# Why is Yeast considered bad for the colon. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 12, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288 "2017-04-12T03:40:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/1 "2017-04-12T03:40:54Z")
Yeast produces alcohol as a byproduct of fermentation. It also competes with bacteria over nutrients, so doesn’t that mean that yeast should actually help keep the bacteria population lower in the colon, and help reduce more harmful germs? Also yeast doesn’t produce the strong sour, methane and sulferous odors that bacteria produce, it’s simply making small amounts of alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/2 "2017-04-12T11:34:09Z")
You mean live yeast swallowed? I don’t know but I wonder whether it would survive the stomach acids. But back in the day that I was making my own cider I must have been swallowing a fair bit of live yeast and never noticed any problem. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 11:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/3 "2017-04-12T11:49:22Z")
Who considers yeast bad for the colon? It’d have a hard time getting there anyway, through the stomach acids. That said, though, reducing the bacteria population in the colon is a _bad_ thing. We need those bacteria, and suffer from severe gastric distress without them. Colon bacteria are only a problem if they manage to get somewhere other than the colon. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/4 "2017-04-12T14:32:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Who considers yeast bad for the colon? It’d have a hard time getting there anyway, through the stomach acids. I did a search and it turns out that Dr. Oz considers yeast bad. Dr. Oz is a quack. Do not believe anything he writes. Ever. Other quacks also believe this. Dr. Lawrence Wilson attributes yeast growth to “An extremely yin condition of the body.” and “Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and EMF stress.” The amount of woo on the subject is depressing. > [@](#): > > That said, though, reducing the bacteria population in the colon is a _bad_ thing. We need those bacteria, and suffer from severe gastric distress without them. Colon bacteria are only a problem if they manage to get somewhere other than the colon. It’s not that big a deal. You can wipe out your colonic flora just by taking antibiotics, and everybody winds up taking antibiotics every once in a while. That’s why eating yogurt is suggested as a means of repopulating the colon with “good” bacteria. Even if you don’t, the flora will soon repopulate in any case. It’s impossible for it not to. But “bad” bacteria come in a huge variety of forms and many are bad only for some individuals. Some bacteria ferment undigested lactose and those contribute the gas and bloating that are major uncomfortable symptoms of lactose intolerance. Those come in through the mouth and cause gastric distress, contrary to what you said. The OP should stick to major trustworthy names to get medical information from. I’d suggest WebMD, the [Mayo Clinic](http://www.mayoclinic.org/), and [Harvard Health](http://www.health.harvard.edu/). Avoid sites with only one doctor’s name. They may not be all bad but beginners aren’t going to be able to tell the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/5 "2017-04-12T14:38:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Avoid sites with only one doctor’s name. They may not be all bad but beginners aren’t going to be able to tell the difference. \ That’s a GOOD rule! \ ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/6 "2017-04-12T15:11:21Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Who considers yeast bad for the colon? Yup, that’s always the right response to an opening question like this one. “Why are green hats considered dangerous to owls?” Impossible to say unless we have the source claim to examine, and for that, we usually need to be introduced to the claimant. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/7 "2017-04-12T15:22:51Z")
I once made a batch of beer that was apparently still pretty “active” with yeast and I can tell you that the group of friends that drank it enjoyed some spectacular gaseous side-effects. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/8 "2017-04-12T15:25:58Z")
Oh, yeah. Drink enough home brew and you’ll see (or smell/hear) the effects of live yeast in the colon very clearly. One friend managed to clear a windy intersection in downtown Las Vegas with a particularly…intense emission. It’s mainly due to the yeast fermenting sugars that the intestine can’t, or hasn’t gotten to yet. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/9 "2017-04-12T15:37:21Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > “Why are green hats considered dangerous to owls?” Do you have a cite for that? Compared to people, owls have more rods and fewer cones, so they lose color vision but see a lot better at night. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/10 "2017-04-12T16:03:03Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Who considers yeast bad for the colon? [Millions of wooists can’t be wrong](http://www.yeastinfectionadvisor.com/yeastcoloncleansing.html). The linked site (which urges a “yeast colon cleanse”) includes lots of classic woo nonsense - the idea that yeast overgrowth is commonplace and causes a litany of ills, the claim that undigested food causes a horrible sludge in our colons necessitating a “cleanse”, germ theory denial, the myth that Pasteur “recanted” on his deathbed, and on and on. Yeast i.e. Candida is part of our normal intestinal flora and typically causes no problems (though alterations in that flora/immune status can potentially cause/exacerbate disease in a relatively small minority of people). Candida is much more likely to cause [fake diseases](https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/candida-and-fake-illnesses/) than real ones. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/11 "2017-04-12T17:24:28Z")
Is there \*any \*form of “internal cleansing” that isn’t woo or surgery prep? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/12 "2017-04-12T17:28:05Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Is there \*any \*form of “internal cleansing” that isn’t woo or surgery prep? Nope. Same with “toxins.” ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/13 "2017-04-12T17:41:44Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > Nope. Same with “toxins.” Yeah, the two are usually paired. I find the parallels with early-20th colectomies intriguing - since people with a whole long list of issues obviously had fecal matter rotting in their colon and causing the problems, removal of the colon was the solution! (30,-50,000 are thought to have been performed through the 1940s.) ---
**Author:** ![BeeGee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b5a626/32.png) [@BeeGee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BeeGee)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/14 "2017-04-12T17:48:11Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Is there \*any \*form of “internal cleansing” that isn’t woo or surgery prep? Yes. The breakfast taco I had Friday morning. I suspect the bacon was out too long at an improper temperature. I assure you that my internal was cleansed clear down to my toenails for about four days. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/15 "2017-04-12T17:59:33Z")
> [@BeeGee](#): > > Yes. The breakfast taco I had Friday morning. I suspect the bacon was out too long at an improper temperature. I assure you that my internal was cleansed clear down to my toenails for about four days. Run! Run! Time to get that colonoscopy! ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2017, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/16 "2017-04-12T22:43:33Z")
Thrush is a yeast infection, and can cause real problems, wooists (I hate Illinois wooists) notwithstanding. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2017, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/17 "2017-04-13T03:08:02Z")
> [@outlierrn](#): > > Thrush is a yeast infection, and can cause real problems, wooists (I hate Illinois wooists) notwithstanding. Usually only with people who have immune problems, though, right? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2017, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/18 "2017-04-13T03:43:43Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > Usually only with people who have immune problems, though, right? Yeast infections in places where it’s not common to have them are indeed a sign of this. ---
**Author:** ![brossa](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brossa/32/3040_2.png) [@brossa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brossa)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2017, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/19 "2017-04-13T04:26:51Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Is there \*any \*form of “internal cleansing” that isn’t woo or surgery prep? Do you want to include [disimpaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_impaction#Treatment) in your definition of ‘internal cleansing’? ---
**Author:** ![Contemplation](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Contemplation](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contemplation)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2017, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/20 "2017-04-13T04:49:53Z")
One thing I was trying to get across is that when it comes to microbes yeast is probably the lesser of many other evils, so to speak. \*\* If you somehow had zero yeast in your colon, then some other organism (something that is more harmful and produces more potent toxins) will take the yeast’s place.\*\* Most yeast that live in humans aren’t very toxic. This is my understanding of the issue, but I probably over-simplified it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288.md?page=2)