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We read in another article about the harm of pharmaceutical, or un- natural antibiotics. The overuse and misuse of these drugs have given rise to "supergerms" that are resistant to even the most powerful drugs.
This comes from taking antibiotics for the wrong reasons, such as for colds and the flu that are linked to viruses, not bacteria. It also arises from not completing a prescribed course of antibiotics, taking too much antibiotics and other reasons.
Yet certain foods and other substances that has antibiotic properties continue to be effective against these drug-resistant supergerms.
They rarely cause harmful side effects like allergic reactions. In some cases, allergic reactions do occur, but these are much rarer than similar reactions caused by antibiotic drugs. And, natural antibiotics do not wipe out the trillions of friendly bacteria that play a crucial role in immunity. More likely, they also play a secondary role in stimulating the body's natural immune response.
Garlic
Garlic is by far the best known among natural antibiotics. It has long been proven to destory harmful viruses, bacterial, fungi and parasites. The active compound in garlic is allicin, which is similar to penicillin - the first antibiotic.
(Here, it is worth noting that the early antibiotics, like penicillin which was discovered in 1928, were also natural medicines. Penicillin was derived from the penicillium fungi and even though it is known to cause allergic reactions, it is relatively safe. Newer antibiotics are mainly synthetically produced. They tend to be more powerful and so they also tend to cause more powerful side effects.)
One of the good things about garlic is that is works against a broad spectrum of harmful bacteria. It is the natural equivalent of a "broad spectrum antibiotic". But while modern broad spectrum antibiotics tend to be very powerful (and costly) drugs that cause serious side effects, garlic is a gentle (and cheap) food that does its job without producing harmful side effects.
To maximise the natural antibiotic benefits of garlic, it is best to eat it raw. How? In China and Malaysia, but for some reason not in Singapore, many Chinese restaurants serve finely cut raw garlic as a condiment, in much the same way as they would serve raw chilli, with soy sauce. And you would dip your meats and other foods in it. Chinese spring rolls and a Hokkien dialect noodle dish called lor mee also have raw garlic added. The Chinese also eat raw garlic pickled in soy sauce.
You can also suck raw garlic cloves - as you would suck a lozenge - by placing them either inside the cheeks or under the tongue. The taste is mild, unlike the strong pungent effect of biting or chewing raw garlic. In fact, the taste is so mild that I get tempted to bite it - and that is when some of the pungence emerges!
So these are some ideas on how to eat raw garlic. But if you dislike the taste, just swallow some down with hot water or hot soup. Alternatively, garlic oil capsules - sold in health stores - also impart many of the benefits of garlic, including its properties as natural antibiotics. You can also buy aged garlic supplements and these are said to be particularly effective, more so than regular garlic capsules.
Cooked garlic also retains some of the properties of raw garlic, including their properties as natural antibiotics. So use garlic regularly in your cooking, especially when you are down with infectious diseases like the flu.
Echinacea
Echinacea is a American Indian herb popularly used as in America and Europe to treat sore throats, coughs and other flu-like symptoms. I do not have personal experience with it, but thought I mention it here because practically every website that discusses natural antibiotics mention it.
Echinecea is said to work like garlic, fighting bacteria, fungi and viruses and also stimulating immune function. It is sold in health stores as a liquid medicine, tablet or capsule, as well as a herbal tea. Because of its popularity, several scientific studies have been done on echinecea, but the results have been inconclusive. Some studies show that it reduces the severity of colds and flus, while others show that it produces little impact.
Proponents of echinecea do acknowledge that it is no "magic herb". It is said to be most effective when taken in the early stages of colds and flus and when taken regularly, every few hours, over several days. They further advise that enchinecea should not be taken for more than 10 days.
Propolis
Propolis is a mixture of natural resins that bees collect from flower buds, plant sap and other plant sources. They use it not only to seal small gaps in the bee hive, but also to prevent decomposition within the hive. For example, if a small animal like a lizard enters the hive and dies there, the bees would seal it with propolis - making it like a mummy - and rendering it harmless and odorless.
Modern research reveals that propolis has the properties of natural antibiotics, anti-virals and anti-fungi. It also enhances immune function and imparts other health benefits. However, because the composition of propolis depends on where the bees come from and where they collect the resins, the quality of propolis varies.
Propolis tablets and lozenges are sold at health stores. I used to take them whenever I had the flu, sore throat or other infections and I found them generally effective.
However, I later grew out of the habit, partly because the health store where I used to buy propolis from has closed, and partly because I discovered other natural antibiotics that, for some reason, I relate better to. One of these is...
Umeboshi
Of all natural antibiotics, this pickled sour plum has been my favourite since I learnt about it nearly 20 years ago, through macrobiotics. For one thing, it appears to me more as a real, natural food as opposed to, say, propolis which comes in the form of a tablet or lozenge.
The other reason is that, besides fighting infectious diseases as natural antibiotics, anti-virals, anti-parasites, etc, umeboshi has lots more medical properties and it is claimed to help over a hundred different illnesses.
This may seem far-fetched, but one of its chief properties is that it has strong alkalinising properties. It makes the body environment more alkaline. And since most disease condtions arise from the body becoming over-acidic, umeboshi is able to counter these conditions. It is not so far-fetched after all.
You can learn lots more about umeboshi by clicking here.
Olive leaf extracts
In recent years, olive leaf and olive leaf extracts (OLE) have become popular health supplements. They are said to be powerful antioxidants, with one 2005 study by Dr L Stevenson of Southern Cross University, Australia, reporting it to be twice as powerful an antioxidant as green tea and four times more powerful than Vitamin C.
And yes, olive leaf extracts are also claimed to enhance immune function and act as natural antibiotics - and also
as anti-virals and anti-parasites.
Colloidal silver
Yet another product widely marketed (usually by multi-level marketing companies) as an alternative to antibiotics is Colloidal Silver. This is NOT something that I would recommend, but I feel it is useful to discuss it here because it is quite widely touted.
There are a few reasons why I do not recommend colloidal silver as one of the natural antibiotics:
Do you still want to take this stuff? Well, some people in the "natural health movement" do, which goes to show how misguided they can get - especially when they are blinded by the lure of potentially obscene wealth from Multi-Level Marketing scams!
There are lots more herbs and spices that have the properties of natural antibiotics - onion, ginger, chilli, cinnamon, cumin, lemon, etc. Generally, most plant products with a pungent smell - even if it is just slightly pungent - will have some ability to destroy bacteria and other harmful microorganisms.
On their own, they may not be effective enough to cure you of a cold, flu or other infectious disease. But when used regularly as part of your daily diet, they are certainly helpful.
Hydrogen peroxide
If you don't mind something that is perhaps not totally natural - in the sense that it is not normally consumed as food – then hydrogen peroxide is a good option. It is effective, inexpensive and, if used properly, perfectly safe.
Used properly means, for example, putting a drop or two of pharmaceutical grade 3 percent hydrogen peroxide inside the ear canal. Let it bubble for about two minutes, then tilt your head to drain it off. With its natural antibiotics and anti-viral properties, this can help prevent a flu from becoming full-blown if it is administered in the early stages.
When you already have a flu, it helps to regularly sip highly diluted hydrogen peroxide - a few drops of already diluted 3 percent hydrogen peroxide, added to a big jug of water. Take one or two sips regularly throughout the day.
You can read more about hydrogen peroxide therapy here.
Killing bacteria in the atmosphere
Besides killing bacteria inside your body, there may be times when you want to destroy them in the air - for example, to disinfect your home when someone at home is ill with an infectious disease.
This is where essential oils come in handy as very powerful natural antibiotics. While bacteria and viruses have evolved into "superbugs" that are resistant to powerful drugs, none are known to have become resistant to essential oils. That's how potent and useful essential oils are.
Essential oils usually refer to pure, aromatic oils extracted from herbs and spices. But they also include the oils of other plant products, such as lemon oil, or tea tree oil - which is one of the most powerful known disinfectants. Helpful essential oils for destroying bacteria and viruses include the oils of lemon, oregano, thyme, pine, cinnamon, cloves, peppermint, lavender, rosemary and tea tree.
Most essential oils are too potent for direct human consumption. It is okay - and beneficial - to eat the herbs and spices from which these oils are extracted, but not ok to consume the oils directly.
So one way to use these essential oils as natural antibiotics is to spray into the atmosphere. This, alone, is often good enough to destroy the bacteria and viruses present within one or two minutes. Another way is to add a few drops into a dehumidifier, atomiser or aromatherapy burner, and let it run for a few hours.
And if you are wearing a flu mask, it would also be helpful to add a few drops of essential oils to your mask, so that you breathe in clean, disinfected air. Alternatively, add a few drops to your hankerchief and breathe through it every now and then.
As you can see, there are lots of natural antibiotics to choose from. And many of these are actually more effective than the synthetic, unnatural and harmful antibiotics being peddled by the pharmaceutical industries.
For the sake of being politically correct as well as to avoid getting into trouble for giving "improper medical advice", websites that discuss natural antibiotics usually mention that medical treatment with pharmaceutical antibiotics may be necessary in certain situations, especially where a life is at stake.
This could well be true. But thankfully, by taking care of my health, I have not got myself into such a situation for the past 25 years. Ever since I discovered natural health in 1985, I am proud to say that I have not consulted a medical doctor, nor taken a single pharmaceutical drug or antibiotic, during all these years.
It is not that I have never been sick. On the contrary, because of my poor health background and because I do not always take adequate care of myself, I do fall ill every now and then, perhaps even more often than average. But my personal experience is that natural antibiotics and other natural medicines / treatments are more than good enough to keep me alive - and healthy.