7 Steps to Looking Good, Feeling Great and Developing Super Immunity (Listen up Ladies!)

The Importance of Beneficial Yeast

Healthy yeast... excuse me? I thought yeast was the root of all evil?
Well, you are right, sort of. You see yeast has been given a very bad wrap over the years, and rightly so. The prevalence of yeast (aka Candida) infections in women and men of all ages is pretty damn frightening.

What we should have is a delicate balance of good and bad gut bacteria living happily together to assist the digestion process and protect the gut lining.

Species of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacili, bifidum and bacilli form pretty much the first layer of our intestines by being very tightly linked. This impressive defense shield does a stellar job protecting us against pathogenic (potentially dis-easing) organisms like bacteria, yeast and parasites.

Which organ in the body has 100 million neurons?

The brain right?
Nope… the gut. Our gut is an amazing organ which has a surface area of a football field.. With such a large exposure, the body has to work hard to prevent nasty invaders. If the majority of our nutrients are absorbed from the gut, then it is obvious how important a role our guts play in maintaing a strong immune system.

Back in 2000, I had just returned from a one year hiatus travelling the globe. I knew a lot about health for a wide eyed 20 year old but a backpackers budget doesn't really allow for daily consumption of green super foods, probiotics and organic protein and vegetables. The result was an immune system that crashed... hard.

Luckily there is a "cure all" in the form of anti-biotics. Well that is what I was told by many well meaning GP's... over and over again! What I needed was a nutrient rich diet and some good old fashion rest, but instead I developed a whopping yeast infection. This was the start of 6 month downward spiral.

When I finally went on a candida diet my body started to feel its age again and I returned to full strength.

Pro-biotics were vital throughout this process.

When was the last time you took antibiotics? Did you dose yourself to the eye balls with probiotics? Hopefully you did because unfortunately antibiotics may be very effective in getting rid of the bad guys, but man are they good at killing off the good guys too! This leaves us open to a rampage by some pretty selfish little critters like Helicobacter pylori and Candida albicans.

This is where healthy yeast comes in... Saccharomyces boulardi (SB) is a beneficial yeast. Being a yeast it is unaffected by antibiotics and best of all, it is heat stable and does not need to be stored in the fridge... nice!

Throw a pack in your handbag or just keep some at work and down a few in between meals. This is espceially helpful if you are traveling overseas and your gut is epxosed to new foods and bacterias.

There are some simple steps you can take to restore this vital natural balance...

7 Steps to Looking Good, Feeling Great and Developing Super Immunity

• Include fermented foods in your diet such as kimchi, sheep or goats milk yoghurt and sauerkraut


• Yeast loves acidic conditions, maintain a healthy pH level by eating lots of leafy green and cruciferous vegetables


• Include green super-foods in your diet such as chlorella, spirulina and barley grass (the Samudra Spirit Warrior Youth Elixr is a must have!)


• Avoid sugar, preservatives, trans-fats and refined carbohydrates


• Eat oily fish and lean meats that are grass fed (grass fed meat has a healthy omega 3-6-9 ratio) and free of hormones and antibiotics


• Eat organic where possible


• Keep a pack of SB handy and include probiotics in your daily routine by consuming as soon as you wake up and before bed on an empty stomach

Feel free to share you experience and post questions in the comments area below.