Diagnosing Candida

Thankfully, more and more doctors are acknowledging the importance of a whole body, ecology based approach to health. These doctors have typically pursued training beyond the conventional and may describe their approach as Functional Medicine or Holistic Medicine. We have much to look forward to in the inevitable evolution of allopathic medicine.

Unfortunately even the most progressive and candida-aware MD or ND will be challenged to diagnose Candida Related Syndrome (CRC) definitely and as an exclusive cause to disease. This is not an easy judgment to make. Unfortunately, diagnosing CRC is not as simple as a stool test or a blood test.

With the multitude of modern lifestyle factors that contribute to CRC by destroying intestinal ecology, including unhealthy, artificial or overly processed foods, the prevalence of pharmaceuticals and chemical exposure through our diet, many holistic minded practioners are becoming more and more familiar with the main indicators of CRC and are more accurately diagnosing this condition.

A practioner may assume the involvement of fungus based on the presence of a certain combination of symptoms. Having definite candida symptoms and at least some of the contributing factors present in your health history will be an important part of the diagnosis. Significant factors that can contribute to the development of CRC include: antibiotics, high sugar, starch or alcohol consumption, extreme stress, intestinal illness, degenerative illness, treatment with chemotherapy drugs, corticosteroids, hormones, birth control pills or other strong pharmaceuticals.

A history of exposure to these contributors does not necessarily indicate candida on it’s own but a combination of these in your history combined with certain common CRC symptoms may lead to a positive diagnosis. Scoring on the Whole Approach Candida Symptom Assessment Questionnaire is calculated based on a combination of history and symptoms.

If you do show a high score on the questionnaire this does not guarantee that all of your symptoms are caused by yeast overgrowth. Other contributing factors could be at play. We all need to be our own detectives to decipher the factors that have lead to the degeneration of our health.

No matter what other health challenges are present, clearing candida overgrowth is sure to enhance your overall health picture. Reducing candida levels while improving the ratio of beneficial bacteria to yeast and pathogenic bacteria lowers the level of mycotoxins (released by the pathogens) while supporting immune and liver function. Killing intestinal fungus allows the intestinal membrane to heal and, finally, reducing these pathogens removes their putrefactive effect that suppresses digestive efficiency.

Despite the epidemic prevalence of CRC, concrete methods of diagnosis are not available. Candida is a naturally occurring organism in the healthy body and different levels of it affect each person differently. As a result diagnosing Candida is not as simple as a stool test or a blood test. It may be impossible to know how tolerant one is to Candida and its by-products. People with a strong constitution may be capable of hosting large populations of Candida fungus with a minimum of symptoms while others, who are more sensitive, may feel a great deal of health stress as a result of mild Candida overgrowth.

When you’ve been searching for an explanation of our symptoms, and then learn about candida, it can be tempting to label every symptom as being linked to candida. Many symptoms can indeed be caused by this perplexing imbalance but it is also possible to have another illness or toxicity related condition concurrent with CRC. Some of these conditions as well as constitutional weaknesses can predispose us to CRC but the opposite is also true. Long standing CRC can predispose us to other imbalances or illnesses. Either way, reducing one's level of Candida will aid in healing and additional intervention for concurrent may or may not be required. If an imbalance/illness has been triggered by candida overgrowth, depending on how serious it has become, sometimes clearing candida overgrowth will resolve the secondary problem.

There are several available testing protocols for Candida. Unfortunately, they all have limited accuracy. Even the most clinical of these are not able to decipher to what degree Candida is a problem for you, as an individual.

1-Blood testing may reveal if you have developed highly specific types of allergic responses to normal OR excess levels of Candida. It will not tell you if you have any other kind of sensitivity to it except that which the test is designed to measure.

2-Electro-dermal testing by a naturopath may tell you if Candida overgrowth is the worst problem that your body is currently facing. If you have another serious illness or consequential illnesses related to the Candida, your results for the testing may be deceptively low.

3-Stool testing will tell you if your levels of yeast fall within a "normal" range, which reflects an average of what is normal for other people but may not necessarily indicate a level of yeast that is "normal" for your body.

4-Detailed Questionnaires (such as the Whole Approach Candida Questionnaire) are often used to identify candida-related health symptoms and history.

The symptom assessment Questionnaire, combined with a health history review and an initial trial of the Whole Approach anti-fungal program will give you the clearest indication of whether Candida infestation is a major contributor to your health problems.

Having a high initial score on the questionnaire does not mean Candida is the only cause for your symptoms. Regardless of the degree to which candida overgrowth the Whole Approach suggestions for diet and lifestyle improvements will help to boost your well being and quality of life. The whole-self-health, conscious approach to life that we support here on the forum, make up the cornerstones of a explorative process that will help you to unearth a diet and lifestyle that is uniquely right for you and that can enhance your quality of life for many years into the future.

Using the Questionnaire to help you Maintain Objectivity/Perspective as you Progress:
We recommend filling out the questionnaire weekly to help you stay aware of your progress. The objectivity afforded by a weekly assessment can offer the motivation you need to help you stay on track.


You can access the questionnaire through this link:

Candida Questionnaire

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Tarilee,