstream and go systemic throughout your whole body and create all sorts of health issues. So, really, really important that we keep that in check. Another big one is just medications, especially birth control. If you're someone listening to this and you've been on birth control for a long period of time, you're at a greater risk for getting um candida overgrowth in the gut. And then other medical conditions, alcohol. Oh man, that's a big one. A lot of people don't like it when I say this, but I'll say it anyways. There is no amount of alcohol you can drink that will not damage your brain, your gut, or your liver. Period. Um, so if you're someone who's really serious about your health and you really want to get your gut health back on track and whatever other issues are going on, you've got to cut out alcohol. It's straight up poison. All those studies they told you about, oh, it's got antioxidants and all this in it, it's a marketing thing. You know, you can get plenty of antioxidants from, you know, blueberries and other fruits and veggies. But if you really want to heal your gut, you've got to cut out alcohol. It's it's so bad, it's so inflammatory, especially if you've got leaky gut or you know, some sort of infection in your gut lining. We've really got to cut this stuff out. So just some signs of candida, if you're not familiar with this, with the kind of infection before. A lot of really common things that I see. So obviously huge energy crashes, which we're gonna talk about in a second, about why that causes that issue. Brain fog is even common in this one, bloating, constipation, or diarrhea. Typically, I see more constipation issues. Leaky gut, that fungus destroys your gut lining and is one of the biggest contributors of leaky gut. So our parasites, parasites are really, really bad for that gut lining as well. Intense sugar cravings. Now, I know as women, we tend to crave sugar a lot more. You know, I think it's just a female thing. But if you have intense sugar cravings where you just cannot eat a meal without having something sweet at the end of it, that can typically be a big sign that you might have some sort of candida overgrowth or yeast infection going on in your gut. Also, thrush. So if you have a thick white coating over your tongue, like every morning when you wake up, it doesn't really go away, even if you scrape your tongue. That's a huge sign that you probably got candida overgrowth in the gut as well. And then constant recurring yeast infections, um, even some skin rashes can can indicate this candida as well. All right, so how does this candida actually cause these energy crashes? So let me just break this down for you guys. So that leaky gut we talked about just a second ago, basically what happens is when you have a big candida overgrowth yeast infection in your gut, and you also have leaky gut, what'll happen is that candida can actually slip into the bloodstream. Now, if you look at what blood looks like under a microscope when you have fungal infections in the blood, it's uh it's pretty bad. Basically, all you'll see in normal healthy blood, you'll see a lot of really round red blood cells spread apart. They've got lots of space in between them. When you look at under a microscope of blood that has candida or fungal infections in it, it actually causes the red blood cells, which carry oxygen to your brain and the rest of your body, to clump together. And now they basically inhibited your body's natural ability to deliver that oxygen to your brain and your body and basically give you that energy that's gonna, you know, keep you going throughout the day. So one thing I really see very commonly with people who have fungal infections in the gut is they have these huge energy crashes all throughout the day. They're reliant on caffeine. They can't go a single day without some sort of caffeine to just keep them awake and they usually crash around midday. It's really, really common with people who have these fungal infections. And that is the big link between it. You know, if you have a breakdown in that gut barrier, if you have overgrowth of candida slipping into your bloodstream, clumping those red blood cells together, it's gonna tank your energy because now you can't deliver oxygen properly. And you need oxygen, you know, to have energy and to allow your brain to function well. And, you know, pretty much every system in your body needs it. So, really, really important that we take care of fungal overgrowth when there are energy issues. Um, and eventually this can lead to, you know, really severe, I've seen some pretty severe symptoms of candida where people can get what's called chronic fatigue syndrome, which again, I know it's a garbage diagnosis. They're basically just describing your symptoms, but these are people who are just so extremely exhausted that they can barely function on a day-to-day basis. And there is quite a bit of research that links full potential correlation between candida fungal overgrowth and chronic fatigue syndrome setting on in people. And so they've actually done studies on this showing that there's higher candida antibody levels and increased candida in the gut in people who have been diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. So this stuff can get really, really bad. And if you don't start by healing the gut, restoring that microbiome, removing the candida, it's gonna be really hard to get people's energy back online. So, really, really important that we do that. And then there was another article that was showing not only candida infections, but there's also some other infections that they found very commonly in chronic fatigue syndrome. And pretty much for every syndrome that's named after the symptoms, there's an underlying issue, you guys. Like there's some sort of chronic infection, toxin, organ dysfunction that's creating that those symptoms to happen. We've just got to dig deeper and see what is the root cause of this issue, of this inflammatory issue that's going on. So uh this one article was talking about how candida, albicans, and fecal microflora. So basically they did a stool sample. They looked at the flora or the bacteria, the fungus, you know, all that stuff to see what was in it. And they've observed in patients with chronic fatigue syndrome that intestinal overgrowth of this candida was one of the possible factors. And they've actually done nutritional therapy for like an anti-candida diet. So low-processed sugar, no-processed foods, really more of a whole food diet with very, very low sugar, and natural antifungals has shown to actually reduce the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome in quite a few studies. So pretty big correlation between fungal overgrowth and massive energy issues. So, really, really interesting because if we know the process of how this stuff really affects our energy, it makes a lot of sense, right? So basically, in order to heal this, we've got to remove the fungus, get the fungal overgrowth gone, heal up that gut lining, and then, you know, slowly start to rebuild that good microbiome or that good bacteria in the gut so that the candida doesn't overgrow again. And now this can be a really complicated case in some people. For example, I had massive parasite infection. So, really, really important that when you're going after infections, you also know if there's something else going on. The worst thing you can do is to test for one infection and just start treating it without looking at the full picture. Because for me, yes, I had fungal overgrowth, a lot of candida symptoms, a lot of energy crashes, constipation, bloating, all sorts of bad stuff. But I also had parasites, I also had mold toxicity, and I had really bad gallbladder dysfunction. And so if I were to just look at the fungus and just start removing that, but I never got rid of the parasites, I never got rid of the mycotoxins, my immune system would have never been able to come back online enough to actually keep the fungus from overgrowing again. So that's a really important piece of the puzzle, you guys, is I don't want you to just listen to this episode and say, oh, I'm just gonna go get a stool test done, see if I have, you know, this fungal overgrowth, and then I'm just gonna target that. Because what if you also have heavy metals in your body? What if you also have liver dysfunction that needs to be dealt with so that your body can actually properly digest food and regulate hormones and detox properly and all those functions that your liver does that affect your gut? And so we've got to look at the full picture. We don't want to just isolate one variable and go after that. We really want to look at this 360-degree view of first of all, do I have good detox organs that can drain toxins efficiently? Do I have leaky gut? Because the last thing you want to do is just start killing off a bunch of fungus or parasites or, you know, removing heavy metals from the body if the gut lining is compromised and it's leaky. And now we're getting that those toxins recirculating into the bloodstream and damaging the liver. So, really, really important that we look at the full picture. I just want to re-reiterate that, you guys, when you get testing done, look for everything. Look for parasites, look for mold, look for heavy metals, look for chemical chemicals and environmental toxins and pollutants that could be in your body that are contributing to this state of disease in your gut that's inhibiting your immune system and its ability to come back online. And also, you got to learn how to downregulate your nervous system because remember, stress causes leaky gut. Also, that brain gut connection between, you know, the vagus nerve is really, really incredibly important. But if you never lower stress, stress in your immune system functions like a seesaw. When stress goes up, your immune system goes down. If you never, you never get out of that fight or flight state and go down into that rest and digest state, your immune system will never fully come back online. So you can get rid of these infections, but then if your immune system is still compromised, they're just gonna slowly grow back over time. And it's gonna be really hard and you're gonna be like, why is it taking years to get rid of this thrush on my tongue or to get rid of this fungus in my gut? And it's because there's probably something else going on. So we always want to look at the full picture, don't just target one infection, look to see are there co-infections, are there toxins in the body, do I need to improve some of the organ function or heal leaky gut in the process of getting rid of this yeast? And it tends to be a little more complicated than people think it is. But you guys, that's why I always recommend getting full testing done. Work with someone who can expedite the process for you, who can really get your health back online and who can really just shortcut the process and say, hey, here's all the things going on. Here's a targeted, individualized plan to really get rid of all this junk that's not supposed to be in your body to heal those organs back up and to make sure that we keep you well enough long term to where they don't come back. Um, and so that's kind of the goal of functional medicine, right? Is we want to get to the root cause, remove those issues, and then see what comes back online. And so for me, I had a massive parasite infection. That was my story. I also had fungal overgrowth. When I was testing myself, the fungus stayed around for about a year and a half. It took forever to get rid of. But all my symptoms were gone, but I still had a lot of healing work to do. You know, I had to change up my diet a little bit, I had to reduce sugar dramatically from my diet for a period of time. And now I don't have those infections pop up on testing. So it does take time for some people, but just know you can still heal, you can still get rid of all those symptoms. And then it's just more of maintaining those lifestyle changes to really fully resolve the issue because even leaky gut for some people can take up to two years to heal. So for me, I was a hot mess. So I barely, you know, I don't really see a lot of people who are a lot worse than I was at that time in terms of gut issues and gut health. It took me about, you know, a year and a half to two years to heal the leaky gut, about a year and a half to get rid of the fungal infection, but all the parasites were gone within six months, all the mycotoxins were gone within six months. And then for me, it was really just supporting gallbladder health, really just doing all these daily lifestyle changes and cleaning up my diet that really helped me maintain those results and then rebuilding that flora, that microbiome in my gut with, you know, really good quality probiotics naturally. You know, like I don't, I don't usually recommend probiotic supplements. I think food is the best way to get those probiotics because they're the bacteria that's always been around, that's always been helping out our gut. And so I always recommend sauerkraut, kefir if you can handle dairy, kombucha is a great way to just replenish that gut bacteria, but you don't want to do that in the beginning. Typically, we want to remove all the infections that are causing the inflammation, damaging the gut lining. And then once we do that, we can start replacing and restoring that bacteria. So hopefully this was helpful. Hopefully, if you're someone listening to this and you've been dealing with chronic energy issues and fatigue, that it gave you some insights into, you know, what could be possibly going on in your body that's creating so much dysfunction and so many, you know, issues for you. So if you're someone listening to this and you're like, I don't even know where to start, or maybe I've done what Dr. Davis just recommended of testing for a candida, did an antifungal cleanse or took some herbs or maybe changed my diet and I still feel terrible. Um, if you look in the show notes, you can click on that link. And if you want to work with someone, I work remotely with everyone in the US except for New York. They make it impossible to get testing ordered. Sorry, guys, if you live in New York. Um, and I also work with people in other countries as well. Most countries I can work with, depending on the laws for getting testing shipped in and out. Um, but if you're wanting to work with someone and really just dive deep into what the heck is going on and causing all these issues in my body, go ahead and just click on that link in the in the show notes. I'll give you $100 off an initial consult plus labs package so we can really get a full understanding of what is going on in your body, why you're feeling terrible, why you're having constipation or bloating or IBS symptoms or brain fog or chronic energy dips. And, you know, I'll put you on an individualized care plan to get your health back on track faster. So if you want to work with someone, got that discount in the show notes. And otherwise, I hope this episode was really helpful. I hope it gave you some hope into knowing, you know, that even though all your labs before have not shown anything, that there could be something that your doctor missed because they're just not testing for it. So if you have any questions, you know, definitely hit that little fan mail button, send me some questions. I love creating content for you guys and answering any questions that you might have. So I can definitely do some follow-up episodes on this. Otherwise, please like and subscribe. Whatever platform you're on really helps me out, helps me reach more people who are, you know, really struggling with their health and just need to find answers. Um so I will see you on the next episode and I hope you guys have a great rest of your day.