hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic

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What should you know about Candida, recurring yeast infections, and the broader symptoms often associated with gut health?
In this mini solo episode, Dr. Taz shares her functional medicine perspective on Candida overgrowth. She discusses possible contributing factors, the tests used in her practice, and how she approaches nutrition, antifungal treatment, and support for the gut microbiome.

IN THIS EPISODE
• Antibiotics and other potential contributors to yeast overgrowth
• Symptoms Dr. Taz considers during an evaluation
• Stool analysis, organic acid testing, and the limitations of home spit tests
• Dietary changes, prescription antifungals, and botanical products discussed in her practice
• Why similar symptoms can have different underlying causes
Symptoms such as bloating, fatigue, cravings, and brain fog are nonspecific and do not confirm Candida. Consult a qualified healthcare professional for an individual evaluation.

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Produced by https://ClipGrowth.com (Producer: Pat Gostek)

Creators and Guests

Host
Dr. Taz Bhatia MD
Dr. Taz Bhatia is a triple-board-certified integrative medicine physician and founder of hol+, where she brings together science, spirit and the human experience to deliver holistic, whole-person care.
Producer
Pat Gostek
Founder of ClipGrowth.com - End-to-End YouTube, Podcast & Clips Management (you just record).

What is hol+ with Dr. Taz MD | The Future of Medicine is Holistic?

hol+ with Dr. Taz MD is redefining modern medicine through a comprehensive, evidence-based holistic approach; integrating functional medicine, integrative medicine, and time-tested healing systems to treat the whole human, not just symptoms.

Hosted by Dr. Tasneem Bhatia (Dr. Taz), triple board-certified physician in integrative, functional, and holistic medicine, bestselling Penguin Random House author, and founder of hol+; a comprehensive evidence-based holistic medicine platform with clinics in Atlanta, New York City, and Los Angeles, and virtual care available nationwide.

At the heart of hol+ is a revolutionary framework: the Five Body Map- physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and social/community bodies that create whole health. This whole-human approach connects hormone imbalances, gut dysfunction, microinflammation, cortisol dysregulation, metabolic disease, autoimmune conditions, perimenopause, and stress-driven illness to the full spectrum of who we are; body, mind, and spirit.

Each episode explores Dr. Taz’s original clinical frameworks ;The Cortisol Loop, Microinflammation, and The Invisible Load alongside conversations with leading experts, celebrities, and thought leaders including Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, Katherine Schwarzenegger, Cameron Mathison, Carol Alt, Jane Seymour, Tamsen Fadal, and Kris Carr.

Topics include hormone health, gut health, GLP-1 and metabolic therapy, thyroid dysfunction, weight loss, inflammation, autoimmune disease, mental and emotional wellness, energetic health, and the future of holistic medicine.

This is the show where science and spirit converge- driving health, happiness, relationships, and family ecosystems.

Want to go deeper? Join Dr. Taz’s private community, the hol+ Circle ; medicine beyond the exam room. (holplus.co/circle)

A 2025 Webby Award honoree, recognized alongside the Mel Robbins Podcast in the 29th Annual Webby Awards, hol+ is built on the foundation of Super Woman Wellness, which surpassed 1 million downloads over 8 years.

This is medicine beyond the exam room. Welcome to hol+

[00:00:00] Dr. Taz: This episode is sponsored by Hol+ a holistic health platform built around [00:00:05] education, personalization, and integrative care. Hol+ blends [00:00:10] holistic, integrative, and functional medicine clinics with learning resources like blogs, [00:00:15] YouTube videos, and of course this podcast, so you're not just treated, you're informed.[00:00:20]
[00:00:20] Dr. Taz: The platform also includes holistic health quizzes and a curated wellness shop, helping you [00:00:25] make choices that support your body at the root level. Hol+ is [00:00:30] holistic healthcare designed for real life. Visit us at holplus.co [00:00:35] to learn
[00:00:35] Dr. Taz: more about the platform. Again, that's [00:00:40] holplus.co
Candida overgrowth occurs when yeast that normally lives in the gut [00:00:45] proliferates beyond healthy levels, often after antibiotics, high sugar [00:00:50] intake, or prolonged stress. Common signs include bloating, cravings, [00:00:55] recurrent yeast infections, brain fog, fatigue, and a coated [00:01:00] tongue. Management of candida combines dietary changes, [00:01:05] targeted antifungals, and rebuilding beneficial bacteria.
[00:01:10] Sugar cravings you just can't get rid of, bloating that arrives [00:01:15] every afternoon, brain fog, fatigue, and a white coating on your [00:01:20] tongue. All of these individually get dismissed. Together, they [00:01:25] point to something very specific. Candida in Western [00:01:30] medicine is treated as a localized infection. Thrush or a yeast infection, treat it, [00:01:35] end of story.
You may have had experience with this before, getting your [00:01:40] local antifungal or medication to treat it, and then you never think about it [00:01:45] again. Gut overgrowth, in general, is still not widely recognized. [00:01:50] Outside of a severely immunocompromised patients, most [00:01:55] clinicians don't think about candida as an issue.
Symptoms are [00:02:00] distributed across specialties, so nobody really looks at the whole picture, right? You have a [00:02:05] gastroenterologist, you usually have a rheumatologist, you might have a hematologist and an [00:02:10] endocrinologist, but there's no candidalogist, right? Nobody is really thinking [00:02:15] about this in, in terms of a, a singular pattern.
But candida, [00:02:20] when we apply a different lens, the functional medicine and the holistic medicine lens to [00:02:25] this, the problem is the proportion, not the fact that it's present. Oftentimes, [00:02:30] candida will overgrow, and that's when the symptoms really start. There are [00:02:35] many factors why candida overgrows. For example, antibiotics.
We know that candida [00:02:40] overgrows after a course of antibiotics. We also know that yeast produces [00:02:45] metabolites, which is why many symptoms reach beyond the gut. The pattern is [00:02:50] recognizable, and once you know how to look for some of the stuff together rather than separately, then you [00:02:55] can also piece together when you're having a candida flare, when you need help, and [00:03:00] when to work with a provider.
Here are some of the common signs and symptoms of [00:03:05] candida overgrowth. We know that intense sugar and carbohydrate cravings [00:03:10] are a sign of candida overgrowth because yeast feeds on sugar and influences [00:03:15] our appetite accordingly. We know that bloating that builds throughout the day, [00:03:20] causing fermentation, producing gas as the day goes on, is a sign of [00:03:25] candida as well.
A white or coated tongue is one of the most visible signs, right, and [00:03:30] easy to check in a mirror. And then, of course, recurrent yeast or urinary tract [00:03:35] infections all surfacing in different locations, these are signs of candida as [00:03:40] well. And many people don't realize that brain fog, low mood, [00:03:45] these are metabolites of candida entering your circulation and impacting [00:03:50] how we learn.
Skin and nail changes like rashes and skin folds, athlete's [00:03:55] foot, persistent fungal nails, all of these are also signs of candida [00:04:00] Now, when it comes to testing, there are multiple ways to look for candida. A [00:04:05] comprehensive stool analysis is probably one of the most useful tests that we find [00:04:10] in practice. It shows what's overgrown, and it shows what's missing, and will pick [00:04:15] up when candida overgrowth is an issue that we need to be paying attention to.
[00:04:20] There's organic acid testing as well, and that can reveal yeast metabolites in urine. [00:04:25] But the clinical pattern still matters most, while the research and the [00:04:30] testing keeps getting debated. We want to look at a clinical pattern [00:04:35] where some of these signs and symptoms are leading themselves to candida, and [00:04:40] testing that supports that rather than replacing it.
Spit [00:04:45] tests, I know they're online, I know they're all over the place. They're, they're not as reliable, honestly, as [00:04:50] some of these other things that we've talked about here today. In functional medicine, we wanna [00:04:55] know why this balance tipped to begin with. We know that candida exists, but why [00:05:00] is it now a problem?
Antibiotics are a common trigger of yeast and yeast overgrowth, along with [00:05:05] chronic steroid use. A high sugar or high refined carbohydrate diet can also [00:05:10] trigger candida overgrowth. It's direct fuel for candida. Stress is a [00:05:15] trigger as well, along with low stomach acid. And I've talked often about hormone [00:05:20] shifts and oral contraceptives, which also alter the gut and the vaginal environment.[00:05:25]
Poor sleep and a depleted microbiome means candida has an [00:05:30] opportunity to grow So when we look at all the variables, the research, the [00:05:35] factors, the signs and symptoms, and the test, we land right in the middle in [00:05:40] terms of diagnosing, treating, and turning candida around. Here are the [00:05:45] recommendations that I always give our patients at HolPlus.
First off, let's try to [00:05:50] starve candida. Get rid of the sugar, the alcohol, and the refined [00:05:55] carbohydrates. Let's test to make sure we're on the right track. Many conditions often can [00:06:00] share some of the signs and symptoms that we've talked about today. We wanna use [00:06:05] targeted antifungal support. This means we usually like to start with [00:06:10] rehabbing the gut and adding botanicals first.
The prescriptions can be a little [00:06:15] heavy-handed and good for a flare, but something we wanna use in those scenarios rather than [00:06:20] necessarily on a day-to-day basis. I love things like oil of oregano, berberine I [00:06:25] mentioned, bioseedin, pau d'arco, so many great herbal formulas that [00:06:30] do support candida and, uh, really helping the body balance candida better.
[00:06:35] The prescriptions, of course, the nystatins, the diflucans, we make those decisions [00:06:40] depending on what's happening with the patient. Rebuilding the terrain of the gut, [00:06:45] probiotics, flooding it with good bacteria to suppress candida. Fermented [00:06:50] foods, but not in excess, and fiber, which provides [00:06:55] butyrate to help restore a healthy microbiome.
Supporting digestion with stomach [00:07:00] acid and enzymes can also help to keep candida overgrowth at [00:07:05] bay. Now, this is not a quick fix. This is a process and a journey, and it can [00:07:10] take weeks, not days, to turn it around. But over time, many of the signs and [00:07:15] symptoms we've talked about today should get better, from the bloating and brain fog to the [00:07:20] weight gain and insulin resistance.
We have seen at HolPlus many of these [00:07:25] things turn in a different direction when we identify and treat candida [00:07:30] the holistic way. So candida is not a fringe idea. It's a balance [00:07:35] problem, and balance is something you can change. Now, have you had any of these [00:07:40] signs or symptoms of candida? Let us know, and maybe there's a surprising one that you did [00:07:45] not expect that our community would benefit from learning.
All right. [00:07:50] For physician-curated trusted supplements that we use at HolPlus, visit [00:07:55] our shop, shop.HolPlus.co, where we do deal with candida [00:08:00] every single day