Herbal Antibiotics

What Everybody Ought to Know About These

Powerful Herbal Remedies: Little-Known Ways
Beginners Can Use Herbalism and Herbal Medicine
for Healing

Written By

Autumn Hubert
 © Copyright 2019 - Autumn Hubert

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 Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: WHAT EVERYBODY SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ANTIBIOTICS
CHAPTER 2: THE TRUTH ABOUT HERBAL ANTIBIOTICS AND HERBAL MEDICINE
CHAPTER 3: THE MOST COMMON HERBAL ANTIBIOTICS THAT WORK LIKE MAGIC
CHAPTER 4: ELSE WANTS TO STRENGTHEN THEIR IMMUNE SYSTEM?
CHAPTER 5: LITTLE-KNOWN WAYS HERBAL MEDICINE CAN HELP COMMON
AILMENTS
CHAPTER 6: HOW TO MAKE SURE YOU USE HERBAL MEDICINE THE RIGHT WAY
CHAPTER 7: BUILD AN HERBAL MEDICINE COLLECTION YOU CAN BE PROUD OF
CONCLUSION
REFERENCES
 Introduction

Herbal medicine is the basis of conventional medicine. Though there is no

way of legitimately proving it since it’s been centuries, there is an
overwhelming amount of certainty among experts and laypersons that
humans have used plants for medicinal purposes for as long as we have
been around. Our history in the treatment of illnesses, infections and
injuries is rooted thousands of years ago, a time when we had no choice but
to find solutions in what nature provided. As humans were once hunters and
gatherers due to circumstances and surroundings, it’s a good guess that they
used that same methodology for healing purposes. We know that animals
had and still have this instinct, finding their way toward plants with
medicinal properties when they need to. In fact, it’s likely that humans
learned this behavior from animals. After all, we are animals ourselves.
There are vast benefits of herbal medicine, some of which include the fact
that it is easily accessible and often more affordable. Herbal medicine—
known as herbalism—refers to the use of medicinal plants and botany. It is
a massive and ancient part of our history, going as far back as prehistoric
times until the nineteenth century, when it was discovered that different
types of germs cause different types of diseases ranging from simple viral
illnesses to septic infections. Prior to this discovery, we used plants to heal
what we could. It’s around this point in time that the era of antibiotics came
around when, a few decades later, penicillin was discovered in Great Britain
and mass-produced in America for World War II, making a life-saving
medicine accessible worldwide. This, a medication derived from a type of
mold called penicillium, marked one of the greatest advances in therapeutic
medicine.
However, the knowledge that certain bacteria and fungi can kill or inhibit
the growth of certain germs is centuries-old. For example, Ancient
Egyptians were known to have applied poultices made of moldy bread to
any infected wounds. They may not have known why this worked or the
scientific reasons behind it that we do, but they were well ahead of their
time in more than one way. Antibiotics were originally all-natural, rather
than the liquids and pills in the mainstream now, and they include many
common ingredients that almost anyone would be able to recognize.
Before the discovery of penicillin, there was no effective method of treating
other diseases such as pneumonia. Until this, hospitals were a place for
people who contracted blood poisoning and the like from simple scratches
and cuts. There was no way of guaranteeing the treatment of these things
since there was no such thing as antibiotics. Therefore, all people could do
was to wait and hope that the body’s immune system would fight off
whatever was ailing it. Naturally, this meant that antibiotics were hailed,
and research was done to make more of them, each one designed to treat
specific things.
With numerous antibiotics and chemical solutions guaranteed to cure,
herbal antibiotics and medicine fell into disuse. One of the problems with
this is that our bodies, our immune systems, and certain infections have and
are becoming resistant to manmade treatments due to bacteria’s ability to
adapt and defend against attacks such as antibiotics. Practically everyone
has taken antibiotics at one point or another. They are commonly prescribed
and sometimes overprescribed, which can lead to a great deal of concerns.
Some concerns include increasing the bacteria’s ability to resist antibiotics,
side effects such as allergies and gastrointestinal distress, and gut
imbalance. All of these can negatively impact health.
This could be cause for panic if one is unfamiliar with herbalism, assuming
that antibiotics and modern chemical medicines are better than what nature
provides. On the contrary, herbal remedies are a perfectly effective
alternative to standard remedies. In fact, they’ve become more popular
lately with the rise in infections that are resistant to man-made products.
Many treatments have not been properly tested, but studies are being
conducted in developing new medications with natural ingredients. This is
because of the rise in drug-resistant bacteria. It’s because of this that our
knowledge of herbal treatments has increased.
If you are looking to incorporate more herbal remedies into your life, this
book is a solid foundation to start with. We will be covering the basics of
herbalism, as well as taking a more thorough look at its manmade
counterparts to uncover the truth about both forms of medication. They both
have a time and a place, so it’s best to make sure that you are fully informed
about all their benefits to gain the most from either. Read on to find out
more.
Please note that you should always consult your doctor before using any
herbal remedies, especially if you are or have been treated with prescription
medication. Just as conventional medication can cause side-effects, so too
can herbal alternatives. More than this, it’s possible that they could have
harmful interactions with other medications and/or supplements that you
take.
Some of what we will be covering in this book includes:
● The difference between manmade and herbal antibiotics.
● The purpose of either in terms of treating ailments, infections, and
diseases.
● The truth about conventional antibiotics, their effects, and their
types and forms.
● The importance of the body’s immune system, how to strengthen
it, and why you should.
● Examples of herbal medicines and their effects on the body, as
well as how to get the most out of them.
● Any and all side effects about herbal medication that you should
be aware of to maintain safety.
● A guide to building your herbal medicine collection to gain the
most out of these natural alternatives.
● A list of recommended readings that will help you further your
knowledge on the topic of herbalism, introduce you to growing
your own herbs, and teach you how to use your newfound
knowledge to make your own herbal remedies.
 Chapter 1:

What Everybody Should Know About Antibiotics

In this chapter, we are going to be discussing antibiotics in general. Many

individuals will start to look toward chemical antibiotics as a form of
treatment, but what ends up happening is they don’t understand them on a
chemical level initially.
The human body is an incredibly complex living organism that we still have
yet to discover so much about. What we do understand is that when there is
an infection, we can fight it off with different compounds. Let’s take a
further look at what antibiotics are on a simple level. This is the information
that everyone should know about antibiotics–not just those interested in
herbal remedies.

What is the Purpose of Antibiotics?

The purpose of antibiotics is simple; they help your body fight off
infections. These are powerful drugs often used to effectively treat ailments
caused by bacteria, also known as germs. Viruses are not included in this
list of ailments as antibiotics are ineffective against them. The reason is
because unlike most bacteria, viruses are simple rather than complex like
other infections. They have different ways of surviving and multiplying.
Instead of attacking the body itself, it uses the body’s own cells to attack.
Antibiotics work to target the attacker and in the case of viral infections,
they would be attacking the body itself, meaning they have no specific
target and therefore cannot do what they were designed to do. The body’s
own immune system has to fight the viral infection off. This is why it’s
recommended that people take the appropriate vitamins and supplements to
boost their immune system when suffering from viruses such as the
common cold, most of which can be found naturally in fruits and
vegetables, nuts, legumes and beans, as well as lean meats. These are
commonly known and grouped as superfoods.
As of late, a few types of antibiotics have been rendered ineffective against
the bacteria they were once able to rid us of. This is due to the overuse of
such medication. When antibiotics were first introduced, it wasn’t common
knowledge that bacteria could learn and adapt. If it was, we might have
been more careful with how frequently we prescribed this miracle drug. As
it is, we have to learn from the consequences of our actions and that means
health practitioners are being more careful with when and why they
prescribe antibiotics now.
Generally, tests are performed by a health practitioner before you are put on
a course of antibiotics. These tests determine whether you actually need
antibiotics and if you do, which one will work best for what ails you.
Sometimes, the body is capable of fighting off what attacks its immune
system without the assistance of antibiotics. In such a case, although
antibiotics might alleviate symptoms and/or cure the ailment, it would be
better to allow the body to recover on its own. This is because antibiotics—
like all other drugs—can have potential side-effects. As mentioned before,
the body can become resistant to antibiotics, the more we use them. That
means that when we truly need them in what could be a potential life or
death situation, they may not actually work anymore.
An antibiotic functions by preventing bacteria from completing certain
processes by preventing it from multiplying as can happen in various ways,
or by killing it. In doing so, they allow the body’s natural defenses to fight
back. There are different types of antibiotics used to fight different types of
bacteria.

All You Need to Know About the Usage of

Antibiotics
There is a lot to unpack around antibiotics. Whether it’s their ability to
resist certain medicines, or the side effects we have, it’s essential to
understand all that goes into these treatments. The more you know, the
easier it will be to determine what does or does not work for you.

Antibiotic Resistance
In essence, the term ‘antibiotic’ means “opposing life.” This comes from its
Greek roots. In this case, they oppose the life of substances, a.k.a, bacteria,
that are harmful to us.
In this section, we are going to go over antibiotic resistance more
thoroughly. We’ve established what antibiotic resistance is in a basic form,
but what exactly does that mean for the human race? Read on if you want to
know why this is so dangerous and why we need to try and beat it before it
beats us.
This is what happens if you have antibiotic resistance:
● If the bacterial infection ailing you is resistant to antibiotics, your
infection will last longer than usual.
● There might even be complications with the infection. Some
infections worsen and spread throughout the body over time. In the
case of a respiratory tract infection, it starts in the chest and could
eventually reach the lungs, which is dangerous, particularly in
those who have a history of breathing, heart, and/or lung problems.
● Since your infection can last longer, there is a great risk of you
passing it onto other people, thereby creating a catch twenty-two
because the problem of antibiotic resistance is increased. Those
people will now need antibiotics, but by contracting your
antibiotic-resistant bacteria, they will likely have the same issue.
And so, it will continue.
How to avoid passing antibiotic-resistant bacteria on:
● Never take antibiotics when you don’t need them.
● Never take antibiotics for viruses such as the cold and flu.
● Always take antibiotics exactly as prescribed and directed, no
exceptions.
● Always take care of and practice good hygiene—bacteria have a
harder time breeding in a clean environment.
Since you are making a stand in fighting antibiotic resistance, tell your
friends and family to do the same. Many people are unaware of this
epidemic. It’s our job to spread the news; otherwise, no one will ever get
better.
Side Effects

As we now know, the main reason why people are turning away from
conventional medicine and toward herbalism and homeopathy instead is
because of antibiotic resistance, but how does that happen? There’s a
chance that antibiotics can kill some of the bacteria attacking our system,
but not all of it. That which the antibiotics leave behind can lead to the
resistance as they grow and multiply with the new knowledge of how
antibiotics work and how to defend against them.
However, there is more to learn about antibiotics than the fact that our
bodies and new bacteria can fight them. For instance, antibiotics can have
far more side effects, as often listed in tiny print on the extremely long
inserts that come with any box of medication. Some of them can be severe
and, in some cases, even fatal.
Some of the common side effects of antibiotics—which generally affect the
digestive system—are as follows:
● Antibiotic resistance (but you knew that).
● Diarrhea, which can sometimes be so severe that it is deadly.
● Vomiting and nausea, which is usually mild.
● Bloating, indigestion, and a loss of appetite.
● Allergic reactions which can, again, be deadly.
Most side effects aren’t severe. They generally subside once the course of
antibiotics has been finished. Other times, the cases can be worse and
require immediate medical attention by a professional health practitioner,
especially in the case of serious allergic reactions.

Allergic Reactions
Allergies are often overlooked when it comes to antibiotics for the simple
fact that we all generally know our allergies and what to avoid. However,
it’s important to be aware of the type of allergic reaction and how to
respond to it, especially when it comes to children. Ironically, the first
antibiotic ever invented happens to be the one that people most commonly
have an aversion to—penicillin. Allergic reactions count as one of the side
effects of antibiotics and can come in various degrees, each of which
requires its own respective treatment. Some of the common allergic
reactions of antibiotics are as follows:
● Rashes, itchy and/or raised. These are known as hives.
● Coughing and wheezing, usually related to a tightness of the
throat.
● Breathing difficulties, as above.
● Sensitivity to light, often caused by antibiotics known as
tetracycline. It causes skin sensitivity to both sunlight and artificial
sources of light. Light should be avoided when taking these so as
not to agitate the skin and/or eyes.
 ● Fluoroquinolones, a rare case of damage and disabling that affects
the nervous system, joints, muscles, and tendons. This usually
includes an intense pins and needles sensation, particularly in the
knees and elbows. It should be treated immediately as there is a
chance of permanent damage occurring.
● Anaphylaxis, though rarer, includes shallow breathing, an
increased heartbeat, clammy skin, anxiety and/or panic,
lightheadedness or faintness which can result in losing
consciousness or collapsing.
Of these examples, anaphylaxis is the most dangerous. Most of these are
quickly treated with antihistamines (allergy medication), but anaphylaxis
can cause the throat to close up to the point of not being able to breathe. It’s
important to call or go to an emergency room as soon as you realize any of
these symptoms.

The Treatment Plan

Most people don’t ask questions when it comes to antibiotics. In fact, most
people don’t generally ask doctors questions at all, not about the medicines
they’ve been prescribed. When questions are asked, they’re generally about
the diagnosis.
Some common examples:
● What is wrong? What’s the infection?
● What can we do about it? What are the possible treatment plans?
● How long will it take for the infection to go away? How long is the
treatment course?
Practically no one ever asks:
● How do you know what the infection is?
● Are there alternative ways of treating it?
● What are the exact directions in terms of taking the medication?
● What are the side-effects?
 ● Will there be any tests that follow the treatment to ensure that the
infection is gone or that there’s no chance of it returning?
As previously established, it’s important to only use antibiotics when
absolutely necessary. Inappropriate use can be harmful to one’s health. Too
much use can cause the body to grow resistant.
These things should be common knowledge, but for the most part, they
aren’t. That’s why this guide exists. It’s here to help you understand the
types of things you should look for when it comes to antibiotics, when
medicine is actually necessary to use, if there are legitimate working
alternatives for the prescribed medication (particularly the natural kind),
and what to do once the course has been completed.
Above all else, you should always check with a professional practitioner
before replacing medication or opting for alternatives. There is a lot of
misinformation regarding medicine, which can lead to serious harm. Certain
drugs can only be obtained if they have been prescribed by a professional.
In much the same way, certain drugs cannot be replaced and, therefore, if
one uses the supposed herbal alternative while under the impression that it
can do the same thing prescribed drugs do, they could end up in a
dangerous and potentially fatal situation.
Furthermore, when visiting a doctor, never pressure them to give you
medication. Let’s be honest; no one likes the common cold or the flu.
Everyone wants to get rid of their viral infections as quickly as possible.
After all, they make us feel terrible, they interfere with our schedules in
both work and personal circles, they mess with the way we process thoughts
sometimes and that makes us resistant to any tasks we simply have to get
done, and they only really go away if we rest and drink fluids.
Unfortunately, most people don’t have the luxury to eat chicken soup, drink
religiously, and sleep for three to five days. We have responsibilities and as
much as we would like—and probably should—we can’t shuck those off.
This doesn’t mean that you should ask your doctor for the easy cure-all. It
isn’t fair to the practitioner, someone who is trained to help people, and it
isn’t safe in the long-run. If it can go away on its own, as viral infections
and numerous other illnesses usually do, it’s best to let it do exactly that.
The antibiotics wouldn’t do anything anyway; they’d only act as a placebo.
Always Finish Your Course

It’s easy to think, given all of the above, that antibiotics are more harmful
than helpful, but that isn’t always the case. That’s why a professional
opinion is almost always necessary. When it comes to appropriately treating
infections, especially those that are bacterial, antibiotics are one of the most
effective treatments. All that you need to do is use them correctly.
Make sure that you follow the directions you were given. Antibiotics need
to be taken for a certain period of time and often at specific times. You
might be told to take antibiotics with or without having eaten. You may be
given more medication than expected. You may be prescribed an antibiotic
in conjunction with another form of medication, be it something for pain or
to help clear the sinuses. These directions are to be followed with care. An
example of what could go wrong if the rules are even marginally bent: if
you don’t take your antibiotics with or after food as directed, the antibiotics
may damage your stomach lining and land you in hospital for inflamed
walls or a stomach ulcer ten times worse than the bacterial infection you’d
been suffering from.
Whenever you are prescribed an antibiotic, you are reminded to finish the
full course. You know the drill; we all do. The pharmacist and health
practitioner don’t say this for fun. This isn’t a loose rule. Even if you are
feeling better, you need to finish the full course, however many pills,
spoonful, or days that equates to. It’s an incredibly serious instruction and
too many people ignore it, which leads to a vast range of things that can and
do go wrong. For example, as mentioned before, when antibiotics don’t
manage to kill all of the bacteria, what remains can grow and multiply. This
not only leads to resistance of the drug, which can result in death, but it can
lead to the infection returning stronger than before, meaning another visit to
the doctor and another prescription of a drug that the body is now slowly
growing immune to.
Another thing to remember is that it is important that you finish your course
of antibiotics. It should never be given to someone else for anything. For
one thing, there are different types of antibiotics, meaning that taking
someone else’s antibiotics can lead to adverse side effects and growing even
sicker. Medicine has the ability to make people unwell the same way it has
the ability to help them get well. The correct treatment needs to be given
and that requires the correct tests and a professional’s opinion. Don’t make
someone else’s situation worse just because you have some antibiotics you
think might work. Furthermore, don’t take antibiotics from anyone else.
Never save your antibiotics for another time. First of all, this is wrong for
the simple fact that it means you haven’t finished the course and although
there is a chance that all the bacteria was killed, there is also a chance that
you are worsening your current condition. Secondly, you could worsen a
future condition by using old antibiotics. There’s no guarantee that the
antibiotics you’ve saved will help the next bacterial infection you get. The
drug you used for a kidney infection may not be an effective drug for a
respiratory infection. Also, even if the infection is the same, you may once
again worsen the condition by using old drugs. The infection may be
stronger and therefore need a stronger dose, something that tests, and a
diagnosis performed by a professional would have told you.
The benefits of antibiotics can often outweigh the risks and side effects, but
only when taken correctly and appropriately. They are life-saving drugs
otherwise. If ever uncertain, speak to a trained practitioner.

Bacterial vs. Viral

Since antibiotics don’t do anything to viral infections, taking them won’t

improve the way you are feeling, and nor will they stop the infection from
spreading to others if it is contagious. To distinguish between viral and
bacterial infections, the easiest and simplest method is almost always going
to be to approach a professional. However, there are some viral infections
we’re so familiar with that they can be easily identifiable.
Some common viral infections:
● The common cold.
● The flu.
● Runny noses sometimes caused by environmental or seasonal
changes.
 ● Sore throats, often leading to throat infections or affected by the
season and environment.
That being said, there are some bacterial infections that mimic the
symptoms of viral infections, such as:
● Strep throat is a bacterial infection and can therefore be treated by
antibiotics even though it can seem like a mere sore throat. This is
a common infection that causes pain in the throat, mouth and neck,
often including swollen lymph nodes. In rare cases, it can cause
complications with the heart and kidney.
● Urinary tract infections can be mistaken for cramps or abdominal
pain but are most easily identified by pain and/or a burning
sensation when urinating. It’s important to get these treated with
antibiotics as they can quickly and easily turn into kidney
infections, a far more serious and potentially fatal infection. It is a
common myth that a urinary tract infection can go away on its own
and that it can be treated with herbal remedies. On the contrary,
while alternative methods may ease certain symptoms, these
infections can only be treated with the proper medication. The
reason is because one of the most common causes of the infection
is the bacteria known as E. coli, bacteria commonly found in the
intestines of both humans and animals. Normally, this bacteria is
harmless, but there are some particularly nasty strains that can
cause severe cramps, vomiting, and bloody stools. In the case of
urinary tract infections, what E. coli does is cling to the urinary
tract so that the only thing that can fight it off, as well as stop the
spread of harmful bacteria to the kidneys, is the proper type of
antibiotic.
● Whooping cough can seem like a mere flu or common cold. It
often comes with a congested sinus, including a runny nose and
sneezing. It is most recognizable by a specific type of cough that
sounds like a ‘whoop’ and is usually followed by a scratchy intake
of breath. This illness is highly contagious and mostly treatable by
vaccines, but antibiotics can be used otherwise. The whooping
cough is normally a sign of a respiratory tract infection, meaning
that the harmful bacteria have spread to the chest and lungs.
Other infections can call under both categories; viral and/or bacterial. Some
of these include sinus infections, ear infections, and bronchitis. At this
point, whether or not you get professional treatment is down to the amount
of time that the infection in question lasts. Most go away on their own.
However, if they last for up to ten days, it’s important to see a doctor just to
be on the safe side.

Knowing the Active Ingredient

A large part of knowing about your medicine and what you are putting in
your body includes knowing what ingredients do. You don’t have to know
every single ingredient; the key active ingredients are enough. The label on
the medication should let you know what the brand name is, as well as what
the active ingredient is. There might even be some antibiotics that have the
same active ingredients and/or more active ingredients under different
brand names.
There are two types of antibiotics:
● Broad spectrum antibiotics, which are used to treat and affect a
wider range of bacteria, such as amoxicillin.
● Narrow spectrum antibiotics, which affect a much smaller range of
bacteria while still having their place in medicine, such as the very
first antibiotic, penicillin.
Normally, doctors don’t need to run tests as they’re quite familiar with what
bacteria causes what infection. Sometimes, however, the infection needs to
be determined via tests for the doctor to know which antibiotic to use. For
example, penicillin destroys bacterial cell walls, but you may be better off
with an antibiotic that simply affects the actions of the bacterial cell instead.
Tests will determine the exact type of bacteria ailing you and will then
know what its sensitivity to antibiotics will be.
There are plenty of sources online and in your local library where you can
find out more about active ingredients, such as the Consumer Medicine
Information (CMI), which is there for consumers to know exactly what
they’re putting into their bodies. These are excellent resources to use. For
one thing, the CMI also states what the side effects of each drug and
ingredient are, as well as how they may interact when used in conjunction
with other medication. This is also something doctors take in, along with
your medical history.
Other information that can be found via the CMI includes helpful
information such as what to do if you miss a dose, how to take the antibiotic
(if it should or shouldn’t be taken alongside food), and the dosage amounts.
Please note that these are subject to change. Sometimes the doctor won’t
prescribe the recommended dosage because the tests they ran told them a
different dose was more suitable.
Another reason you should be mindful about the active ingredients is
because there are certain things you cannot do while on certain medication.
Drinking alcohol is usually fine to do, as long as it is in moderation, but
there are a few exceptions. It’s important to make yourself aware of what
adverse effects certain antibiotics can have if taken with other things.
These antibiotics should never be used in conjunction with drinking
alcohol:
● Metronidazole: the brand names include, but are not limited to,
Flagyl, Metrogyl, and Metronide. This is commonly used to treat
bacterial vaginosis in women who aren’t pregnant.
● Tinidazole: the brand names include, but are not limited to,
Fasigyn and Simplotan. This is commonly used to treat certain
parasitical infections.
Just as there are certain precautions concerning alcohol, pregnancy brings
another concern. There are certain antibiotics that shouldn’t be taken while
pregnant. There are also certain antibiotics that shouldn’t be taken while on
certain brands of contraceptives, so if you are pregnant or on any other
medication, including contraceptives, your doctor needs to know that.
Always be transparent with the doctor so that they can make an accurate
diagnosis and properly treat you.
Have you ever watched House? Yeah, you don’t want to end up like one of
his patients. Those situations could have been avoided with plain honesty.

Superbugs
Superbugs are antibiotic-resistant bacteria. More than that, they are bacteria
that are resistant to more than one type of antibiotics. I mentioned above
that there are particularly nasty strains of E. coli; such strains have become
difficult and sometimes even impossible to treat because of the resistance.
So, too, have other strains of bacteria commonly found in hospitals. This is
because hospitals are filled with bacteria that constantly evolve under the
medical treatment, particularly in those who stay in hospital for extended
periods of time or even permanently.
One of the strongest superbugs is the one that causes tuberculosis.

Generic Antibiotics

Almost all antibiotics have a generic, which works the same way but costs
less. Be mindful of these as, unless your doctor or pharmacist recommends
them, they may not always do the same thing. Sometimes the generic only
comes in mild forms and schedules when something stronger is required to
kill off the infection that ails you.

The Difference Between Chemically Created

Antibiotics and Herbal Antibiotics
The first and possibly biggest difference between chemically created and
herbal antibiotics is the price point. Both are a huge business and although
herbal alternatives and supplements are only now beginning to make waves,
their gross annual earnings are quickly growing. It helps that herbal
medicines are almost always more affordable than pharmaceutical drugs.
People turn toward them not only because they’re cheaper, but because
these days, something perceived as more natural tends to be more appealing
to the public. As an added bonus, they often have fewer side effects.
The high costs of conventional medicines tend to be one of the primary
reasons that people compromise. If one can get the same benefits from a
cheaper herbal alternative, what reason does one have to continue using the
prescribed version?
Another difference we have to understand is the regulation of these kinds of
antibiotics. Chemically treated might frequently have larger companies that
test the products to ensure they are safer to use. Much information we have
surrounding herbal antibiotics has to be done on our own. You can go to the
doctor to get a prescription for penicillin, but you will less frequently be
able to find a medical professional who’s easily accessible (especially in
emergency situations), and who will provide an herbal remedy. For this
reason, you have to remember that you will be the professional, so it’s
essential that you are conducting your own research and taking everything
in an evaluator manner. You can overdose or have negative side effects
from chemical antibiotics, but you can damage yourself with a lack of
information around herbal remedies. Many accidental results from these
kinds of treatments happens because of misdiagnosis, which is why it’s
helpful to continue to seek out a medical professional for assistance in
determining what might be wrong with you.
Around 100,000 people die each year because of toxicities that occur from
side effects of a synthetic and chemical drugs. This number is three times as
high as those who are killed every year by a drunk driver. When it comes to
herbal remedies, the death toll is rare. This doesn’t mean that we can
automatically conclude that herbal remedies are safer, however. Many
individuals can die from not getting properly treated, but then the cause of
death would not be associated with the medicine. For example, if you have
cancer and choose to treat it only with a blend of essential oils, yet
eventually die, the essential oils aren’t the cause of death—the cancer is.
Still, the lack of proper treatment can lead to demise, therefore making it
harder to actually compare the two to each other in terms of safety.
Everything we have to understand about both will be understood on an
individual level. What works best for you might be poison for someone else
and vice versa. At the end of the day, you have to make an informed
decision on your own. We cannot tell you exactly what to do and instead
can only provide you with information. Ultimately it is your body and you
are an autonomous individual who can make your own decisions. Ensure
that you do your absolute best to remain educated while always seeking out
as many source materials as possible. Let’s take a look at a few more
important truths around herbal antibiotics in the next chapter.
 Chapter 2:

The Truth About Herbal Antibiotics and Herbal

Medicine

The truth about herbal antibiotics and herbal medicine is that we are lacking
information in the science world about the subject. It's as simple as that.
Whether this is because there isn't as much money to be made with herbal
antibiotics or because its associated with religious affiliations that don't
have as much scientific evidence to back up their claims, there is a neglect
of herbal remedies in our society.
The danger of this is that we could be potentially overlooking a legitimate
market that helps with certain ailments. In this section, we are going to dive
deep into the limited research that we have been presented already and
discuss some common misconceptions that people have around herbal
remedies. The importance of this chapter is that we need to consider
information that has been presented to us. The most important thing you
will ever do for your health is conducting proper research to find legitimate
evidence to back up your claims. Even when you are prescribed a
medication at the doctor, it is your responsibility to go home and ensure that
this is the best possible route for you to take. Of course, medical
professionals have much more experience than the common individual, but
that does not mean they will be 100% right every time. If that were the case,
there would be a lot less problems in the medical world that still require
treatment.
Whatever you do at the end of the day, you should be focusing on
knowledge and evidence. While feeling and personal preferences based off
your religion, location, or history are all important it is scientifically proven
information that will help the most. What you'll discover within this chapter
is that herbal remedies are lacking that sort of information, not because
these methods don't work, but because there's an emphasis put instead on
chemically engineered pharmaceuticals.
What you need to remember in this chapter is that it is not about dividing
and comparing one versus the other. We're simply going to help you
understand the lack of information presented to you to reiterate the
importance of you conducting your own research into this topic. This book
is a comprehensive list of many herbal remedies that will help you, but at
the same time, it's important that you continue your research after you've
finished this book.
The medicinal world is vast and can't necessarily be condensed into simply
25,000 words. We can give you the basics and a good understanding to get
you started, but at the same time, you have a lot more learning to do to
ensure that you take the best possible route for your medicinal use.

Why This Information is Important

You might be wondering why it's so important that we keep talking about
different herbal remedies for you to use. In a world where you can go to any
convenience store supermarket or pharmacy and pick up medicine that
could cure a variety of your ailments, why should we even bother going
through all this medical research when somebody else is doing it for us?
There are a few things that you need to understand about the
pharmaceutical industry that will help you better recognize the importance
of finding an alternative medicine. It's not even necessarily about going
toward herbal medicine but, instead, recognizing that there is an issue that
exists already within the pharmaceutical world we currently live in.
It's very normalized to simply take a pill when something is wrong. The
idea that medicine is a cure all for whatever we're experiencing is a toxic
mentality that keeps us trapped in the same cycle of misuse of different
drug treatments repeatedly. We live in a world where pharmaceuticals are
normalized. You often hear a lot about Big Pharma and how it's this big,
scary, dark overlord. Whether or not you agree with the degree of severity
of this institution does not matter, there are still a few important factual
statistics to recognize.
The first one to understand is that almost 70% of Americans are currently
taking a prescription drug. When we talk about prescription drugs, that
means something that has been specifically prescribed by a doctor. There
are plenty of nonprescription medications, such as acetaminophen or
ibuprofen, which are frequently used by many individuals.
That means that seven out of ten people in the world have one prescription
drug they use consistently. On top of this, over 50% have two prescription
drugs. This means that five out of ten individuals will have multiple
prescriptions. One of the most shocking parts of this all is that 20% have at
least five prescriptions, though they could have more.
That means two out of five Americans have five or more prescribed drugs
to them. What's scary about this is that when you have so many chemicals
in your body that could in turn have side effects that the other medicines are
treating. It's important to recognize that doctors and those who prescribe the
drugs are very knowledgeable about the things that they're doing.
But at the same time, they aren’t with you every day of your life. You can
only tell them your symptoms. You can only describe the things that you are
feeling. You can't have them with you monitoring you on a daily basis to
pick up on certain side effects that you don't even recognize in yourself.
They are certainly doing the best that they possibly can to properly
diagnose you and prescribe you with medicine. However, our biology and
our chemical makeup is so sensitive that something could be overlooked,
therefore leading us to become overmedicated later on. Again, this is not to
scare you, or to divide everybody and create sides. It's simply a reminder
that we need to consider that pharmaceuticals aren't necessarily our first
option for everything. When we talk about these statistics we have to
consider older individuals. If you walked into any elderly person's home
who was 75 or older, they are going to have several medications. As we get
older, our bodies simply start to deteriorate and things as simple as blood
pressure management will require a medication.
It's not necessarily that individuals are abusing drugs who are older, it's just
that there are certain things that will require an actual medicine. Our life
expectancy age gets older and older as science continues and improves.
Until biology catches up with that, we can use things like pharmaceuticals
that help make sure our heart and the rest of our body is functioning
properly.
Again, we do have to consider severe medical conditions, such as muscular
dystrophy, epilepsy, and serious mental illnesses as well such as bipolar
disorder or schizophrenia. These are things that an herbal remedy isn’t
necessarily going to help manage. Of course, there are plenty of
supplements, oils, and pills derived from herbs that can help manage these
things. At the same time, we can't overlook the importance of the medicine
that has been engineered for these very specific and serious conditions.
What would have wiped us out 100 years ago is a very manageable and
normal thing now because of the medicine that we have. Consider those
individuals who have HIV or AIDS. This is something that might have been
a death sentence decades ago, but now it's something easily manageable
that you can still live a full, functioning, happy, and long life because of the
incredible medications that exist. We aren't going to really get into those
more serious health conditions, however. Instead, we want to focus on basic
common ailments that we turn to quickly to medicine for. This is things like
backaches, headaches, the common cold, or having a flu, or even skin
problems like rashes or hair loss. All these things aren't life-threatening, and
you will be able to manage on your own. When it comes time for cold and
flu season, hospitals fill up with people who believe they are experiencing
something more serious and will turn to prescribed medication before trying
to fix this ailment on their own.
Many individuals might suffer from back pain or frequent headaches that
they might also use medicine for. We're simply providing you with an
alternative. The point is not to scare you from one thing and turn you
toward the other. It's simply to help you become aware and educated about
the things that we're putting into our body.
Another scary statistic is that just in 2013, 329 billion dollars was spent on
drugs. If you break that down in the U.S., that could be up to $1,000, per
person. When there's that much money at stake, you know that this is about
creating profit, not helping people.
That's what's scary because the people who are making money are also the
people who are in charge of research and advertisement. Of course, if
somebody is trying to sell you something, they're going to make it look
better than all the other alternatives. That's what we have to consider when
purchasing medicine. Our society has normalized that the first option to
take is to look toward a pill. Instead, we should simply be trying an
alternative method and using these medications for serious things that can't
be solved with a simple blend of herbal remedies.
Another alarming statistic to consider is that 25% of senior citizens will
skip prescribed medications because they don't have the money or because
they want to reduce the amount spent on these drugs. Nobody should have
to suffer or deal with an ailment because they don't have the money to do
so. When it comes to alternative medicine, this is a much cheaper solution.
You can grow your own herbs, you can harvest your own plants, and you
can create your own remedies. You can't say the same thing about other
medications, especially those that need to be chemically treated to be
processed correctly.
That is why this information is important. Again, at the end of the day,
everything is up to you, and none of this information presented is meant to
scare or necessarily persuade you from one thought to the other. The only
thing that we are representing to you are statistical facts and thoughts that
need to be considered, especially when it comes to making serious
decisions surrounding your health.
The more informed you have, the better. We can't continue to leave the
important research out to other individuals. Just because somebody is
certified, educated, and science-oriented does not mean that they know
what is best for each individual on a singular level.
In a world where one of the biggest money-making industries in the country
is surrounding medicine alone—not even healthcare, but simply
pharmaceutical and drugs—we definitely need to seek out an alternative
method.
Is it a Complete Replacement?

This begs the question, is herbal medicine a complete replacement to

engineered drugs?
That is a heated debate. We're going to give a simple answer of: potentially.
Everything that we know about medicine is conducted from trial and error
periods. We can't say for certain whether or not what we have already done
is the best option, or if we need to 100% completely wipe it out and replace
it. What we do know for certain is that more of an emphasis needs to be put
on medical research that involves herbal remedies.
The thing is, there is not as much money to be made from cheaper herbal
alternatives so there is lacking research around these types of medicines.
We can't say that it is a complete replacement, as a whole, for our society in
general.
While there are certain deaths caused by medication, we also have to
consider the lives that have been saved. How many individuals suffered
from a disease or an infection that could have killed them had they not
taken the proper medication?
For this reason alone, we can't say that herbal medicine is a complete
replacement. Modern medicine certainly has its place as we already
discussed in the last section. Diseases such as HIV or AIDS, epilepsy,
schizophrenia, and so on, aren't going to be cured by an herbal remedy.
Perhaps one day they will. But at this present moment, we can't say for
certain that using a garlic capsule, a few drops of rosemary oil, and some
fresh basil leaves is going to stop schizophrenic individuals form having
hallucinations or manic episodes. Maybe it works for somebody out there,
but in general, we won't be able to know unless we conduct long-term
research studies. There are plenty of people who are passionate and
dedicated to discovering the positive effects of herbal medicine, but we do
still need to put more of an emphasis on that in our society. Modern
medicine has its place in severe illnesses. Even think of somebody who has
to go under for surgery. They'll use different anesthetics that helped to
ensure there aren't feeling pain while being operated on.
Let's talk one about the opioid crisis. An opioid is a pain medication that
helps to regulate what a person might be feeling. Many opioids are
prescription medications.
Your body releases endorphins when you feel pain. This is why sometimes
you might feel even a moment of pleasure after experiencing pain. Think of
how you stub your toe and then afterward, you have that rush that quickly
alleviates that feeling of pain. If our bodies didn't do this, we will be
suffering throughout the entire experience, unable to bring our focus to
what's important.
Opioids help release those endorphins to make sure that your body is able to
relieve pain. The thing about opioids is that they are highly addictive.
Popular types of opioids are things like Percocet or oxycontin. Vicodin is
also another well-known opioid. Codeine and fentanyl are also prescribed
drugs. These are often given to patients who are experiencing severe pain.
Whether you have an infected tooth that is causing extreme pain or you
broke your leg, you could be prescribed opioids depending on a number of
factors.
Unfortunately, many individuals have abused their opioid prescription after
being given medication by a doctor. What we do know now is that around
25% of patients who have been prescribed opioids for pain will, in turn,
misuse them. Around 10% will end up developing an opioid disorder. The
thing about opioids is that they're hard to get if you are not given a
prescription.
If you don't have a prescription or medical coverage, they'll also be highly
expensive. What ends up happening is that some individuals might turn to a
cheaper, more accessible alternative. In this case, the alternative is often
heroin. Heroin isn’t just addictive like chocolate or coffee. Your body
depends on heroin to the point that you become ill without it. Heroin can
cause heart problems, can destroy your teeth, and basically kills you with
each dose taken. Those who suffer from heroin addiction find that it
destroys their lives. After the few who manage to get sober after completing
a treatment program, it’s still hard to resist this drug. Many individuals will
go back to taking heroin and can easily overdose. They will become used to
a certain dosage that used to get them high. Their tolerance is lowered, so
after treatment they will take the same dosage they did after the addiction
started and overdose.
Around 5% of those who misuse opioid prescriptions will turn to heroin
use. In fact, 80% of heroin users started by misusing prescription drugs.
That means that at any given time, four out of five heroin users started with
a prescription to opioids. This is an alarming rate. When you look at that
5% of people who misuse opioid drugs that turned to heroin, that doesn't
seem as big of a deal. It's only 5%, right? But when you look at it as 80%–
four out of five individuals—whose use heroin started with an opioid, that
is alarming. We often think about things like alcohol or marijuana being a
gateway to harder drugs. Who would have thought that the medication a
medical professional gave you was that actual gateway into severe drug
addiction?
Every day, 130 people or more will die in the United States because of
opioid overdose. This is a 2019 statistic. This isn't something that we
gathered quickly. It is a factual reminder of the crisis that we are
experiencing. Over 1500 people die from heart disease each day and that is
the leading cause of death in the U.S. One hundred and 1,500 seem like
different numbers, but when we’re talking about innocent lives lost, it’s not
as much of a difference.
Still, 130 people dying a day from opioid is rather alarming. Again, an
herbal remedy is not necessarily a replacement for all medications. When it
comes to something like a simple backache, you shouldn't turn to a highly
addictive medicine first. There could be an alternative.
The thing about herbal remedies is that we do need to treat it as an
alternative and not a replacement. Perhaps one day we will live in a society
where all medicine given is a blend of herbs. Most medicines started by
being derived from a plant anyway. The chemical combination has changed
drastically, but still, there are derivatives found in herbal medicine that are
still used in modern medicine.

Alternative Medicine Statistics, Research, and

Evidence
We need to have research and evidence to support herbal medicine and
herbal antibiotics. One thing that is challenging to recognize about herbal
remedies is that they're frequently lumped into a category of alternative
medicine that aren’t as easily studied or scientifically proven. For example,
there's something that many referred to as Complementary and Alternative
Medicine. It's a group of systems, practices, and different medical or health
products that wouldn't be categorized in the conventional and modern
medicine that we know now. This is a very vast group of practices that all
get lumped together as the same thing.
Within this group are things like yoga, meditation, and prayer. While these
things might work, depending on the individual, we have to recognize that
something like legitimate herbal remedies next to something as prayer isn't
as fair of a comparison to make. An herbal remedy and a blend of different
substances is easier to prove as effective than somebody praying. That's not
to say that praying or prayer is necessarily wrong to do because, again,
that's certainly up to the individual to decide. You can't really prove that
somebody ailment was cured by prayer, but you would be able to prove
whether somebody’s ailment was cured by an herbal remedy. That's why it's
hard to get herbal remedies in the forefront of medical research because it
does get lumped into that sort of category.
A study conducted in 2002 by the government, 31,000 individuals were
surveyed to ask about their complementary or alternative medicine
practices. This was given by the National Center for Health Statistics. In the
survey, many individuals were asked whether they used any alternative
methods of treatment. What was discovered was that there were certain
groups that were more likely to be involved with this complementary or
alternative medicine. For example, groups of women, different populations,
or those who have experienced hospitalization recently were more likely to
be using alternative medicine.
What was revealed in this study was that 43% had used prayer as a form of
therapy. Whether it was to treat something like neck pain, joint pain,
depression, anxiety, or the common cold, 24% had used prayer from others.
Only 19% how to use herbs. What we can take away from this is that only
one out of five of the 33,000 individuals surveyed had even used herbal
remedies, and yet they still get lumped into this category of individuals who
are using things like prayer, acupuncture, meditation or massage treatments.
Twenty-six percent of these individuals had been suggested to try this type
of practice, but only 12% had actually gone to a medical professional to get
a confirmation that they should be using this. Again, what we can take away
from these alternative medicine statistics is that individuals aren't being
prescribed these medicines so they're not in a controlled environment.
Essentially, those who believe that herbal medicine is somewhat of a
voodoo mysticism or religious affiliation can't necessarily be proven wrong
because we are lacking so much information on the subject.
People aren't getting prescribed medicines that are herbal remedies as
frequently, so we can't monitor if this is effective. Much of the use of herbal
remedies is done on an individual level without proper monitoring. We can't
discover as many factual remedies behind these types of medicines. That's
not to say that it doesn't work because we don't have the statistics to prove it
wrong. It's not that the information points to this not being real or
manageable. It's actually just that the information simply does not exist.
Again, this was a survey conducted in 2002 and only considered 33,000
individuals. Still, it is considered one of the most comprehensive surveys
around the subject of alternative medicine. That's saying a lot about the
research and effort that's put into these different kinds of methods.
We do still have a few more emerging studies that help us better recognize
the way that herbal medicine is being used today. As recently as 2012,
another study was conducted on 26,000 individuals who were asked about
their herbal medicine usage. About one-third of them stated that they had
used herbal supplements to treat a common ailment. It was also associated
that the older an individual was and the higher level of education they had,
the more likely they were to use herbal medicine.
In fact, we also know that the industry of herbal remedies has been rising.
In 2012, the sales for herbal remedies exceeded $5 billion. In 2013, that
increased to around $6 billion. This is an astonishing amount, but we also
have to consider the hundreds of billions of dollars that is to be made in the
pharmaceutical industry. At the same time, a lot of insurance will usually
cover your medicinal things that are modern, but other herbal supplements
will not always fall under what is covered by many insurance plans.
We do have these studies to consider and we do have information that
provides us factual and logical evidence about herbal medicinal use. What
we have to recognize as well is that this use varies among cultures. Back to
that 2002 study we mentioned, groups like African-American individuals
were more likely to use something such as prayer or herbal remedies than
those of Asian descent.
These types of studies to help prove what medicine is better than others.
There is a lack of documentation. The information that we do have
presented to us is usually through conducted surveys. We don't have
individuals who are going under trial periods of different medications where
we can consistently monitor their health. For example, if you were to be
given a blood pressure medication for a different experiment, you would
have your information taken at the beginning of the experiment. You would
be told to record your symptoms, and you would present them to a medical
professional. They'd probably monitor your health throughout the
experiment as well, and then take it again finally at the end of the trial
period to compare statistics. What happens with herbal remedies is that we
usually gather information after the fact and we take it from individuals
who report their own findings, rather than a medical professional who can
give a different perspective on the subject. Again, all of this is not to sway,
persuade, convince, or to exploit. The point of this is to consider simply the
lack of information there is around alternative medicine statistics. Research
and evidence shows that this could work, but we can't say for certain when
we're lacking so much information. The best thing that you will be able to
do is use it as an alternative, not a replacement, so talk to your doctor and
seek out as much truth as you can from multiple sources. That is going to be
most important for you in this process. You can't just take one individual
experience and run with it. Even as you've seen in these surveys alone, less
than 100,000 individuals were even surveyed. In any given big city, there
are many more than just 100,000 individuals, so we have to consider how
small this evidence can really be.
Consult with a medical professional and use your best judgment to ensure
that you aren't going to hurt yourself in the process. Again, you don't want
to overlook something more serious, such as HIV or AIDS, epilepsy and so
on. When you have a chronic illness, or severe disease, then these are things
that need to be discussed with the medical profession. At the end of the day,
it's up to you to choose what kind of treatment you'll take, but make sure
that the diagnosis and discussion is still there with a third party. You don't
want to simply take things that you read and let this become a basis for the
truth. There needs to be evidence, research, and factual statistics that help to
discover the truth. That is what we have been providing you with in this
book and plan to continue. It's not just somebody else's opinion. It's
information that we've gathered from various sources that help us best
understand what alternative medicine can look like.
Since information is still lacking, you do have to consider taking everything
with a grain of salt, but at the same time, to pretend as though this
alternative medicine is not legitimate is also not productive.
It dates back 5,000 or more years and other animals even use herbal
remedies. Think about how many individuals aren't being surveyed or
monitored that are completely fine with this use. Because of the lack of
information, we can't make a definitive statement on one side or the other,
we can just take the information presented to us and use it to the best of our
abilities. Knowledge is like a tool. You can either use it to destroy
something or to create something great. We're going to help you to create a
great plan for your health so that you can avoid any dangerous or negative
pharmaceuticals, instead putting emphasis on things that are going to help
you in the long run.
 Chapter 3:

The Most Common Herbal Antibiotics That Work

Like Magic

Herbal Antibiotics are a wonderful substitute for synthetic antibiotics. They

can be cheaper, more easily available, organic, and overall better for your
health. However, it is important to remember that herbal antibiotics are not
always a better medical option. If you have been prescribed something and
wish to change to a more natural solution, speak to a medical practitioner
about it. Although natural remedies are wonderful, your doctor did not
complete his degree for you to ignore his prescribed medication and use
turmeric for your fungal infection instead.
We are now going to go through the different forms of natural antibiotics
that you can get.

Superfoods
How satisfying is it to know that mother nature has provided us with ways
to fight infection while having a healthy afternoon snack?
There are some super foods that literally heal you from the inside out.
These super foods are normally better eaten raw as they lose many of their
antibacterial properties when cooked or heated up.
Things like juice fasting can also help clear out your system. Unfortunately,
there are also some favorites like dairy and refined foods that are best
avoided when trying to stay away from infections.

Healing Herbs and Savvy Spices

They not only add some flavor to your dishes but also give a good punch to
bacterial infections. Herbs and spices have been used for years to treat all
types of infections. We no longer mix herbs and spices to create paste to
help treat wounds, but this does not mean some of the natural elements are
not still used in creams and ointments to help treat infection and speed up
healing processes. One thing that hasn’t changed over the years are herbal
teas, and without an improvement, they still taste great. Some old methods
still work wonders.

Pills and Capsules

Herbal Antibiotics can be taken in a pill form. Although consuming natural

antibiotics like garlic in its raw form is best, if you really can’t handle the
potent taste in your mouth for the rest of the day, you can easily purchase
garlic capsules. For another example, cayenne pepper is an excellent
remedy for sinusitis, but it is not suggested to be used by those who aren’t
fond of a bit of a burn. Instead of dealing with some flaming tears, you can
just purchase cayenne pepper in a capsule form. Of course, capsules will
cost a bit more, but they work just.
You can also find pills and capsules with different mixtures; it depends on
what works best for you.

Essential Oils

Although not meant to be ingested, essential oils are excellent for treating
any type of exterior infection and getting rid of dangerous bacteria. Extracts
have been used for centuries to fight off bacterial infections and essential
oils are not only an excellent health remedy, but they also smell great.
Essential oils can be used to treat skin infections, help heal minor burns and
can even be used to ease the symptoms of urinary tract infections. If you are
highly sensitive to different creams, essential oils may be a healthier and
better option for your skin than normal antibiotic creams.

Most Commonly Used Herbal Antibiotics

All of these common herbal antibiotics are easy to access. Edible herbs and
spices are best sourced at an organic market, if this is not possible, your
local supermarket is sure to stock them.
Essential oils, natural antibiotic pills and capsules are found at most
pharmacies and can also be purchased from health shops. If you are not sure
about what is best for you, consider consulting a homeopath. Purchasing
online is a great option and can sometimes work out cheaper. Just take
caution and make sure you are purchasing a known brand from a trusted
supplier.
There are many different brands of herbal vitamins and supplements, but
sometimes dosing yourself on every second natural remedy is not the best
idea. Be careful about what you are taking and make sure there’s an actual
need for it.

Garlic

Garlic is a type of herb that is related to the onion family and if you enjoy
cooking, there is no doubt you’ve used it before. Garlic is originally native
to central Asia but is now grown and distributed globally. Its curative
abilities have been used through the centuries and used amongst many
cultures.
Garlic contains a chemical compound called allicin that is released when
garlic is chopped or crushed. Allicin helps to treat inflammation and has
other antioxidants that are beneficial to the immune system. Therefore,
garlic is best consumed or used when raw. Chopping garlic and leaving it to
rest for approximately ten minutes allows the enzymes in allicin to react.
Instead of just trying to munch a raw clove of garlic, add it chopped to your
salads, pasta dishes, or even soups. If you can’t bear the strong taste, you
are able to purchase garlic capsules or oil. You may find the capsules
combined with other herbs such as parsley.
You should not exceed two cloves a day. It can be used on an ongoing basis
or to give yourself a bit of an immune boost when suffering with the
common cold. Garlic also helps with:
● Reducing blood pressure
 ● Detoxing
● Lowering cholesterol levels
Do not use garlic as an antibiotic if you are on blood-thinning medication.
Consult your medical practitioner first as large amounts of garlic can
sometimes cause internal bleeding.

Raw Honey
Honey has been used as a natural antibiotic even before the times of the
famous Greek philosopher Aristotle, 384 BC. It’s not only a healthy way to
ease your sweet cravings but it also contains many antibacterial properties.
Raw honey is one of the oldest natural antibiotics and aids in treating
different types of wounds such as burns and ulcers. Honey is also useful to
treat:
● Digestive issues.
● A sore throat.
● Preventing fungal and bacteria growth.
If you are considering using honey as an antibiotic, note that it should be
raw and from a trusted producer. Raw means that the honey has been
unpasteurized and that it is still in its original form. Most brands of store-
bought honey have been pasteurized, which means the intense heat used
during the process has destroyed many of the honey’s natural benefits.
Honey is only found in its natural form but can be found infused with
different herbal teas. You can use it to treat internal and external infections.
You can ingest honey by simply swallowing a teaspoon full or add it to a
hot cup of tea. Mixing honey, lemon, and ginger and swallowing a teaspoon
every time you cough is an old folk remedy for treating a sore and scratchy
throat. It not only works but is also healthier and tastes a lot better than
normal cough syrup.
There is no limit to how much raw honey you can consume but should still
be used in moderation. Honey is not safe for children under the age of one
or diabetics due to its high sugar content.

Ginger
Ginger is a flowering plant that grows up to a meter tall and was first
discovered in China. The plant itself is not used as a spice but rather the
ginger root, also known as rhizome. Ginger has a low nutritional value but
contains natural antibiotics that aid in fighting off certain bacteria. It is one
of the most flavorful and healthy spices out there, getting its strong taste
from one of its natural oils called gingerol.
Gingerol contains anti-inflammatory properties and can help cure the flu
and help indigestion, it is also useful for:
● Seasickness
● Nausea
● Helps to lower blood pressure
Ginger is excellent for women suffering with morning sickness or menstrual
cramps or any other muscle pain. It may not have an immediate effect on
those who suffer with muscle pain but can reduce discomfort over time with
daily use.
Ginger can be found in a capsule, oil, and a powder form. It is excellent
both fresh and dried and can be added to many different dishes as well as
add flavor to juice. Like honey, it is also excellent in tea. Fresh ginger
stores incredibly well, so if you buy in excess, just wrap it up in some paper
towels or even newspaper and it should keep for just over two weeks.
There is no limit to how much ginger you should consume in a day, but the
recommended amount is approximately 1-2 grams.

Echinacea

Echinacea is a type of plant that is part of the daisy family. Its origin is
traced back to the United States but is now also grown in parts of Canada
and Europe. Echinacea is considered an herb. The whole plant is used to
produce medicine, from the roots to it’s beautiful purplish-white flowers.
Echinacea can be used as a replacement for antibiotics and should not be
used on a continuous basis. It is an excellent immune system booster and
helps to treat infection. It is also useful for:
● Ear and throat infection
 ● Urinary tract infection
● Slowing the body’s metabolism
This herbal antibiotic is available in tablets, drops, and teas. The drops are
the most commonly used and most effective. Although, for a bit of advice,
echinacea is not the best tasting natural remedy out there, but it does work
like magic.
The suggested dosage is one to two milligrams, or two to three milliliters
taken three times daily. If you have any plant allergies, consult a doctor
before using any form of echinacea.

Goldenseal

Goldenseal is a type of herb that received its beautiful name from the
yellowish scars that cover the stem of the plant. It is related to the cheerful
buttercup family and is found in the United States and the woods of
Vermont. The root of goldenseal is dried and used to make a medicine that
helps to treat digestive issues and any stomach problems. Goldenseal
contains berberine, which is a chemical that fights certain bacteria and
fungi. Goldenseal is also excellent to treat:
● Stomach Ulcers (internal bleeding)
● Hemorrhoids
● Improves appetite (used in cases of eating disorders like anorexia)
One common misconception is that goldenseal helps hide any traces of
illegal substances in urine samples. This is not one of its uses as there is no
scientific proof to back up this myth.
Berberine is not safe for infants, during pregnancy, or breastfeeding. It can
also cause interference with prescribed medication, so take caution and
consult a doctor.
Goldenseal is found in teas and pill form. The recommended form to take is
a capsule as many of goldenseal’s healing properties are not absorbed
properly when absorbed orally. Goldenseal is also used to treat open
wounds, rashes, and cold sores. Some even use the tea as a mouthwash or to
treat eye infections. The recommended dosage is 250 milligrams two to
three times daily.
Cloves

Cloves are not only an ancient spice used for tasty pot roasts but have also
been the main cure for toothaches for centuries. Cloves are the dried flower
buds from a clove tree and are native to Indonesia where half of the world’s
cloves are produced.
Clove oil is normally directly applied to the gums or tooth to relieve pain
and has a sharp and unique taste. There is a chemical called eugenol that is
found in clove oil; this is what gives cloves it’s healing and antibacterial
properties. Clove oil is also used for certain cosmetics, soaps, and even
toothpaste.
Cloves are normally whole but can also be purchased in powder and in oil
form. Other than for dental care, cloves also help for:
● Rashes and itches
● Stomach pains
● A swollen or scratchy throat
Cloves are completely safe and there are no real side effects to using it.
Pregnant women have no reason to be worried about ingesting cloves or
using the oil for any dental issues. It is, however, best kept away from
infants and should not be used on babies during teething.

Oregano Oil

Oregano is an Italian herb that adds some extra flavor to any dish. Oregano
does have many health benefits as a tasty herb but when the plants extract is
used to make an essential oil, you have yourself a little bottle of healing
magic. It was first used in Europe but is now one of the most common herbs
and is related to the mint family.
Oregano oil is pumped full of antibacterial properties and antioxidants. Two
of these powerful compounds are called carvacrol and Rosmarinus acid.
Carvacrol aids in preventing bacteria from spreading while Rosmarinus acid
is a strong antioxidant.
This powerful essential oil not only helps to reduce inflammation and
fungal growth, but it also helps to:
 ● Lower cholesterol
● Help with an upset stomach
● Getting rid of candida
Out of a number of herbs tested, oregano has been proven to contain the
highest number of antioxidants. It has almost thirty times more healing
power than your other common herbs like parsley or basil. Fresh oregano is
just as good for you as its oil; however, oregano oil is more concentrated
and likely to show better results.
You can purchase it dried, fresh, in certain pills, and as an essential oil.
There is less than one percent of people who have experienced skin
irritation from oregano oil and it is safe for everyone to use. Dosages differ
from person to person. It is best to only use one to three drops daily if you
are using it to cure a specific ailment and should not be used for longer than
two weeks.

Eucalyptus Oil
From the continent of Australia, eucalyptus is not only a koala’s main
source of food, but it is also one of the best natural medicines out there. The
strong but soothing smell of eucalyptus oil is an excellent remedy for a
stuffy nose or closed chest. You can either rub the oil directly onto your
chest or put a few drops in a bath of hot water and inhale the fumes. Note
that if you are going to be using it on your skin, be sure to dilute it as it will
burn and dry out your skin.
Eucalyptus oil is something everyone should keep around the house and can
be used daily for external use. Have a nasty pimple that won’t clear up?
Rub some diluted oil on the spot and it will clear up in no time. Other
common uses of eucalyptus oil are:
● Disinfecting wounds
● Mouth ulcers
● Easing the pain from aching joints
No more than three milliliters of eucalyptus oil should be ingested in under
24 hours. It can cause extreme symptoms and can even be fatal. It is safe for
pregnant women and for young children as long as it is diluted correctly.
So, keep a bottle around for in case you get a small cut that needs to be
cleaned or for minor skin issues. Just be cautious when using it for mouth
ulcers or any other use that may cause you to ingest small amounts.
 Chapter 4:

Else Wants to Strengthen Their Immune System?

Your immune system is one of the most important parts of your body. Of
course, your brain is essential in helping the rest of you function, your heart
pumps blood everywhere throughout your body, your lungs enable you to
breathe, and your stomach makes it so that you can eat food and process it
correctly.
However, your immune system is what protects all of this. If we did not
have an immune system, we would be much more susceptible to various
illnesses and chronic diseases. Even something as simple as kissing another
person could put you at risk for serious and potentially fatal condition that
your immune system blocks you from. Even something like the common
cold could be a death sentence if you do not have a proper functioning
immune system.
Most of us will go throughout our days without even thinking about the
incredible thing that our body does to protect us. For example, think about
how you might go to the grocery store. Maybe you take public
transportation and you get on the bus, you pull out your money, which has
been touched by hundreds of other people, slip it in the bus and go and sit
on the back where hundreds of people have also been sitting and touching.
These people might be picking their noses, wiping their mouths, and
coughing into their hands, rubbing it all over the seat. Then you go to the
grocery store and you get a cart that has been touched by hundreds of
people. You walk around the store and you pick up food. This food that
could have been touched by other individuals. These people are all
coughing. They're all touching their faces. They're passing around saliva
and germs without even realizing it. Then you go home, you get some meat,
you open up your package of raw beef and you start to cook it. There might
be cells and germs in the raw meat that you pass around your kitchen.
All of these factors are so simple and everyday things we don't even think
about. You don't think about how pulling a $1 bill out of your wallet could
mean exposing yourself to plenty of germs. Your immune system is going
to be the thing that helps protect you and enable yourself to continue to live
a strong and happy life despite every sort of potential risk that you expose
yourself to. In this chapter we're going to help you best understand your
immune system, while also providing you with immune system boosters
and herbs that help strengthen your overall immune system.

Understand the Immune System

Your immune system is made up of a complex system of different
chemicals, organs, and various cells that help to ensure all microbes are
defended against. These microbes are various infections that could cause
different parts of your body to experience negative side effects
On a cellular level, we have a system of record keeping within our body
that keeps track of all infections or microbes that we have ever come in
contact with. Your cells will take note of the methods needed to defend
against these mechanisms so that if they're presented to you once again, you
will know exactly how to defend against them.
This is done on an individual level within your body, meaning something
that your body defeats on its own, it will be able to defend against again.
But if you do use any sort of other aid in this process it means that your
body might not be able to defeat it a second time. For example, if you have
a cold that you pass to a friend who passes that to a friend of a friend, and
so on, it could find its way through other people and back to you. If that
cold comes back around to you eventually, after you've already defeated it,
you are less likely to experience that cold again. If, however, you come in
contact with something serious that sends you to the hospital, where you are
prescribed antibiotics, it’s easier for your body to defeat on its own since it
wasn’t able to the first time. If you come in contact with that again, you'll
likely need to go on another round of antibiotics since your body had
something that aided in the process of healing and wasn't able to do it on its
own. This is important to understand because some individuals will believe
that just because they got sick once means they can't get sick again. That
could be the case if your body is able to fight it on its own, but if you use
medicine to aid in that process then that won't be true.
Moving on, let's discuss the different parts of the immune system. These
parts include different cells are the way to entire systems within your body.
The first thing that you need to consider are white blood cells. These come
from your bone marrow and are considered to be inclusive in your
lymphatic system.
We have white blood cells all throughout our body in every part of the
tissue and in your blood. You have these cells that are ready to fight off
anything for it and whether this is a bacteria, virus or something extreme
like a parasite, then your white blood cells will recognize these things and
be able to protect against them. Your white blood cells are basically like the
guards of your body. They're these little guys moving all throughout and
anytime there's an intruder or a villain, they will start an attack.
If the attack is serious, then it will trigger bigger parts of your body like
your entire lymphatic system to fight this off.
Think of how whenever you get a cut, you might see blood, but then
eventually you see the sort of white pus that comes out. This is your body's
way of fighting off infection. It seems gross, but really it could mean that
your body is healing. When that pus starts to turn green or yellow, then you
understand that this is an actual infection. That means it might be too hard
for your body to be able to fight off on its own. This is when you would
consider using an antibiotic to ensure that your body doesn't get too
infected.
Even if you do have an isolated infection somewhere such as on your toe,
that infected microbe could spread throughout your bloodstream, making it
harder for your body to fight off.
We have an incredible defense system in our bodies, but at the same time,
we're not completely immune to everything. Next, within your immune
system are antibodies. These are inclusive of all of the cells that actually do
attack once the white blood cells trigger that it's time to put up a fight. Then
you have your complement system, which also includes different cells and
these are there to aid in the attack that your antibodies launch.
Next and most importantly, is your lymphatic system. Your lymphatic
system is a network of different tubes. This series of tubes spreads
throughout your entire body. What it does is ensure that your fluids
throughout your entire system are functioning properly.
They will make sure to always attack any cells bacteria and viruses that are
potentially harmful to your body. When we talk about the lymphatic system,
we have our lymph nodes that we need to consider. We also have our
vessels and white blood cells that make up the lymphatic system.
You have lymph nodes in your armpits. You also have to consider the rest
of the part of your lymphatic system. This would also include your
adenoids, your tonsils, your thymus, your spleen, your thoracic duct, your
Peyer’s patch, your appendix, and your bone marrow. All of this is
important for defending your body against potential attacks. Your spleen is
important because it's a filter that helps ensure your damaged cells are being
processed out along with the different microbes that are being destroyed.
Your bone marrow is where your blood cells are produced. Whether it's
your red blood cells or the white blood cells that help fight infection or
carry oxygen throughout your body, this, as well as platelets for clotting are
all created within your bone marrow. The thymus is helpful in monitoring
your blood, as well as producing a different kind of white blood cells.
We also have to consider the extra things built into our body that help fight
off different infection. Think about how your skin protects your entire body
and makes sure that even if you do contact come in contact with a microbe,
it doesn't even make it into your body in the first place. When your skin is
damaged, then you are more susceptible to various microbes attacking your
body. For example, if you are covered in mud right now, you will probably
be able to take a shower and be fine. If you are covered in cut and
uncovered in mud, that would be bad because it would seep into those cuts
and get into your bloodstream.
Think of your lungs and the way that they are able to process and filter
different microbes that might come into your body. The air we breathe can
be toxic to us on a certain level. Think about airborne illnesses and how if
you went into a hospital at any given moment, you might be more
susceptible to certain diseases and illnesses. Your lungs filter things out, but
your mouth and your nose also help to make sure that no microbes even get
in. Of course, there are plenty of things that move past these kinds of
systems and do end up causing us issues, but at the same time, these
defenses are there in the first place to sort of make sure that we don't
experience something so negative. Even things like allergies could be
defended against by certain people with the proper immune system.
Again, your digestive stomach is better at processing certain things and
fighting against various infections. Even think about the stomach difference
between you and something like a cat or a dog. Of course, if you let your
house cat out right now, that will be different from a cat in the wild, but still
consider how cats are able to eat raw meat and be fine, and yet if a human
did that it would make us sick, and potentially lead to something like an E.
coli infection or even worse. The different defenses within our digestive
lining and our intestines help to fight against certain microbes.
Consider different bodily fluids. Think of how, if you were to go outside
and pollen is flying through the air, you might cry and have tears streaming
down your face. This isn't because you are sad; it's because your body is
fighting those outside potential dangers that could be causing you allergies.
We also process waste, which includes things that are potentially harmful to
our bodies. You urinate and defecate because your body's taking the bad
things that it doesn't need, and it's pushing it out of your body. If you were
to eat a completely healthy meal, that is consistent of only good veggies and
whole grains, then you would certainly have different defecation than if you
were to eat nothing but garbage.
Your body processes food differently because of the diverse potential
dangers or benefits based in this food. This all helps to make up an
important immune system.

The Importance of a Strong Immune System

If you do not have a healthy immune system, it means that your body is a
greater potential for getting attacked. Consider something like a bank versus
simple store. If somebody were to want to steal money, they might not go
and rob a bank because they know that there's going to be so many defenses
around protecting that money. If they wanted to really steal money, then
they might consider going to smaller convenience store because they know
that it would be easier to steal from the register. Of course, a bank has a
greater payoff but that's not really the point of this comparison.
A bank with a security guard and a heavily-locked vault, as well as cameras
and various systems of protection, is harder to break into than something
that has an open-door policy that anybody can walk into at any time and be
inches away from the source of money.
When you have a weak immune system, it means that you will have a
weaker protection of viruses and infection will be more likely to be able to
attack your body. Think of an individual who is suffering from leukemia.
Leukemia is a type of cancer of the blood in which your bone marrow is not
able to produce all of the important things that we discussed. What ends up
happening is that the body can be more sensitive to receiving different
illnesses, which is why those who suffer from leukemia will frequently not
be able to leave their homes, and if they do, they'll often be seen wearing
surgical face masks to protect them from different microbes.
As you continue to expose your body to different microbes, as we
discussed, they keep record of that so that they can fight them off later.
Think of something like an infant. If somebody were to just have a baby,
you certainly want to visit them whether it's a sibling, a friend, a child, or
whoever you might be close with. That mother is probably not going to let
any random stranger walk up and hold their baby. If they do, they would
probably also ask that person to wash their hands and make sure to not kiss
or really touch the baby too much. This is because baby's immune system is
very weak. They haven't been exposed to as much and their body is also
still developing, so they are more susceptible to certain things. A common
cold for you just means having to call off a day of work and sit at home on
the couch. A common cold for a baby can result in them being hospitalized.
A strong immune system means a stronger force against outside sources.
This is why it is good to expose yourself to germs in some settings because
you will be able to work through them. However, that doesn't mean that we
should be covering our bodies with poop or dirt and roaming around never
washing our hands. It just simply means that not everything has to be a
sterile bleached environment all the time and that it is okay to go outside
and get a little dirty. You can notice your immune system working in many
different ways.
For example, getting a cold means having a cough and a runny nose. This
seems awful, and it makes us sometimes feel like we're dying. Who hasn't
considered if it’s the end when they're lying there, unable to stop coughing,
hacking up phlegm, constant runny nose, tears flowing, a headache, and just
general feeling of terribleness.
This is actually your body's defense mechanism. It's not necessarily that you
are being attacked and destroyed, but it's that your body is attacking these
things to make sure that you don't have negative effects from that. When
you have a cold or a fever your body is basically at war. That means that it's
going to be fighting these things off and it's going to be a terrible time for
you. Just think of a legitimate war in real life. It's not like that's a really fun
and happy instance, but that doesn't mean that things are necessarily going
to be terrible after the fact. When you experience the sort of war in your
body, you'll have that extra running of fluids. You might have red
inflammation. This is all simply a part of your body's attack against
microbes that could potentially be more damaging to you in the end.
There are many factors that we might put ourselves through that can
weaken our immune system. Of course, certain health ailments, as we
discussed, such as leukemia, could be something that causes a weakened
immune system. At the same time, we actually do physical things that could
be potentially harming us.
For example, experiencing a high level of chronic stress could even cause a
weakened immune system. When you are stressed, your body releases on
hormone known as cortisol. This cortisol is important in helping your body
be prepared for defense. Your heart rate increases, your muscles tense, and
your focus is alerted toward the stressor.
However, chronic stress leads to an overproduction of cortisol in your body.
This cortisol will actually fight off those white blood cells known as T-cells
produced within your bone marrow. In the end, this means that you will be
a greater defense for different ailments because of a weakened immune
system. When you are constantly stressed, whether it’s relationships, work
or even something seemingly as simple as loneliness, you are putting your
body under oxidative stress. This ends up causing damage to the free
radicals within your body that fight off those microbes.
If you live a sedentary lifestyle, this could also put you at risk for a
weakened immune system. Your body will not be functioning properly, so it
won't be able to produce those important factors that create your body's
defense. When we overload our bodies with high sugary food or fatty foods,
this can also attack our immune system. White blood cells will be not
produced as often, so it will be harder for our bodies to fight off infection.
Other basic outside sources such as nicotine found in tobacco cigarettes or
alcohol can also lead to damaged white blood cells, leading to a weakened
immune system.
Don't let these things become something that causes damage to your body.
You only have one immune system, and it's important that we are taking the
best care of it possible. This is your body's defense. It's your warrior. It's
your army. It's what will keep you protected from everything that you come
in contact with. Do your best to ensure that you are not putting yourself at
risk by exposing your immune system to anything that will damage it. Let's
discuss now what herbal naturally occurring substances can help you to
defend yourself against attack.

Herbs That Strengthen the Immune System

There are many herbs that you can start adding into your diet that can help
enable you to better regulate your immune system. One type of herb that
you'll want to look out for an immune system boost is anything that is of a
vibrant or rich color. For example, think of cinnamon or cayenne pepper.
Both of these spices are great additions to many dishes for their flavor
purposes. Aside from that, they have a strong flavor and bold color that
helps enable you to give your body good antioxidants. These antioxidants
will be helpful in reducing inflammation, as well as some of the negative
side effects of your body fighting off different infections such as a runny
nose or cough.
Spices like cayenne pepper also create a heat within your body that helps to
soothe some of the pain that you might be feeling. It helps enable you to
stimulate your blood circulation so that you are better boosting your overall
immune system. When it comes to dosage for a spice, like cayenne pepper,
obviously use it to taste in your food.
You can add it to different pasta dishes, salads, sauces, or soups, and simply
add the amount that you think puts a good flavor in. In addition to this, you
can start to take cayenne pepper capsules that will help warm your body. If
you are somebody who struggles with constantly being cold, then you
might start to include more cayenne pepper capsules in your diet.
You can also try other kinds of spicy peppers and black pepper to give the
same kind of feelings. With the capsules, you'll want to start by taking one a
week to see how it makes you feel. Ensure that when you do, you overload
yourself with water so that you don't feel any of the sort of spicy effects
internally.
If you are somebody who's very sensitive to spices and heat, you won't want
to start with a capsule right away. Make sure that you just in include smaller
amounts. Some people like to put a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper into
their morning glass of water with a dash of lemon because it can boost your
digestive system and help to soothe your body from the inside. Start with
this, and gradually increase the amount of cayenne pepper you add each
day. Eventually you can simply take a capsule but consider that it might
also cause some issues with your breath or spicy burps.
The same can be said for cinnamon. These both will help to make sure that
your blood is being regulated throughout your body and can even prevent
blood clotting. Another important immune system boosting herb is oregano.
Oregano helps to combat different microbes that enter your body. It is an
antioxidant that will boost your immune system and is also rather easy to
grow on your own. Whether you dry it out or serve it fresh within your
dishes, it's a good addition to many different kinds of foods. When it comes
to oregano capsules, this is something that you can consider using. Not
many individuals will use oregano capsules and will instead turn toward the
oil for usage. Oregano oil will be best to use to treat different fevers that
you might be experiencing. They're also very beneficial for respiratory
problems, so if you are struggling with allergies or a cough, then oregano
oil could be something that you turn to.
If you are taking any other medicines and add oregano, that might play into
how you feel. Those who have bleeding disorders might already be taking a
medication can suffer negative side effects if they add oregano to these
types of medications already taken consistently. Do not take oregano oil in
addition to any medicines already being prescribed for these bleeding
disorders. Also consider any allergies you might have to other herbs and
similar families, such as sage, lavender, mint or basil. Oregano oil is not
intended to be ingested. You can put it on your body externally as long as
any purchase bottle gives you the okay to use it topically.
Don't ever put oregano oil directly on your skin. Instead, drop it a few drops
based on your body weight into an already created mixture of a carrier oil.
That could be something like coconut oil. Generally, you'll want to do about
a drop for every 75 pounds you weigh, so if you are 150 pounds, two drops
should be fine. At 250 pounds, you'll want to do probably around three
drops, but anything over that stick to just three and see how you feel. It's
still is best to start with one drop and then grow from there, depending on
whether you feel any side effects.
Put the oil on your chest or your arms to start. The best method and
suggested use for oregano oil is to put it in a diffuser or a boiling pot of
water even, and expose yourself to the steam because it will be the
respiratory system that you are most likely to treat.
The final supplement we want to discuss is elderberry. These are going to
be the best capsules for you to regulate your immune system. Studies have
proven that elderberry can improve different symptoms of fever, flu, and
cold. What you'll want to do is check in with your symptoms and then
decide what you would like to do with this herb. For example, a simple
droplet of elderberry oil within a diffuser or a boiling pot of water might
help to alleviate some symptoms of allergies or a slight cold. If you have
something more serious like a fever or flu, then you should consider taking
pills or capsules, as well as syrup made from elderberry. The difference
between syrup and a capsule is the way that you take it. Some people are
fine with swallowing a pill; others prefer a syrup that makes it easier to
ingest. Generally, you want to start with 175 milligrams. This can be found
in different lozenges or capsules. Start by taking it for two days and notice
if your symptoms improve. If they do not, you can try to take more, but
never exceed the amount as directed on a capsule that you purchase.
What you have to consider, with all of these supplements that we've
discussed, is that they are not always FDA approved. This means that they
aren’t regulated. There could be contaminants, or other substances not listed
that could have negative side effects or cause harm. Before you purchase
any pre-made capsules, always do your research and read reviews.
Determine where it is created and what regulations might be in place for
production to ensure that you are not exposing yourself to any risky
chemicals or substances that aren’t initially listed.

Immune System Boosters

There are many herbal supplements and essential oils that will enable you
to create a stronger immune system. This section is going to cover blends
that can boost your immune system daily.
One immune system boosting supplement that you can start to take is a
bitters concoction. Bitters is something that can be used for an immune
system booster. That is basically a tonic created from various herbs to give
you the perfect blend of something that will help your immune system. This
tonic can be consumed once weekly, and from there you can start to
increase it based on its effects. It's always good to start with once a week
just to see how your body might react. If after a week you don't notice any
differences and you feel fine, up it to two or to three, until you are taking
this consistently to help overall boost your immune system. You don't want
to overdose yourself because then this will mean that in the long term, it's
not as effective, and you certainly don't want to become dependent on any
substances. At the same time, this tonic is filled with very powerful
antioxidants that will enable your body to fight off infections. It also
provides you with antibacterial substances that makes it easier for your
body to come face-to-face with different microbes. What this recipe
includes is starting with a tablespoon of honey. Mix this honey with hot
water so that it dissolves. Then, add one ounce, each of astragalus root,
angelica root, and chamomile.
You will also want to add a teaspoon each of ginger, cinnamon, and
cardamom and on top of that, it's best to add a few ounces of alcohol to help
blend and diffuse all properties. It will take about two weeks for this to all
dissolve and blend together, though four weeks is recommended as well
because it helps make the concoction stronger.
You'll want to shake these ingredients together daily for those two weeks
that you let them sit in a mason jar. You'll want to start by taking it through
droplets, and you can do that for a couple times a week initially and
increase that as you go. Add the droplets to tea or take it directly. If you are
pregnant or breastfeeding, do not take this because it will have alcohol and
angelica route is not recommended for those who are pregnant either.
Honey and ginger are great antioxidants, so if you can, simply add these
into your daily life generally. That alone can help give you boosting
properties needed to create a powerful immune system.
The best recommendation for this bitters mix is to use it during the cold and
flu season. You'll be able to boost that immune system inside of you to
make sure that you are defending yourself against potential threats.
Another mixture that will help boost your immune system is echinacea.
This is also known as a coneflower and is a powerful herbal remedy that
aides in proper immune system functioning.
You should easily be able to find echinacea at any store that has a wider
selection of teas. Of course, if you go to a quick convenience store, they're
not likely to have it, nor a pharmacy. That doesn't mean that they definitely
won't, but if you are looking to purchase this tea pre-made, you will want to
go to a larger supermarket to have a bigger selection of various teas. Since
it is a tea, you can drink it daily. Have as much as you want of this, and also
consider blending it with other immune boosting herbs. For example, you
might make a cup of tea and add in a few droplets of the bitters we just
discussed. You could include more honey or ginger or cinnamon to your
liking. Simply doing this on a consistent basis can be enough to take your
immune system from what it is now to a place where you can easily defend
against common colds. If you are somebody who works with the public and
especially children, you are at a higher risk of passing around more germs.
If you are a schoolteacher, somebody who works at a grocery store, or just
any place where you are going to be coming in contact with a lot of germs,
you need that extra boost in your immune system. You don't want to ever
doing something bad for your body that could damage your immune system
because you never know what bacterial or microbes you might come in
contact with.
 Chapter 5:

Little-Known Ways Herbal Medicine Can Help

Common Ailments

Many individuals will be lucky enough to never have to experience

something as devastating as a chronic illness or cancer in their life.
However, that does not mean we will always be free from all health
ailments. Before reaching for a pill or serum that falls into the
pharmaceutical category when you are ill, consider the herbal medicines
that can help these common ailments first. Not only will you be doing
something good for your body, but you are also giving yourself the chance
to save some money and a trip to the hospital or doctor’s office!

Herbs for Pain Control

Nobody ever wants to have to deal with pain in their life. Whether it's a
cold sore that is uncomfortable, chronic headaches or muscular pain, there
are herbal remedies that can alleviate these feelings. One thing that we have
to understand about pain is that it is a signal from our body that something
is not right. Sometimes pain is simply because we have a wound that's
healing. Of course, if you cut yourself or you do have something like a cold
sore, then this is going to be painful because your body is working to help
alleviate the symptoms of that condition. In addition to this, we might
experience pain seen through something like a headache. A headache is
another sign that something might be wrong. You might be stressed,
dehydrated, or experiencing a cold. If you aren't sure what the reason of
your pain is then consider if it's something underlying. If you have muscular
pain, it could be that you over exerted yourself yesterday and you feel the
effects now. Maybe you bumped yourself and hit that part of your body. Or
perhaps you slept in wrong way, and you will cause some muscular pain.
Whatever it is, do not ignore the cause of the pain, but remember that
sometimes we will simply experience these uncomfortable feelings as our
body heals itself.
There are a few common remedies you can use to alleviate some of these
feelings. The first and most common way to alleviate pain is with lavender.
Lavender has properties within it that help with inflammation and pain
relief. The best method to use lavender is through an essential oil. Put a few
drops into your essential oil diffuser when you have a headache and you can
discover that this helps to alleviate that feeling. You should also consider
purchasing a topical lavender oil that is safe for skin use and mix it with any
basic lotion or oil carrier that you might use. You can rub it on the affected
area. If you go for a run and discover that your legs are now sore as your
muscles grow, you might turn to something like ibuprofen to alleviate that
pain. Before you turn to these medicines consider a few drops of lavender
oil and what it could do for your body. Another herb that can be very
beneficial for you to alleviate some of that pain is the use of cloves. Cloves
can also be used in oil as well as a supplement. What you will want to do
with these clothes is mix them in with a topical treatment for pain. You can
also up the cloves that you might already be using and food. Some
individuals don't like the taste of cloves, so this is when you would want to
use it topically for you to alleviate some of that pain. Ginger is another
great supplement that will naturally help you alleviate painful feelings. For
ginger, what you want to do is use it raw and add that to some food. You
can put it into a smoothie or any other dish that you might be eating. This is
something that you will want to use to help alleviate pain. You can also get
some ginger supplements. When taking supplements, ensure that you only
take one per day as the pain persists. You can use more if it says so on the
bottle of the supplements you purchase, but if you are creating your own
only take one dose, a day. This would be two grams. We’ll have a more
comprehensive layout of the actual dosage needed in the back of the book.
Only take it as the pain persist because after the pain is gone, then you don't
want to overload your body with this ginger. Turmeric is another herb that
can be helpful with pain relieving.
It does have a strong flavor so just like ginger you can blend it in with
something that would mask the taste. But other than that, again, you could
take two milligrams a day as the pain persists. You can buy these
supplements easily, but you also want to consider the length that you might
be taking them. Some people will take them for up to four weeks to help
alleviate some pain. Again, out of all the supplements, make sure that you
are not overlooking the cause of the pain first, and now you are only
alleviating something that is discomforting you that you know is not
because of a more serious underlying condition.

Herbs for Healing

Healing is something that we all need to do, and it can be hard because
sometimes that means experiencing pain. One thing that you will
experience through healing might be inflammation. Inflammation is your
body's defense mechanism against certain things that might be presenting
outside threats. Think of the last time that you cut yourself. This cut might
get red and inflamed around the opening. This is because your body is
doing its best to send those defenses to fight off any microbes that might be
coming in to cause your body harm. At the same time, inflammation can
happen internally and causes pain. If you experience joint pain constantly,
or even suffer from anxiety or depression, this could be because of
inflammation that exists inside of your body. Those who have digestive
issues and struggle with stomachaches might also have inflammation. A
good rule of thumb for anti-inflammatory properties is to use something
high in antioxidants. We already discussed the powerful benefits of turmeric
and cayenne pepper, so another herb that you could consider is licorice.
Licorice root can be consumed in food, but you can also take supplements,
only take one dosage per day, and never exceed more than four weeks of
licorice because it will have negative effects on your liver.
We also need to heal, by making sure that we aid in the process of removing
bacteria from our body. Even if you have a small cut on your face, it could
become infected to the point that it affects the rest of your body. You want
to overload your body with those antibacterial properties to make sure that
you are doing your best to defend yourself against infection. You want
herbs that will destroy the growth of bacteria. This would include
something like garlic, thyme, clove, and eucalyptus. We already discussed
the healing properties of garlic, so let's take a look at Eucalyptus for
antibacterial properties.
Eucalyptus will be effective in destroying some of the pathogenic bacteria
that can grow within your respiratory tract. This is why many people will
inhale eucalyptus diffused oil when they're feeling sick. That kind of
menthol property in eucalyptus not only helps to release some of the tension
and stress within your airways that might be restricting your breathing, but
it destroys bacteria in that process. The best way to use eucalyptus oil is
through a diffuser. Add a few droplets to the water that you are diffusing
and let yourself breathe in. If you do not have a diffuser, you can also boil
water and then add a few droplets. To make sure that you are really
breathing it in, again ensure that this is something safe to breathe and that
you are not purchasing something specifically for another reason. You can
also diffuse it with a carrier oil to use it topically. You can put it on your
chest to help relieve some respiratory issues. Make sure that you don't put it
directly on your face because it could be too strong for your skin, since it
does have those intense properties that helped to open up your airways.

Herbs for Energy

When feeling like you are drained or tired, your first instinct might be to
reach for a caffeinated beverage. Perhaps you also take supplements to
boost your abilities to stay awake. Of course, getting the proper amount of
sleep every night is the best option to ensure that you are not tired, but let's
be honest, not everybody does that realistically. Instead of adding too many
harmful substances such as sugary drinks or other pills to keep you awake,
know that there are great natural remedies that you can use to boost your
energy. These herbal remedies can help you ensure that you are
supplementing your energy levels in a healthy and natural way.
The first is ginseng. You will often see this labeled as being in many energy
drinks. For this reason, you might grow concerned as there is an issue with
a high consumption of energy drinks. For the most part this is because of
the intense level of sugars that could cause a debilitating crash.
Ginseng is an actual herb found in China that helps to heal your energy
levels as well as have other positive benefits on your body. It boosts your
stamina and helps your systems improve their overall immune function. The
thing about ginseng is that it will have negative side effects when mixed
with many medications. Consider taking this supplement before you start to
add it with other medications already taking. This is especially true for
those who suffer from depression, as well as diabetes and take medication
for those specific treatments.
Don't take this with caffeine either. Wait until later in the day, and don't
consume it with alcohol if these are substances you’ve already had in a day.
This is a supplement best taken in pill form. You will only want to take it
once a day or as needed for energy. Don't become dependent on this for
your use of energy and try to make sure that you monitor how much you are
taking it. Always follow the directions on any bottles purchased for this
supplement.
Another one that you can use for energy is ashwagandha. Ashwagandha is a
great herb that helps boost your energy. The root of the plant is what is
actually important in helping increase your stamina and strength. This root
not only boosts your energy, but it also has anti-inflammatory properties
and can even help you manage your stress levels.
You could have a sensitivity to this, however. If you struggle with foods that
belong in the night shade family, such as eggplant, tomatoes or potatoes,
then this might cause an issue for you. This is another one that you should
take in supplement form, and again, try to limit your consumption and not
let it become a daily additive. Instead, take it in moments that you might be
especially tired or planning to be a little bit more lethargic than usual.
 Chapter 6:

How to Make Sure You Use Herbal Medicine the

Right Way

Though herbs are not as dangerous or as addictive as something like an

opioid might be, that doesn't mean that there are certain precautions we still
need to consider before taking these herbal remedies. The first and most
important thing you need to remember is that we have to listen to the
medical professionals. If somebody gives you a diagnosis and tells you
what you should or shouldn't be taking, listen to them. Even though you
might think you know better, or a friend of a friend that tells you to do
otherwise, we still have to listen to the people who have studied medicine
for years. Consider this as well as the other precautions we’re going to be
discussing in this chapter.

The Precautions of Using Herbs

Don't substitute something that will provide your body with less medical
aide than another medication suggested by your doctor might. For example,
don’t take a medicine just to alleviate the pain of an issue that you’ve been
prescribed specific medication for. Perhaps you have extreme cramps due to
endometriosis or PCOS. Don’t just take an herbal remedy to help alleviate
the painful cramps. Take something that helps you to actually manage that
internal issue. This is especially true for extreme illnesses. Whatever you
are prescribed, do your research on that. If it makes you cautious to take it
for whatever reason, ask your doctor first about an alternate.
You can also present your doctor with your herbal treatment to see what
they think. Of course, not all doctors might agree with you, but you still
want to make sure that they approve (not necessarily agree) to your herbal
remedy, and that it won't make your symptoms even worse.
When you do select pre-made herbal remedies, whether it's an essential oil
or a pill bottle, make sure that you do your research on this product.
Anything that is new is something to wait to use. You'll want to find trusted
brands that have been around for a year or longer so that you can ensure this
is something legitimate that will help you. It’s best to purchase from a
legitimate store rather than just online. You’d be surprised at the many
loopholes some companies are able to jump through to sell their products
online.
Something that has been regulated by the FDA will be even better. The
FDA has their own internal problems that we need to be aware of,
especially with the regulation of food. Just because something is FDA
approved does not mean that it is healthy. However, if it doesn't even have
the FDA approval, then you know that it is not being properly regulated.
That doesn't mean that the actual substance is going to be bad for you. It
simply means that there might be other contaminants in place. For example,
you might decide to start taking oregano capsules for immunity.
Oregano itself wouldn’t be the thing that could cause you harm. It's the
environment that this capsule is made in which could have negative effects
on your health. You don't want to expose yourself to potential contaminants
that make their way into your food and products. You also want to ensure
that it's been treated and created in the right way. There are many
regulations and tests done on products to ensure that they are not used with
fillers or other additives that reverse the positive side effects.
If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or if you are treating a child, you need to
especially ensure that you do your research. Especially when you are
pregnant, it is important to listen to your doctors. Consult in a midwife as
well if you are choosing to go this route.
Always get the opinion of a pediatrician before treating your children with
herbal remedies. You want to ensure that you are doing your best to not ever
give your children something that doesn't help them in the end. When doing
dosages for children as well, you want to make sure to always check the
bottle. If there is no label for a child’s dosage, then it might not be
considered safe for children.
Whenever trying out a new herb, you want to give yourself a testing period.
Of course, if you constantly are eating a certain herb, then the likelihood of
you being allergic to it is less, but you still want to give yourself that trial
period to ensure that it doesn't cause you any harm. Whether it's an actual
herb or an oil from the herb, you want to check how your body will react to
it. To test this the best way, you can take a small amount of the herb and rub
it on the fatty part of your inner arm below your elbow. This would be right
where the crease is and a little bit lower.
If you do it directly on your wrist, the skin is a little bit thinner there so you
might experience a more intense rash, though, that is where some people do
suggest sort of testing that substance. It's also good to do it on a patch on
your inner arm first to see how you'll react. You can simply take the leaf of
an herb and rub it on your skin just a bit. Make sure that you don't
contaminate this area and that you keep the rest of your body from touching
that. If after a couple of days, you don't see any side effects, then you'll
know that it is safe to use in the way that you intend to. The same is for oil.
Never put essential oil directly on your skin. Always use something to
dilute it first. This could be simply water, or you can use a carrier oil such
as olive oil or coconut oil. Mix at least two tablespoons with each singular
droplet of essential oil and place a very small amount on your skin. If it
reacts okay, then you know that you can use this however you want. Ensure
to never consume essential oils unless an oil explicitly states that you are
able to consume it. Do not ever put it inside of your body. This is incredibly
important to understand. That kind of concentration can be harder to
process in your body, so you never want to put yourself through that.
Remember that you always need to keep everything as clean as possible.
When you are creating a mixture of oil, you want to only use clean utensils
and containers. Always keep everything completely sealed and in a cool
and dry area. Don't keep things open without a lid because you never know
what dust or pollen might fly into it. When you are storing oils, keep them
out of sunlight. Too much heat can change the concentration, or the
chemical makeup of certain substances so store it in a dry, cool and darker
place. Some things will be better when refrigerated as well, so consider this
when storing certain items. Also ensure that when you have fresh herbs,
you wash them thoroughly. You don't want to bring in any contaminants
from the outdoors inside. Who knows what kind of bugs might have been
crawling around it, if an animal urinated on them, or anything else that
might cause them to be dirty. You want to wash them thoroughly and give
them a chance to dry out just a little bit before using them in anything that
you are creating.

Key Points to Be Safe

It can be very hard to determine the dosage of certain herbs because there is
no regulation around some substances. When it comes to determining your
herbal dosages, make sure that you stay true to anything that's already listed
on the products that you buy. Aside from that, you'll still need to know your
own kind of dosage for homemade remedies.
Dosage will be determined by the size and weight of the person taking it.
Obviously people who are larger are going to take more. You also want to
consider fresh herbs versus dried herbs. Dried herbs are much more
concentrated, but also, fresh herbs can still have a higher level of intensity.
Consider the other additives that you'll be using. Are you using a mixture of
essential oils with a carrier oil or are you diluting an herb that you are
boiling down? Any of these methods used will determine the dosage of the
overall kind of herbal remedy that you'll be using.
The best approach is to do less than more. Give yourself that trial and error
period and make sure that you are testing things before going full-fledged.
You'll want to stick to once a week with treatment to begin with, and
gradually increase it from there. A good rule of thumb is to stop after six
weeks of treatment. If it's something like echinacea that we talked about
earlier, then this is something that you might consider taking more on a
daily basis but still consider giving yourselves breaks between so that your
body doesn't become dependent on these kinds of substances. Again, even
though it's not like an opioid, you still don't want your body to become
immune to the positive effects. Give yourself these breaks after six weeks,
but consider that with a lot of herbal remedies, you'll want to take for even
less time than that. If you are taking a remedy for a specific reason, such as
overcoming a common cold, then you won't want to be taking that for as
long since you are specifically treating something.
Again, always talk to your doctor to make sure that you are being as safe as
you possibly can. Whenever you are taking another medication, do not
include an herbal remedy unless it has been passed by your doctor. Even
something as innocent seeming as chamomile could negatively interact with
some other drugs.
For example, if you are taking an anticoagulant, then this could cause
negative side effects. If you are consuming a high level of chamomile.
Something like St John's wort can have you experiencing more sensitive
skin, and this could make you more susceptible to sunburn. Something like
Kava could lead to liver damage or hepatitis if you are already struggling
with kidney issues or problems with your liver. If you experience a heart
condition, such as blood clotting or irregular heartbeat, ginger can cause
issues with that. It can also pose problems for those who struggle with their
blood sugar.
Aloe is great topically, but at the same time, those who ingest it orally
might discover that it also interacts with heart conditions. Whatever your
condition might be now just ensure that you first do research on herbs that
should not be taken with that condition. Protect yourself and ensure that you
do everything within your power to be safe when using herbal remedies.

Side Effects of Using Herbs

The biggest side effect that you'll experience is that any herbal remedy you
take might have negative impact on the other medications that you are
already consuming. If you have pre-prescribed medications that you are
mixing with, then you might have negative side effects, so this is important
to consider. Aside from that, as long as you are taking something that has
been monitored by your doctor and approved by medical professional, then
you will find that it's completely safe for you to take something without
having too serious of negative side effects. Some common side effects
might simply be that you experience a headache or gastrointestinal issues.
Some of this is simply because you have introduced a new substance to
your body that needs to be broken down. Aside from this, depending on the
intention of the medication, you might experience lethargy or sleepiness
depending on the specific medication.
Always consider how these side effects might affect your daily life and if it
will be difficult for you to function because of them. For example, if you
are starting a new herbal remedy regimen, you might want to do this on the
weekend when you are not working in case you do experience something
like a chronic headache or lethargy.
Aside from that, you shouldn't be experiencing too many negative side
effects unless something deeper and greater is going on. Do your research
on the herbal remedy or substance that you were taking to see what the side
effects might be and if they will negatively impact you and your daily life.

Overuse of Herbal Medicine

Is it possible to overuse herbs and herbal medicine to a point that it
becomes unsafe for you? When it comes to herbal overdose, many people
wonder if it is possible to overuse these medications. Just like with any
other pill, if you overuse a pill or an oil, even though it has herbal
derivatives, you could potentially cause an overdose within your body.
When we're talking about overdose of your different systems, we have to
consider that when you take a pill or an oil, it is a concentrated amount.
Eating a handful of oregano leaves isn't necessarily the same thing as taking
an oregano capsule. You have to consider the concentrated levels that are
within these substances that you take. For that reason, you absolutely can
overdose on these medications.
Whenever you purchase something pre-made such as an oil or pill, never go
beyond the recommended daily amount. Just because it is seemingly
innocent because it is derived from a plant, that doesn't mean there aren't
other additives within that which could cause an overdose. And like we
already said it is a higher concentrated level.
Never overuse or abuse the herbal remedies that you purchase that are pre-
made. The same goes for creating your own capsules and oils at home. It
might seem helpful to take more because you would think it would mean
more positive effects on your body. That is not the case because our bodies
still need to break down these substances.
Now when it comes to using fresh herbs or dried herbs, you can also
overdose on these. It's just like a food and when you eat too much food, you
could get sick. If you ate 10 apples in a day that is seemingly healthy since
apples are good for you, but that's a lot for your body to process. We do
have a limit on what we can take in because it does have to pass through
our body. Your stomach, your kidneys, and your liver all help to make sure
that the food is digested and processed correctly. If you are overloading
that, then you can have adverse effects. You might discover that you are
nauseous or dizzy. The way that you can avoid overusing herbs and herbal
medicine is to never start out with too much. As said, go through a trial
period and use a very small amount. Do gradual increases unless an amount
is directly prescribed by a medical professional. Do not overuse it. Never go
beyond what is on the label, and only stick to a small droplet or amount per
day depending on the substance that you are using.
 Chapter 7:

Build an Herbal Medicine Collection You Can Be

Proud Of

Throughout this book, we have discussed with you many herbal remedies.
In this chapter, we are going to create a more comprehensive reference for
you. We have relisted some herbs that we already went into greater detail
for, but we will repeat this for quick reference.
In addition, we have added newer and other remedies that you can also try
if the main ones don’t help you out. Again, we aren’t going to go into the
details of each of these and instead will list the most basic info so that you
can come back and reference this whenever you need to.
There are so many more potential herbs for these uses, but we have given
you the beginner basics. These are going to help create an incredible
collection. Whether it’s dried herbs, a fresh garden, capsules or an essential
oil blend, you will find what you need in this chapter for a strong
foundation.
Each herb can usually be found in all forms: freshly grown/dried/essential
oil/capsule. We have provided you with the most common method of
consumption, but by all means build your pantry across all forms. These
herbs aren’t used for that singular purpose either. Ensure that you are doing
your absolute best to create a wide cabinet of herbal medicine.
As far as the precautions/side effects section goes, these are going to be
inclusive of negative things only. This doesn’t mean that these will be
certain to have these side effects. It is just a warning that excess and
unmonitored use could lead to this. Do your research on any medications
you are already taking to ensure that nothing mixes negatively with each
other? For dosage, we have given a general rule for how much to use but, of
course, consult in your doctor before taking too much/not enough. Always
test and reflect with each new treatment you decide to use.
Herbs That Help With Immune System Function
These are herbs that will help enable you to boost your immune system.
You will want to include these in your diet whenever you can. The stronger
your immune system, the better it will be to fight off infection. During cold
and flu season up your efforts to boost your immune system since you will
be more susceptible to catching something nasty!

Sage (Garden or White)

Recommended Form: Leaves and stems, tea or tincture.
Amount: 1 cup daily, 4 daily cups maximum
Duration: As needed, especially during cold/flu season
Precaution: Do not have more than 3 cups of tea daily or else you might
experience vomiting, rapid heartbeats, and even kidney damage or seizures.
Tip: Essential oil can also be diffused to help decongest.
Side Effects: Nervous system side effects when taken too frequently
(dizziness/vertigo)
Accessibility: Most sage can be purchased fresh, and sage tea should be
available at larger supermarkets. Sage essential oils can be purchased online
as well, but be cautious of their intended use.

Echinacea
Recommended Form: Flowering tops and roots in tea
Amount: 1 cup daily, 4 cups maximum
Duration: As needed, especially during cold and flu seasons
Precaution: Too much echinacea can cause abdominal pain and there is a
risk for allergic reactions.
Tip: Capsules are available for those who don’t like tea. Only take one
capsule a day.
Side Effects: Rash and diarrhea as well as vomiting is found in those who
have an allergic reaction.
Accessibility: This should be available in most larger grocery stores for tea,
and supplements are frequently found in vitamin stores.

Garlic
Recommended Form: Raw, added to dishes
Amount: At least one clove daily
Duration: As frequent as possible
Precaution: Don’t overload yourself with garlic right away. It can cause an
upset stomach.
Tip: If you don’t like the taste, take a daily garlic supplement.
Side Effects: The worst thing about too much garlic is the smell of burps.
Mix it with other food when eating raw to eliminate this risk.
Accessibility: Garlic is available at any grocery store and garlic capsules
can be easily found in most areas.

Herbs That Help With Pain

Whatever pain you are experiencing can be aided with an herbal treatment.
If something hurts internally (headache/stomachache) you’ll want to take an
internal remedy. If you have muscle sores or issues with your skin, then a
topical treatment might be a better route. For topical treatments, always test
on a small patch of your skin first to avoid any negative side effects.

Ginger
Recommended Form: Raw
Amount: Around 4 grams daily (less than 1 gram for pregnant individuals)
Duration: As needed for pain relief
Precaution: Too much ginger can cause an upset stomach, just as with
garlic.
Tip: Ginger capsules are available, and you can take 1 per day for six
weeks as needed for pain.
Side Effects: A high amount can cause heartburn or acid reflux.
Accessibility: Raw ginger is available at most grocery stores and you can
purchase capsules online.

Lavender Oil

Recommended Form: Essential oil

Amount: 2 – 5 drops at a time, 3 times maximum a day
Duration: As needed for pain relief
Precaution: Too much lavender for a headache can actually increase a
headache because of the strong smell. Start with a small amount and work
your way up.
Tip: Add lavender oil to lotion for pain relief, just ensure it won’t mix with
any harmful chemicals.
Side Effects: Lavender essential oil diffuser can lead to sleepiness, and
topically some have had irritations.
Accessibility: Lavender oil is frequently found in health and beauty stores
as well as accessible online.

Turmeric

Recommended Form: Capsule (food as well but many people don’t like
the taste)
Amount: 1-2 capsules per day
Duration: As needed daily for pain relief
Precaution: It does have a strong and spicy taste which could cause painful
burps or acid reflux/heartburn.
Tip: Start with one capsule every two days and increase, especially for
those that aren’t already consuming turmeric in their foods.
Side Effects: Some patients will have an allergic reaction or an upset
stomach.
Accessibility: Turmeric as a spice is found in most grocery stores, but a
capsule is likely needed to be purchased online or from a specific herbal
medicine store.

Herbs That Help With Anxiety

Whether you experience chronic stress or generalized anxiety, these herbs
can help to relax you. Always consult a medical professional before adding
anything to a medication regimen you are already on for your mental health.

Chamomile

Recommended Form: Supplement

Amount: 1 tablet daily, 500 mg maximum
Duration: As needed daily for anxiety
Precaution: Some have been known to have an allergic reaction.
Tip: This is a great tea and very popular in that form so a daily cup before
bed can help calm nerves.
Side Effects: Upset stomach, hypersensitivity, and even vomiting for those
with allergies to chamomile flowers.
Accessibility: Chamomile tea is available in most grocery stores, but
capsules might be needed to be purchased online.

St. John’s Wort

Recommended Form: Capsule
Amount: 1 300 mg capsule daily (two smaller doses is fine, but 300 mg
max)
Duration: As needed for anxiety
Precaution: It will interfere with other medication already prescribed for
anxiety/depression.
Tip: It is best for those that experience both depression and anxiety.
Side Effects: Dry mouth/headache/dizziness
Accessibility: This is harder to come by so an online store will probably be
the best option.

Herbs That Help With Stomach Issues

Whether you have an upset stomach, heartburn, diarrhea, constipation or
some other digestive issue, there is an herb to help. Be cautious consuming
something for the first time when your stomach is upset. The repeated use
of any of these herbs can help create a regulation in your stomach to fight
off negative side effects.

Fennel

Recommended Form: Raw or dried for seasoning

Amount: As needed/ to taste
Duration: As needed for an upset stomach
Precaution: Respiratory issues for sensitivities
Tip: Fennel is best paired with meats that you are seasoning.
Side Effects: Fennel can cause allergic reactions, such as rash or hives.
Accessibility: Fennel is found as a seasoning in most grocery stores

Peppermint

Recommended Form: Fresh/dried herbs/supplement

Amount: 1 supplement as needed for upset stomach
Duration: As needed for stomach pain (3 or more days of pain might
warrant a doctor’s visit)
Precaution: Peppermint has a strong flavor not everyone enjoys.
Tip: Peppermint tea can have the same soothing qualities on one’s stomach.
Side Effects: Peppermint can have a menthol feeling, so heartburn and
burning mouth might occur.
Accessibility: Peppermint tea is easily available (don’t confuse peppermint
with peppermint candy).

Marshmallow Root
Recommended Form: Capsule
Amount: 1 capsule daily for constipation
Duration: As needed to relieve constipation
Precaution: It can loosen stool, so depending on the intention it could
cause diarrhea if constipation is easily reached naturally.
Tip: It can also be used for skin conditions.
Side Effects: It will affect blood sugar levels, so patients with diabetes or
related issues should avoid this supplement.
Accessibility: It’s not as commonly found, so an online store is likely the
best option.

Herbs That Help With Allergies

Allergies can be very debilitating, but many herbs can help. The thing to
remember is that these herbs might not provide instant relief, but after a few
days of treatment you can notice a difference in your reaction. If you are
having an active allergic reaction whether it’s to an animal or peanuts and
you feel it is difficult to breathe or see, see an emergency medical
professional to prevent something serious happening.
Butterbur

Recommended Form: Supplement

Amount: 1 capsule daily as needed for allergies
Duration: As needed daily for allergy relief
Precaution: Don’t expect instant results—the buildup of antihistamines
happens overtime.
Tip: This is for those who suffer seasonal allergies, not necessarily allergic
reactions to internal substances or pet fur/dander.
Side Effects: You might experience itching or burning eyes.
Accessibility: This is harder to come by so an online order might be
necessary.

Carotenoids

Recommended Form: Beta carotene supplements

Amount: 1 pill as needed
Duration: 1 pill daily during allergy season
Precaution: This is not a direct herb; it is a compound found in plant
substances
Tip: This is great for use when exposure to the sun is going to be present as
well.
Side Effects: Skin discoloration and joint pain are common.
Accessibility: Most stores that sell vitamins will have a beta carotene
supplement.

Nettle
Recommended Form: Tea
Amount: 1-4 cups daily
Duration: As needed to reduce allergy symptoms
Precaution: This simply alleviates allergy symptoms such as
sneezing/coughing/runny nose.
Tip: Growing nettle is a great option, but use gloves when harvesting as the
leaves can sting skin.
Side Effects: Overdose can lead to hives or upset stomach.
Accessibility: Tea is common and found at most grocery stores.

Herbs That Help With Brain Power

Some of us just need a boost of brain power to help us improve memory
and overall cognitive function. These are herbs that you can add into your
daily regimen to do just that.

Ginkgo Biloba

Recommended Form: Supplement

Amount: 40 milligrams daily
Duration: As desired based on intention
Precaution: Do not consume ginkgo seeds
Tip: This is best for blood flow to the brain and could prevent
Alzheimer’s/dementia.
Side Effects: Headache/dizziness
Accessibility: Supplements are found in most health food stores and many
grocery stores.

Lemon Balm

Recommended Form: Tea

Amount: 1 – 4 cups daily
Duration: As needed for memory boost
Precaution: It could cause heartburn
Tip: Best for increased cognitive function when learning/studying.
Side Effects: Headache/painful urination/ nausea/wheezing
Accessibility: Lemon balm tea is found in most stores

Ashwagandha

Recommended Form: Capsule

Amount: 500 mg MAXIMUM
Duration: As needed
Precaution: Some have negative reactions, so never take without talking to
a doctor first (especially those who are already on mind-altering drugs).
Tip: Best for those with ADHD/OCD/insomnia/lethargy.
Side Effects: headache/sleepiness/stomach ache
Accessibility: This is known for being more expensive but found easily
online.

Herbs That Help With Infection

If you are more susceptible to infection or you have a larger cut on your
body, these remedies can help. If you have any sign of a serious infection,
go to the doctor immediately to prevent it from moving to your
bloodstream.

Cinnamon
Recommended Form: Dried for seasoning
Amount: As preferred daily to taste
Duration: As needed to increase antibiotics within the body
Precaution: Too much cinnamon can lead to indigestion
Tip: Add it to as many teas/foods as possible to consistently increase anti-
inflammatory properties within the body
Side Effects: Too much cinnamon can harm the liver/cause ulcers
Accessibility: Cinnamon is found in any grocery store

Thyme

Recommended Form: Topical essential oil diluted with carrier oil

Amount: 1 drop per tablespoon of carrier oil (increase as needed)
Duration: Topically applied to area of infection
Precaution: If after 3 days there is no sign of healing the wound will
require more attention from a medical professional.
Tip: This helps with scarring as well.
Side Effects: Test a small patch to avoid rash and never ingest.
Accessibility: Thyme is found in most stores, but essential oil might be
found online or in a health food store.

Herbs That Help With Inflammation

Inflammation can cause sore joints and an upset stomach. You might notice
inflammation on your body. These herbal remedies are here to help you
fight off inflammation and provide you with antioxidant properties
necessary.

Rosemary

Recommended Form: Capsule

Amount: 1-gram daily MAXIMUM
Duration: As needed to reduce inflammation
Precaution: Do not take rosemary capsules when pregnant.
Tip: Fresh and dried rosemary goes great with many dishes—both sweet
and savory.
Side Effects: Headache/nausea/dizziness
Accessibility: Fresh and dried rosemary is found in most stores and
supplements can be purchased online.

Green Tea

Recommended Form: Tea

Amount: 1 – 4 cups daily
Duration: As needed daily
Precaution: Could cause heartburn/acid reflux if taken on an empty
stomach
Tip: A great replacement for coffee for daily anti-inflammatory properties.
Side Effects: Highly caffeinated, so it could increase heart rate/sweating.
Accessibility: Green tea is found in any store that sells tea.

Herbs That Help With Reproductive Health

Our reproductive health is important, not just for specifically reproducing.
Include these if you struggle with fertility, low libido, or frequent
infections. If you are taking any other medication or are actively
pregnant/breastfeeding, consult a medical professional before adding these
to your regimen.

Maca

Recommended Form: Supplement

Amount: 1 supplement daily (4 grams MAXIMUM)
Duration: As needed to boost libido/fertility
Precaution: Not recommended for those breastfeeding/pregnant
Tip: Best for helping increase libido and fertility for women and men
Side Effects: Not good for those with hormone or reproductive system
conditions (PCOS, endometriosis, UTI, etc.)
Accessibility: It is found in many health food stores and is common in tea
forms.

Cranberry
Recommended Form: Supplement
Amount: 600 mg daily (800 maximum)
Duration: As needed (especially close to menstruation for women)
Precaution: These don’t work with treating UTIs that you already have.
Tip: This is best for those who are actively having sex and menstruating to
prevent UTIs.
Side Effects: Upset stomach/diarrhea
Accessibility: Cranberry juice is found in many stores but be cautious of
high sugar content (supplements are found in most grocery stores).
 Conclusion

There are a few steps to take next to ensure that your herbal medicine
knowledge will be growing vastly. Never stop doing your research because
although a lot is already known, we still have plenty left to discover about
herbal antibiotics. As you can see already, you can start to find the solutions
necessary for you to feel the relief needed from your various conditions.
Since this is a quick and shorter book, we have some recommended
readings that can enable your knowledge to expand. Check out some of
these recommended books on how to identify herbs and herbal medicine:
● Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A Beginner's Guide: 33
Healing Herbs to Know, Grow, and Use
● Llewellyn's 2016 Herbal Almanac: Herbs for Growing &
Gathering, Cooking & Crafts, Health & Beauty, History, Myth &
Lore
These books on how to grow your own herbs and herbal medicine are
helpful as well:
● Grow Your Own Herbal Remedies: How to Create a Customized
Herb Garden to Support Your Health & Well-Being
● Herbal ABC's The Foundation of Herbal Medicine
You can check out how to make your own herbal medicine in these texts:
● The Herbal Medicine-Maker's Handbook: A Home Manual
● The Modern Herbal Dispensatory: A Medicine-Making Guide
These books are good for the history of herbs and how people have used
herbal medicine throughout history:
● The Untold History of Healing: Plant Lore and Medicinal Magic
from the Stone Age to Present
● Green Pharmacy: A History of Herbal Medicine
Remember above all else to allow a medical professional to also examine
your issues. You are in charge of your own body so you will decide what
treatments to use, but unless we have a medical background it’s good to
have a second opinion. It’s not that you might choose the wrong treatment,
but there could be an underlying issue or something else that is overlooked
which could be causing certain symptoms.
All bodies are different not just because of age, gender or location, but
because of our basic biological and chemical makeup. When something is
incredibly serious, consult a medical professional immediately. These are
some more serious issues that require emergency attention:
● Constant bleeding and inability to stop
● Fainting and sudden loss of consciousness
● Extreme shortness of breath
● Intolerable pain
● Loss of feeling
● Prolonged vomiting or diarrhea
● Unresponsiveness
Second opinions are good to get as well when you are unsure of how to
medically treat something. At the same time, remember that not all doctors
will be “out to get you,” or with the intention of pushing an expensive
pharmaceutical on patients.
At the end of the day, you know your body and what needs to be done.
Listen to your gut and do what is best for your health.
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