Video / Sharecare Experts / Elizabeth Boham, MD / What Are the Main Causes of Yeast Overgrowth in the Body?

What Are the Main Causes of Yeast Overgrowth in the Body?

What Are the Main Causes of Yeast Overgrowth in the Body? (0:34)

Two of the main causes of yeast overgrowth in the body are the overuse of antibiotics and a poor diet. Watch as functional medicine expert Elizabeth Boham, MD, explains how chronic use of antibiotics and sugary foods contribute to yeast overgrowth.

Read Transcript

Two of the main causes of yeast overgrowth in the body are, one, overuse of antibiotics, and two, a poor diet. So, for many of my patients they've been on lots of antibiotics for chronic urinary tract infections or acne. Those chronic antibiotics will kill off all the good bacteria, or much of the good bacteria, and allow yeast to overgrow.

A poor diet, a diet that's high in sugary foods, has added sugar in it, alcohol, soda, these foods feed the bad yeast and allow yeast to overgrow in the body.