Candex

Candex is a product sold to kill Candida by digesting the cell walls of the Candida.  Candex contains the enzymes cellulase and hemicellulase that break down the compounds cellulose and hemicellulose in the walls of Candida microbes.  This can kill some of the Candida present, but this does not mean it will successfully treat the overgrowth of Candida (candidiasis).

To understand why it is important to first understand a few facts.

First of all Candida is a normal part of the body, and everyone has Candida.  Not everyone has candidiasis though.  Therefore, there are clearly some specific factors that cause candidiasis, and the only way to control the Candida overgrowth is to change the terrain that promoted the overgrowth  in the first place.

There have been all sorts of unproven hypotheses as to what causes candidiasis from heavy metals to sugar consumption.  One of the problems with these hypotheses though is that not everyone who fits these claims has candidiasis .  For example, I still have my mercury amalgams and I consume foods with sugar yet I do not have candidiasis.  I also consume fermented foods that some also claim promote Candida overgrowth yet I am still healthy.

The fact is that it is not heavy metals, nor sugar consumption nor the consumption of fermented foods or foods that contain yeast that lead to candidiasis.  How Candida grows in the body is controlled by pH.  In every part of the body where Candida naturally exists we also have beneficial bacteria (flora) that naturally exist.  One of the roles of the flora is to produce acids that control the growth of Candida.  They do this because the acids turn off the Candida growth gene as research has shown.  In addition, Candida is a dimorphic microbe meaning it can exist in two forms.  In a properly acidified environment the Candida is kept in a benign and beneficial yeast form that does not harm us.  When the pH of the terrain changes to an alkaline state though, such as from the use of antibiotics that kill off the acid forming flora, the Candida growth gene is turned on.  In addition, the Candida is morphed in to a pathogenic and highly aggressive fungal form.  In this fungal form the Candida form finger-like projections known as hyphae that allow the Candida to dig in to the tissues causing damage.

One of the big problems I see with Candex is that it does not address the cause of the candidiasis.  In fact, this is a very common problem with many anti-Candida products and diets.  If the terrain is not changed to get the Candida under control it does not matter what you throw at it the Candida will simply grow back rapidly.  In this case this means restoring the flora and thus the natural acidic pH of the tissues where Candida is naturally found.

Candex does not address the terrain though.  Instead the enzymes only digest the walls of some of the Candida cells killing them.  Since the terrain remains conducive to Candida overgrowth though the surviving Candida cells rapidly multiply back once again leading to an overgrowth.

To make matters worse the cellulose and hemicellulose the Candex breaks down are composed of repeating units of glucose (glucose-glucose-glucose-glucose-glucose-…………).   As the Candex breaks down the cellulose and hemicellulose it provides plenty of individual glucose molecules to feed the surviving Candida.  In my opinion this is akin to trying to get rids of weeds in the yard by pulling a few while fertilizing the rest.