NONFICTION - Feb. 8, 1987

BACK TO HEALTH, A COMPREHENSIVE MEDICAL AND NUTRITIONAL YEAST CONTROL PROGRAM by Dennis W. Remington MD and Barbara W. Higa RD (Vitality House International: $9.95, paperback; 252 pp.)

YEAST-FREE LIVING by Annette Annechild and Laura Johnson (Perigree Books: $8.95; 155 pp., paperback).

Experts in the medical and nutritional fields have found themselves slowly and quietly invaded in the past few years by yeast researchers. Yeast? What’s wrong with yeast, or Candida, as strains of the growth in the body are called? Since it’s found in abundance in every human body the answer, ordinarily, is--nothing. It’s a benign co-habitant--a normally harmless commensal (organisms that “dine together”).

But, beginning about three years ago with Dr. William G. Crook’s “The Yeast Connection” (also currently available in paperback from Vintage Books: $7.95), a more sinister side of Candida’s infestation of the human body has become common currency.

When seriously out-of-balance, yeast is believed to have a dangerously adverse effect on the body’s immune system and its endocrine system. The consequences? For openers, try allergies, gastrointestinal problems, respiratory problems, cardiovascular disorders, genitourinary disorders, emotional breakdowns, and on and on and on.

While the medical community, as a whole, still views the yeast connection with some skepticism, more practitioners are beginning to waver. Both of the books under review here approach the yeast problem soberly--sans hysteria, and with no suggestion that licking the yeast problem is a cure-all. Both make a good case for exploring the subject in those instances of recurring health problems where conventional treatment has bombed out. “Back to Health” explores numerous case studies where Candida was the villain and includes a variety of low-yeast diets. “Yeast-Free Living,” except for a relatively brief, introductory, discussion of the Candida situation is exclusively a recipe book.