You’ve done everything from working on your gut, shoving suppositories up your hoo-ha and even resorting to taking antibiotics. And while they may have worked temporarily, the cat…er…yeast infections just kept on coming back.
Woman, I can empathize because I struggled with the same issues! And while I have created videos in the past on this very subject, I never did explain why, despite all the work women do, they just keep on coming back!
Which is why I wanted to share a brand-new video on:
The surprising causes of chronic yeast infections.
Okay so let’s breakdown the points covered in this video on why you may be getting chronic yeast infections:
Cause of Chronic Yeast Infection No.1: Poor diet leading to gut dysbiosis
Vaginal health is a direct reflection of your gut. So if you’re consuming gluten, dairy, alcohol and excess starchy carbs (all of which breaks down into sugar), then you’ll be more prone to yeast infections. It’s the reason why I suggest that women replace at least 50% of their starchy carb intake with vegetables (especially green ones which fuel the liver) instead.
Cause of Chronic Yeast Infection No.2: Low stomach acid
This definitely correlates with point number one because low stomach acid will lead to gut dysbiosis. If you have low stomach acid, your food won’t breakdown properly in the stomach, making the rest of your digestive process work extra hard. Signs of low stomach acid are bloating especially within half an hour after eating. But why do you have low stomach acid to begin with?
Some of the causes include: High levels of stress (because at that point, your body isn’t focused on breaking down food!), zinc deficiency, drinking cold water before meals and even H.pylori (the bacteria which is implicated in 2/3rd’s of the world’s population and is indicated in peptic ulcers). We actually test for H.pylori and other gut bugs as an upgrade in Sexy Lady Balls, my hormone membership program. And unlike H.pylori done through GP’s, the test we use is done through PCR DNA sequencing, so it’s super refined. In fact, I’ve seen H.pylori results come back normal from GP’s but positive on our lab results. And side note, if you’re wondering why H.pylori is so common, it’s because it’s contagious via saliva, so if you have it, chances are, your partner does too.
Pro tip: Take 1/2 teaspoon of herbal bitters tincture (just not Swedish Bitters because they contain senna, a habit-forming laxative) about 10mins before each main meal. Bitters help to stimulate bile flow from the gallbladder which is awesome because bile not only carries out toxins and excess hormones but it’s also an anti-bacterial!
Cause of Chronic Yeast Infection No.3: Poor self-parenting/adrenal fatigue/low immune function
Listen, we hear the term “adrenal fatigue” thrown around A LOT (side note the adrenals don’t technically “fatigue” – it’s actually more of a brain and adrenal relationship issue), most women aren’t doing the self-parenting required to heal their adrenals.
And yes, this absolutely can lead to yeast infections…but how?
Let’s put it this way, if you’re not sleeping, setting boundaries, working overtime and feeling stressed beyond belief because you’re not asking for help, not only will you burn out (giving your body no way of healing) but your immune system will plummet. This is probably the hardest because it requires some major mindset work for women who have operated their whole lives sacrificing themselves to appease or enable others around them (codependency anyone?) and then fall into a victim/martyr state.
Sleep is a huge one and ladies, it’s one of the few things in life that are free! I would bet to gander that the majority of women have a time that they HAVE to get up but few have a consistent (and healthy) time that they have to go to bed. We often hear that going to bed before 11pm is healthy but I believe that you should be fast asleep by 10:30pm which means your head should hit the pillow shortly after 10pm. But what are most women doing that I see in practice? They’re up late, searching for connection on social media until the wee hours of the evening and then wonder why they’re so darn hyper-stimulated and can’t fall asleep.
If you’re exhausted, I don’t care what supplement you pop or what green smoothie you drink, your body will not have the reserves to heal. You’ll just be another miserable person with green shit on their face.
Pro Tip: Make sure you’re drinking half your body weight (lbs) in ounces of water and add in 1/4 tsp of Redmond Real Salt for every litre of water you drink. Around the luteal phase (second half) of your cycle, this will be extra important (and I usually increase the salt to 1/2 tsp for every litre) because your need for sodium and potassium-rich foods increases during this phase.
Cause of Chronic Yeast Infection No.4: Copper toxicity
This is a BIG ONE. If you’ve ever been on the birth control (and yes, even a decade ago), or even if you’ve never been on birth control but your mother was on it prior to having you, you could have copper toxicity (copper passes in utero!).
Copper drives up estrogen and excess estrogen can also promote the growth of yeast. This is a huge reason why so many women I work with in Sexy Lady Balls are seriously struggling despite all the work they’re doing on their gut.
But wait…maybe you’ve heard that copper is an anti-fungal, right? It’s true, but copper from the birth control pill and unfiltered water is biounavailable copper so instead of going into your cells to work its magic, it’s storing into its first primary storage site, the liver (the second is the brain, which is why copper is also known as the emotional heavy metal). And guess what, when it congests the liver it also impairs your detox pathways.