Yeast Infection and Yogurt: For and Against

Can eating yogurt help yeast infection sufferers to control their painful, debilitating medical condition? The answer to this question is ambiguous. While no food component is proven to be yeast infection remedy per se, numerous medical researches support the surprising link between daily consumption of certain types of yogurt and managing yeast infection.

Yeast infection, also called Candida infection, or candidiasis, is caused by any one of several types of the Candida fungus, which normally inhabit the moist areas of the body (i. e. genital area, gastrointestinal tract). In healthy individuals the immune system and the beneficial intestinal flora control Candida and prevent its rapid harmful multiplication. However, under certain conditions Candida can overgrow, enter the bloodstream and settle in different areas of the body, thus causing the infamous candidiasis symptoms. 

There are numerous internal and external factors and cofactors that might contribute to the disruption of the inner equilibrium that keeps Candida microorganisms in check. Those include the loss of friendly bacteria in the intestinal tract and the weakening of the immune capabilities.

Several medical studies have suggested that yogurt, which contains friendly bacteria (also called probiotics), may actually enhance the immune system and help to achieve yeast infections relief. The reason is that certain types of yogurt contain probiotic microorganisms such as Lactobacillus acidophilus that can support the healthy bacteria in the gut lining and restore healthy bacteria in the intestines. Resent researches found that daily consumption of eight ounces of yogurt containing Lactobacillus acidophilus can significantly help control the Candida microorganisms.

Keep in mind that non organic yogurt made of cow's milk has several undesirable characteristics. Regular yogurt is often loaded with antibiotics injected to the cows in order to enhance their milk production; these antibiotics destroy the friendly bacteria in the intestines. Moreover, cow's milk product is hard to digest, since human organism cannot process protein as easily as calves do. For those reasons, only organic goat and sheep's yogurts are considered to be beneficial in managing of yeast infections.

While sugar free organic yogurt can also help relieve external candidiasis symptoms (having soothing properties) ingesting too much dairy products of any kind can have a counterproductive effect on your medical condition (since most milk products are mucus forming and allergy causing and thus can encourage Candida overgrowth). 

Candidiasis is a complex condition, triggered by multiple factors and cofactors; thus neither yogurt nor any other food component can replace the required comprehensive treatment of this medical condition. Adding probiotic foods to your diet is only the first step of a complete holistic yeast infection solution.