Candida albicans & Juglans Regia

Controlling Candida albicans

You may have heard of Candida, but you may not be aware of what a threat it is and the many problems it can cause. Candida albicans is an opportunistic species of yeast, or single-celled fungus, that is the fourth most common hospital-acquired infection in the U.S. and is the most common cause of fatal fungal infections in humans - costing around $2–4 billion dollars a year to treat.

Many people carry a Candida infection or overgrowth without realizing it. Some common symptoms associated with Candida are:

      1. Feeling tired or worn down - possibly suffering from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Fibromyalgia
      2. Digestive Issues such as bloating, diarrhea, or constipation
      3. Autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Ulcerative Colitis, Lupus, Scleroderma, or Multiple Sclerosis
      4. Difficulty concentrating, poor memory, lack of focus, ADD or ADHD
      5. Skin issues such as eczema, psoriasis, hives and rashes
      6. Skin and nail fungal infections such as athlete’s foot, ringworm, and toenail fungus
      7. Severe seasonal allergies
      8. Strong sugar or carb cravings
      9. Irritability, mood swings, depression, or anxiety
      10. Vaginal infections, urinary tract infections, rectal itching, or vaginal itching

Candida also has the ability to suppress the immune system so frequent illness or inability to recover quickly from illness may also be a sign.

During efforts to find effective treatments for fighting Candida, it was discovered that Juglans Regia, in addition to having the ability to fight and kill Candida, also displayed wide-spectrum anti-microbial activity. Compared to other selected anti-Candida drugs, Juglans Regia was shown to be one of the most effective drugs in killing serum-grown Candida albicans without significantly affecting the survival of host macrophages and skin cells. The fact that no C. albicans mutants showed a decrease in sensitivity to Juglans Regia argues against the potential emergence of Juglans Regia-resistant Candida strains - a powerful argument that favors the usage of this drug as a new antifungal treatment against Candida.

Antimicrobial properties of Juglan Regia

In addition to Juglans Regia’s ability to kill Candida albicans [1], it has also displayed some impressive antimicrobial properties - capable of killing Gram-positive as well as Gram-negative bacteria. In one study, Juglans Regia killed a Uropathagenic strain of E. Coli bacteria after 5 days of exposure, and within a week, it killed everything the scientists tested for.

  1. Kim, Kevin, Zilbermintz, Leeor, Martchenko, Mikhail; “Repurposing FDA approved drugs against the human fungal pathogen, Candida albicans”; Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials; 14:32; June 9, 2015. Retrieved from http://ann-clinmicrob.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12941-015-0090-4