James’ answer –
Candida Albicans is a normal and natural inhabitant of the gut flora present and living inside the human mouth and gastrointestinal tract which occupies bacteria, fungi and archaea.
Candida Albicans is a diploid fungus, a form of yeast. Often considered commensal, research suggests that the relationship between gut flora and humans is not merely commensal, a non-harmful coexistence, but rather is a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship.
Normally, Candida Albicans also functions as a Saprophyte, a microbe that lives by eating old or considered dead cells, primarily from the blood, and the shedding of epithelial cells from the colonic lumen every three to six days.
Some Candida species have the potential to cause disease. Clinically, the most significant member of the Candida genus is Candida Albicans, which can cause fungal infections called Candidiasis.
Candidiasis encompasses infections that range from superficial, such as oral thrush and vaginitis to systemic which affects a number of organs and tissues, or affects the body as a whole; and is potentially life-threatening.
