Pathogens: 4 natural ways to fight pathogens

It's a rare immune system that can't use a bit of help.

Let's face it; few of us are perfect. I don't know about you, but I find it difficult to get as much sleep as I should. And although I'm pretty good at managing stress, life has a way of throwing stressful surprises at us almost on a daily basis. And then there are the exercise and diet issues. Again, few of us are perfect.

So wouldn't it be nice to provide your immune system with a security force that would quickly respond to any breech of the perimeter, so to speak, freeing up your immune functions to do their work at top capacity?

Let me introduce you to a first class security force: four Pathogen Destroyers that are ideally suited to give your immune system a strong helping hand.

Flu fighters
First: What's a pathogen? The word comes from the Greek and literally means 'birth of pain' - a good way to describe a disease-causing microorganism that may arrive in the form of bacterium, virus, fungus or parasite.

Four excellent Pathogen Destroyers were featured in a recent issue of Baseline of Health, a weekly e-letter published by US HSI Panellist Jon Barron. When I asked Jon about the Pathogen Destroyers (we'll call them PDs to keep it simple), he told me he always keeps several bottles on hand so he'll be prepared to fight off infection.

Jon added: 'If you catch a cold or flu at the first sign and hit it hard, you can stop it. Like most illnesses, if you wait until it's fully established, it's harder to get rid of it. And one other note, after you get rid of it, keep hammering for another 2-3 days to make sure it's really gone and not still lurking around.'

PD #1: Oil of wild mountain oregano
The most exotic sounding of the four PDs is oil of wild mountain oregano (OWMO), which is produced from oregano that grows in remote mountain regions north of the Mediterranean Sea. The ancient Greeks put wild oregano to medicinal use long before scientists discovered the herb to be extremely rich in minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, zinc, manganese and others) and vitamins C and A.

Jon notes that OWMO is 'antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic. It also has strong antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The key components, the isomeric phenols, in dilutions as low as 1 to 50,000, destroy a wide range of pathogens. Another phenol constituent, thymol, actually helps boosts the immune system.'

PD #2: Olive leaf extract
'Olive leaf extract (OLE) has a long history of being used against illnesses in which microorganisms play a major role,' writes Jon.

OLE is a member of a group of antioxidant plant compounds called flavonoids. In one laboratory test an OLE effectively eliminated a wide range of organisms, 'including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and yeast/mold/fungus.'

In a previous e-alert, US HSI Panellist Dr Allan Spreen wrote this about OLE: 'I'd add some acidophilus culture (also called probiotics) to the mix, during and for a few days after the use of OLE. The situation here is that OLE is such a good antibacterial that it can also kill the 'good guy' bacteria that we need in our gastrointestinal tracts. A capsule or so of acidophilus before meals should be adequate insurance for keeping these beneficial organisms established.'

PD #3: Grapefruit seed extract
Grapefruit seed extract (GSE) is a natural antibiotic, which Jon describes as a 'broad spectrum anti-pathogen.' And he offers this impressive benefit list: 'Internally grapefruit seed extract can help with gastrointestinal disorders, diarrhoea, food poisoning, parasites (single and multi-celled), candida yeast infections, thrush, oral infections, colds and flu, sore throats, strep throat, and sinusitis.'

GSE can also be used to treat various skin conditions (nail fungus, cold sores, warts, athletes foot, infections, rashes, acne, etc.), and is sometimes used by campers to add to water of questionable quality.

Jon adds one word of warning: 'Grapefruit seed extract MAY increase the effect of a number of medications.'

PD #4: Garlic
The most familiar item on the PD list is garlic, which Jon calls his favourite because it's the 'kindest' to the beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract.

Jon writes: 'The olive leaf extract, oil of oregano, and grapefruit seed extract can all destroy your beneficial bacteria if taken in sufficient quantity. Garlic is kinder to probiotics. In addition, garlic is one of the best infection fighters available for both bacterial and viral infections.'

Other garlic benefits:

* Stimulates the activity of macrophages (which engulf foreign organisms)
* Helps clear mucous from the lungs, making garlic particularly effective in treating upper respiratory viral infections
* Effective against strep and staph bacteria

All of the pathogen-fighters above are available from good health food shops or from the Internet.