Beware of gastrointestinal fungal diseases

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1. What is gastrointestinal fungus?

The digestive tract plays an important role in each person's body, in which there is a huge living microbiome, including billions of different types of bacteria, viruses, fungi, and microorganisms. They are both beneficial and harmful, such as Candida Albican (which is both a natural fungus and a pathogenic fungus).
Fungi with only one cell are classified as yeast and Candida is one of them. However, it is a special fungus because of its mycelium is capable of growing in a branched manner.
Complications occur when your immune system is not functioning optimally, giving Candida and other potential disease-causing bacteria the opportunity to multiply beyond their normal parameters. It is this multiplication that disrupts the balance of the microbiome and can lead to signs of Candida overgrowth.
You may have heard of thrush or maybe even experienced the itching and discomfort yourself. Thrush is a frequent manifestation of Candida overgrowth. However, the effects of Candida can be many and varied. Intestinal Candida overgrowth can lead to a variety of symptoms throughout your body.
Under normal circumstances, Candida does not cause any harm to your health. Your skin, genitals, mucous membranes, and intestines can all become infected with Candida without causing any significant health problems.
Candida quietly survives using the decomposed components of sugars and other nutrients to give it renewable energy, but still lives in harmony and balance with your body. Most of the time, it forms part of a normal and healthy microbiome.
Candida cell wall consists of α- and β-mannans. The Β-glucan on the fungal cell wall is recognized by your immune system. This triggers a process known as phagocytosis, where neutrophil immune cells and macrophages consume pathogens.
It is this phagocytosis that Candida avoids. It hides β-glucan on its surface, thus eliminating your phagocytic cells' ability to recognize and destroy invading Candida cells. As such, Candida can adapt itself to "evade" your immune system.

2. Symptoms of gastrointestinal fungus

People with compromised immune systems are more likely to have Candida overgrowth, as are the very young and the very old.
Other factors, such as a diet high in sugar or antibiotics, have also been linked to an increase in Candida infections. Below are the typical fungal infections of the gastrointestinal tract and their symptoms.

2.1. Mouth fungus

Also known as oral candidiasis, oral thrush is an overgrowth of the fungus Candida in the oral cavity. Usually, white patches of thrush are visible on the gums, roof of the mouth, tongue, tonsils, and throat.
Candida albicans normally lives in the mouth without causing any ill effects. However, under the right circumstances, it can grow out of control.
This form of candida is not particularly common in healthy adults. It is more common in the young and elderly, and those with weakened immunity.
In the early stages of the infection, you may not notice signs of oral thrush. As it progresses, it causes a variety of symptoms:
Creamy white fungal patches or lesions are most commonly found on the tongue and inner cheeks and sometimes on the gums, tonsils, and throat. The sensation of heat or pain can make it difficult to swallow or eat. Bleeding Cracked and red skin at the corners of the mouth Loss of taste In people with weakened immunity, the infection can continue into the throat and can cause pain and a constant sensation of food stuck in the throat .

2.2. Gut fungus

When the balance of the gut microbiome is out of balance due to illness, antibiotic use, alcohol consumption or even stress, a poor diet high in sugar and refined carbohydrates... Candida fungus can multiply and cause unpleasant signs of intestinal overgrowth.
Initially, gastrointestinal fungal symptoms may be nonspecific. Unexplained fatigue is a frequent symptom. Candidiasis often affects the way your body absorbs nutrients, so you may be deficient in magnesium, essential fatty acids, and vitamins. Other symptoms of gastrointestinal thrush include:
Esophageal thrush: Patients often have difficulty swallowing and swallowing pain. The disease was diagnosed by gastrointestinal endoscopy showing white patches in the esophagus and the presence of fungus on these white patches. Stomach fungus: Patients often have nausea, vomiting, abdominal bloating, stomach pain or abdominal pain many times after eating. Intestinal fungus: The patient has diarrhea, food is not absorbed, leading to malnutrition, dehydration, affecting life. Diarrhea symptoms when intestinal fungus are not different from diarrhea caused by other causes, so it is easy to cause confusion. When having gastrointestinal fungus, the patient may have symptoms such as indigestion, rapid weight loss, frequent urination... The disease is diagnosed based on finding the fungus in the stool through testing. In general, the gut microbiome is essential for digestion and the processing of some sugars, fiber, and starches. As the Candida fungus proliferates, you may experience digestive problems, constipation, nausea, cramps, bloating, diarrhea or flatulence.
Chronic and serious digestive diseases, including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are associated with Candida overgrowth in the gut.

3. Treatment of gastrointestinal fungus

In principle, if you want to treat fungal infections of the gastrointestinal tract, you need to be based on the condition of the disease (severe or mild), the patient's condition and most importantly, be examined and prescribed by a doctor. .
With mild and moderate candida, ketoconazole can be used. This is a broad-spectrum antifungal drug, which inhibits the alpha demethylase enzyme and prevents the synthesis of ergosterol, changes the lipids of the mycelium cell membrane, inhibits the growth of fungi. Use at low doses has the effect of inhibiting the growth of fungi, with high doses, it has a killing effect. Ketoconazole dissolves well in the acidic environment of the stomach, so it should not be used concurrently with drugs that neutralize stomach acid (such as maalox, sodium bicarbonate ..) or proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), because it will reduce acidity. poor absorption. Undesirable effects of ketoconazole can cause nausea, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and more dangerous gastrointestinal bleeding. Rarely, hepatitis, cholestasis (increased bile pigment) is more common in the elderly, women, alcoholics or with impaired liver function due to other causes. Therefore, with ketoconazole, it should be taken at mealtime for good absorption and liver enzymes should be checked (SGOT, SGPT); bilirubin blood and under the supervision of a physician.
For severe candidiasis, fluconazole can be used, which is a stronger broad-spectrum antifungal drug than ketoconazole, belonging to the triazole group, with peripheral or systemic fungicidal effects. However, the drug has many undesirable effects such as toxic necrosis of the skin, harmful to the kidneys, especially for people with pre-existing kidney disease (because the drug is mainly excreted through the urine). Therefore, it is necessary to notify the doctor when seeing abnormalities (exfoliation, toxic necrosis of the skin) after automatically stopping the drug for timely treatment.
For mild dyspepsia caused by Candida albicans, nystatin (narrow-spectrum antifungal) can be used. Nystatin has an inhibitory or fungicidal effect depending on the concentration and sensitivity of the fungus, without affecting the normal bacteria in the body's digestive system (oral form). The most sensitive are yeasts and have a very good effect on Candida albicans. The mechanism of action of nystatin is that they bind to the ergosterol substance of the fungal cell membrane, thereby disrupting the potassium metabolism of the fungus and preventing the fungus from growing (destroying) but not adversely affecting the user. use. Undesirable effects of nystatin may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, gastrointestinal disorders (flatulence and abdominal distension ...) or may cause urticaria, rash after taking the drug, especially when use doses exceeding 5 million units a day.
Note: Patients are not allowed to arbitrarily use antifungal drugs without the examination and treatment prescription of a doctor.

4. Importance of diet in the prevention of gastrointestinal fungal diseases

With most types of external or internal Candida infections, the cornerstone of treatment lies in a low-sugar and anti-inflammatory diet. Candida loves to eat glucose, so if your body has low glucose, Candida fungus has no energy source to overgrow and become detrimental to your health.
Disturbances in gut bacteria or an unbalanced microbiome can be the cause of many conditions. Here is a diet to prevent gastrointestinal candidiasis:
You should avoid foods that contain sugar, such as candy, cakes and regular soft drinks. Be careful with unknown ingredients, avoid processed meats and salty foods, and don't eat refined carbohydrates (including white bread and pasta) as they quickly break down into simple sugars as your body metabolizes them. Add fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, raw yogurt, and kefir to your diet to help balance the microbiome. Taking a probiotic supplement in the form of an oral tablet or capsule is a much more convenient way to ensure that your microbiome is optimal. Probiotics contain beneficial bacteria. It will support your microbiome to regain balance for the body. There are many types of probiotics to choose from, but you should choose one that uses biological time-release technology. Add fruits and vegetables: Avocados, for example, provide vitamins E and C, healthy fats, and more. Broccoli contains carotenoids that help protect you from oxidative damage that leads to wrinkles. and dry skin. Walnuts contain essential fatty acids, zinc and antioxidants. Olive oil and cinnamon: The search for alternative treatments for antifungal strains of Candida is underway. Research has found that both olive oil and cinnamon oil have the ability to kill Candida fungi isolated from blood infections. More than half of the fluconazole-resistant Candida krusei strains were found to be sensitive to olive oil and cinnamon. Candida forms part of the microbiome in the intestinal tract. In most people, it can be part of a healthy microbiome and not cause problems or disease.
Problems with Candida can arise when there is a change from a healthy and balanced state of the body. The reason for this change could be the use of medications such as antibiotics or corticosteroids, stress, changes in hormone balance, or an underlying disease including cancer that causes the immune system to weaken. When the balance of the microbiome is disturbed, the Candida fungus takes advantage of this opportunity to grow out of control and can cause problems ranging from fatigue and poor digestion to more serious conditions. such as infection of internal organs.
Eating a diet low in sugar and carbohydrates, taking a high-quality probiotic will help support your immune system and keep the microbiome in balance.

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