Understanding Candida and Its Impact on Digestion and Energy
🕒 10-11 min read
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Candida can affect your digestion, energy, and overall health…long before more obvious signs appear.
Pay attention to subtle symptoms like bloating, fatigue, skin flare-ups, and itching to understand what’s happening in your gut.
Want to see if Candida is influencing your digestion or energy? Grab your free 7-Day Food & Observation Journal.
If you’re looking to restore digestive balance, increase energy, and support your overall health, this blog will guide you step by step.
📌 Keep reading - or save this post for later when you’re ready to focus on practical strategies to rebalance your gut and manage Candida overgrowth.
You’ve probably heard of Candida, often in connection with yeast infections or thrush, but those are just the extreme cases of overgrowth.
What happens before it reaches that point?
Candida might fly under the radar, but this commensal microbe can influence digestion and energy long before a yeast infection or thrush appears.
As a holistic nutritionist and gut health expert, I’ve seen many clients with microbiota imbalances that include Candida overgrowth. When you recognize the subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) symptoms like bloating, fatigue, or skin flare-ups, it’s easier to understand what’s happening in your gut and how to support it.
Let’s take a closer look at what Candida is, how overgrowth develops, its effects on digestion and overall health, and practical steps to help restore balance.
Candida, the Opportunist
Candida albicans is a type of yeast that naturally lives in your body, especially in the mouth, digestive tract, and vaginal tract. These microbes are considered commensal, which means they’re a normal part of a balanced microbiota when they exist in small amounts.
Candida is also opportunistic, meaning it takes advantage of conditions that allow it to grow. When it multiplies beyond normal levels, it’s considered an overgrowth, and that’s when real trouble can begin.
As Candida overgrows, it creates a protective layer called biofilm. This biofilm acts like a shield, making it harder for your body’s defenses (and even antifungal treatments) to bring things back into balance. The longer Candida disrupts your inner ecosystem, the more it fosters inflammation, digestive symptoms, and other issues.
Thankfully, you’re not doomed to overgrowth just because Candida exists within you. It’s only when the right conditions arise that this microbe begins to cause problems.
You can coexist with Candida when it’s balanced. It’s only when the scales tip toward overgrowth that this microbe starts affecting your digestion, energy, and overall health.
Tipping the Scale Toward Candida
Candida overgrowth often begins when one or more of your body’s natural checks - your gut microbiota, immune system, or digestive function - is weakened.
Antibiotic use.
Antibiotics can do more than eliminate the harmful bacteria you’re trying to target. They can also reduce the beneficial bacteria that normally help keep Candida in check. Without those friendly neighbors, Candida has more room to grow and disrupt your microbial balance, leading to a state of dysbiosis.
Corticosteroids or immune suppression.
When your immune defenses are lowered by medications such as corticosteroids, it becomes harder to keep opportunistic microbes under control. This makes it easier for Candida to take advantage of the situation and grow.
Reduced stomach acidity.
Stomach acid acts like a gatekeeper, blocking pathogens and opportunistic microbes (including Candida) before they can become a problem. Studies show that when stomach acid is suppressed by medications like H2 blockers or PPIs, or when acid production drops due to a high-sugar diet, Candida can survive longer and become more invasive.
Looking for ways to calm heartburn without relying on medications? Check out How to Naturally Tame Heartburn and Support Better Digestion for simple strategies to calm the flames.
High-sugar diet.
Food choices can also affect microbial balance. Candida’s favorite food source is sugar. The more you eat sugar, the more Candida thrives. A consistently high-sugar diet can also lower stomach acid levels, feed other opportunistic microbes, and weaken your immune defenses. Over time, this creates the perfect storm that keeps tipping the scale toward overgrowth.
Wondering how sugar affects your gut and Candida overgrowth? Read my blog, How Sugar Shapes Your Gut Microbiota and Your Health for insights and practical tips to rebalance your microbiota naturally.
These triggers can also have a cumulative effect on gut health. For example, if you’ve needed several rounds of antibiotics, take omeprazole or famotidine for heartburn, use a cortisone cream for persistent eczema, and eat a high-sugar diet, your body is primed for Candida overgrowth.
Once Candida forms its biofilm shield, symptoms like bloating, fatigue, altered bowel habits, itching, and skin irritation can start to feel like your new normal.
Sugary treats like donuts may feel like a simple indulgence, but reaching for them regularly can allow Candida to run the show, influencing your digestion, energy, and overall wellness.
When Candida Runs the Show
Unchecked Candida overgrowth can create a domino effect throughout your gut and body. Here are four ways Candida can affect you:
1. Increased intestinal inflammation.
Candida overgrowth can trigger inflammation in your intestines, leading to bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, indigestion, or loss of appetite. That localized inflammation can also trigger a chain reaction that spreads inflammation throughout your body.
2. Compromised gut lining.
Chronic inflammation from Candida can further damage your intestinal lining, making it more permeable, aka leaky gut. Larger particles, including undigested food and harmful microbes, can slip into your bloodstream and add fuel to the inflammation fire.
3. Weakened immune system.
When your gut lining is compromised, your immune system has to work harder. Candida can also produce compounds that interfere with immune cell function, which means a cycle of more inflammation and a less effective immune response.
4. Decreased nutrient absorption.
Candida overgrowth can interfere with normal intestinal function, reducing your ability to absorb key nutrients that your body needs to repair your gut lining, calm inflammation, support immunity, and rebalance your microbiota.
Over time, these effects can create a vicious cycle: inflammation promotes more Candida overgrowth, which in turn leads to even more inflammation.
Not sure if Candida is part of your story?
Here are common signs of Candida overgrowth:
Digestive issues: bloating, abdominal pain, nausea, constipation, or diarrhea
Skin flare-ups: eczema, hives, rashes, athlete’s foot, or psoriasis
Vaginal yeast infections or urinary tract infections
Low energy, fatigue, or brain fog
Mood changes: irritability, mood swings, or depression
Fibromyalgia
Rectal or vaginal itching
The good news is that once you understand what tips the scale and how to recognize when Candida is running the show, you can take practical steps to bring your system back into balance.
Wondering if Candida is affecting your digestion or energy? Download your free 7-Day Food & Observation Journal to track your meals, snacks, and symptoms and uncover connections for better digestion and energy.
Taking a few minutes each day to jot down meals, snacks, and how you feel can reveal patterns in your digestion and energy, helping you uncover the influence of Candida and support your journey back to gut balance.
7 Strategies to Get Back to Balance
Getting Candida under control and restoring harmony in your gut community can take time, especially if things have been off balance for a while. But with the right strategies, practiced consistently and patiently, you can absolutely guide your body back toward equilibrium.
Here are seven ways to help restore balance:
1. Repopulate your microbiota.
Even if you haven’t taken antibiotics recently, a high-quality multi-strain probiotic can help repopulate your gut with beneficial bacteria. These friendly neighbors help keep Candida in check and support digestion and immunity.
Including a variety of probiotic-rich foods, like fermented veggies, can help rebalance your microbiota, reduce the opportunity for Candida overgrowth, and support your digestion and overall health.
Want to learn more about the microbes living in your gut? Check out my blog, The Role of Gut Microbiota in Digestion, Mood, and Overall Health and learn how to nurture a balanced, supportive gut community.
2. Enjoy anti-inflammatory foods.
Whole foods like colorful fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, healthy fats, and fermented foods all work together to reduce inflammation and support healing. As a bonus, these nutrient-rich foods naturally crowd out sugar and refined flours that feed Candida.
3. Target the overgrowth.
Certain herbs and supplements can help disrupt Candida biofilms, inhibit overgrowth, and promote a healthier microbial balance. Some of the most studied options include:
Garlic extract
Berberine
Oregano oil
Caprylic acid
Pau d’arco
Black walnut
Because supplement quality and dosing make a big difference, it’s best to choose professional-grade options formulated for this kind of targeted support.
Looking for professional-grade supplements to support your gut and target Candida overgrowth? Explore my online dispensary to find trusted, targeted support.
4. Heal your gut lining.
Once you’ve started reducing overgrowth, shift your focus to rebuilding. Nutrients such as L-glutamine, zinc carnosine, and omega-3s can help nourish and repair the intestinal lining, supporting long-term gut health.
5. Support your body’s natural detox pathways.
As your microbial balance improves, your liver and lymphatic system take on more of the cleanup work. Help them out by drinking plenty of water, eating fiber-rich foods, and keeping your body in motion. These simple habits support your body’s natural ability to flush out waste and maintain balance.
6. Keep things simple.
Sometimes the small things make the biggest difference. Chew thoroughly, eat slowly, and give your body time between meals. These simple habits improve digestion and nutrient absorption, helping to heal your gut lining and rebalance your microbiota.
7. Reach out for professional support if needed.
If you’re still dealing with persistent bloating, fatigue, or recurring yeast infections, it may help to work with a qualified healthcare professional who can evaluate your symptoms and guide you with a more personalized plan.
Each of these steps helps create momentum toward balance…and the more consistently you practice them, the more your body responds in kind.
Looking for more support navigating Candida overgrowth and gut health? Contact me to create a practical, step-by-step plan for your health goals.
Final Thoughts: Find the Right Support
Candida overgrowth doesn’t happen overnight, and it rarely resolves that way either. Healing takes time, awareness, and a willingness to listen to what your body is communicating. The encouraging part is that every small, consistent choice from nourishing meals to managing stress will create the environment your body needs to restore harmony.
If you suspect Candida is playing a role in your symptoms, know that your efforts matter. With the right support and guidance, it’s absolutely possible to bring your system back into balance and feel like yourself again.
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RESOURCES
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Candidiasis: Diagnosis and Testing. Updated November 13, 2019. Accessed December 26, 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/candidiasis/testing/index.html
© Stephanie Walsh and Walsh Approach, 2025. I pour a lot of care into creating this content, so please don’t copy or reuse it without permission. You’re always welcome to share excerpts or links if you give clear credit back to Stephanie Walsh and Walsh Approach.