Food That Fights Bacteria

Physicians do not have any other weapon other than antibiotics to fight pathogens.  If the antibiotic does not work, the doctor has to treat the patient symptomatically and let the immune system of the patient take over to fight the disease.  The disadvantages of antibiotics are that they destroy pathogens as well as friendly intestinal bacteria, which help in digestion and synthesis of vitamin K. They also help to fight pathogens by competing for space in the intestines.

Candida is a strain of yeast cells, which inhabit intestines, if the intestinal bacteria fall prey to the destruction of the antibiotics and this helps the growth of candida.  This situation has extremely severe effects.  The candida change into spores and causes havoc in the body and it is immune to antibiotic because of its sporal form. It causes headaches and digestive problems.

One can use foods that fight against bacteria instead of antibiotics; this will not harm the saprophytic microbes but destroy the pathogens.  Foods such as onion, garlic and coconuts are among those which help in such activity. These contain medium chain fatty acids that make it proficient in fighting pathogens.  Lauric acid a medium chain fatty acid in coconut helps in killing lipid coated bacteria which are usually pathogens.  It however does not harm the normal intestinal bacterial flora. Thus it is always better to take natural foods like coconut oil to prevent disease-causing bacteria from multiplying in one’s body. It makes better sense as it takes care of the nutrition as well as preventing ill health. 

Among other strains coconut oil fights against streptococcus (which causes pneumonia, ear and throat infections), staphylococcus (pathogen causing whitlow, food poisoning, skin infections, and urinary tract infections, Neisseria the microbe causing gonorrhea, Chlamydia which causes genital infection and helicobacter pyloris that cause stomach ulcers.