What effect does progesterone have on candida?
There is a myth doing the rounds that vaginal candida is exacerbated by progesterone. This is simply not true, it is in fact exacerbated by oestrogen at in vivo levels and studies done on the two hormones show only too clearly that progesterone does not cause an overgrowth, that it is in fact protective. Oestrogen reduces the ability of vaginal epithelial cells to inhibit the growth of candida, and has been found to induce the conversion of candida from it’s yeast form to it’s mycelial form, the more virulent of the two. Progesterone and oestrogen work to balance each other. If there is a high level of oestrogen, either endogenous, or from external sources, there is nothing to inhibit the candida. In women a high level of endogenous oestrogen can be caused by a low level of progesterone. In both men and women a high level of oestrogen can also be caused by oestrogen mimics found in our food, water, air and the skin care products we use. Our planet is so polluted with synthetic oestroge
