Frequently asked questions

Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients, Jan, 2005 by Tori Hudson

Answer: Fortunately, this is probably fairly straightforward. The key is to correct the acid/alkaline balance in your vagina. The vagina's normal pH is acidic. Yeast and bacteria overgrow in an alkaline environment. Therefore, we need to acidify your vagina. The very best treatment I've ever utilized is boric acid suppositories. There is a commercial product available in a capsule in natural foods stores, but you can also make it yourself. For a chronic problem such as yours, you need to do this for at least 2 weeks and up to 4 weeks. Insert one capsule full of boric acid powder into your vagina twice daily. After let's say 4 weeks. Insert one capsule daily only during your menses and only for the next 4 months. This is the best regimen for people who have had chronic recurring yeast vaginitis. Also, there is some evidence that taking 1 cup of acidophilus yogurt or a lactobacillus species (acidophilus and others) capsule daily for several months may also help to repopulate the vagina with the lactobacillus species of bacteria it considers normal and therefore continue to keep it acidic on its own. I don't think you have to do the super strict Candida diet, but I would minimize the white flour, white rice, sugar and alcohol in your diet. These items are essential fuel for Candida. It would be very unusual for the boric acid routine not to work.

As a side note, and for other readers, women with chronic recurring yeast vaginitis also need to be assessed by a practitioner to make sure there is not an underlying immune or endocrine disorder that leads to overgrowth of Candida; examples include diabetes, HIV and hypothyroidism.

Question: Why do vegetables from the nightshade family and citrus cause arthritis to act up? Also, why do acidic foods cause sores in the mouth? I enjoy all of these foods but the side effects are very aggravating.

Answer: Almost any food can aggravate arthritis but the most common foods are wheat, dairy products, beef and the nightshade family (potato, tomato, eggplant, peppers and tobacco). The nightshade foods contain alkaloids called solanine which are thought to inhibit normal collagen repair in the joints or promote inflammatory degeneration of the joint in perhaps one third of people with arthritis. This has yet to be proven but many individuals do find avoiding these foods to be beneficial.

Recurring mouth sores appear to be related to food sensitivities and/or nutrient deficiency. There is considerable evidence that a sensitivity to gluten (a protein found in grains) is the primary cause of recurrent canker sores. Recurring canker sores is a typical manifestation of individuals with celiac disease, a condition with diarrhea and malabsorption due to a sensitivity to gluten. Although you notice a flare-up with the citrus, and this may genuinely be due to an allergy/sensitivity to citrus, it may be that the tissue is already compromised perhaps due to a gluten sensitivity, and then the citrus just puts you over the edge. If you have digestive symptoms, I would check into testing for gluten sensitivity.