What Causes Thrush?

Thrush is caused by the overgrowth of a yeast micro-organism called Candida. In order to answer the question of what causes thrush, we need to take a look at a few things. Firstly, let's examine what exactly is the Candida yeast and then we'll see what causes it to overgrow.

What is Candida?

Candida is a family of microscopic yeast cells, of which Candida albicans is the most popular. Candida happily exists inside most people in very small quantities. It resides in our mucous membranes such as our digestive tract, mouth, skin and vagina. When its numbers are small it causes us no problems at all.

In our gut we usually have a diverse array of different healthy bacteria and other microscopic organisms. Together, this gut flora fulfils vital functions in our digestion and absorption of food nutrients.

The friendly bacteria that exist in our bodies help to keep the balance between “good” and “bad” micro-organisms tipped firmly in favor of the “good”. When this balance tips to far over towards the “bad” it means that Candida is growing out of control.

What Causes Thrush?

Our lifestyle choices and other factors can create conditions in our own bodies that are ripe for Candida to flourish. We can create an environment that feeds the Candida its favored food supply and makes it difficult for our immune system or our friendly bacteria to fight back. So how exactly does this occur? The following are some of the factors that can create: a hormone or pH imbalance; compromise our immune system; or feed the Candida yeast the food it loves.

• Eating a diet high in processed sugar and simple carbohydrates is Candida's favorite food.
• Extended use of antibiotics wipes out our friendly bacteria.
• Menopause, birth control pills and synthetic estrogen cause hormone imbalances.
• Stress and insufficient sleep compromise our immune systems.
• Yeast infections can be sexually transmitted.
• Drinking too much alcohol, smoking and recreational drugs lower our immune systems.
• Lack of exercise (or an excessive level of exercise) reduces our immune system response.

There are also a number of other factors that can create a fertile ground for Candida in our bodies such as diabetes, HIV/AIDS and the use of corticosteroids.

If your lifestyle includes a number of the above factors and you are suffering from recurrent thrush then you need to take action. Sign up to our free Beat the Yeast email course and we'll show you the steps to take to beat your thrush permanently, without using drugs.

With our help, you'll never need to ask what causes thrush again.