Dr. Oz: Beating Yeast Infections & Increasing The Body’s Good Bacteria

Dr. Oz: Yeast Infections

Dr. Oz began a segment on his show by walking around with a beaker full of a whitish liquid and asking audience members to smell it in order to tell what it was. Two women smelled it and had no guesses. When Dr. Oz came to a man, he told him there was no way he’d know, because men don’t get it. Finally, Dr. Oz had another woman smell it and she guessed it: it was a yeast infection.

Now, I’m a man, so I don’t understand yeast infections at all. How did he get a yeast infection into a beaker? Do I want to know the answer to that question? No, I really don’t.

Nevertheless, this was an important segment because women need to know about the dangers of yeast infections and I got to take a tiny peek into what it’s like being a woman today. I already wrote about E-Patches for this episode. Now it’s on to yeast infections.

Dr. Oz: Causes of Yeast Infections

The woman who correctly guessed that it was a yeast infection got to be the Assistant of the Day. Her name was Vicky and she had gotten a yeast infection in the past from antibiotics. Dr. Oz said that yeast infections can also be caused by a number of things, including birth control pills, sugary foods and sodas, and eating foods that have yeast in them, like cheese, wines, beers, and peanuts. So there’s many things that can cause it.

Vicky revealed that she doesn’t drink soda because she’s been trying to lose weight. How much weight has she already lost? 97.2 pounds! Her best friend Kim, who was in the audience today and was one of the women who sniffed the yeast but didn’t know what it was, said she was very proud of her friend for losing the weight. Dr. Oz asked Vicky to choose a friend to help her for this segment (an assistant to the assistant of the day) and she of course chose her friend Kim.

Dr. Oz: Yeast & Bacteria Balance

They had to play a tug of war game, where Kim was yeast and Vicky was bacteria. This demonstrated that there’s an equilibrium down there between the two of them. Dr. Oz said that bacteria is often overpowered for a number of reasons. If the person takes antibiotics, there’s less bacteria on the body, which means yeast gains an edge. If the person is stressed and eats yeasty foods, the yeast gets a bigger edge. Eventually, bacteria (and Vicky) is pulled across the line and the yeast wins.

Dr. Oz: How To Beat The Yeast

Dr. Oz said that in a weird way, bacteria is your best friend in helping to balance the yeast. You want to beat down the yeast and boost the good bacteria. Dr. Oz said people should cut the sugary foods and eat plenty of vegetables. Dr. Oz said women should wear loose, cotton clothing.

Boost the good bacteria with something like yogurt, kimchi, sauerkraut, and miso soup. Lastly, there’s an anti-fungal cream you can get if you need it. Dr. Oz said this should be a last resort. Use it for no more than three days and then get off it.