'Intestinal Mycosis - An Attempt at Clarification' by Karl-Reinhard Kummer

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INTESTINAL MYCOSIS - AN ATTEMPT AT CLARIFICATION
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By: Karl-Reinhard Kummer

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Intestinal Mycosis - An Attempt at Clarification

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(Original title: Zur intestinalen Mykose - Versuch einer Klaerung. Der
Home Merkurstab 1998; 51: 65-73. English by A. R. Meuss, FTL, MTA)
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Publications
The multifarious symptomatology of intestinal mycosis is given
Anthroposophic Medicines
consideration in natural medicine, though it is not yet possible to say if
Articles for Patient and Child Health
it is a primary or secondary disorder. There are indications that the
Books and Lectures
Clinical Articles
presence of Candida albicans in the intestinal flora may play a central
Events and Trainings role in atopic diseases, psoriasis or seborrheic dermatitis. Many
Find Articles by Medical Topic authors militate against calling it pathogenic in this situation, but critics
General Research of the syndrome still lack important basic information. Further
Journal of Anthroposophical Medicine investigations, especially of the human intestinal flora, will be required.
Volume 01, Nr. 1, Summer 1981
Fungi show tremendous variety in growth and biological characteristics.
Volume 01, Nr. 2, Winter 1981
By nature they and the diseases associated with them reside in a cool
Volume 04, Nr. 1, Spring 1987 and humid environment. Retarded life forms, they cause retardation in
Volume 04, Nr. 2, Autumn 1987 human metabolism and above all in the human warmth organism.
Volume 05, Nr. 1, Spring 1988 They exist where the human being is unable to give his I-organization
Volume 05, Nr. 2, Autumn 1988 and above all his warmth and light organism adequate structure in the
Volume 06, Nr. 1, Spring 1989
lower human being. Treatment should therefore aim to strengthen
I-activity in the organism and especially in the intestines. Different
Volume 06, Nr. 2, Autumn 1989
approaches to the treatment of fungal disease are considered in the
light of anthroposophical physiology.
Volume 10, Nr. 3, Fall 1993

The topical debate
Volume 11, Nr. 3, Fall 1994 In recent years, a number of authors have referred to intestinal
Volume 11, Nr. 4, Winter 1994 Candida mycosis as a distinct syndrome. Hauss and Hauss, Dumrese
Volume 12, Nr. 1, Spring 1995 and Ehrhardt-Schmelzer, Nolting (5,10,29) and other authors list a
whole range of symptoms - alternating diarrhea, flatus, lowered
resistance to infection, asthma, eczema, neurodermatitis and
psychological symptoms such as lack of drive, depres- sion. Generally
speaking Candida albicans is said to be the main culprit.

Can Candida in the intestinal flora be ignored?
Volume 13, Nr. 3, Fall 1996 Many authors hold the view that the presence of Candida in the
Volume 13, Nr. 4, Winter 1996 intestines of healthy subjects proves that Candida is part of the
Volume 14, Nr. 1, Spring 1997 physiologic intestinal flora.(11, 22, 35, 54) A basic problem is that they
do not define "health or indeed consider its nature. Dumrese and
Ehrhardt-Schmelzer did at least establish that more than 50% of
subjects shown to have Candida albicans in their stools did not feel
well. The number of organisms in the stool correlated with the IgG titer
Volume 15, Nr. 1, Spring/Summer
for Candida albicans. It will clearly be necessary to give more thought
1998
to the definition of health.
Volume 15, Nr. 2, Autumn 1998
Volume 15, Nr. 4, Winter 1998 Others consider the presence of Candida albicans in the intestines to
be a secondary phenomenon when the intestinal milieu is abnormal,
e.g. in a case of food intolerance. Many authors refer to the role of
intestinal candidiasis in neurodermatitis and urticaria.(3, 24, 25, 26,
36, 37) Others only accept infection with a confirmed physiologic
correlate as pathological candidiasis. The absence of confirmed
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Anthroposophic Medicine | 'Intestinal Mycosis - An Attempt ... http://www.anthromed.org/Article.aspx?artpk=48
Volume 8, Nr. 3, Winter 1991-92 infection parameters does not, however, permit the conclusion that
Volume 9, Nr. 3, Autumn 1992 Candida in the intestinal flora is of no significance. Low-grade
Volume 9, Nr. 4, Winter 1992 infections may exist, especially as intestinal mycosis is often
Merkurstab
symptomless.(14) Some patients actually only realize that they had
Mistletoe and Immunology Research not been well before once they have been treated. Some authors
Newly Added Articles and Research assume that the absence of inflammatory changes is actually a
Physician Education characteristic of the syndrome. We thus also have to ask how "healthy"
individuals with Candida in their flora will feel in a few years' time.
International/National Links and Is Candida albicans a physiologic part of the intestinal flora?
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Some authors maintain that Candida albicans is part of the physiologic
Contact Us/Send Comments intestinal flora. Male(24) disputes this, despite the fact that he takes a
critical view of the so-called "Candida syndrome" or of it being taken to
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extremes. In his view, intestinal fungi were much more uncommon
before antibiotics came in, and also in primitive peoples. He also
speaks of the role played by excess nutrition, especially for infants
given formulas instead of mother's milk. Candida is not part of the
primary flora developing in the intestines of the newborn.(52) Most
authors who consider intestinal Candida mycosis to be pathological
believe there to be a connection with a disorder of intestinal
homeostasis. Only yeasts and Bifidum bacteria remain when antibiotics
reduce the normal bacterial flora.(18) Proliferation of yeasts in the
intestine may cause vitamins to be withdrawn.(33) No evidence has
thus been brought that Candida albicans is physiologic in the intestine.
The pathogenic Candida factors causing infection are well known -
adherence, development of mycelia which may be invasive, enzyme
production.(16, 29, 20) It is not clear, however, when and why
saprophytic growth be- comes pathologic. The secretory activity of
immunoglobulin A, acting as a mediator between mucosal cells and the
inner intestine, is inhibited. It has now been shown that
Saccharomyces boulardii yeast can be taken up into the intestine like
particles derived from lifeless nature.(6) The situation may be ex-
pected to be similar with pathogenic yeasts. Authors agree that fungal
infections indicate an area of least resistance in the host. It is also
known that small amounts of alcohols are produced in cases of
intestinal Candida mycosis. Treatment of intestinal Candida reduces
the blood alcohol levels, which are low in any case.(2)
How reliable is current knowledge?
Investigation of the intestinal micro ecology presents considerable
methodo- logical problems.(17, 23, 35) This especially applies also to
the anaerobic organisms that make up the greater part of the intestinal
flora. According to Sonnenbom and Greinwald,(42) a complete analysis
of a single individual's intestinal flora done at a specialist institute
would take a year! Positive tests for Candida in serum, stools or biopsy
material do not correlate with identifiable pathologic conditions,(28)
which makes it difficult to evaluate the results. It is also difficult to
establish in which part of the intestine the yeasts are growing.(35)
Not much is known about possible symbiosis of yeasts and the human
intestinal mucosa.(8) More data are available on therapeutic exhibition
of Saccharomyces boulardii.(31) Gibson, Savage, Sonnenbom and
Greinwald report on treatment with probiotics.(13, 35, 42)
The clinical relevance of a shift in intestinal organisms is discussed by
Chapoy and by Sonnenbom and Greinwald, for example.(7, 42)
Abnormalities in the intestinal flora may even induce premature
births.(17) This does, however, require fuller investigation. Lack of
knowledg is confirmed by Gibson, Stremmel and by Wedding et al.(13,
51) Stremmel(51) does refer to the many investigations stored under
"Candida" in databanks, but not on intestinal mycosis. The Medline
Databank has no record of work on mycotoxins and on alcohol
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production by Candida or yeasts in humans for the years 1991-1996.

Thus the effect of yeasts on the mucosal surfaces of the intestine or of
enzymes secreted into the intestinal lumen is not yet known.
There appears to be particular ignorance in the German-speaking
areas. Barnert and Wienbeck(4) make no reference to the possibility of
dysbac- terial conditions in their review, though its effect appears to
have been established.(34, 27)
When is treatment required?
Basically, evidence of yeasts in the intestine or stools does not call for
treatment. In children in particular this may be a passing
phenomenon. Minor infections may quite often be followed by
short-term fungal growth in the intestine and this is spontaneously
reversible. With food allergies an elimination diet often reduces even
massive yeast levels.
In the view of those who consider intestinal mycosis to be a definite
syndrome, it involves chronic changes that are difficult to detect. One
thus gets a varied picture of absent or mild symptoms and is not sure
whether to treat them or not. As fungi tend to be parasitic or
saprophytic, their existence goes largely unnoticed. In this respect,
too, they behave differently from pathogenic bacteria which as a rule
evoke inflammatory defense reactions. Asymptomatic bacteriuria is
thus the exception, lack of symptoms with intestinal mycosis the rule.
Many people say after successful treatment that they feel a great deal
better. Unidentifiable abdominal problems with fungi found in stool
cultures may be an indication for ex iuvantibus treatment. It has to be
considered that the detection of fungi in stool smears may also give
falsely negative results.
Unless we have a concept of "health", with criteria for "well" or "ill", we
can only have opinions. The essential nature of the human being has to
be considered as a whole, including soul and spirit, to know if one is
dealing with states of health or illness.
The nature of fungi
Simonis(40, 41) has giving a loving botanical description of the fungi
as seen by a physician. He calls them retarded life forms that still have
an echo of the ancient Saturn period of human and earth evolution and
have been unable to relate to the more recent development of the Sun
period. In terms of earth evolution they may be considered to belong
to the Moon period of earth evolution known as Lemuria.
Schoeffler(38) on the other hand considers above all the points of view
and way of thinking that have led to the use of antibiotics.
Variety and adaptability
The systematics of fungi cover many categories. Those that play a role
in medicine are epidermophytes (Microsporum, Trichophyton), molds
(Mucor, Fusarium, cephalospores, Aspergillus, penicillin, cladospores
and alternaria), yeasts (blastomycetes) such as Candida,
Cryptococcus, Saccharomyces, Trichosporum, Geotrichum, dimorph
fungi (Blastomyces, Histoplasma, Coccidioides, Sporothrix), etc. About
180 species have been found to be potentially pathogenic to humans.
Steiner(49) and Simonis(40) referred to fungi as life forms living in the
Moon region of the earth. They originate in the element of warmth, like
pollen, but then go into the sphere of decay as saprophytes. Their
fruiting bodies face the soil and not the light as in higher plants. Rudolf
Steiner spoke of the way algae and fungi strongly absorb the astrality
of an environment.
Fungi may really be considered to be unicellular. They are eukaryotic
and without chlorophyll and therefore have to depend on nutrients in
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organic matter as a source of energy. On the other hand they are also
capable of living under exclusion of light. Fungi can specialize and
elongate, sprout and produce hyphae. These may form networks called
mycelia. Deriving from a single cell these are called thalli, and if
loosely structured colonies. Fungi are able to bud or grow spores to
produce conidia, some of them mobile. The spores may be sexual or
asexual. Some produce hyphae which then produce mushrooms, as
they are commonly called (boletus, fly agaric). The spores are shed in
autumn, similar to the pollen of flowering plants.
Fungal spore allergy in autumn is the counter image in time of the
seasonal pollen allergy in spring.
Fungi do not produce fruit in the proper sense. Their fruiting element
are the asexual spores, as in Aspergillus. Sexual reproduction of spores
involves reproduction from the thallus itself with the aid of sexual
mechanisms and heterosexual reproduction from different kinds of
genetic material. There are fungi where such structures are not known,
and also parasexual exchanges between different fungi.
Like fly agaric, many fungi produce surface pigments to face the light.
Their actual growth sphere is colorless, however. In this they differ
funda- mentally from many higher plants, especially those producing
pigments in the root. We might go so far as to say that fungi do the
opposite of higher plants when it comes to color. A rose producing red
in its leaves seeks to fend off astralization.(43) In pigment-producing fungi,
however, the color is part of the astrality they seek to absorb, especially in the case of toadstools and
mushrooms. Steiner referred to diphtheria as fungus-like and suggested treating it with cinnabar
red,(43)
saying that this would tie up the astral body more closely with
the ether body. The same applies to medicines made from fly agaric.
In many respects fungi hold a half-way position in nature. Their
skeletal matter is the chitin of insects (not in the case of yeasts,
however). In their great variety, the alternation of spore, resting stage
and shoot form they are close to the algae. Steiner stressed this: "...
and so everything that is fungal by nature has a close relationship with
the lower animal world, bacteria and similar creatures, and particularly
with harmful parasites."(49) Fungi may thus be said to be a kind of
chameleon in lower nature, adapting to any given situation.
Fungi and temperatures
Fungi grow at widely differing temperatures. In the human body they

thrive at 37 degrees C but especially also at lower temperatures. They
are at home in a cool, dark space. But they do not shun humid warmth
either. Some specialists among them thrive at quite high
environmental temperatures. Spores in particular may be extremely
heat resistant whilst they also tolerate very cold temperatures,
retaining their germinative power for a long time.
Fungi live in a sphere of warmth that is as yet undifferentiated and in
an excess of organic matter. Harking back to earlier stages of earth
evolution they have a relationship to the ancient nitrogen and cyanide
atmosphere. They do not as a rule generate heat energy in their quite
considerable metabolic processes but consume it. They will thus often
maintain coolth. Bacterial processes on the other hand tend to
generate heat, as in the spontaneous ignition of hay. Fungi often
produce gases and relate more to the watery and airy rather than the
heat element. This preference for the watery and airy elements may be
the reason why they preferably attack the lungs and intestines in
human infections.
Symbiotic union of fungi and the roots of plants produce mycorrhiza, a
borderline region between organically structured plant matter and the
completely lifeless mineral soil. Such mediation between plant and soil
prefigures life, providing excess nitrogen is present.
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Substances produced in the mycorrhiza have a deadening effect on the

surrounding area. Substances from bacteria inhibit fungal growth and
vice versa (e.g. griseofulvin from penicillin). Most modern antibiotics
derive largely from fungi, or were originally derived from their
substances. Rimpler et al.(32) thus also refer to tumor-active
substances in fungi. Steiner's above- mentioned comments(49) may be
taken as a spiritual scientific pointer to possible antibiotic actions;
which is what Simonis thought.(40, 41) Nystatin has however been
isolated from Streptomyces strains capable of producing both
antibacterial and antimycotic substances. Toxin production thus seems
to be a characteristic of the whole group of fungi, and this no doubt
also includes Candida. Nothing of any account has however been
published on Candida toxins in recent years.
Relationship to light
Whilst bacteria relate more to warmth, algae differ from fungi in that
they show a definite orientation towards light. With their chlorophyll
they draw the light down into the water, using it to produce matter in
photosynthesis. Binding of iodine by algae also relates to the light.
Fungi do not have these important faculties, being unable to open up
to light. They actually prefer the lightless sphere of humus and the
roots of higher plants and thrive best under light exclusion. It is only
occasionally that they send the fruiting bodies we know as mushrooms
and toadstools up into the air from the damp rotting soil. This would
seem to be to seek the air, however, rather than the light, so that their
spores may spread.
The basic shape of fungi, the spore, is spherical.(40) We thus have a
plant in the plant world that consists entirely in a kind of head. Fungi
do not develop the leaf sphere which is so much the essence of plant
nature. They therefore also do not relate to the rhythmic processes
connected with leaf development. Instead they produce a "flower" at
ground level, as Steiner put it, also saying that their development is
peculiarly astralized.(43) This would explain why they do not relate to
the human intestinal system, which is based on plant leaf-type
principles, but may become pathogenic in it, similar to the lung.
Steiner also spoke of the soil itself being the basis for fungal life, with
fungi not rising above its sphere.48 It is different with trees. The
powers of the earth make them grow beyond the soil, taking them up
into the light. Fungal metabolism thus also relates little to light, unlike
that of intestinal bacteria.
Putrefactive bacteria convert matter into bound heat and light energy
in their high-energy metabolism. Their heat and light processes
integrate in the organism. This is not the case with parasitic fungi.
They generally use only partial stages of metabolism, leaving the rest
to putrefaction. Their metabolism thus does not submit to the
principles that guide the human organism, which relates strongly to
light.
Relationship to matter
Fungi play an important role in dealing with dying matter in the soil.
They show a preference for residues from living organisms that contain
nitrogen, and thus facilitate nitrogen metabolism for plants. Fungi also
contribute a great deal to carbon conversion in the world.(5)
Their capacity for converting large amounts of substrate makes them
an ideal means of conducting metabolic processes in an industrial
context. They also have the advantage that they do not on the whole
bring about complete lysis but perform only part stages. Another
important advantage is that they finally yield the original substance
again, either as a substrate or as a gas such as CO2. Bacterial
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metabolism on the other hand not only converts matter to heat

energy, as mentioned above, but this energy is often converted to high
energy matter and stored in the bacterium. Fungi thus are selfless in
their metabolism, releasing the substance they have been processing.
On the other hand they are also toxic, releasing their metabolic
products unprotected into the environment.
Large scale industrial utilization of fungi started in the late 1920s.
Citric acid is almost exclusively produced with the aid of fungi, annual
production being more than 100,000 tons.(5) There is unlikely to be
any field in the food and chemical industries where fungi do not play a
major role. The numerous enzymatic processes used in the food
industry also imitate fungal metabolism.
Rudolf Steiner characterized their growth, with degradation,
decomposition and excess of matter as dying life.(49) Compared to
bacteria, fungi appear to take the degradation of matter only to a
certain level. Thus fermentation, a self-limiting process with a
relatively low energy yield, is one of their characteristics. They limit
their activity in the conversion of matter, letting others take the
process to completion. Constructive metabolism is taken care of by
plants in the soil and by intestinal bacteria in the human intestine, in
either case with the aid of light processes. It may be assumed that the
attachment to dying processes seen in fungi means that humans
suffering from mycosis are confronted with increased levels of toxic
decomposition products.
This behavior towards matter, with retardation of a whole digestive
process in favor of part processes, concerns an aspect of fungal
pathology that has so far been given little attention. Fungi prevent the
complete digestion necessary for the human organism. Humans need
to convert all matter into a form that is their own. "Anything taken in
from outside (into the human organism, author) must either merely be
something that enables it to develop its own activity; or it has to act in
such a way in the body that the foreign activity does not differ from
one of the body's own inner activities once it has en- tered into the
body."(46) Fungi not only remain parasitic foreign bodies in man but
also provide their host with a parasitic metabolism, at least in the
intestine.
It has long been known that fungi grow more actively in sugar
solutions. Vaginal mycosis thus develops quite often during pregnancy
with its tendency towards pre-diabetes. This still calls for more
large-scale studies. It seems that one-sided excess of matter with
high-level sugar consumption favors fungal growth.
Ways of gaining insight into intestinal fungal growth in the light
of the anthroposophical view of man
Behavior of I-organization and astral body

As one would expect, medical nomenclature tends to obscure the
situation rather than clarify it. It is difficult to know if a fungus is "just
there" (com- mensal), on the borderline to being pathogenic
("mutualist"), takes away important nutrients ("parasite") or is directly
pathogenic by producing toxins or by means of invasive infection.
The basic process we find in humans with intestinal mycosis has to do
with conditions Steiner described under the heading of neurasthenia.
Patho- logical processes may develop if the upper and lower activities
in the human organization are not sufficiently in accord with each
other, with the upper not intervening adequately in the lower, and
head processes staying among themselves.(48) The digestion is weak
as a result, unable to assimilate foreign food matter adequately. The
individual's attention is too much on the outside world, allowing foreign
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processes to enter to excess and meeting this with an excessive

secondary reaction. These processes, which one also sees with
allergies, were described by Rudolf Steiner.(47)
Weakness of definition may also be due to the opposite condition,

which is the kind of hypersensitivity one sees with hysteria.48
Metabolism makes itself independent, and wounds may be caused. An
example of the overweening metabolic activity described by
Steiner(48) would be candidal diaper rash of short duration when
infants are teething. It generally ends when the teeth erupt.
Relationship to allergy
Allergies arise because foreign processes are not properly perceived.
One often sees food allergies in conjunction with intestinal mycosis.
The intolerance often only shows itself with a careful elimination and
re-exposition diet. The human being is not able to register the foreign
nature of the food nor the foreign fungal flora. In the author's
experience people allergic to milk protein, hen's egg white, almond and
soya tend to attract Candida rather than other yeasts. These are often
people with an overweening metabolism who are more inclined
towards hysterical disorders. People in whose stools Aspergillus has
been detected will often show a neurasthenic component and have
cereal grain allergies.
Fungal infection might be seen as a barometer indicating that the I-
organization is not intervening adequately in the organism. Humans
differ from animals in that foods must be thoroughly killed off and then
built up again in a completely individual way.(50) With both allergy
and intestinal mycosis we may assume that the origin lies in a
neurasthenic constitution. Meta- bolic predominance and hysterical
wounding are then secondary phenomena. It seems likely that such
foreign processes also appear temporarily in the course of acute
diseases that weaken the constitution as a whole.
It is possible that fungi with their foreign substance are in themselves
an allergen. It may also be possible that their presence "triggers" the
actions of other allergens.16 Some patients with neurodermatitis do
not improve with diet and constitutional treatment but only when their
intestinal mycosis has been dealt with.
Fungal growth in the intestine has its own dynamics. The I or the I-
organization cannot integrate them into its own growth principles. The
result is that an area in the organism which is not under control is
occupied by other life forms with foreign activity. In connection with
the "bacillus theory", Steiner repeatedly said that it was the soil which
mattered and not the bacillus. Fungi also work against the
I-organization in another respect. They produce alcohols from higher
fatty acids. These not only cause destruc- tion and toxic effects but
also make people sleepy, weakening the human I- organization.
The activities of the I depend on warmth and light. Abnormal fat
absorp- tion may cause too much or too little fat to enter the
organism. In the first case one gets pathological heat foci, in the
second, malnutrition.(46) Post's thermog- raphy shows intestinal areas
subject to mycotic changes to be colder, possibly because the fungi act
against the warmth organization. This would be another possible
explanation of their negative effect on immune defenses.
Aspects relating to the treatment of intestinal mycosis
The main aim of treatment based on the anthroposophical view of the
human being must be to give the I or I-organization and the astral
body better access to the lower human being and intestine. Actual
treatment of the mycosis is of secondary importance. The suggestions
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made below can, in the author's view, only be general. Treatment has
to be individual to each patient. An attempt will also be made to
consider the treatments suggested in the literature and find the
rationale for their actions in the light of anthroposophical physiology.
Eurythmy therapy
The main aim of this is to support the I-organization in its actions in
the body. This calls for general treatment to promote health in soul
and spirit, to support the human being in his activity. Steiner had a
great deal to say about the digestion, devoting the whole of the 4th
lecture in the eurythmy therapy course to it.(45) Eurythmy therapy is
therefore the method that does most to strengthen the I-organization,
for it directly addresses the activity of the human individual.
Nutrition
Many authors refer to the importance of the diet. The negative effect of
refined sugar is stressed by all. This is understandable, for the
preparation of sugar is one of the central functions of the
I-organization. Taking too much refined and processed sugar, one
relieves the I-organization of its function and thus weakens it. (55)
A special diet always addresses a person's will. Steiner thus also spoke
of the helpfulness of a diet chosen of one's own free will and of the
way activity is reduced by a diet taken in a purely passive way.(48)
Many of the diets suggested in the lay press unfortunately ask people
to follow the advice of others blindly. One also suspects that some
have no proper foundation. Thus it is difficult to see how a fungus can
be "starved out". The opposite view, that a low-sugar diet to "starve it
out" would give the fungus an extra appetite for the intestinal wall, is
equally difficult to understand. Many of the measures recommended in
the literature weaken patients rather than strengthening them. Special
diets are always "asocial" and egotistical by nature, as Steiner made
very clear.(48)
They should therefore only be of limited duration.
A sudden change to a wholegrain diet which is difficult to digest may
also prove harmful. High proportions of roughage containing cellulose
may induce fermentation with negative consequences.
The foods we eat relate to some degree to our organs. Foods that
influence the liver, such as artichoke, are therefore recommended. A
root diet with its mineral content strengthens the astral head powers in
the upper human being, with the result that he no longer has to be
active in metabolism. Lactic fermentation products such as sauerkraut
or yogurt strengthen the astral body.
Strengthening the I-organization medically
Medicines based on quartz or silica serve this purpose. According to
Steiner, "silica is the external correlate, outward directed activity for
the I-organization" (47) or "the physical basis for the
I-organization."(46) Treatment with Cichorium also comes under this
heading, for instance as Cichorium/ Pancreas comp. pilules (Wala).
Stibium supports delimiting processes in the intestine, also if the basic
problem is an allergy, Antimonite 6x trit. (Weleda) being an example.
Kalium aceticum compositum dil. (Weleda) or Plumbum Ix/Stannum
14x trit. (Weleda) facilitates I-organization intervention or its
delimiting function. Finally all mercury preparations help the mercurial
process in which the I- organization is active in the small intestine.
Respiratory function in the lower human being can be encouraged with
an iron silicate preparation, e.g. nontronite 12x trit. (Weleda).
Treatment with roots containing pigments or extracts of these would
also go in this direction - carrot juice, beetroot, aloes.
8 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

Phosphorus and sulfur based medicines to strengthen the lower

abdomen
The relationship between phosphorous flowering processes and the
lower abdominal organs was shown by Steiner. (48) All medicines
based on flowering plants have this effect, wormwood for example,
with the flowering green part of the plant used (Absinthium Ix dil.,
Weleda). Treatment with Aloe (Ix dil., Weleda), Resina Laricis Ix dil.
(Weleda), propolis extract, evening prim- rose oil (Epogam(R),
Gammocur or similar), borage oil, garlic (Allium sativum Ix dil.,
Weleda) or onion (Allium cepa Ix dil., Weleda) or Myrrhinil intest, a
preparation based on chamomile flowers, birch charcoal and myrrh.
Fern and bracken spores, e.g. in Digestodoron (Weleda) or Aquilinum
comp. pilules (Wala), have the sulfurous character of the spores as
their active principle. Steiner referred to their action as strengthening
the catabolic principles in the digestive tract.(47)
The effect pigments have on the astral body is also an important
aspect of diet - beetroot, carrots, roots, leaf vegetables. The common
aspect to this treatment is that the powers of light are enhanced in the
intestine.(49)
Suggested treatments for intestinal mycosis thus resemble those for
warts or worms, where the weakness of the astral body towards
external influences is increased. Thuja is also used for this.(48)
The phosphorus process exists also in the antimycotics used in conven-
tional medicine. These contain either pigments such as gentian violet
with its surface action, or they may be regarded as pigments, azoles,
for instance (micononazole, ketokonazole, fluconazole), or may be
chemically converted to pigments. Tonoftal is not a pigment but a
high-energy substance. As their action is purely physical, the effect
often lasts only for as long as they are given. Etheric activity has to
take over. If this does not happen, or we do not aim to make it happen
with treatment, the danger of resistance developing is great also with
fungi,(9) though this was not considered possible in the past. Instead
of giving chemical antimycotics one may also try relatively high vitamin
C doses, 1/2 tsp t.i.d., starting low and gradually going up to this.
Sandthom77 (sea buckthorn) original or "low sugar" elixir (Weleda)
have a similar effect.
Insufflation of ozone into the intestine is another sulfurous type of
treatment. About 200 ml are produced using a generator and
insufflated into the rectum using a syringe and catheter. The ozone is
bound to break down pretty quickly at body temperature, and its effect
as a substance probably does not go beyond the sigmoid, yet
convincing results have been seen in treating severe neurodermatitis
with Candida confirmed in the stools.
Sugars, bitters, tannins
Roots with their sugars, bitter principles and tannins directly stimulate
I, astral body and physical body activity (GA 319). This strengthens
the totality of the upper human being's activity in the digestion.
Instead of a pathological head-development in the lower human
beings, as in the case of malnutrition, one has penetration of the
digestive functions. Examples are Gentiana lutea (Gentiana lutea Rh
5% dil., Weleda, or Gentiana comp. pilules, Wala) or Geum urbanum
Rh D3 dil. (Weleda).
In the author's experience there is a point to focusing on particular
organs in treating different forms of intestinal mycosis. In his
experience, treatment with the emphasis on the liver is effective with
Candida mycosis, giving Hepatodoron, Chelidonium, Taraxacum or
Cichorium, for example. Aspergillus mycosis appears to be more of a
9 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

kidney problem, and Carbo Betulae or Equisetum may be considered,

possibly in form of Equisetum cum sulfure tostum 6x trit. (Weleda).
Pancreatic extracts or bitters to encourage secretion are also helpful,
Pancreas Ix trit. (Weleda), for instance. Cichorium/Pancreas comp.
pilules (Wala) or Cichorium Rh 3x dil. (Weleda) may also be
considered. Treatment with pancreatic enzymes may sometimes serve
the purpose, possibly in combination with bile acids, or also gastric
acid substitution.
Antagonism between bacteria and fungi
Another approach to treatment involves substitution and promotion of
the physiologic intestinal flora. Steiner spoke of antagonism between
bacteria and fungi in 1924.(49) A wide range of preparations is now
available that contain Bifidum bacteria, lactobacilli, Bacteroides or
Bacterium subtilis. Though widely used, data are not really adequate in
this field. Many preparations contain lactose or milk protein, which has
to be taken into account if there are allergies in this direction.
Treatment has to be long-term, which means it is more costly. If the
choice of substitution is right, the method does, however, frequently
prove effective.
Guided symbiosis is said to influence immune functions. Again it has to
be continued for some time. One often starts with a preliminary phase
using metabolic products of E. coli (e.g. Pro Symbioflor, Colibiogen,
Rephalysin or Hylak). The next phase is with lactobacilli or coccal
preparations (Symbioflor 1, Acidophilus, Eugalan, Paidoflor) to
stimulate the acid-producing flora.
Thirdly one would try substitution with Coli bacteria to restore the
milieu, e.g. with Symbioflor 2 or Mutaflor. Others recommend Coli
substitution only, to match the development of the first flora in the
newbom. Some laboratories specialize in producing individual symbiont
preparations based on an analysis of the intestinal flora. These
methods, too, are often effective but costly.
A principle Steiner mentioned in the Agriculture course(49) probably
has not yet been systematically applied to clinical treatment for
humans. He suggested river or wetland meadows among the fields.
"For if we manage to have not only woodlands (birds live above all in
softwood trees, mammals in shrubs and bushes, author) but also river
or wetland meadows suitably close to the farm, these meadows will
prove particularly helpful to farming in that they provide a good soil for
fungi. And one should see to it that the soil of those meadows contains
fungi. You will then make the strange discovery that where you have
wetland meadows, meadows rich in fungi... close to a farm, these fungi
will because of their relationship to bacteria and other parasitic
creatures keep such creatures away from others. ... The right balance
and placing of woodland, orchards, shrubs and bushes and wetland
meadows with a certain natural fungal culture is so much the essence
of a good farming situation that one may even have to reduce the area
utilizable for agricultural purposes to some extent...".
Displacement treatment using apathogenic yeasts
This has been used in a particular section of natural medicine in recent
times. The yeast referred to as apathogenic which is generally used is
Saccharo- myces boulardii.(6, 13)
Nosodes - out with the old
Finally nosodes or similar preparations are used to influence the
retarded development aspect. As fungi are connected with the ancient
Moon stage of earth evolution,.(41) man must let go of that aspect and
take his evolution forward. This may be the rationale of Monilia
10 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

albicans 30x pilules (Staufen) or Albicansan 5x dil./ Nigersan 5x dil.

(Sanum Kehlbeck), for example.
Prospects
Candida infections are on the increase, above all in patients with
immune deficits, in premature infants, and indeed with epiglottitis.
Fungi are also getting resistant to antimycotics, probably by selection
of resistant strains after antimycotic treatment. (9)
Unfortunately the issue of an abnormal intestinal flora, e.g.
"dysbacteria" or "overgrowth syndrome,”(42) is mainly discussed by
physicians working with natural medicine. This should not be a matter
for division between conventional and natural medicine but for more
intensive basic research. Koletzko and Baumler-Meri(22) are right in
asking that the discussion should be more objective and not emotive.
This would also mean that patients' feelings of being unwell must be
taken seriously.
It may be justifiable to refer to psychopathologic phenomena in many
instances.(11) But these only apply to a small proportion of patients. If
both physician and patient are realistic in their expectations, the risk of
aggravat- ing any hysterical and depressive desire to be sick, with
"fungi in the intestines," is low. On the other hand there is no reason
to put on airs and declare that this disorder does not rank as a disease
at all.
Modern medicine clearly is still only beginning to get somewhere with
fungus research. The literature relating to industrial uses is vast. But
the last investigation of fungal infections in German swimming baths is
more than 10 years old.(12) The simple treatment of oral candidiasis is
also less effective than is often thought.(19) Nor are people in the
habit of giving much thought to the matter of intestinal homeostasis,
as may be seen from a paper by B. Koletzko, who denies the existence
of problems due to the wrong bacterial flora. Patients experience a lack
of understanding, with the result that attempts at lay treatment are
common. The modern school of medicine must be challenged to pay
attention to these syndromes and not deny their existence.
To date, then, Candida mycosis is not an accepted disease entity, and
work has not gone beyond the description of individual cases. The
uncertainties that exist in relation to diagnosis and treatment have to
be accepted. They make it possible for practitioners to refuse to accept
intestinal mycosis as a syndrome or to include it in their own critical
review of potential treatments. Until firmer data are available, the
positive results of a treatment must be accepted "ex iuvantibus". It
would not be the first time that new perspectives have arisen in
medicine by humbly taking note of existing uncertainties.
Karl-Reinhard Kummer, MD Posselstr. 7 D-76227 Karlsruhe Germany
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l am grateful to G. Soldner and H. Kienefor their suggestions.
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Anthroposophic Medicine | 'Intestinal Mycosis - An Attempt ... http://www.anthromed.org/Article.aspx?

INTESTINAL MYCOSIS - AN ATTEMPT AT CLARIFICATION

By: Karl-Reinhard Kummer

Intestinal Mycosis - An Attempt at Clarification

Volume 11, Nr. 1, Spring 1994

Volume 13, Nr. 2, Summer 1996

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2 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

production by Candida or yeasts in humans for the years 1991-1996.

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Fungi grow at widely differing temperatures. In the human body they

4 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

Substances produced in the mycorrhiza have a deadening effect on the

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metabolism on the other hand not only converts matter to heat

Behavior of I-organization and astral body

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processes to enter to excess and meeting this with an excessive

Weakness of definition may also be due to the opposite condition,

7 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

8 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

Phosphorus and sulfur based medicines to strengthen the lower

9 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

kidney problem, and Carbo Betulae or Equisetum may be considered,

10 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

albicans 30x pilules (Staufen) or Albicansan 5x dil./ Nigersan 5x dil.

11 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

intestine. Gut 1996; 39: 204-9.

12 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

Protective Role of the Normal Microflora. London: Macmillan Press

13 sur 14 28/07/12 21:36

Therapy (in GA 319). Penmaenmawr, 28 Aug. 1923. Tr. unknown. MS

Copyright © 2004-2009 AnthroMed Library

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'Intestinal Mycosis - An Attempt at Clarification' by Karl-Reinhard Kummer

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