Some of you take several antibiotics each and every day while some of you avoid them like the plague. The pros of a traditional antibiotic is that you can keep your infection from achieving full-blown status, or as some experts suggest, you chase the bugs into biofilms where they can’t be killed but your symptoms go away. Organisms that go into biofilm are going into ‘submission’ for lack of a better word and they’ll do that sometimes in the presence of an antibiotic.
Traditional antibiotics can cure pneumonia, or life-threatening infections from the deadly “kissing bug,” or hair ties. Yes hair ties. Google Audree Kopp, she almost died from sepsis from from her hair tie. Point is, drugs are sometimes handy.
But I’m not convinced of their safety for long-term or less serious infection. They change who you are. When you take an antibiotic, you destroy your gut flora which has an impact on your personality. That’s why you need probiotics. Plus probiotics impact your digestion, your mood and ability to fight cancer and infection.
A disadvantage of antibiotics is that you become resistant to them quickly. What will you do when they stop working? Think this out with me, penicillin is just penicillin. It’s easy for a germ to outsmart one ingredient. With something like garlic, there are at least 35 known active constituents making it super hard for a bug to get around and become a “superbug.” Capiche?
I’m a pharmacist, trust me on this. My antibiotics from behind the pharmacy counter are pretty simple substances. They are actually stupid, they target a handful of organisms, and easily develop resistance. If you have a minute, you can read my other article, “Antibiotics are Stupid, It’s Up to You to be Smart” by clicking here.
Pathogenic organisms have been around the Earth for eons, and they are very smart. They can outsmart the drugs because unlike herbs, pharmaceuticals don’t have hundreds of biologically active constituents. Scientific research is never going to agree with me or other natural healers like the scantily dressed “medicine” man, licensed naturopaths/chiropractors or even grandmothers so don’t wait for an FDA stamp, but to me it’s almost like “Duh?!”
Today’s article is to offer some herbal alternatives in case you need to kill ‘something’ in you without killing yourself 😉
Please discuss all changes to your health regimen with your doctor, since I am not one:
Brazilian Propolis- With the help of bees, this popular tree resin packs a punch. It can be taken by mouth, or directly applied to wounds. It may help with colds, flu or sore throats. This is an all-around immunity aid, and a brand new study found that it could help with organisms found in dental biofilms (S. mutans) which contribute to cracked teeth.
Cat’s Claw- A strong antimicrobial and antiviral which is often used in Lyme, and sometimes HIV as an adjunctive remedy. Anyone could use it for a general infection. It has some anti-cancer affect, and it reduces TNF alpha (an inflammatory cytokine). Useful for Crohn’s as well.
Colloidal Silver- Everyone’s favorite, this may be useful for staph in the nose. Studies have shown that topical colloidal silver solution has effective antibiofilm activity against Staphylococcus aureus, and tons of other organisms.
Oregano- It’s a strong anti fungal and may be useful for Candida, as well as parasites. Some people dilute it with a little coconut oil and apply it to the skin (not on broken skin though), where there is signs of fungal infection. The carvacrol component of wild oregano oil has activity against MRSA and C. difficile. This maybe good at gastrointestinal infections. The taste is pungent you will likely want to dilute this, or take a commercial preparation. Carvacrol and thymol are the active ingredients, and this can also help with psoriasis, bladder infections, sinusitis, warts, food poisoning, gum disease and bad breath. If you go to pubmed.com and put in “carvacrol” or “thymol” you will see a lot of research done on the active constituent of oregano oil (and thyme which provies thymol).
Teasel Root- May inhibit growth of Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme). It can extract bacteria from muscle tissue where antibiotics have a hard time penetrating.
Iodine- There’s a reason why Betadine (povidone-iodine) is wiped on you during surgery, the iodine is a well-known antiseptic and antibacterial, anti-everything for that matter. We need natural iodine for metabolic reactions, and there are supplements made that mimic natural iodine as our body craves it. It’s antifungal, antiparasitic, antibacterial and antihelmitic.
Iodine is used frequently in immunity disorders, and event he common cold, as well as cancer. Iodine uses a natural enzyme system in our body (called “peroxidase”) to kill bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites. What happens in white blood cells (the cells that fight infection) is that iodine is accumulated into these diseased cells when they are activated during infection. Phagocytosis occurs, this is when your white blood cells attack the pathogens, like PacMan would eat up goblins. During infection iodine is mobilized from other tissues in your body, namely your thyroid, in order to assist the process of phagocytosis. So if you’re iodine deficient, your immune system is weak. The attack is pathetic. Iodine is a critical antioxidant mineral and if your blood stream levels are low, the iodine will be squeezed out of the sponge, meaning it will be immobilized from your thyroid gland (which sucks up iodine like a sponge).
Manuka honey- May be helpful on skin infections and/or gut infections. Raw organic honey is golden when it comes to infections, and research on this particular brand “Manuka” suggests it kills a wide variety of organisms among them, but that doesn’t mean other types of raw (unfiltered) organic golden aren’t good:
MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)
Vancomycin-resistant enterococci
Helicobacter Pylori (ulcers)
Suzy Cohen, has been a licensed pharmacist for over 30 years and believes the best approach to chronic illness is a combination of natural medicine and conventional. She founded her own dietary supplement company specializing in custom-formulas, some of which have patents. With a special focus on functional medicine, thyroid health and drug nutrient depletion, Suzy is the author of several related books including Thyroid Healthy, Drug Muggers, Diabetes Without Drugs, and a nationally syndicated column.
