Candidosis

Ama promotes fungal diseases

As long as our body is healthy, Candida can be in our organism without causing any problems. However, if the immune system is weakened – for example by illness or through the intake of medication – fungi multiply. Infections may be the result.

The formation of ama and its effects on the organism was the subject of the previous article, which examined the formation of physiological ama, so-called metabolic deposits or waste products. In the natural stage, ama (so-called toxins) can be eliminated quite easily by natural self-purification of the organism.

If this purification process is suppressed or disturbed for a long time, the immune system is weakened and blockages in the various organ systems occur, which hinder the physiological processes. Various clinical pictures can manifest and break out.

The inhibited immune system provides a fertile environment – among others – for the Candida pathogen, in which it can settle and spread.

Ama

Translated from Sanskrit, ama means raw, uncooked, immature, undigested. These are slags or metabolic deposits, rotting and fermentation processes. 

Ama blocks the body channels, the circulation of the metabolism is inhibited, resulting in an accumulation and deposition of waste products. If ama is not dissolved and discharged, it connects with the doshas and leaves the gastrointestinal tract to spread to other organ systems.

The highest directive is to banish ama into the gastrointestinal tract in order to discharge the toxins from there via the intestines and kidneys. The following symptoms may indicate the presence of ama:

• Tiredness and exhaustion despite adequate sleep.
• A heavily coated tongue, the consistency of which is greasy and sticky and cannot be removed
• Stiffness in the joints
• Dizziness
• Loss of appetite, indigestion with winds, a bloated stomach
• Malodorous, sticky, sinking stool

A Billion Microorganisms

“As in macro cosmos, so in micro cosmos”, says Vedic philosophy. Thus within the various organisms and organ systems there are an infinite number of worlds and life forms. About one trillion microorganisms settle in the human body. Their settlement already starts at birth. Approximately 0.5 to 1 kg of the most diverse organisms with their numerous strains populate skin, mouth, nose, intestines and, depending on the region and genes, shape the microflora that prevents bacteria from entering the body. 

This interaction follows an ingenious plan of cell intelligence and the peaceful coexistence of the most diverse life forms of microorganisms. Vitamins such as biotin, folic acid and vitamin K are produced, the immune system is strengthened and the colonization of disease-causing bacteria and fungi is prevented.

Fungal diseases are among the diseases that go worldwide most often unrecognized. It is not uncommon for the intestines to be affected by fungal diseases caused by the yeast fungus Candida albicans when the healthy milieu is disturbed. Candida is a yeast fungus that can settle mainly on the mucous membranes in the genital area, in the mouth-throat area or in the intestine. Candida can be in the organism unnoticed and without any problems as long as the body milieu is not disturbed and as long as the fungus is kept in balance through its natural counterparts. Fungi only multiply when the immune system is weakened – for example in people who are emaciated by a serious illness. They absorb the candida fungus much easier than healthy people. Antibiotics and cortisone weaken the sensitive intestinal flora immensely and increase the susceptibility to infection. After the administration of antibiotics, intestinal cleansing and a supportive diet are highly recommended, best start already during the intake of antibiotics.

Basically, the entire organism is like a living biotope, whose balance and relative strength are linked to a healthy lifestyle and diet, mainly based on human self-responsibility.

Also continuous weakening life situations, such as stress, worries, grief exhaust the intestinal environment. It has also been found that the intestines of diabetics or women taking the contraceptive pill react more sensitively to the candida fungus.

Diet

The following food should be strongly reduced:

• Foods containing sugar are a taboo. Check the list of contents when shopping
• Avoid fruit as they contain fruit sugar
• Do not consume milk, bread, fruit, raw vegetables, peanuts or fruit juices
• Avoid cold, raw food, frozen food
• Avoid extremely fatty and fermented food and yeast products, as these increase Kapha and Ama
• Abstain from coffee, alcohol and black tea
• Avoid carbonated drinks.

Recommended food:

The diet should be as high in fibre as possible. Vegetables, cereal products and pulses can only be digested poorly by the fungi and inhibit the reproduction of Candida. 

• Give preference to whole-grain flour and avoid pure wheat flour.
• Food should be freshly prepared, free of refined foods and based on whole foods.
• Warm drinks, e.g. hot water, herbal tea

Nutrition is the be-all and end-all

In the case of intestinal diseases, there is nothing more obvious than to check your diet, since a persistent, unhealthy diet will in the long run bring the intestinal environment to a standstill and result in a lack of vitamins, enzymes and antibodies. In a candida infection, it is highly recommended that an ama reducing diet (cleansing and purification cure) is carried out under the supervision of a physician, naturopath or nutritionist in order to effectively drain off serious and chronic accumulations of ama in the gastrointestinal tract.

If the fungi are only deprived of their nutritional basis by a certain diet, they produce more toxins and can enter the blood vessels through the intestinal wall in search of food. Treatment is then much more complicated.

It is important to change the nutritional plan in a targeted manner and to support it with an accompanying phyto-therapy, which is determined according to the person’s constitution and offers selected antibacterial and antimicrobial herbs in order to loosen and drain metabolic residues and gently sanitize the intestine. In this way, the organism can be effectively relieved and the immune system can be sustainably strengthened.

Herbs

The herbs in the following list should be preferably taken:

Please ask for consultation which of them are particularly suitable for you. It is important to select not more than 2 or 3. Depending on the disease pattern, herbs and remedies are used for internal use, as rinses, sitting baths and compresses: 

• Garlic, tincture of black walnuts, neem tree, tea tree, lapacho tea, valerian, wormwood, mugwort, Alpine embrasure, black pepper (not too spicy)

• 3-5 cloves per day stimulate Agni and have a strong antimicrobial effect.

• The following antiparasitic herbs are recommended for Vata and Pitta: Wild garlic, pomegranate, large nasturtium, burdock root, coconut oil, turmeric, dandelion root, sage, Rosa damanscena, vanilla.

• For Vata and Kapha the following antiparasitic herbs are recommended: Wild garlic, galangal, pomegranate, large nasturtium, oregano, thyme, cayenne pepper, asafoetida and rosa damanscena, vanilla
• Millet, rich in minerals and trace elements, especially iron. In contrast to other cereals, it does not build mucus.
• Drink milk warm only and add spices such as cardamom and cinnamon.
• A home remedy against candida is a tea mixture of anise, fennel, caraway and coriander. The seeds are lightly mortared and mixed in equal parts. 

One teaspoon of the mixture is poured over with a quarter of a litre of boiling water and allowed to infuse for about seven to ten minutes.

• Stinging nettle and horsetail in equal quantity. Take a teaspoon of the mixture and add 250 ml of boiling water. Leave to infuse for five to seven minutes.
• In case of fungal infestation in the oral cavity, rinsing your mouth with sage tea is recommended several times a day.

Contact
Kerstin Tschinkowitz, Freiestrasse 44, CH-2502 Biel/Bienne
info@ayurvedabalance.ch

Photo: © Johannes Stasing, www.sta-fotografie.de