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Dysbiosis is a fancy word that means that something is interfering with proper digestion. All indigestion of unknown origin falls into this category. This includes chronic stomach aches, bloating, cramping, flatulence, heartburn, abnormal burping, constipation, and diarrhea.

Dysbiosis has numerous causes, but generally it is related to low stomach acid, candida yeast infections, inadequate digestive enzymes or healthy bacteria, and/or the presence of parasites and bacterial infections, such as h pylori that causes ulcers.

Anyone can get dysbiosis, even infants. When infants have it, it is called "colic", which simply means they have a stomach ache, usually due to an immature digestive tract. They can also get candida in the form of thrush (yeast in the mouth), and diaper rashes caused by yeast that they've gotten from their mothers when they passed through the birth canal.

Children are also prone to parasites because of their tendency to play in the dirt and put their fingers in their mouths.

Adults can get parasites from numerous sources but the usual ways are from eating contaminated food or water, or from numerous insects, such as ticks that cause Lyme disease. 

Food poisoning is caused by bacterial infections. Generally, most food poisoning only lasts 24 hours causing diarehhea and vomiting, but sometimes it can kill you, as is the case with botulism. Any kind of dysbiosis can affect nutrient absorption. Since getting a nutrient dense diet that is appropriate for you is the name of the game when it comes to optimal health, anything that thwarts this needs to be addressed.

Food sensitivities are another common source of indigestion.

Although food sensitivities can cause a variety of symptoms that can easily be misdiagnosed as a "disease with no known cause", stomach aches, heartburm, bloating, flatulence, constipation and diarreah are frequently caused by foods that don't agree with us. For an expanded list of allergic symptoms, check out the food sensitivity page.

There are many heavy metals that destroy enzymes, which can cause dysbiosis. Ridding the body of heavy metals will also help you deal with parasites if you have them.

Because heavy metals damage and/or destroy cells, as well as the sulfur containing enzymes that allow your body to detoxify itself, they create tiny pockets of decaying flesh that parasites feed off of.

Heavy metals also cause Alzheimer's disease and osteoporosis, among other things. Since most everyone has them, they are a good thing to be rid of whether one has parasites or not. I believe it is very important to know how to detoxify oneself of the heavy metals that create so many health conditions with "no known cause". Check out the heavy metal pages for further information.

If your dysbiosis is mild, there are a few simple things you can try yourself  before you seek a doctor’s care. They are to improve your diet, and to discover and remove both reactive foods and heavy metals that may be effecting your digestive tract. In addition, you might also want to take extra digestive enzymes and/or probiotics to help you digest your food.

Another thing you can do if your stomach starts cramping when you eat is to take hydrochloric acid.

 Hydrochloric acid is the same acid that is already in your stomach. As one ages, their body produces less of it. Without adequate stomach acid, the body can’t adequately digest minerals. Since minerals effect hundreds of metabolic processes, a deficiency can actually be a contributing factor of numerous health problems. If you decide to take minerals, be sure to take high quality ones, such as Eniva minerals that are quickly and easily absorbed. Insufficient stomach acid and not enough healthy flora can also be the cause of heartburn. 

Another way to increase stomach acid is to take the old fashioned remedy of apple cider vinegar, two teaspoons in water before each meal.

 It seems that apple cider vinegar is a weak acid that is nearly the same ph as your stomach acid. This remedy is also reputed to help with weight loss, improve arthritis, and help with blood sugar problems, as well. If you are going to try this method, you will want to buy good quality, organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar for this purpose.

We need enymes for everything, not just digestion, for they produce all of our body's metabolic activities.  The metabolic enzymes are in our blood, tissues and organs. The digestive enzymes are in our digestive tract. When we eat raw food, the food, itself, has its own enzymes that can be used to aid the body in digestion, but when food is heated to over 180 degrees the enzymes are killed. In addition, food that has been irradiated has lost its enzymes, as well as fruits and vegetables that never ripen because they were too green when picked. Unfortunately, because our food is transported long distances, most fruit in our supermarkets, including natural food stores, falls into this category. Also unfortunately, most of our food has been severely damaged by the short-sighted practice of iradiation. Without enzymes there is no life. Irradiated food is dead food, even when eaten raw. Knowing this, your best recourse is to grow your own organic garden. If you need inspiration to do so, check out the website http:www.soulconnection.net. When you click on the TV section, you will view the most amazing videos on urban gardening and how it is more than possible to grow all the fruits and vegetables you need on even the tiniest parcel of city land!

When we eat cooked food, the body reacts as though it has been invaded by a foreign substance. It then produces the same white blood cells that it does when fighting off infection. Molecules from improperly digested protein and fats are called floating immune complexes. The body considers them to be toxic invaders. When these floating immune complexes escape through a gut made "leaky" by heavy metals, parasites, or candida,  they cause our food sensitivities. When protein isn't properly digested the blood clumps together becoming sticky. This leads to both poor circulation and digestive problems, among other things.   

When we are born we are loaded with enzymes, but elderly people have only a tenth of what a child has.

Raw food, particularly in vegetable juices, smoothies, and salads are high in natural food enzymes. So are fermented foods, such as yogurt, kefir, naturally made sourkraut, pickles, etc. However, modern food manufacturing practices no longer process these products in the old fashioned ways. Therefore, traditional foods that used to have a lot of enzymes in them are now low in them. If you want to make sure you are getting the enzymes and probiotics these foods used to have, be sure to buy them at a natural food store or, better yet, make them yourself. In addition, one might also decide to supplement enzymes. To aid in digestion, take them with meals. To help the body heal from a degenerative disease, reduce inflamation, or combat pain, take them first thing in the morning, between meals, and before bedtime. Since most supplements are devoid of enzymes, if you take enzymes with your supplements, the nutrients in the supplements are more easily absorbed. This is one of the reasons that most supplements shoud be taken with food. Be sure to look on the bottle and follow the directions given.

 Candida, bacteria, and parasites are more serious issues than simple deficiency in stomach acid, enzymes and probiotics. 

Candida albicans is a yeast overgrowth that can exist anywhere in the body, including, but not limited to one’s vagina, brain, blood, hair follicles, stomach and intestines.

They can even live in root canaled teeth and are present in cancer tumors. Candida overgrowth is caused by antibiotics, sugar overload, oral contraceptives, steroids, antacids, anti-ulcer medication, diabetes, a repressed immune system, chemotherapy, and multiple pregnancies. Even the threat of Candida is a good reason to get your act together when it comes to health and nutrition, for once you have a candida overgrowth, it can be very difficult to get rid of.

The use of even one dose of antibiotics can destroy not only the bad bacteria it is trying to kill, but the good one’s that keep your gut in balance. These good bacteria are called probiotics, meaning “pro life”. Candida, which also lives naturally in the gut and is generally kept in balance by the probiotics are antibiotic resistant. This means that when the probiotics are killed during antibiotic use, the candida is unaffected.  It’s a classic case of the good guys versus the bad guys. Without enough of the good guys policing your digestive tract, the bad guys take control. Once they do take control leaky gut syndrome develops. When this happens, candida leaks into the blood stream and can become systemic. At that point, where these bad bacteria go to cause damage is up for grabs.

Candida yeast infections can be notoriously difficult to overcome because they hide in the many folds of your intestines and quickly reproduce once you stop taking whatever herb, pharmaceutical, or substance you are using to control them.

Once you do have it, it is important to note that Candida, like cancer and parasites in general, feeds on sugar, which causes it to thrive. It also causes sugar cravings, creating a vicious cycle of candida growth. Most anti-candida regimens advocate a strict sugar-free diet, which includes the restriction of fruit, as well as any other sources of sugar. Therefore, it tends to be a very difficult diet to maintain.

Candida will make you miserable and, if it’s in your stomach or digestive tract, it will keep you from digesting your food properly, as well as causing numerous forms of stomach upset, bloating, cramping, constipation and/or diarrhea. It can also be the cause of allergies and food sensitivities, hyperactivity, chronic inflammation, eye irritation, irritable bowel syndrome, gas, bloating, indigestion, stomach cramping, lethargy, a fiery red facial rash, frequent urination, lactose intolerance, muscle weakness, bone pain, inflammation of hair follicles, many mental complaints such as depression, anxiety, and obsessive compulsive disorder, sinus problems, rectal itching, swollen lips and face, and a white coated tongue.

Although there are several tests that can be taken to discover if candida is the cause of your problems, if you suspect candida, there are a couple of really great products on the market you can try beforehand to see if they will solve your problems. They are both over-the-counter products. One is called Threelac, with its stronger version called Fivelac.  The other is called Saccharomyces Boulardii. They are both different formulations of yeast destroying probiotics that eat the bad bacteria, which is exactly what probiotics are supposed to do. If you have a variety of the symptoms described above, you might want to try them out. As I've never seen them in health food stores, you will probably need to buy them over the Internet.

These probiotics are different than the norm. Though I’ve taken many probiotics in my life, none of them worked like the yeast eating ones named above. After I began taking them, it wasn't long before my stomach cramping ended and I became indigestion free.  If candida is  causing your problems, be prepared for a cleansing reaction after you take the above probiotics as the yeast dies off. A cleansing reaction is a natural process of healing. When the bad bacteria is destroyed, your body becomes temporarily overwhelmed with toxins it must eliminate. Cleansing reactions can cause flu-like symptoms, slight nausea, tiredness, headaches, etc. They are a good sign that your product is working, so they are nothing to fear. To avoid them or lessen their severity drink plenty of water and start out slowly, taking higher and higher doses as your body can tolerate it.

Once you have killed the bad bacteria you may wish to repopulate your digestive tract with good bacteria. Though there are many different kinds on the market some are superior to others. That is because the bacteria can quickly die after it is encapsulated and shipped to market. On one of his blog video's, Dr. Mark Hyman says that the best, most reliable source of live bacteria is VSL # 3. Check out his blog on Irritable Bowel Syndrome for further details on the subject. 

There are also several doctor-prescribed medications that you can take to get rid of candida. They are diflucan, lamisil, nystatin, and sporanox, among others. My experience and the experience of other’s I’ve met is that these medications work temporarily but must be repeated over and over again. That’s because, as I mentioned earlier, yeast hides and quickly regenerates itself. Also, because they do not add the good bacteria that keep the candida in line, the bad bacteria soon get the upper hand again. Therefore, if you decide to take pharmaceuticals, you may have to come to terms with the fact that you will need to take them periodically to maintain your health.

It is even a good idea to take probiotics periodically, especially since the body creates less of them as we age. I, myself, find taking a maintenance dose of probiotics far preferable than taking a pharmaceutical drug.  Since they are "pro life" as the name implies, one might as well take something that's natural to the body, rather than a toxic drug that must be repeated over and over again.

Indigestion can also be caused by protozoan parasites such as Entamoeba histolytica, Entamoeba coli, other Entamoeba, Dientamoeba fragilis, Endolimax nana, Giardia lamblia, Blastocystis hominis, Chilomastix mesnili, and others; or bacteria such as Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia enterocolitica, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter freundii, Citrobacter diversus, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, some strains of Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus, some strains of Bacteriodes, Clostridium difficile, and others. Avoiding contaminated food and water is imperative if you want to remain parasite-free.

One of the worst parasites, however, is Borrelia  burgdorferi (Bb), otherwise known as Lyme disease, which, because of its tiny size, is extremely hard to detect via laboratory analysis. In fact, I read in the book Beating Lyme by Constance Bean, that there are only a couple of labs in the country that have microscopes powerful enough to see them, which is why 80% of the tests given for Lyme disease are false negative.

Lyme disease is also an epidemic that is at the core of a great deal of degenerative disease of "unknown origin" and causes untold misery and suffering for countless thousands of people who may have it for decades without being given an accurate diagnosis, which is exactly what happened to me.

It is called the great immitator, for it imitates numerous diseases of "unknown origin" such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, ALS (Lou Gehring's disease), and lupus, to name a few. According to Dr. Klinghardt and others, it is also behind the rising epidemic of childhood autism. In my case, it caused what was falsely diagnosed as Rheumatoid arthritis for 25 years. As Lyme disease is caused by multiple factors, not just parasites, healing it requires an intricate and advanced protocol. For more information about how I healed it, as well as other alternative approaches, please read my general information page on Lyme disease.

To discover if parasites are the source of your symptoms, you will need to be tested by a doctor. Each type of bug needs a different kind of test as well as its own unique pharmaceutical treatment, so you may need to seek the services of a physician or naturopath to get rid of them, as healing from a bacterial or parasitic infection can be quite tricky. However, since medication comes along with a whole host of side effects, as I found out when I took Flageyl for Blastocystis Hominis, which caused horrendous stomach pain, you might want to try a natural remedy first.

Ridding the body of heavy metals and environmental toxins is one way to overcome parasites. Both heavy metals and environmental toxins damage cells. Because parasites are particularly attracted to damaged flesh, when you rid the body of heavy metals and environmental toxins you deprive them of their food supply. Once they are deprived of their food supply, herbal remedies can easily kill them, but you need to know what you are doing. Best to seek the aid of a natural healer if you want to go this route. 

In the book Live Food Juices, Dr. H.E. Kirschner states that a raw papaya diet is effective for killing parasites that live in your gut. As papayas, (including the seeds, which can be dried, ground, and either encapsulated or sprinkled on food),  are very high in enzymes, the enzymes are able to digest the parasites that live in your gut. The formula would be nothing but fresh, raw papaya juice for six days, followed by six days of regular vegetable juice, and then six days of papaya juice. This should also be accompanied by enemas and colonics. 

In addition, wild oregano oil is reputed to kill most parasites.

Products such as Oreganol or Oregamax are excellent for this purpose. The raw oil should be diluted in olive oil so it does not irritate your skin. It can then be rubbed along the lymph nodes on either side of the spine from the base of your skull to your tail bone, which is where many viruses and parasites hide. As with all essential oils, you can also rub it on the bottom of your feet, where it will begin to effect you systemically within seconds. In addition, you can take wild oregano internally in the form of gel caps, as well as put a couple of drops of it directly under your tongue. For difficult parasites like Borrelia burgdorferi from Lyme disease, you may have to do this for many months in combination with other remedies before you see the results you want. As always, I believe a multidimensional approach is best. Again, see the page on Lyme disease for signs, symptoms, and additional ways to kill these unwanted critters.

Dr. Klinghardt, whose knowledge I highly respect, reccommends rizol oils for killing parasites. These are ozonated oils that release oxygen into your system slowly. This aids in the detoxification process. These ozonated essential oils are made out of herbs that are known for their parasite killing properties. His protocol is quite involved, extensive and intricate so it is best to view his information first-hand by going to his website.

When yeast overgrowth, parasites, and bacteria live inside of you, they not only keep you from absorbing nutrients from your food, they produce toxins that poison you. This is called autointoxication.

When this is the case, all the cleansing work you do won’t help you become toxin free, for you will be continuously creating your own toxins from within.

Since everyone has a unique biological blueprint, including nutrient dependencies, and a specific metabolic type, which determines the kind of diet you should be eating for optimal health, you may need to take a few tests to discover how to maintain a dietary lifestyle that is right for you. If taking hydrochloric acid supplements, probiotics that eat yeast, and enzymes doesn't solve your digestive complaints, you will need to do more extensive research on yourself to see what the problem is. 

If you do discover that you have candida, parasites or a bacterial infection, it will be more important than ever to get a nutrient dense diet, eliminate toxic foods, cleanse your colon, lymph, and liver, and eliminate heavy metals. As you do, your immune system will improve so that whatever pharmaceutical or herbal treatment you choose to destroy your candida, parasites or bacteria with can do its work effectively. Be especially cognizant of the fact that these critters live off of the corruption in your body and that they love sugar. Now is not the time to indulge in a high sugar, fast food diet. Now is the time to juice lots of fresh vegetables, make smoothies, and eat a high quality diet that is right for your body type.

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