The way the body defends itself
We need to understand some aspects of the body’s amazing defensive capability. It has long been observed that people who survive certain infections seldom suffer from the same disease again. This is because they develop antibodies to the infecting organism. Apart from achieving specific resistance to various disease-causing microorganisms, the immune system plays a vital role in other biological reactions. In relation to infection, we have essentially two systems of defence. One is based on the thymus gland (which lies just below the breast bone), which produces what are called T cells. Another is part of the immune system and is made up of one type of white blood cells called B cells. These protect you from most bacterial invaders and some viral infections. By producing molecules called antibodies, the B cells neutralize many potential enemies. The two systems, together making up the surveillance and protection agency of the body, work in harmony although the thymus, it is thought, takes the leading role.4
THE BODY’S FRONT-LINE DEFENDERS
The white blood cells, which act as the soldiers in the front line of the battle, are manufactured mainly in the marrow of the long bones of the body. Some of these are turned into T cells by the influence of hormones from the thymus gland. Other white blood cells become what are called lymphocytes. Anything that tries to get into the bloodstream or the interior of the body has to face the T and B cells, and their powerful ability to neutralize foreign substances or organisms. If a B cell senses a foreign organism, it produces antibodies that are specific to that invader. At the same time, other B cells are alerted to the alien presence, which causes them to manufacture antibodies to destroy the enemy.
It is believed that there are in excess of a million different kinds of antibodies in the bloodstream. As they are manufactured and deployed against the intruder, the lymphocytes go into action with other white blood cells to dispose of the debris and waste products of the battle between the intruder and the body. Thus, a condition such as influenza is self-limiting, with the fever and the symptoms of aching representing the intense activity going on in the body to deal with the invading virus, as well as the effects of the resulting toxicity of the breakdown products of the battle.
When T cells discover an invading organism, whether this is a virus or a fungus such as Candida (or even a mutant cancer cell), they produce substances called lymphokines, which can kill microorganisms (or cancer cells). One such lymphokine which has received much attention is interferon. Lymphokines can also call up assistance from powerful allies in this battle called macrophages, which can eliminate microorganisms and tumour cells by literally swallowing them whole. Sometimes, the T cells act as ‘helper’ cells to the B cells in their production of antibodies to fight off the invaders. They can also act as ‘suppressor’ cells to stop a defensive process from getting out of hand, when there may be a danger that the B or T cells may attack friendly tissues in the body (which is more likely to happen if the person is a non-secretor; see Chapter 1, page for a brief description of this phenomenon).
What if the immune system is inefficient?
When for any one of a number of reasons (which we will consider in a later chapter) the immune system becomes weakened, we say that the person is immunodeficient, or has a poor immune response. It is when these valiant fighters – the T and B cells – and the macrophages and their various assistants are in a weakened state that silent ‘squatters’ in the body can become free of the constraints that the defence system normally imposes and spread to areas beyond their normal limits. When this happens, a vast array of problems and symptoms can arise.
The immune defence system, with its checks and balances, may become disrupted to such an extent that the condition now known simply by the initials AIDS may occur. The initials stand for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome and, in this condition, it is the T cells (from the thymus gland) that function inadequately. Indeed, the ratio between the helper and suppressor cells becomes so altered that there is an excess of suppressor cells, in contrast to the situation in normal health. Much of the research into the treatment of immune-related conditions focuses on methods to enhance the function of the thymus gland so that it can produce a balanced and adequate supply of active T cells. Among the nutrient factors which can also achieve this are vitamin C and the amino acid arginine.
How do you ‘catch’ Candida?
The short answer is that you seldom catch or acquire yeast infections from an external source, although new strains can be introduced via sexual contact, since you have Candida all the time!
A leading medical researcher into Candida activity describes what usually happens as follows:
The most important source of Candida species in human disease is endogenous [it comes from inside you]: candidiasis arises in people who are predisposed because of illness, debility or local reduction in resistance to overgrowth of their own yeast flora.5
The evidence of much research is that about half the healthy population (no illness or symptoms) has Candida yeast in their mouths, easily assessed by means of a swab sample.6 Levels of Candida in the intestines of healthy individuals are described by researchers as ‘high’ – over 50 per cent – and, in ill people, especially where immune function is weakened, it is closer to 80 per cent.7 Candida in the vagina is found in approximately 20 per cent of healthy women and, when there is also vaginitis (inflamed tissues) present, the levels are much higher – around 60 per cent (but not 100 per cent as many cases of vaginitis are caused by other organisms, such as Trichomonas).5
So, we can see that when the immune system is in a weakened state, not only do yeast infections become more frequent, but the infecting agent may not need to be acquired from the outside, as it may quietly be biding its time in small amounts in your mouth or digestive tract, waiting for your defences to drop (due to stress, infection, dietary indiscretions or any of a host of other factors). If this happens, the ever-present, opportunistic yeast will seize the opportunity to slip through the defence barriers and advance to areas previously closed to it.
This simplistic picture of what can happen contains the essential facts. Your body is self-healing. If this self-healing ability (known as homoeostasis) is weakened or overwhelmed, organisms such as yeasts which are already inside you can spread and cause havoc.
The solution to this scenario is twofold:
1 reduce the yeast (or other invading organism) activity, and
2 improve defence and self-healing potentials.
Some consequences of yeast overgrowth
We know that before it becomes invasive, the yeast (Candida) changes from a simple yeast to an aggressive mycelial fungus. In this altered form, Candida has characteristics that make it more dangerous, including a root structure which allows it to penetrate through the mucosal barriers of, say, the digestive tract. This can lead to a variety of harmful consequences because of easier access of toxins and breakdown products of digestion directly into the bloodstream (see Chapter 4 for more detail).
Research by Dr Truss8 indicates that many of the toxic effects seen with Candida activity are the result of its ability to manufacture, under appropriate conditions, the substance acetaldehyde. Truss found that this well-known toxin can produce both the clinical and laboratory characteristics of Candida infection. Having analysed the amino acid profiles of affected individuals to arrive at this finding, Truss maintains that the symptoms of chronic yeast infection can be explained in terms of a toxin, which common strains of Candida have been shown to produce in the laboratory. This provides the chemical link between normal yeast fermentation and the metabolic abnormalities found in susceptible patients. Dr Truss stresses that it is highly probable that the symptoms experienced by many Candida sufferers relate directly to the ability of yeast to ferment sugar into acetaldehyde in the body.