The Fungal Theory

Crunchy...I agree, the body must maintain a pH of around 7.3 and has to work (struggle in some cases) to do it. 

According to Dr Young, the body has 7 different buffers and they are the first line of defense against an imbalanced pH. They react immediately to neutralize problems in the blood, lymph and tissue fluids.  Bicarbonate is one of those buffers.  It works in the blood, tissue fluids and kidneys. A healthy body maintains alkaline reserves in the tissues which are used to meet emergency demands. If our reserves are insufficient (due to lack of minerals in our diet and acidic lifestyles), the body has to "recruit" them from somewhere else such as bone (calcium) or muscles (magnesium) which can easily lead to deficiency symptoms. If there's overload too great for the blood to balance, excess acid is dumped into the tissues for storage.The lymphatic system must then attempt to neutralize whatever it can. If it's overloaded or not working properly (usually due to lack of exercise-our lymphatics dont have a pump like our hearts so we must move/exercise to keep it functioning) acid deposits will build up in the tissues. If tissue pH deviates too far to the acid side, cellular metabolism will stop. (ie. cells are poisoned and may die). There is also a decrease in oxygen (anaerobic environment).  Acidity and lack of oxygen are an ideal environment for fungi.   

Timothy...Depending on what source you read, there are approx 75,000-100,000 species of identified fungi.  Scientists believe there could be one million or more unidentified.  Some may look the same superficially but accurately classifying them is difficult and sometimes requires the molecular tools such as DNA sequencing. Apparently this is rather expensive so it may be a long, long time before the majority are classified with any certainty.  Different fungi can cause different disease.

Dr Young references certain known fungi, their mycotoxins and the symptoms they can cause.

Fungus: Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Fusarium   Fungi metabolize: Carbohydrate  Mycotoxic by products: Acetic Aldehyde (Acetaldehyde), Alcohol, Lactic Acid, Citric Acid.  Symptoms: Irritation, inflammation, gout, arthritis, DNA damage, immune suppression, birth defects, elevated LDL in blood and liver.

Fungi: Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces, Fusarium  Fungi Metabolize: Protein  Mycotoxic byproducts: Inosine, Uric Acid, Oxalic Acid, Alloxan  Symptoms: Stones, breast cancer, diabetes I or II.

Fungi: Crytococcus neoformans  Fungi Metabolize: Proteins, including genetic proteins. Mycotoxic byprducts: Uric Acid, Alloxan, Oxalic Acid  Symptoms: Sinusitis, pyelonephritis, prostatitis, hepatits, meningioencephalitis, lesions in the adrenal cortex, mouth, esaphagus, stomach intestines, bone, skin, female reproductive organs, and the eye (including optic atropht, scotoma and chorioretinitis) pneumonia, glaucoma, loss of sight, poor circulation and gout.

Fungi: Aspergillus niger, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Fusarium  Fungi Metabolize: Hormones (progersterone)  Mycotoxic byproducts: Symptoms: Chromosome damage, birth defects, brain disease, breast cancer.

Fungus: Aspergillus versicolor  Fungus Metabolizes: Cigarette and chewing tobacco, carbohydrate and fat such as corn, peanuts, many foods and feeds, cereals and cheeses.   Mycotoxic byproducts: Versicolorins A, B and C; Sterigmatocystin  Symptoms: Lower respiratory infection, acute bronchitis, pnuemonia, tuberculosis, obstructive pulmonary disorders, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, asthma, lung cancer, liver cancer.

Fungi: Fusarium, Aspergillus flavus, Aspergillus paraciticus  Fungi Metabolize: Carbohydrates such as barley, corn, safflower, germ meal, sorghum, popcorn, cereal flours, wheat. Other sources include bananas and dairy products.  Mycotoxic by products: Trichothecene, (T-2 toxin and Fusarenon X), Fumosium,Thiacetazone; Aflatoxin  Symptoms- (Trichothecene, Fumosium): Cerebral disfunction, including palsy. (Thiacetazone or Fumosium): Atherosclerosis, heart attack, stroke, granulomas, degeneration in blood vessle wall, vascular inflammatory lesions, hypertension, hemorrages in retina and kidney, cirrhosis of liver, portal vein thrombosis, lipid peroxidation, wrinkles, skin problems and spots.      ( Afatoxin): Liver cancer, malignant tumors, infertility, death. Inhibition of DNA replication and RNA and protein synthesis. Interference with the mitochondrial respiratory chain.    

I said all that to say this: Different fungi and their mycotoxins can cause different symptoms and disease. The baking soda treatment may indeed work in some cases because if infused to the area, it can lower the pH in those tissues creating an environment where fungi cannot survive so the tumor will dissolve, die, shrink, etc.  Dr Simoncini believes that all cancer is Candida but based on what I've read, I do differ with him on that. I believe cancer can be can be other fungi as well. His treatments allegedly work on tumors but not on cancers in the blood or bone. He is still trying to figure out how to get Sodium Bicarbonate to those areas. That's where Dr. Youngs theory comes in. You have to change the entire inner terrain to make it non conductive to these microbes.      

Crunchy, you can purchase a mold tester at Lowes for about $10. It's basically a petri dish that you put a substance in and leave out overnight. Then you cap it and see if anything grows.  If you have a growth, you can send it in to a lab (info is contained in the kit) for identification. (I think that costs about $40) I have heard of brand new homes having mold. Things like wood framing getting rained on and the contractors enclosing before it's had time to dry. Even something as simple as a toilet overflowing can get down to the sub flooring and cause mold to grow. 

I feel the same way you do when it comes to mold. Before my cancer diagnosis and subsequent research, I never gave the mold I came in contact with a second thought.  Now, I know it can be toxic. I have air purifiers in the central living area of my home as well as each bedroom, just in case! 

Barry, your post regarding the Herxheimer reaction is interesting and I can relate. After I began to learn what it was I was supposed to eat, I had my first go at the anti fungal diet.  About a week to 2 weeks into it, I became violently ill. I had flu-like symptoms and couldn't keep anything down. I actually thought I had a virus. My husband thought he was going to catch whatever it was that I had because I spent two days (with my "barf bucket") on the couch in his "man cave". lol.  Turns out, no one else in the house came down with it.  After 2 days, I was dehydrated so I ate popsicles and drank sprite (ahhh, sugar) and blew off the diet until I felt better. It didnt occur to me until later that it was probably the die off reaction.  I guess maybe the violent reaction was due to the fact that I was killing them off quickly. I have been back on (and off-I have to be stronger!) the program but have never had the same reaction. I dont know if it's been eradicated but I'm not taking any chances. I am trying to make this a lifestyle so that I dont have to worry about it again.

Other interesting facts that shows the relationship between fungus and cancer.

This comes from Skin and Cancer Hospital and Fels Research Institute, Temple University Health Sciences Center, Philadelphia PA,  and Dept of Chemistry, McGill University, Montreal Canada

I will summarize but if you want to read the entire article the web address is:

cancerres.aacrjournals.org/content/28/11/2276.full.pdf

It's a research paper entitled "Carcinogens from Fungi Pathogens for Man"

In the 1960 two epidemics occurred in two different species of animals in two different parts of the world. In England, thousands of turkeys died of acute hepatic necrosis and in the NW US, trout were found afflicted with hepatomas (a cancer that starts in the liver).  The turkey disease was quickly found to be linked with their diet. They had been fed peanut meal which upon investigation was found to be contaminated with fungi. The most frequently associated species was Aspergillus flavus. Many strains produced hepatoxins called Alfatoxin A and B which was injected into rats which then produced hepatomas. The agent causing trout hepatoma was also associated with diet. (the carcinogenic activity of the trout diet was correlated with alfatoxin content.) Thus a common denominator was found, ie, the alfatoxins of the A.flavus growing on food kept under moist conditions. Therefore the authors of this paper developed a program for testing a series of fungi pathogenic for man and of their metabolites.

Within a year, sarcomas began to develop in mice injected with extracts of Candida parapsilosis (the most active crude material extracted from 13 species belonging to 5 genera of fungi initially selected for testing). Sarcomas at the site of injection and an increase in the frequency of leukemia and of pulmonary tumors were elicited in mice injected with other species of fungus as well.  This report represents the results of the first series of tests of fungal extracts of carcinogenic activity. Further studies are in progress.

That paper was dated in 1968. I wonder how far we have come with this in the last 40 years.

The molds that produce aflatoxin may be found in many grains and legumes-peanuts and peanut butter, tree nuts such as pecans, corn, wheat, oil seeds such as cottonseed.) Btw, these toxins are considered heat stable so cooking or freezing doesnt destroy them.

The FDA allows these at low levels in our foods because they are considered "unavoidable contaminants" and they believe eating small amounts over a lifetime pose little risk. They allow: 20 parts per billion in human food, 100ppb in corn and other grains intended for feeding breeding beef cattle, breeding swine or mature poultry, 200ppb for corn and other grains intended for finishing swine of 100 lbs or more, 300ppb for corn or other grains intended for finishing (ie, feedlot) cattle and for cottonseed meal intended for beef cattle, swine or poultry.

20 ppb might seem small but we are also eating this meat coming from these animals who are fed feed with up to 300ppb!  Maybe it's not the meat itself from the animals we eat that makes us sick but the mycotoxins that are contained in this meat.  I think this makes a good argument as to why we should stay away from these grains and legumes and only eat meat that has been grass fed and grass finished.