Someone talking about Candida is not necessarily a crank; but the chances are pretty high.
It’s also a very old crank-territory: I’ve learned it from a fantastic Polish blog documenting medical quackery back in _2009_; if anyone feels like trudging through it with Google Translate: https://blogdebart.hell.pl/2009/06/02/choroby-urojone-candid...
The term "Candida" has become the buzzword often used to describe this issue by lay persons, though it oversimplifies a more complex problem it does its job and lets people discuss the issue, which is usually straightforward to fix with options like antifungal medications, biofilm disruptors, a carnivore diet, probiotics, and other interventions.
Dismissing these concerns as "crank" or "quackery" , the same school of thought as those who play dumb about fungal overgrowth and mislable issues as crohns, ibs etc etc , comes across as disingenuous and seems aimed at discouraging others from educating themselves about basic hygiene and health.
[Citation needed] I've never heard of this, and I feel like it would be much bigger news if there was a conclusive link
Source? I skimmed the wikipedia article and it doesn't mention this.
B1 is only absorbed in the ileum (small intestine).
The biofilm grown by the fungus (candida) is what covers the skin of the small intestine and it stops the ileum absorbing b1.
I've been taking it orally for years without the aame effect, so my running theory is that I have an issue with absorption in my gut.
Is there a way to test for candida?
My opinion is that if you're concerned, the best thing is to make sure you aren't overeating carbs (I suggest limiting carbs to 30-40g per meal and 120g per day, and avoid simple carbs) and ideally take a probiotic and/or consume fermented foods such as yogurt, kombucha, etc that naturally provide probiotics. The carb limiting is the most important. If you do nothing else, do that. Even if you don't have an issue with candida, you'll feel better overall and get healthier. Again this is just my opinion as someone who has spent years reading and experimenting on myself, but is not formally educated or trained so take with a grain of salt.
So if you can test for it chemically there could be positives even if it's not a problem. So it would be a matter of looking under a microscope at the gut microbiome and checking if theres an overgrowth. And then treatment is tricky in the gut - how do you target a single problematic species but keep the rest of the microbiome intact? And if you do knock it out, you still need to create the conditions where it doesnt just bloom again since its ubiquitous.
In the end it might be a thing where you have to follow general gut health advice and try to cultivate a healthy gut microbiome.