This bacteria aids digestion, extracting vitamins from the food we eat. Without it we would die. Candida also exists in the colon. The amount of Candida in a healthy person is quite small. The amount of bacteria is normally quite large.
Candida has no known benefits, but in small amounts it is harmless.
When a person takes antibiotics, they kill not only the harmful bacteria in the body, but also the friendly bacteria in the colon. Antibiotics do not affect Candida, which is both a yeast and a fungus. This allows the Candida to grow wild in the colon. While small amounts of Candida are harmless, larger amounts are not. The growth of Candida in the colon can be encouraged by the consumption of sugar, alcohol and by food allergies .