Do you experience symptoms like chronic fatigue, digestive problems, or vaginal infections with no real explanation? You're not alone. Estimates now suggest that up to 25% of Americans may suffer from yeast related problems - both men and women.

Candida overgrowth - also known as yeast infection or simply 'Candida' - is a condition that affects millions of people worldwide and causes symptoms such as chronic fatigue, skin rashes, recurring vaginal yeast infections, or digestive problems. Despite the fact that many conventional doctors still deny its existence, public awareness of Candida overgrowth has continued to grow.

Candida yeast infection usually occurs in individuals with an overgrowth of an intestinal organism called Candida albicans due to an unhealthy diet high in sugar, prolonged stress, or overuse of broad-spectrum antibiotics. Once the Candida albicans overwhelms the healthy bacteria in your gut, it can negatively affect your health in numerous ways.

Symptoms of Candida Overgrowth

Candida overgrowth is a common health problem of today as up to 75% of all women will experience a yeast infection in their lifetime. However, yeast infection can be far more complex and present a wide variety of seemingly unrelated symptoms:

• constant fatigue

• recurring vaginal infections

• rashes - skin, mouth, sexual organs

• flu-like symptoms

• headaches

• constipation or diarrhea, bloating

• foggy brain

• food allergies

There are many symptoms of Candida yeast infection, but they all start because of out-of-control growth of Candida cells in the intestines. There it may produce a number of toxic by-products that may infiltrate the bloodstream. The result is a fight, and your body is the prize.

Treatment of Candida Overgrowth

There are two different approaches for dealing with Candida overgrowth:

• Conventional medicine generally focuses on reducing the symptoms of the disease of Candida overgrowth. Drugs like Nystatin, Diflucan, Sporanox, or Lamisil can be prescribed to reduce the amount of Candida albicans yeast in the body. While these drugs can help over the short term, many people will experience recurring yeast infections in the long run.

• Holistic approach is usually the only long-term solution for Candida overgrowth. The holistic approach tries to address the root cause of Candida infection to permanently prevent it from recurring and to improve your overall health. This is something - by the way - that conventional medicine with synthetic drugs misses entirely.

Chronic yeast infection is a modern day disease that has reached epidemic proportions. However, thousands of patients with Candida overgrowth have already been helped or cured with antifungal, probiotic and diet therapy. Educating yourself thoroughly about the symptoms and causes of this condition is your first step to better health.