Does eating sugar feed yeast in the gut?

Question

My understanding is that yeast (esp. candida) lives in digestive systems of most people. I was recently introduced to the concept of "candida overgrowth". My pseudoscience detector quickly alerted me about the concept (see also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Candidiasis#Society_and_culture as suggested by @GlenTheUdderboat), and it is not my area of expertise nor have I dug into the topic, but I heard that reducing sugar intake is recommended for controlling candida in the (human) digestive system (e.g., see diet section in http://www.nationalcandidacenter.com/candida-causes/ and http://www.thecandidadiet.com/why-does-candida-need-sugar/).

My question: is there scientific evidence for and/or against sugar intake correlating/causing candida growth in human/animal digestive systems?

Answer 1

Auto-brewery syndrome is a well-known but rare condition in which yeast living in the digestive tract can consume carbohydrates (sugars) producing alcohol, causing the host to become drunk even though he or she never consumed any alcohol. The yeast can overgrow in such conditions, persisting seemingly indefinitely until treated. Treatment comes in the form of antifungal medication along with a reduced sugar diet, which seems to address part of your question. From what I can tell, whether or not high sugar intake causes the yeast overgrowth in the first place seems to be an open question.