What Is An All Natural Antibiotic
So what does the term “all-natural antibiotic” really mean? Well, it’s used to describe plants, herbs, supplements, or other natural substances that display very strong antimicrobial properties and functional and integrative medicine experts often recommend them for infections like mild UTI’s , travelers diarrhea, candida infection in the gut, or to use right at the first sign of a cough, sore throat, or cold.
It’s important to know that these natural antibiotics have limitations and aren’t always the right solution. As with any infection, it’s highly important to talk to your physician and never self-diagnose and treat yourself. Sometimes, you can actually make your symptoms worse or end up in the emergency room, causing more harm than good.
Antibiotics And Gut Health
Antibiotics are types of medications used to fight bacterial infections and kill bad bacteria in the gut, bloodstream, and elsewhere in the body.
Like most medications, antibiotics come with side effects. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, these side effects may include nausea, diarrhea, yeast infections, and skin rashes. Side effects and adverse reactions can happen because of the way these powerful drugs affect gut health.
Specific Carbohydrate Diet For Ibs
The Specific Carbohydrate Diet was originally designed as a treatment for celiac disease but was then expanded to treat a variety of other disorders. Although not necessarily intended as a treatment for IBS, its focus on gut bacteria lends itself to the question as to whether the diet might be an option for people who have IBS. This overview of the diet can help you to make an informed decision as to whether it presents a viable option for you.
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How To Balance Your Gut Microbiome
Now Ill tell you about another secret weapon I recommend everyone consider when dealing with an unbalanced microbiome. Microb-Clear® is a cutting-edge blend of botanical extracts, minerals, and fatty acids that create a favorable environment for beneficial bacteria that could have been killed with antibiotics. It also creates an inhospitable environment for microorganisms that have become dysbiotic or imbalanced.
Most bacteria do not live alone, they live in communities. These communities, called biofilms, adhere to surfaces and tend to be multiple species of organisms, commonly bacteria and fungi. Inside the biofilm community, bacteria share nutrients, and even DNA, while undergoing changes to evade your immune system. As a whole, the biofilm can sustain itself with less oxygen and fewer nutrients than individual bacteria great for the bad guys, not great for us! The biofilm is more resistant to antibiotics, forming a physical barrier that even cloaks the bad bacteria from being detected by immune cells.
With biofilms cleared out and an optimal balance of microorganisms in the gut, you are supporting your immune system. I mentioned earlier that 80% of your immune system is headquartered in your gut, and 90% of your neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, are also produced there! By supporting optimal microbiome and gut health with Microb-Clear®, you are setting the stage for optimal health!
Garlic Antibiotic Immunostimulant Antioxidant
Used for millennia, garlic facilitates the elimination of bacteria and viruses without affecting the intestinal flora.
Containing sulfuric components such as allicin and rich in antioxidants, it strengthens the immune system durably.
It is certainly the best natural antibiotic even if it is not to everyones taste.
However, you can benefit from its exceptional virtues by opting for a supplement of odorless garlic like this .
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Great For: Digestive Health Respiratory Health Immune Function Skin Health
Nigella sativa is a medicinal plant commonly known as black cumin with a long history in traditional systems of medicine such as Ayurveda. Historically, black cumin has been used in conditions involving the respiratory system, digestive tract, kidney and liver function, and immune system.
Much of its therapeutic properties are due to the presence of thymoquinone, a plant compound that has been the focus of many studies. Researchers have also shown antibacterial activity of N. sativa against H. pylori in the digestive system . For a digestive disorder thats notoriously difficult to eradicate, black seed may provide a useful solution.
When battling imbalanced gut flora, an integrative approach can help you get a handle on your gut healthContact your CentreSpringMD provider to learn how.
Black cumin seed is commonly found in an oil, but due to its pungent flavor, many people prefer a softgel form. Black seed oil can also be used topically to support the health and integrity of the skin.
More recently, one study using a combination of honey and Nigella sativa extract, demonstrated increased viral clearance, a decrease in symptom duration, and decrease in overall mortality during the current pandemic .
How To Treat Sibo Naturally
If youve got SIBO, and you dont want to take antibiotics, weve got some good news: herbal antimicrobials can work just as well.
While the majority of the research on tackling SIBO does involve conventional antibiotics, there is also a lot of evidence to support the effectiveness of various herbs. Read on to find out if resolving SIBO the natural way is the right option for you.
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Where To Get It
You can buy fermented food in most grocery stores now. When I dont have time to make it myself, I will usually buy kombucha, kimchi, or sauerkraut at the store.
If you cant get ahold of or dont have time to make fermented foods, the next best option is taking a high quality probiotic supplement.
Probiotics arent as ideal because they dont provide a broad spectrum of healthy bacteria like fermented foods do. Because thats what your gut needs.
To get the best of both worlds, I eat fermented foods AND take a probiotic as a form of insurance.
But not all probiotics out there are beneficial. And to be honest, most of them out there are crap. In the past, I spent a lot of time sifting through the different brands. One of the best probiotic brands I could find is called Primal Defense, by Garden of Life. It can be found here:
- Reduce inflammation
- Increases stomach acid to calm digestion after a meal
These properties are the reason why raw ginger is always served with raw foods like sushi. It helps prevent foodborne illness.
Like garlic, ginger should be raw if you want to get the antibiotic effects from it.
But its not known if ginger is as effective compared to the other natural antibiotics I mentioned because it hasnt been well studied.
In other words, we know ginger is an effective antibiotic, we just dont know how effective it is against a broad spectrum of pathogens.
Antiseptic And Healing Manuka Honey
For millennia, honey has been used as an ointment to prevent infection and speed healing.
It is now used by the contemporary medical world to treat chronic wounds, burns, ulcers, bedsores, and skin grafts.
Manuka honey has the ability to destroy over 250 different bacteria, including those resistant to classic antibiotics.
When used topically, it helps wound healing, prevents infections, and even destroys bacteria as dangerous as staphylococcus aureus.
Choose a Manuka honey UMF label of controlled origin and use it pure, without any adjuvant.
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Probiotics To Treat Bacterial Infections
At first this may seem slightly counterintuitive. How can bacteria help to reduce bacterial overgrowths when the problem here too much bacteria?
Probiotics, and the beneficial bacteria that reside in your digestive tract have a number of different methods of helping to rebalance the gut and treat bacterial infections so lets get into it.
When working with a gut savvy clinician we can start to get more targeted with the selections of probiotic strains. Lets not forget that different probiotic strains have different actions! .
What Causes Urinary Tract Infections
The Escherichia coli bacteria causes most UTIs .
But heres a surprise:
E. coli is normally found in your intestinal tract.
Sometimes E. coli is accidentally transferred to the bladder through lapses in optimal hygiene.
When normal E. coli gets into your urinary tract and multiplies, you experience the usual signs and symptoms of a UTI.
But if its in your urine, why doesnt the body just flush it out when you urinate?
Because the cell walls of each E. coli are covered with tiny fingerlike projections called fimbria3 allowing them to stick to the inner walls of your bladder and even work their way upward to your urethra and kidneys.
Thats why:
The ultimate way to clear a bladder infection is to PREVENT the little buggers from sticking to your bladder walls.
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Phase : Reduce Sibo Symptoms Using Diet
If you have raging SIBO symptoms and/or have just received a positive SIBO diagnosis, the very first thing you want to do is get your symptoms under control. The fastest way to do this is through diet. And while diet is a great short-term symptom management tool, its important to keep in mind that diet alone will not heal a bacterial overgrowth in the small intestine. Starving the bacteria of their fuel source helps, but if you continue with such a restricted diet for a long period of time, you also risk starving the beneficial gut bacteria in your large intestine that play a vital role in your health and that help keep SIBO at bay .
Dog Gut Health: The 4 Ways To Restore It Naturally
Your dog has a unique collection of hundreds of different types of bacteria and other microbes in its gastrointestinal tract , referred to collectively as the gut microbiome. A healthy microbiome is crucial for your dogs overall health, from nutrient absorption to mental health. When bacteria become out of balance, disorders such as inflammatory bowel disease , digestive issues, immune system reactions, diabetes, and even depression can result.
Modern society is seeing a rise in microbiome-associated disorders in our dogs and ourselves. This is due to modern pet food diets, medications , and lifestyle choices . Luckily, it is possible to restore and maintain a healthy gut microbiome for your pup without using medications with adverse side effects. In fact, its as simple as Test, Add, Remove, and Rebalance.
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What Herbs Kill Sibo
The list of herbs you could use to tackle SIBO is almost endless.
Thousands of herbs have antimicrobial properties. Each one contains different levels of a range of active constituents: the chemicals that kill microbes.
Most of the herbs used for SIBO are high in one of these three active constituents:
- Berberine
- Peppermint oil
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11. Tea Tree Oil
Tea tree oil is one of the top antibacterial essential oils. I donât recommend taking this one internally, but it can be used safely externally on cuts and scrapes, acne, skin irritations, bacterial and fungal infections and respiratory tract infections.
12. Myrrh
Myrrh has been used since time immemorial for indigestion, ulcers, colds, coughs, asthma, lung congestion, arthritis pain, cancer, syphillis and more.
13. Turmeric
Turmeric is effective for treating inflammation in the body, which is at the root cause of almost every disease known to man. It is also an effective antibacterial.
14. Grapefruit Seed Extract
Grapefruit seed extract is a powerful natural antibiotic, which helps get rid of yeast and fungus. It can also help rid the body of mold and parasites, too.
15. Pau DâArco
Pau DâArco contains powerful active compounds that have the ability to kill bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. This bark also contains anti-inflammatory properties, which helps to lower infection rate in the body.
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Natural Antibiotics To Avoid
I created this list in a specific order. The first 1-3 natural antibiotics are the best, whereas the remedies lower in the list have the least amount of evidence supporting their effectiveness for fighting infections.
That being said, there are a lot of other natural antibiotics out there that should be downright avoided, despite their popularity.
Some of them simply arent effective, whereas others cause significantly more harm than theyre worth.
So heres the list of natural antibiotics you should AVOID:
How Antibiotics Impact Gut Health
Doctors figured out how to get rid of bad gut bacteria by creating antibiotics. Unfortunately, antibiotics also tend to kill some of the good bacteria in your gut. This throws off gut health and may allow unhealthy bacteria like C. difficile to grow out of control. C. difficile infections can cause severe diarrhea, gut tissue damage, or even death in extreme cases.
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Shelf Life And Storage
The natural antibiotic can be stored in several small or one large screw-top or preserving jar for up to 2 months in the refrigerator. It is even better to put the elixir in a dark bottle like the empty bottle from the apple cider vinegar, so that it is also protected from light.
The jars should be clean and sterile, so that no unwanted bacteria and microorganisms settle. You should also pay attention to hygiene during the production process.
Do Natural Substances With Antibiotic Properties Really Work
Antibiotics work by inhibiting bacterial growth or killing them. Although antibiotics seem more like a modern day invention, substances with antibiotic properties have been used to treat diseases for centuries. Extracts from some of the plants, essential oils and even some types of foods act as natural antibiotics for infection, an example being certain spices added in tropical cuisines to inhibit the growth of bacteria in the food. Many of these natural substances can be used to treat ailments. Cranberry juice and extract, for example, has anti-bacterial properties which make them a home remedy for urinary tract infections. Herbal extracts have long been used to treat diseases. An evaluation of 58 Chinese traditional medicinal plants showed that 15 of them had anti-fungal properties and 23 had antibacterial properties and 8 of them showed properties of both. One study even found a herbal treatment was just as effective as modern antibiotics in treating an intestinal bacterial infection.
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Diet Is The Primary Way To Manage Your Dogs Gut Health
Good nutrition is one of the cornerstones for overall health, and can help prevent common illnesses, boost the immune system, and positively influence the gut microbiome. There are hundreds of different kinds of gut bacteria in your dogs microbiome, and each kind requires certain nutrients to survive. Therefore, the food your dog eats will influence which bacteria thrive in the gut.
For example, many kibble diets are too high in carbohydrates, which doesnt promote the growth of all beneficial bacteria. In a study where dogs were fed a high-protein, low-fat dog food, the microbiome balance of overweight dogs shifted to a balance associated with healthy weight. Use this calculator to find the hidden amount of carbohydrates and make sure your dogs food has more than 50% protein on a dry matter basis.
If the nutrition in your dogs diet is balanced, yet he or she still has symptoms of digestive health issues, it is possible that a food intolerance or allergy is to blame. Food sensitivities are quite common, and can be resolved with changing your dogs food. It is important to talk to your veterinarian before changing your dogs diet, as some have been linked with certain health issues. Lastly, its important to remember, grain-free and gluten-free diets can still contain high levels of carbohydrates.
Is There Really Such A Thing As An All
Natural antibiotics are a term we hear a lot in integrative and functional medicine community, but it’s difficult to understand exactly what they really are. Are they a replacement for your Z-Pack? Something you can use in conjunction with other conventional treatments? For which types of conditions do they work best? Understandable, there are a lot of questions to be answered.
As integrative and functional medicine gain popularity, and as we learn more about the downside of traditional antibioticslike overprescription and the rise of antibiotic resistancepatients are asking more and more about natural antibiotic therapy, so let’s dive in.
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Best Probiotics For Recurrent Utis
Using a special strand of probiotics was proven to restore the urogenital flora of healthy premenopausal women.
The Lactobacilli probiotic dominates most healthy womens urogenital flora, and many clinical studies show that its the most effective probiotic you can take to prevent recurring UTIs.
However:
Some strains are better than others. Here are the findings:
Lactobacillus rhamnosus GR-1 and L. reuteri RC-14 seemed to be the most effective among the studied lactobacilli for the prevention of UTIs. L. casei shirota and L. crispatus CTV-05 have also shown efficacy in some studies
Where Can You Find This Exact Probiotic?
I recommend the Jarrow Formulas Fem-Dophilus, which supports vaginal and Urinary Tract health you can purchase it from iHerb.
It contains the right strain of probiotics proven to prevent UTIs $29 at iHerb
What about you? what has worked best for you? Share your experience in the comments below.
To your health and happiness,
Meital
What Would Constitute An Overgrowth
Thats a great question and it helps us circle back to looking the gut as an ecosystem. Below is an image of the more common phyla of bacteria. While Proteobacteria makes up over 35% of the bacteria found in the soil it only makes up approximately 4.5% of the bacteria within our digestive tract .
Within that estimated 4.5% of Proteobacteria in the healthy adult human gut the Enterobacteriaceae family may make up just 1% .
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