Fungal Overgrowth in My Gut? How I’m Beating Candida and Taking My Energy Back
I found out I was in the 95th percentile for Candida Overgrowth. Here’s the 6-step plan I’m using to heal my gut, boost my energy, and finally feel human again.
“Most people know about bacterial overgrowth, but fungi are an equally important — and often overlooked — piece of the gut puzzle.” — Dr. Satish Rao
When I first started learning about gut health, fungus was the least interesting part to me.
Candida, fungal overgrowth, SIFO… I thought I was immune to that stuff because I was a “cool biohacker” with pristine gut health.
I cared more about probiotics, enzymes, and the fancy biohacks. And honestly? I just didn’t believe I could ever have fungal issues. I don’t eat loads of sugar, I don’t crush processed foods, I sauna every week.
But my recent blood work said otherwise. I took a blood test that showed the amount of fungi hanging out in my stomach. Turns out I had a shit ton. I was in the 95th percentile for amount of fungus in the gut.
My friend Norma, a doctor, put it bluntly:
“If you looked inside your gut right now, it would look like a mushroom colony growing inside it!”
And that was exactly how I was feeling:
Stomach pain every morning until I had coffee and food.
Insane sugar cravings that left me tired, cranky, and borderline hypoglycemic if I didn’t eat sugar constantly.
Frustration — I’ve been eating clean, taking my enzymes, doing all the “right” things. How did this happen?
That’s the thing with gut health: modern life bombards us with toxins, stress, and low-quality food.
Even the strongest gut can get knocked off balance. When the bacterial ecosystem, (microbiome) becomes unbalanced bad bacteria and fungi take over.
That’s called dysbiosis — and when the bad guys win, your health suffers.
Sounds gross, right? Mushrooms, bugs, even worms in our gut.
But here’s the thing: when balanced, these critters serve us. They help digest food, eliminate toxins, and even produce feel-good neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin.
There are as many bacteria in our bodies as stars in the sky. The key isn’t killing everything — it’s creating balance.
So for the past two months, I’ve been on a mission to figure out why my gut is unbalanced and build a path to healing.
I don’t have all the answers yet, but already my gut health, energy, and mood are miles better than two months ago — thanks to a few key supplements, blood tests, and lifestyle shifts.
And that’s what this article is about. If you’re struggling with unexplained stomach issues, sugar crashes, or confirmed candida, this is for you.
Let’s dive into what SIFO is, how it starts, and the natural tools I’m using to fight back.
👉 Buckle up, y’all. We got this❤️
What is SIFO?
“The gut is home to bacteria, viruses, and fungi. Health depends on balance — overgrowth in any direction creates dysfunction.” — Dr. Michael Ruscio
Small Intestinal Fungal Overgrowth (SIFO) occurs when yeast — most commonly Candida species — grows excessively in the small intestine.
This overgrowth can trigger a wide range of symptoms: bloating, gas, abdominal discomfort, fatigue, chronic pain, brain fog, mood disturbances, even neurological issues.
Unlike Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO), SIFO involves fungi that produce a wide array of toxic byproducts.
For example, Candida albicans can release more than 79 toxins into the body.
These mycotoxins (mold toxins) and aldehydes contribute to systemic toxicity, amplifying symptoms far beyond digestive discomfort. They can affect hormones, immunity, and neurological health.
Although candida is natural in the small intestine in small amounts, when it overgrows, bad stuff happens quickly.
So now the question is: how did we get here in the first place?
Top Root Causes of SIFO/Candida Overgrowth
Antibiotic Use – Antibiotics wipe out beneficial bacteria that normally keep fungal organisms like Candida in check. Chronic or repeated use is a top risk factor.
High Sugar / Refined Carb Diets – Yeasts feed on sugar and fermentable carbohydrates, thriving in high-glucose environments.
Immunosuppression – From chronic stress, illness, corticosteroid use, chemotherapy, or autoimmune disorders.
Proton Pump Inhibitors / Low Stomach Acid – Reduced stomach acid (hypochlorhydria) decreases natural defense against microbial overgrowth in the small intestine.
Estrogen Dominance / Hormonal Imbalance – Women are up to 8x more likely to develop SIFO, partly because estrogen promotes fungal adhesion and growth.
Mold Exposure – Environmental mold exposure can weaken the immune system and create a favorable terrain for yeast to overgrow internally.
Poor Gut Motility – When the migrating motor complex (MMC) is impaired, food and microbes stay stagnant, allowing overgrowth.
Disrupted Microbiome – From stress, medications, food sensitivities, infections, or poor diet.
So yeah… this fungi party is nasty. The first instinct is to murder everything and nuke the gut, right?
Not so fast.
Candida and Biofilms
One of the biggest challenges in treating fungal overgrowth is Candida’s ability to form biofilms — slimy, protective shields made of polysaccharides, proteins, and DNA that coat fungal colonies.
These biofilms make Candida much harder to kill.
They reduce the effectiveness of antifungals, herbs, and even the immune system’s ability to detect and clear the fungus.
This is why so many people fail to resolve SIFO with diet or medications alone.
Over time, biofilms mature and become more difficult to break down, which means you need biofilm disruptors (more on those soon).
In my case, since I have active candida overgrowth, we’re focusing on this fungi specifically.
And important note: everything I’m doing is being monitored by my functional medicine doctor. Having a strategic, safe plan is key to healing.
Silent Candida: How It Hides
Not everyone with Candida overgrowth will have obvious gut symptoms.
In some cases, SIFO can be almost “silent” — especially when the body has adapted to chronic fungal toxins.
This can happen when:
The immune system is too suppressed to mount a noticeable inflammatory response
The body compensates through detox or adrenal pathways
Symptoms show up in less obvious ways — fatigue, poor focus, or recurrent infections — instead of stomach issues
This is why testing and clinical suspicion matter so much.
If you’ve got persistent, unexplained health problems — especially after other causes have been ruled out — silent candida could be hiding in the background.
Treatment and Prevention Considerations
So you’re probably dying for a solution now.
No more stomach pain, no more sugar crashes — let’s kill those fungi, right?
Not so fast. There’s nuance we have to understand.
Antifungal agents (herbal or pharmaceutical) can help reduce fungal load, but they don’t correct the underlying terrain.
Biofilm disruption is often essential for long-term detox success. Rebuilding the microbiome with targeted probiotics comes next. And of course, gut motility, stomach acid, detox pathways, and lifestyle all play a role.
Dietary therapy (like anti-candida or low-FODMAP diets) can definitely help in the short term, but they’re not cures by themselves.
Avoiding sugar, alcohol, moldy foods, and sensitivities can improve symptoms — but if deeper dysfunction isn’t fixed, relapse is common.
Simply put: you can’t starve out a biofilm-protected Candida colony with diet alone.
That’s why testing is so powerful.
I wouldn’t have known how bad my case was without running an advanced panel. I used the Vibrant America Gut + Environmental Toxin Test, which showed extreme candida, mold, heavy metals, and even microplastics. Eye-opening.
Other incredible functional tests worth looking into:
GI-MAP (Diagnostic Solutions) – A gold standard stool test for pathogens, candida, parasites, and gut function markers.
Organic Acids Test (Great Plains / Mosaic) – Looks at metabolites from fungi, yeast, and bacteria. Great for catching hidden candida.
DUTCH Test (Precision Analytical) – Primarily a hormone test, but often used alongside gut testing because candida and estrogen dominance are linked.
Highly recommend talking to your doctor and getting these tests ordered.
Just make sure you’re working with someone who actually understands how to interpret these panels. If your doctor has never heard of gut health or candida… run.
👉 Point is: test, don’t guess. Otherwise you’ll spin your wheels on random diets and supplements without knowing what’s really happening in your gut.
Ok, now it is time!! The 6 step plan, here we go.
Step 1. Detox Support (Before Anything Else)
Before killing anything, you need open detox pathways.
