Candida as you most likely know is a fungus, a form of yeast that happily lives in the mouth and intestines in small amounts. When the environment is right, the yeast can multiply and grow out of control. Candida sufferers often experience symptoms of fatigue, nausea, difficulty concentrating, lack of focus, etc. Symptoms often associated with hangovers. What is the cause?

When we drink alcohol, the body turns the alcohol into acetaldehyde, a highly toxic substance and known carcinogen. Usually acetaldehyde is short lived, usually existing in the body only for a brief time before it is further broken down into acetate. When the liver is not working efficiently or large amounts of alcohol are being consumed, the body cannot metabolise the alcohol quickly enough and the acetaldehyde stays in the body for too long. It has the potential to cause significant damage.

How is Candida connected to alcohol? Candida produces acetaldehyde when the yeast metabolises sugars from the diet, the same as alcohol does. When the diet is high in sugar, the yeast can grow out of control, producing large amounts of acetaldehyde. Thus, contributing to the same symptoms as a hangover.

Additionally, when the liver is overloaded trying to break down the acetaldehyde produced by Candida and you drink alcohol, the liver simply can’t cope. The result: a really bad hangover!

Acetaldehyde also occurs naturally in coffee, bread, and ripe fruit, and is produced by plants as part of their normal metabolism .

Acetaldehyde is included in the Environment & Personal Care Testing Kit 1