How Do Natural Antibiotics/Antifungals Work?

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How Do Natural Antibiotics/Antifungals Work?
« on: January 08, 2007, 10:17:19 AM » by ~CKMom~

Can someone explain to me how natural "antibiotics" work? Garlic, GSE, TTO, and so many others are all explained to be antibacterial, antimicrobial, and/or antifungal; how exactly do they kill the "bad stuff" while leaving the good stuff? I understand that immune boosters help our body fight for itself, but how do these others work? Antibiotics have different ways of killing bacteria: preventing them from reproducing, breaking down the cell wall so the bacterial "guts" leak out and die, etc. How do these natural ones work, while being selective at the same time? And why do germs not develop resistance to these natural killers?

While we're at it, how do you know how long to take these? With regular antibiotics, you often take them for 7-10 days to be sure and destroy all bacterial; this is often long after you start feeling better and symptoms are gone. Does everyone take the garlic/others for this long; if not, how do we know the bacteria won't come back with a vengeance?

Sorry for the long post! Obviously, I understand a little of traditional medicine; I know that natural remedies work, but I would like to be able to (intelligently) explain why this is often (not always) a sound and viable choice of treatment. (To put it differently, I would like to be able to intelligently explain to my husband why I would like him to smell like an Italian restaurant when he is sick, and why this is a good thing!) Cheesy

« Last Edit: January 08, 2007, 10:45:03 AM by healthybratt »
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Re: How Do Natural Antibiotics/Antifungals Work?
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2007, 10:42:13 AM » by healthybratt

Many bacteria (but not all) require oxygen free environments to thrive. I believe that the sulphur compounds in garlic help to oxygenate the blood and provide an environment in which these organisms cannot thrive.

Since garlic is a food and not a "medicine" it can be ingested indefinately and is probably the healthiest compound on Earth to fight illness.

Some other natural antibiotics and antifungals work in the same way that garlic does, but I'm not sure how GSE works exactly. I've done some research on it and I haven't found much. I know that there is some controversy that says that GSE kills indiscrimanately and should be accompanied by a good probiotic.

Tummy Tuneup in some cases eat the bad guys but in many other cases just wipe them out by competing for resources (food). If you introduce enough of these organisms into the environment they provide population control merely by being the largest populating organism much in the same way a lawn full of good healthy grass produces less weeds than one without it. Tummy Tuneup can also be taken indefinately as they are not a "medicine" either. With the addition of lacto fermented foods into the diet, probiotics in pill form become less of a necessity, but can be very helpful at eliminating bacteria which cause tummy illness and food poisoning such as e-coli, salmonella, staph, strep, etc.

« Last Edit: January 08, 2007, 10:49:49 AM by healthybratt »
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My favorite herb book!!

Re: How Do Natural Antibiotics/Antifungals Work?
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2007, 11:08:21 AM » by ~CKMom~

Thank you, HB! I was looking for something like that. So, in light of that, do you just take garlic until you feel better, until you feel completely well, a certain amount of days after you're better, or what? How do you know how long to continue treatment? ( I realize there probably isn't a set length of treatment, so I'll take guidelines. This is hard for me, because I'm just used to exact numbers. It took me years before I allowed myself to deviate from recipes - I'm a rule follower! Grin

)

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Re: How Do Natural Antibiotics/Antifungals Work?
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2007, 12:51:55 PM » by healthybratt

Quote from: CKMom on January 08, 2007, 11:08:21 AM

)

Since any bacteria or fungi that are affected by garlic are this way do to their interanl makeup (allergic to oxygen), I don't think it matters. I don't believe, I've ever read anything that would make me think that bacteria or fungi could grow resistant to garlic in the way they do to mainstream antibiotics...

so what this means is do whatever gives you the best results. I personally take garlic raw whenever I feel symptoms coming on and continue until my symptoms are gone and if the symptoms reappear, I just start taking it again. I also use garlic in my cooking alot, but the raw I generally save for when my kids or I am sick.

Also, keep in mind that garlic is a food not a medicine and basically has no toxicity level that I'm aware of. I've never heard of anyone overdosing on lettuce, apples or onions either. I wouldn't eat too many cloves at once only because they can be a bit difficult to digest unless you chew them very very well, which I don't. I cut mine up into pill size and swallow them. It's the only way I can get them down, but this does lead to a bit of gas which goes up and down Wink

I haven't tried this, but I would suppose that eating Tummy Tuneup along with your garlic might help to lessen the gas and aid digestion.

« Last Edit: January 08, 2007, 12:55:16 PM by healthybratt »
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My favorite herb book!!

Re: How Do Natural Antibiotics/Antifungals Work?
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2007, 01:41:51 PM » by ~CKMom~

People are laughing at me about my new love of garlic, but I think a couple of friends are actually listening to me. I want to be accurate about the info I give out - the little bit I know, that is! Cheesy

HB, you're a wealth of info on this, and other things I've read from you! (I mean this sincerely! Sarcasm is something I have to work on controlling, but this isn't one of those times!) I appreciate the time you take to look things up and give simple (but apparently) accurate information. Have a great day, you and everyone else!

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