Natural Antibiotic Alternative

Al Sears, MD, CNS – When we had strep throat as kids, my brothers, sister, and I were given a spoonful of penicillin then sent to bed. We stayed home from school for a couple days until we felt better.

Today this simple sore throat can be deadly… Here’s why.

Decades of misuse and overuse of antibiotics have caused us to lose our power to fight infections.

In fact, drug-resistant infections of all kinds are expected to kill 10 million people by 2050.¹

But, the problem is even worse than we thought. For decades, doctors have been fighting antibiotic-resistant infections by increasing the dosage of drugs they prescribe.

This worked for a little while… But ultimately, these mega doses created bacteria with “higher overall fitness,” according to a recent study from the University of Manchester’s School of Biological Sciences.

In other words, they’re reproducing at record speeds – which could result in even more resistant bacteria.

If nothing changes, diseases and deaths from minor occurrences like cuts, diarrhea, and urinary tract infections could soon become the norm.

The germ that caused my strep throat infection is called Streptococcus. The CDC reports that from 2013 to 2019 – just six years – infections from this bug have quadrupled!²

It’s time to step back and re-examine the natural cures our ancestors used for thousands of years.

Concerned these natural cures won’t protect you from an infection? A recent study found herbal antibiotic remedies are just as effective in treating bacterial overgrowth as chemical antibiotics.³

One of the herbs I’ve been researching is CBD. So, I was relieved to see that a study published just this week revealed CBD can effectively kill antibiotic-resistant superbugs – specifically gram-negative bacteria.

These bacteria are one of the most significant public health problems in the world. Gram-negative bacteria are responsible for food poisoning, pneumonia, urinary tract infections, meningitis, sepsis, gonorrhea, and gastroenteritis. This type of bacteria has existed for centuries. Even the bubonic plague in the 14th century was caused by gram-negative bacteria, resulting in an epidemic that wiped out 50% of Europe’s population.

The CBD study, published in the journal Communications Biology, is being hailed as a medical breakthrough around the world. This research could lead to the first new antibiotic treatment in more than 60 years.

Gram-negative bacteria have a tough extra outer membrane that acts as an additional line of defense. And this makes it harder for traditional antibiotic drugs to penetrate it.

But the cannabidiol in CBD kills bacteria by breaking through this outer cell membrane.

The study comes on the heels of research published in 2020. In this Danish study, scientists found combining CBD with traditional antibiotics makes antibiotic medications much more effective at destroying gram-positive bacteria, like staph and strep.

When researchers treated the bacteria with this combination, three things happened:

• The bacteria could no longer divide normally.
• There was less cell division.
• The bacterial membrane became unstable.

This one-two combination punch means that less of the antibiotic drug is needed to achieve the same effect. This will lead to fewer drug-resistant bacteria in the long run.

Use Nature’s Answer To Wipe Out Superbugs

Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics revealed moldy bread was used to heal infected wounds. And a 1,000-year-old recipe using garlic and wine still works today to cure staphylococcus infections or sties in the eyes.

Here are two supplements I recommend to my patients…

1. 1. Curcumin: A recent study found that curcumin’s antibiotic action killed 100% of MRSA within two hours. E. coli was wiped out by 80%.⁴ And a South Korean study found that curcumin not only killed bacteria on the skin, but also created a barrier that prevented further infection from entering a wound.⁵It also acts against the inflammation caused by the infection. Curcumin reduces inflammation by blocking two inflammatory enzymes (COX-2 and LOX).⁶

      When looking for a supplement, make sure you choose one with at least 90% of curcuminoids. Also, look for one that contains piperine, a black pepper extract that boosts absorption. I suggest taking between 500 mg to 1,000 mg a day.

1. Echinacea: Before the introduction of Big Pharma’s antibiotics, echinacea was the preferred treatment for infections.
   It contains a complex mix of active substances with antimicrobial, antibiotic, and immune system boosting properties. 

   A study published in the Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology revealed echinacea can kill many different kinds of bacteria, including Streptococcus pyogenes — the bacteria behind strep throat, toxic shock syndrome, and the flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis.⁷

   I recommend 500 mg twice a day. I prefer liquid echinacea extract, which can have a powerful antiviral effect on the mucous membranes of the back of the throat.

To Your Good Health,

Al Sears, MD, CNS

References:

1. Solly M. Drug-Resistant Infections Could Kill 10 Million People Annually by 2050. Smithsonian Magazine.
2. More People in the United States Dying from Antibiotic-Resistant Infections than Previously Estimated. Centers for Disease Control. Published 2019.
3. Chedid V, et al. “Herbal therapy is equivalent to rifaximin for the treatment of small intestinal bacterial overgrowth.” Glob Adv Health Med. 2014 May; 3(3): 16-24.
4. Poonam T, et al. “Bactericidal activity of Curcumin is sssociated with damaging of bacterial membrane.” PLoS One. 2015;10(3): e0121313.
5. Mun SH, et al. “Synergistic antibacterial effect of curcumin against methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus.” Phytomedicine. 2013 Jun 15;20(8-9):714-8
6. Rao CV. “Regulation of COX and LOX by curcumin.” Adv Exp Med Biol. 2007;595:213-26.
7. Hudson JB. “Applications of the phytomedicine Echinacea purpurea (Purple Coneflower) in infectious diseases.” J Biomed Biotechnol. 2012;2012:769896.

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