Infection Fighters part 1

ECHINACEA

Many gardeners love to grow the purple coneflower but are unaware of its medicinal benefits. German researchers put this beautiful plant and its magenta-coloured leaves on the herbal therapy map. Through their exhaustive research, we’ve come to learn, as the Plains Indians first understood and as over three hundred studies have confirmed, that echinacea reinforces our natural defences in a number of ways.

By targeting viral and bacterial invaders, echinacea can prevent and treat upper respiratory infections and vaginal yeast infections. It also speeds recovery time from an infection without causing any of the side effects typical of pharmaceutical antibiotics, especially the overgrowth of intestinal yeast responsible for a great deal of chronic illness.
The liquid extract, echinacea tea and freshly pressed juice art fine preparations, but freeze-dried echinacea powder achieves the best results. As a cold and flu preventive, take two or three capsules containing 760-1,040 mg every day. To treat an infeetion, I suggest somewhat more, usually six to eight of these capsules a day.

GOLDENSEAL

Before modern science developed antibiotics, Native American Indians had their own exceptionally good therapy. Goldenseal (Hydrastis canadensis) gave them an excellent source of berberine, a substance that blocks bacterial growths, the Candida albicans yeast and even some parasites. The herb seems to work best against urinary, respiratory and sinus infections, as well as others that settle in the body’s mucus membranes. It also works well against forms of infectious diarrhoea. In addition to elevating white blood cell numbers, a sign of a healthier immune system, goldenseal assists in lowering blood sugar and blood pressure. It also helps to control disturbances in heart rhythm.

Because of several notable adverse reactions, don’t use goldenseal or any other berberine-containing plant for any length of time. They overstimulate the nervous system, cause intestinal problems and can even induce abortion. As a short-term treatment I prefer the tincture, standardized to contain 5 per cent hydrastine, another of the active chemicals. A good dosage range is 750-1,500 mg per day, in capsules you will find in any health food store. Combined with echinacea, it’s a great cold and flu remedy.

OLIVE LEAF

One of the hottest new infection fighters isn’t new at all – doctors used olive leaf as long ago as 1927 to knock out malaria.
Calcium enolate, the leaf’s most active ingredient, is an extraordinarily effective killer of viruses and bacteria. It also keeps latent viruses from emerging.

The leaf offers at least some relief, if not complete recovery, from the entire rogues’ gallery of microbial ailments – pneumonia, gonorrhoea, tuberculosis, influenza, viral encephalitis, viral meningitis, hepatitis B, shingles, herpes and Epstein-Barr. It’s also a worthwhile treatment for urinary infections, surgical infections and any sort of bacterial infection. But olive leaf also destroys yeast infections at the same time.

Olive leaf grabbed my attention because of its ability to produce a side effect. It is, however, a beneficial side effect that mirrors its value. While the extract is entirely nontoxic, taking too much too soon can make you sicker before you get better. This temporary side effect apparently stems from the so-called die-off reaction, which is normally a concern only when antimicrobial agents are extremely effective. Killing larger microorganisms, such as yeast, on a massive scale inundates the body with toxins from the dying organisms, and the liver can’t dispense with them fast enough. Symptoms vary, depending upon the infection, but at first you may feel worse, particularly with respect to fatigue. Once the reaction passes, shortly after you scale down the dose, your ailment usually disappears, too. And that’s what impresses me about olive leaf. After all, antibiotics do not kill both bacteria and yeast.

I’ve been able to minimize the risk of die-off by keeping the initial doses of olive leaf small, usually a single 500 mg capsule a day. Over the course of the week I increase the amount until my patient is taking 2,000 mg per day, which is usually all that is necessary. Once the infectious illness begins to abate, I taper down the dose to one or two capsules a day. There are several manufacturers, but most seem to provide 500 mg capsules.

OIL OF OREGANO

The oils extracted from spices, such as thyme, cloves, rosemary and oregano, are often good fungus and virus fighters. Oregano oil is probably the champ. Ever since my introduction to it, when a single dose quickly relieved a bad wintertime cold I had
contracted, I’ve used oregano for many patients. Now I’ve come to depend upon it to treat almost any infection, including yeast overgrowth, for which it is one of the very best treatments.

Two antioxidants in oregano, thymol and carvacrol, probably account for its antimicrobial ability. Whole oregano leaves contain enough of the two compounds to stave off certain food- borne fungi and prevent fresh meat from spoiling. To change the course of an infection, however, you’ll need to take an extract, in a dosage of 2-4 drops. It also works topically. For relief from a toothache, put 1-2 drops on a cotton wool ball and rub it inside your mouth. An oil of oregano liniment, made by mixing one part of the extract with three parts of oil, soothes sprains and rheumatic limbs very nicely.

However, there’s another rub, and one that’s not so nice: the aroma. Oil of oregano is so strong that a single drop imbues a room with the smell of an oregano factory. If you don’t notice the scent, you don’t have true oil of oregano. The acrid essence, which lingers for a day or two, needn’t go to waste. A few whiffs will help clear a sinus infection.

My only precaution against oil of oregano is directed to expectant mothers. Don’t use this or any other herbal oil during your pregnancy. Oils can be potent, and we simply don’t know enough about their safety or their effect on the unborn baby.