How Does Candida Cause Hypoglycemia?

Cynthia, Just wondering what your opinion is on something I’ve experienced lately…

I’ve been really going hard lately with antifungals and limiting my carb intake and have noticed lately feeling a bit dizzy and hypoglycemic (a bit weak and “fluttery” inside). This is happening a few times a week.

Is it possible that candida can emulate hypoglycemia? Kind of in an attempt to make you eat more carbs and in turn, feed it? I know how clever it is at mutating and appearing as different disorders etc…so I thought this might be possible.

I’ve read candida can cause hypoglycemia…and I guess I just don’t really understand why that happens and hope you can shed some light.

thanks!

Keri

Hi Keri,

Well there are a couple of possibilities for what you are experiencing and more than likely it is a combination of each of them. When you are aggressive in reducing yeast overgrowth, such as you described, then there is usually quite a bit of die off. If you’re not familiar with die off, it is toxins released as the Candida is killed. If too much is killed at one time it can overload the body with toxins and result in a variety of symptoms and being weak and fluttery inside could be some of them.

On the other hand, being weak and fluttery is also a common hypoglycemia symptom. Since you say you have recently started limiting your carb intake, then your body is probably trying reestablish balance. If you were eating carbs on a frequent basis, then your body was dependent on them for functioning. So you may actually be experiencing some withdrawal, which could be exhibited in feeling weak and fluttery. If that is the case, you will probably begin to feel better in a week or two as your body learns how to run off of protein again.

I have never thought about the possibility of Candida emulating hypoglycemia in an attempt to trick us into eating carbs. I doubt that is the case, but it is true that Candida is an extremely cunning and resilient organism and I would never put anything past it. I never cease to be amazed by its complexity, tenacity and trickery.

However, there are a variety of ways that Candida impacts blood sugar, but without getting too technical it basically boils down to this. It disrupts organs, systems and hormones, like the pancreas, thyroid, liver, adrenal glands, insulin levels and cortisol, which then disrupts the way the body processes glucose.

Additionally, Candida feeds on your glucose, which then brings your blood sugar crashing down. It also causes nutritional deficiencies and if certain nutrients are not provided in the body in adequate levels, this contributes to hypoglycemia. Most people with Candida have weak adrenals or adrenal fatigue and adrenals that are not functioning properly is a major contributor to hypoglycemia.

A vicious cycle usually ensues because when blood sugar levels start to be unstable then people often reach for “quick fixes” like sugar, carbs, caffeine, nicotine etc. ,which gives them relief temporarily, but damages the body even more and perpetuates the cycle of hypoglycemia and yeast overgrowth.

Meat protein and non-starchy vegetables are the best foods for keeping the blood sugar stable, as well as nourishing the adrenal glands and discouraging Candida overgrowth. Many people find it helpful when they first start giving up all the carbs to eat 5 or 6 small meals a day instead of 3 to maintain blood sugar stability. I recommend a slightly modified version of the Paleolithic diet. Some people find supplementing the diet with chromium and l-glutamine also aids in blood sugar balance.

Another important point to be aware of — once someone starts the Candida Diet and reduces sugar and carb intake, then other health problems you had but were not aware of will become more apparent. For example, hypoglycemia may not have been obvious to you because as long as you consistently fed the yeast and kept the blood sugar levels up high you didn’t notice it.

In another example, as long as you kept the body pumped with carbs, sugar, caffeine etc., then adrenal burnout or fatigue is not apparent, but once you stop giving your body the artificial substances that were keeping it running then you see what is really going on with your body. It seems like new problems are developing, but that isn’t the case. You are uncovering problems you didn’t know were there.

Best Regards
Cynthia