# 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:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**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 13, 2017, 12:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/21 "2017-04-13T12:08:40Z")
> [@brossa](#): > > Do you want to include [disimpaction](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fecal_impaction#Treatment) in your definition of ‘internal cleansing’? No. That involves, um, manually clearing a blockage - not “toxin cleansing”. ---
**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 13, 2017, 12:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/22 "2017-04-13T12:39:17Z")
> [@](#): > > 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. Probably not. E. coli (so long as it’s restricted to the colon) is even less harmful than yeast (it doesn’t produce alcohol), and it’s the dominant species in there. ---
**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 13, 2017, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/23 "2017-04-13T15:23:50Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Probably not. E. coli (so long as it’s restricted to the colon) is even less harmful than yeast (it doesn’t produce alcohol), and it’s the dominant species in there. That’s not what studies have found. [Diversity of the Human Intestinal Microbial Flora](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1395357/) > [@](#): > > - > > The low abundance of \*Proteobacteria _sequences (including Escherichia coli_) was not surprising, given that facultative species may represent ∼0.1% of the bacteria in the strict anaerobic environment of the colon; this is consistent with previous findings. The dominant species was _Methanobrevibacter smithii_, an archaeon, outnumbering all the bacteria phenotypes. However, the notion that the absence of yeast means that something toxic would take its place is sheer nonsense. It’s like saying that the absence of bunnies in a forest would give an opening for rattlesnakes. The notion is wooier than something from Dr. Oz, which is quite an accomplishment. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2017, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/24 "2017-04-13T15:53:40Z")
There’s a woo theory that intestinal yeast is a cause of autism. Parents of autistic kids beg doctors for a prescription anti-fungal, the name of which escapes me now, and when it discolors their kids’ poop, they think it’s working, and that’s evidence of all the “dead yeast” coming out. You have to read the testimonials to believe them. I think I saw an owl in a green hat once. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/25 "2017-04-13T16:31:50Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > I think I saw an owl in a green hat once. [Give a hoot! Don’t litter!](http://llerrah.com/images4/woodsyowltop.jpg) 😉 And don’t worry about normal fungal colonic residents. ---
**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 14, 2017, 3:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288/26 "2017-04-14T15:58:24Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > And don’t worry about normal fungal colonic residents. Ha, you’re just another of those medical doctors who tell us to ignore Candida because they want to make money from Pharma drugs. Read all about it in [this groundbreaking article](http://www.candidacrusher.com/why-most-medical-doctors-ignore-candida-diagnosis.html) by a naturopath who instead wants to make money by selling us supplements to fix a nonexistent problem.\* \*he’s also antivaccine and anti-water fluoridation, which is an unsurprising woo trifecta. \*\*I’m a little confused about the Big Pharma shill thing, since MDs object to prescribing antifungal drugs to treat “yeast overload”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-yeast-considered-bad-for-the-colon/784288.md?page=1)