Naturopathic Medicine Antibiotic Considerations

Naturopathic medicine is capable of allowing the body to embrace its own healing properties through the application of such remedies as acupuncture, clinical nutrition, nutraceutical supplementation and botanical medicine. More people are turning to the benefits of these remedies to avoid conventional medicines synthetic approach to disease especially when it comes to the overuse of antibiotics. Working under the strict guidance of a naturopathic doctor could offer a more synergistic healing protocol.

CDC Lays it Out
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced its top global health concerns for 2014. This list is a theory of possible scenarios that may be encountered according to a spectrum of compiled statistics. New microbes being spread and antibiotic resistant pathogens are two predictions on the list that implementing a preventive protocol with naturopathic medicine may help you avoid. One example may be using clinical nutrition as a way to keep your immune system always ‘at the ready’. By incorporating high immune boosting and/or antioxidant rich foods into your diet such as organic berries, oily fish, garlic, and citrus fruits your body may throw up a better force field from illness than most other folks. Another example would be applying botanical medicine remedies in place of antibiotic treatment such as the ones described below.

Naturopathic Antibiotics
Sir Alexander Fleming, Scottish biologist, pharmacologist, botanist and co-discoverer of penicillin had the foresight to mention the risks of penicillin at the end of his Nobel lecture. “There is the danger”, he said, “that the ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to non-lethal quantities of the drug make them resistant.”

Antibiotics are currently in the throes of being turned on their head as the resistant pathogens documented by the CDC continue. Researchers are scrambling for new, more powerful formulas while factory farming forego such warnings and proceed dumping antibiotics into animal feed which, in turn, is ingested by humans inevitably resulting in weakening the strain. Therefore, using a naturopathic doctor’s recommendation according to your specific health history and current presentations there are a variety of approaches one may use to prevent using harsh antibiotics that veritably strip the gut of healthy bacteria. Below are several antibiotic alternatives  naturopathic medicine can offer when used with the counsel of a naturopathic doctor:

• Oregano Oil – This extract from the oregano plant is short of miraculous. It contains high levels of antimicrobials capable of fighting off some of the most ferocious pathogens known to man. According to results from an Italian study published in the Journal of Medical Microbiology it was found that oregano’s active ingredients, carvacrol and thymol, work by disrupting the cell membrane. This is similar to knocking out its surrounding “forcefield” and once this is accomplished compounds such as calcium can enter the cell and kill the bacteria.
• Colloidal Silver – Dating as far back as being used by Hippocrates in 400 B.C., colloidal silver is another powerful antimicrobial. When applied to wounds or rashes as well as ingested this remedy has shown highly beneficial results in eradicating not only pathogens but also antibiotic-resistant super pathogens as well. In fact, in a paper by researchers at Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at Harvard University it was found that when colloidal silver was added to a conventional dose of antibiotics it made that antibiotic strain up to 1,000 times more effective.
•  Garlic – If anything has earthly super powers it is this incredible herb. Most potent when taken raw, garlic has an antimicrobial spectrum that includes antifungal, antiparasitic, antiprotozoan, and antiviral properties.
• Sage – Hippocrates said, “Cur moriatur homo cui Salvia crescit in horto?” (“Why should a man die while Sage grows in his garden?”). This herb is capable of healing ailments on so many fronts including afflictions of the stomach, lungs, throat, teeth, gums, liver, urine, head, blood and joints. Sage was one of the ingredients in the Four Thieves Vinegar which was a combination of herbs used to avoid contracting the Plague.
• Myrrh – Another centuries old healing remedy, myrrh works as an antiseptic, antibiotic and antiviral which can be taken internally as well as externally. It has been especially useful in treating bacterial oral infections, mouth sores, bronchitis, and sore throats.
• Oregon Grape Root – The extract from this root contains high amounts of berberine, an ammonium salt that naturally attacks and kills bacteria. It is linked to treating disorders associated with the stomach, urinary tract, and skin (acne, herpes psoriasis, eczema). Oregon grape root can be taken as a tincture, capsule, infusion or would wash.

Work with your naturopathic doctor to heal your body from within using these and many other remedies just as effective or, in some cases more so than antibiotics. Allowing for a more natural healing approach can create a system that is stronger and more capable of staving off future bacterial and viral infections. At Integrative Med Solutions, we will design an acupuncture and naturopathic treatment program that works for you. In many cases, insurance covers portions of the acupuncture treatment. Allow us to support you to achieve optimal health.  To make an appointment or find out more about how acupuncture and naturopathic medicine can benefit you, please call our office at 914.337.2980 or CLICK HERE to schedule an online appointment.

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