Oil of Oregano, an Alternative to Antibiotics and a Powerful Health Tonic
Yep, that’s right, you can use Oregano as an alternative to antibiotics. While I wouldn’t recommend it if you have a serious infection, generally antibiotics are something to avoid if possible.
Antibiotics help kill infections, but they also destroy our gut microbiome. It’s like using an atom bomb to deal with an ant pile. For some perspective on what that means, our gut biomes are supposed to contain 30,000 different species of bacteria.
In the west, we have 10,000 different species in our guts at the high end. The reason we are so low is due to over-use of antibiotics and lack of good probiotic food in our diets.
Thankfully, nature has provided us with many powerful substances which can be used instead. Oil of oregano is one such example.
Why It Works
Over 200 studies of oil of oregano can be found on PubMed showing its benefits, but we can take a look at the make-up of oil of oregano to learn why.
Oil of oregano is made up of high amounts of phenols, particularly carvocral and thymal: Carvocral and thymal both provide powerful antiseptic and antioxidant effects, meaning it kills bad pathogens and also lowers inflammation. Oil of oregano is made of a massive 60% Carvocral and 5% thymal.
The other 35% is made up of antiseptic terpines; pinene and terinene, as well as two long chain alcohols: linalool and bonreal. Put together, all of these compounds combine to form a powerful antiviral, antibiotic, and anti inflammatory blend.
How to Use It
So, now we know why oil of oregano is so powerful, how do we actually use it?
Oil of oregano is medicinal, meaning it should be used to treat viral or bacterial infections, but should not be used as a dietary supplement. What I mean by this is that you shouldn’t just use oil of oregano if you feel fine. It is a powerful substance, and it can be overused.
That said, for antimicrobial effects, take 500mg of oil of oregano, 4 times daily. I’d suggest taking a break every 4 days and also being careful if you are a woman who is experiencing her cycle, as for some people oil of oregano can have anemic effects.
If you feel you are getting a throat infection such as strep, use the same dosages, but gargle the oil of oregano/water for as long as you can for up to 10 minutes. When you can no longer gargle comfortably, swallow the mixture and don’t eat or drink anything for 10 minutes. The idea is to coat your throat with the antiviral oil of oregano without interference.
Many plant compounds can be used medicinally, and in many parts of the world, they still are. In the west, use of plants as medicine became much less popular with the creation and promotion of the pharmaceutical industry. Business tycoons such as Rockafeller pushed hard to make pharmaceuticals the mainstay of treating health.
Drugs have no doubt helped with health and medicine, but they are also often over-prescribed. When it’s possible to use plants for medicine instead, it can be much less harsh on our bodies while yielding the same results.
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