Hi Cynthia, I was curious to your thoughts of the relation of PCOS and Candida. I have been recently diagnosed with PCOS and told that my hormones are very imbalanced, and I am not making the hormone needed to ovulate. I have a 4 year old daughter and have been trying to conceive for almost 2 years now with no luck. I have also been diagnosed with depression and anxiety and I am currently on several medications for allergies as well. It seems that the symptoms cross over…could they be related? Both deal with inability to deal with the sugar in the body. ~ Jennifer

Hi Jennifer,

In my opinion, like many female problems, PCOS is probably caused by Candida or at the very least it is one of the primary contributing factors. I believe the reason that PCOS responds so well to the low glycemic index diet is because that is the diet that also discourages Candida overgrowth. When you follow a low glycemic index diet, then Candida levels drop, which results in a reduction of symptoms. In this case, the symptoms are PCOS.

Hormone imbalance is also very common in people with Candida, because it eats progesterone which results in too much estrogen and Candida disrupts the endocrine and reproductive system.

Although depression and anxiety can be the result of many factors like neurotransmitter deficiencies, nutritional deficiencies, food sensitivities, adrenal fatigue, sugar, caffeine and other refined foods, and nicotine, they too are two of the most common symptoms in yeast overgrowth. Candida disrupts neurotransmitters in the brain.

The symptoms of all these conditions overlap and they rarely occur independently or have one contributing factor. They are usually found in a cluster and perpetuate one another.