I laughed when my wife suggested I look into yeast infections as a possible source for my malaise. Thank goodness I followed up on her advice.

The internet is an amazing tool. Very quickly I felt like the mushroom in that old joke about being left in the dark and fed sh*t all day. I quickly found out that I did not know anything about fungus or fungal infections. It turns out that there are two main types (phyla) of fungi and the best way to identify a fungus is by its spore print. The two types are:
Phylum Basidiomycota - eg mushrooms; reproduction by spores which are located on surfaces called basidia, eg gills of a mushroom.
Phylum Ascomycota - eg yeast and mold; reproduction by spores which are in tiny sacs called asci.

Yeast are single celled organisms.
Molds are multi cellular.

Candida infection symptoms usually exhibit from the mold form. The yeast form actually causes few if any disturbing symptoms. When Candida recognizes a favorable environment, it transforms from the yeast form to the mold form. Hyphae or rhizolds emerge which act like roots or tentacles. They dig into the tissue surface and establish new spore sites. At the same time, enzymes are secreted which ‘digest’ the surroundings of the mold so that nutrients can be absorbed. Sounds wonderful. The rooting and digesting are the start of the symptoms.

Even before it is a mold invasion, the yeast invasion of your body is actually a battle over nutrients and turf. The battle is between the ‘good’ helper bacteria and the yeast. If one’s immune system is healthy and balanced and the normal number of helper bacteria are present, then the Candida yeast is kept in check and usually remains in the yeast form which does not present the typical symptoms. But if the yeast prevail and dominate the helper bacteria, then conditions are ripe for expansion and the multicellular mold form takes over and the problems begin…

So that is easy enough, just stay healthy and eat yogurt with live cultures. You should be good to go. If only that were the case. Other factors can knock your body out of balance. Factors like hormone shifts due to menstrual periods, menopause, stress, fatigue and so on. The need for natural yeast infection remedies is more pressing than ever in today’s society.

While gathering this information, I feel like I am peeling back the layers of an onion. I found one of the most helpful resources for natural yeast infection remedies to be “Natural Cure For Yeast Infection” by Sarah Summer.