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All About Male and Female Yeast Infections

About the Yeasts Responsible for Yeast Infections -

Yeast infections are obviously "caused" by yeast, but it's important to understand more about this tiny cell that can cause so many irritating symptoms.

Yeasts are single-celled fungi. Other types of fungi are molds and mushrooms. Fungi are more closely related to animals than plants, although you wouldn’t be able to tell that from looking at them.

Because their cells are very similar to our own, many chemicals that are known to kill fungi can also damage or kill human cells. Some anti-fungal medications can also kill off the beneficial bacteria that live in our gut. This makes the process of finding safe and effective anti-fungal medications even more difficult for researchers.

Scientists have found over a thousand different species of yeasts so far, and there are probably many more that have not yet been discovered. Yeasts tend to reproduce very quickly under the right conditions, and this makes them a favorite organism for scientists who study DNA and genetic markers. It also makes yeast infections difficult to fight when your own body becomes a “perfect” environment for the fast growth of yeast.

Most people, (at least 80% of us), have Candida living in or on our bodies. C. albicans lives on the skin and in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract, along with many other living organisms. Most of the time, the yeast is perfectly harmless.

Candida is an opportunistic infection, which means that it’s usually benign, but it can explosively reproduce and become invasive under conditions. This is especially troublesome if the body’s own immune system is impaired for some reason and unable to fight off the infection.

When the yeast is in its harmless round form you would never know it was there, even though it is probably living on your skin and in your lower intestine and vagina all the time.

However, Candida yeast is dimorphic, which means that the same yeast cell can take two different forms, depending on the environment in which it is living. If a chemical change in the body causes the yeast to be “stressed,” the shape of the Candida cell changes and it becomes invasive.

To learn more about Candida albicans yeast, and how it causes those irritating yeast infections, please see the following articles:

• Candida albicans - The Yeast Responsible for Yeast Infections
• How Candida Yeast Becomes Drug Resistant
• How Candida Yeast Becomes Invasive
• The Different Kinds of Yeast Infections
• Why Are So Many Scientists Studying Candida?

Important: The information presented on this page and other pages on this site is based upon the opinions of the author, and on the author's interpretation of published reports and articles. It is not intended to replace your relationship with a qualified health care professional, and is not intended as medical advice. 

The author encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon knowledge of the issues of nutrition and health, and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

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