Most of the time we can take supplements (such as Total Balance and Immu-Stay for example) to help prevent the infection in the first place, as well as concentrating on a healthy diet, fluid and exercise regime. However, when infections do occur and they are of a more serious or potentially serious nature, a short course of antibiotics may need to be endured.
We know however that antibiotics kill both good and bad bacteria. Continued use of antibiotics could kill off enough good bacteria to cause alternative disease.
When we have killed off all our good bacteria we have to work to repopulate them as quickly as possible to avoid disease. This is known as the recovery period following antibiotic use.
Even worse than this though is the fact that antibiotics don’t always kill ALL bad bacteria. What ever wasn’t killed then becomes immune to antibiotics and can develop into a great environment for an overpopulation of bad resistant bacteria (aka 'superbugs').
The good news is that many natural alternative medicines exist that are proven more effective than traditional antibiotics. However it’s important to know how to pick the quality alternative medicines that actually work.
Some of the more common ones include...
Echinacea, which is a safe natural antibiotic alternative that is best absorbed in the form of an herbal tincture. It shouldn’t be taken longer than 10 days or so as your body can then become immune to it. Two dropper fulls are usually taken orally and swished around in the mouth for about 15 seconds.
It’s best to consult with an herbalist to make sure you are getting a high quality echinacea product as many echinacea tinctures are out on the market and some may not be such high quality. A good echinacea tincture should numb and tingle your mouth.
Raw garlic, peeled and exposed to oxygen for about 5 minutes before taking internally, is a potent way to unleash its healing properties. Bacteria and viruses find it hard to build a resistance to this potent natural element! It might take longer than a day to work like traditional antibiotics, but it doesn’t leave any traces of superbugs around and can be a good preventative especially.
Goldenseal is a more powerful herbal 'antibiotic' that originated in Native American Indian medicine. Goldenseal is a potent treatment for more severe needs, but note that goldenseal used regularly can deplete good bacteria too, so it should be used sparingly and in strict dosage preferably under supervision.
Colloidal Silver isn't a herb. It is a liquid suspension of microscopic particles of silver. It has been shown to disable the enzymes that one-celled bacteria, viruses and fungi need for their oxygen metabolism. Internally, Colloidal Silver can also kill good bacteria, so again should be used only as directed and only for a few days at any one time.
During or following any type of infection, always make sure you take a good prebiotic supplement too. And certainly if you do have to take a course of antibiotics, a prebiotic supplement would be an essential part of your regime. Prebiotics help the body to form natural probiotics, to replace any lost good bacteria, and help to return (or maintain) a good natural cellular balance in the body.
In the very near future we will be bringing out our Digesten-K formula, which has this as one of its 3 main purposes. Please keep an eye out for this on our website. This is much more practical and reliable than probiotic supplement.
The good news is that it is also proven to inhibit the growth of pathogens or bad bacteria. Our info on Digesten-K will explain this in more detail. The launch date is definitely sometime in the second half of June.
Finally, Indian herbal remedies such as Fenugreek, and even some curry leaves, can kill off superbug bacteria it is thought.
In a study done by the University of Rohtak in India, extracts from eight tested plants destroyed antibiotic-resistant bacteria in patients’ mouths, according to the Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials. Several plants were of equivalent success as antibiotics able to combat bacteria including E.coli. (Dr Jaya Yadav – www.mirror.co.uk).
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