William G. Crook - The Yeast Connection: A Medical Breakthrough

What people are saying about The Yeast Connection:

This new edition of The Yeast Connection represents a wonderful mix of scholarly dissertations from academic physicians and basic common sense clinical assessments from practicing doctors. All in all, it gives us simple solutions to complex questions.

Alan Scott Levin, M.D.
Adjunct Associate Professor of
Immunology and Dermatology
University of California,
San Francisco School of Medicine

The most fantastic medical book to hit the public in many a decade! It has helped me get my patients well faster than any approach Ive ever used.

Walter A. Ward, M.D.
Past President, American Academy
of Otolaryngic Allergy
Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Beautifully written a pleasure to read instructive. Illustrations add enormously to the clarity and effectiveness of the text.

George E. Shambaugh, Jr., M.D.
Professor Emeritus of
Otolaryngology
Northwestern University

It is time for all physicians and medical scientists to increase their understanding of the relationship between yeasts and human illness. If one reviews the literature carefully, the supporting research is well documented.

James H. Brodsky, M.D.
Instructor, Georgetown University
School of Medicine

FIRST VINTAGE BOOKS EDITION, October 1986

Copyright 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 by William G. Crook, M.D.

Illustrations copyright 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986 by Cynthia P. Crook
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions.

Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York, and simultaneously in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally published by Professional Books, Jackson, Tennessee, in December 1983.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Crook, William G., (William Grant), 1917
The yeast connection.

Reprint. Originally published: 2nd ed. Jackson,
Tenn : Professional Books, 1984.
1. CandidiasisComplications and sequelae.
2. CandidiasisDiet therapy. 3. Low-carbohydrate diet.
4. Allergy. I. Title. [DNLM: 1. Candidiasis
complicationspopular works. 2. Candidiasisdiet
therapypopular works. WC 470 C948y 1984]
RC123.C3C76 1986 616.969 8640140
eISBN: 978-0-307-77259-6

v3.1

This book is dedicated with love to the most important person in my lifethe one who, for over 40 years has patiently helped, supported and encouraged memy wife, Betsy.

First, I thank C. Orian Truss, M.D. of Birmingham, Alabama. His brilliant pioneer observations on the common yeast germ, Candida albicans, alerted me to the possibility that candida could play an important role in causing health problems in many of my allergic patients especially those with chemical sensitivity. Im especially grateful to Dr. Truss for generously and patiently sharing his knowledge with me on countless occasions during the past seven years.

Special thanks are also due to Sidney M. Baker, M.D., Head of the Gesell Institute of Human Development, New Haven, Connecticut. During the past decade, Dr. Bakers observations and concepts have greatly influenced me and my work with my patients, including those with yeast-connected health problems.

Im grateful to many other physicians who have shared their knowledge and experiences with me, including especially Doctors Robert Boxer, Cecil Bradley, Emanuel Cheraskin, Larry Dickey, John Gerrard, Hobart Feldman, Leo Galland, Zane Gard, Howard Hagglund, Harold Hedges, James Johnson, George Kroker, Alan Levin, Alan Lieberman, Richard Mabray, John Maclennan, Marshall Mandell, Joseph McGovern, Joseph Miller, Pamela Morford, David Morris, Lawrence Plumlee, James OShea, Robert Owen, Theron Randolph, Doris Rapp, William Rea, Phyllis Saifer, Douglas Sandberg, George Shambaugh, Don Sprague, Del Stigler, Robert Stroud, Morton Teich, Francis Waickman, Walter Ward, Edward Winger, Aubrey Worrell, Martin Zwerling, and the late Doctors Amos Christie, William Deamer and Frederic Speer.

Im also grateful to Doctor Elmer Cranton and to Betty Flora. Each of these individuals carefully reviewed my entire manuscript and made constructive suggestions for improving it. Thanks are also due to other helpful consultants, including Doctor Dor Brown, Doctor John Curlin, and Pat Connolly.

Special appreciation is due Rebecca Davis who helped significantly with the diet sections of this book, and to Susan Karlgaard-Winfrey and Sally Karlgaard, R. N. who served as invaluable consultants, coordinators and collaborators in completing the book.

I also appreciate the charming and delightful art work of my daughter, Cynthia, whose pictures make The Yeast Connection easy to understand. Also to John Adams and the entire staff of ProtoType Graphics in Nashville for their skillful production services.

Im grateful, also, to other members of my staff, Ditzi Brittain, Georgia Deaton, Brenda Harris, Brent Lay, Scott Marcon, Nancy Moss, Bettye Patterson, Charlotte Riggs, Nell Sellers, Therese Shelby, Denny Spencer, Alice Spragins, Maggie Spragins and Patrick Youngblood who have helped me in numerous ways in putting this book together.

Finally, I appreciate the suggestions of many candida victims who have taught me a lot about yeast-connected disease, including what helps them and what makes them worse. Included among these consultants are many of my own loyal patients as well as the patients of other physicians.

It is time for all physicians and medical scientists to increase their understanding of the relationship between yeast and human illness. Many patients with yeast-related health disorders are being treated ineffectively just because their problem has gone unrecognized.

If one reviews the literature carefully, the supporting research is well documented. Antibiotics have been shown to inhibit both antibody synthesis and phagocytic activity, and thus may reduce the host resistance to invasion by Candida albicans. The literature, therefore, clearly supports the theory that antibiotics can lead to candida overgrowth which suppresses immune function thereby predisposing one to recurrent infections.

There is much evidence to suggest that C. albicans is one of the most allergenic microbes. The investigators estimate that in about 26% of patients with chronic urticaria, C. albicans sensitivity is an important factor. Significant clinical improvement was seen with anti-candida therapy and a low-yeast diet.

An increase in the population of C. albicans following antibiotic therapy or change in diet may also cause a chronic irritable bowel syndrome. This is ascribed to hypersensitivity to the organism or its metabolic products rather than actual infection.

The importance of the role of the intestinal tract in treating patients with recurrent vulvovaginal candidiasis has been nearly ignored. Vaginal candidiasis does not occur without the concomitant presence of C. albicans within the large bowel and a cure is unlikely as long as the vagina remains the only treatment target.

Enteric candida undoubtedly play a greater role in human illness than has been previously suspected. A history of food and chemical intolerances is frequently seen in patients with a history of recurrent candida infections. There is increasing evidence that gut yeast may have a role in some cases of psoriasis. Health professionals must take note of what is known about the yeast-human interaction. We must help our patients overcome this illness, which is probably, for most, iatrogenic in origin.