How Candida and Excess Hormones Prevent Weight Loss

How do Candida and excess hormones prevent weight loss? I’m here on MelissaCurtis’s show about weight and health for women over 40. She writes and podcasts at her Fat To Fit: My Quest website.

I shared with Melissa my belief that losing weight is never the body’s priority. It may be your personal priority, but the body has its own agenda! Fighting infection, keeping the heart and lungs going and managing blood pressure and circulation are always going to trump “weight loss” from the body’s point of view.

So how do we lose weight?

Weight loss occurs naturally as the body gets healthier, with reduced inflammation, balanced hormones, better food, and a good fitness plan. I find that handling Candida and excess hormones are often required to help the body lose weight.

How Candida affects weight

As I talk about in this podcast (see the link below to listen in, or go to my iTunes page), anyone who has a history of excess sugar and starch consumption is a likely host for Candida yeast. Candida can affect almost any area of the body, not just “a yeast infection”.

As the immune system deals with this infection, the toxic load on the lymphatic system causes the body to hold water. We hold water to dilute toxins in the blood, lymph, kidneys and colon. The more toxic you are, the more likely you are to hold water.

This water weight affects more than your dress size… It’s one of the primary reasons for high blood pressure. If the blood contains more fluid than normal, it has to pump harder than normal.

Candida is also a cause of the damaged gut lining known as “Leaky Gut”. It disturbs our neurotransmitters, our metabolism, and makes us crave sweets. Candida feeds on sugars, so it will demand sweets to keep itself fed.

Hormones prevent weight loss too

Cortisol, estrogen and testosterone are steroidal hormones. They can cause the body to increase muscle mass, but high cortisol can also cause muscle wasting.

High cortisol can disturb sleep, increase anxiety levels, and interfere with the burning of fat for fuel. If you’re looking for weight loss, you want to burn that fat for fuel!

My website has multiple podcasts and health articles (this one and this one) on testing and treating high and low adrenal cortisol. Balancing cortisol is one of the most important health functions you can do!

High estrogen is epidemic

In my clinical experience, high estrogen is epidemic in women aged 25 to 50. Melissa and I talk about why our estrogen and progesterone levels have gotten skewed, how to test it, and what to do about it. (I also spoke with Ben Greenfield about estrogen in this interview on Exercise For Tired, Overweight Women).

Given that estrogen can be a contributor to cancer, PMS, water weight and fertility issues, it’s important to get it balanced with progesterone.

When estrogen is high, we hold water. Many women see this monthly as part of their PMS. That extra 3 to 5 pounds of fluid makes us bloated and heavy. This is a near certain sign that your progesterone levels are not balanced with estrogen. Do a saliva test to check this, generally done on day 21 of your cycle when progesterone should be at its peak.

I offer a 15 item test with Cortisol, male/female hormones, Insulin, Gliadin and more here. Includes 1 1/2 hour phone review.

In addition, take a look at the product called F-PMS in my online store. This can help bring progesterone into balance.

Listen in to this fast-talking podcast and learn more about how Candida and excess hormones prevent weight loss. And check out Melissa’s site for more!