Antimicrobial foods as medicine

Through my experience, I learned that food has the power to heal. And I am sharing what foods you can add to your diet that have an antimicrobial, detoxifying and balancing effect on the body.

Herbs are often used in natural or functional medicine to rebalance the biome. I never took any antimicrobial herbs when healing my gut. Instead I used the anti-inflammatory power of food.

Food not only kills bad bugs, but balances minerals, supports immunity and boosts repair. Below I teach you what foods can balance your biome and help beat digestive issues.

Anti-microbial foods

Mastica is something I use in high doses for h. pylori, it is resin that comes from trees on the Greek island of Chios. You can buy it online in “tear” form. They look like little hard pebbles that turn into gum when chewed. You can grind the pebble-like tears to create a mastic powder to put in smoothies.

Mastica is considered a food in Greece and a good h. pylori preventative. It helps with ulcers and gastritis. Mastic gum does not have a detrimental effect on beneficial bacteria and is very safe in small amounts. Greek people put mastic in lemonade, ice cream and baked goods.

Blackseed oil comes from black cumin seeds which is a powerful food-based remedy for yeast AND h pylori. You can consume the oil straight with a tablespoon but it doesn’t taste good. Use it to make salad dressing, or pesto or buy a capsule form. If you have the seeds you can mix them with honey and consume them that way. Or mix with homemade granola or sprinkle on smoothie bowls. Don’t take the oil on an empty stomach.

Broccoli sprouts are one of the most medicinal foods. They are low FODMAP, and full of sufurophane which kills h. pylori and helps convert bad estrogen into good estrogen. It also boosts liver detox. You can buy broccoli sprouts at your natural grocery store, grow your own (it takes a few days) or consume them in concentrated supplement form.

Papaya seeds are nature’s answer to fighting parasites. These round, black peppery seeds are found in the middle of the papaya and are edible. They taste strongly of pepper and can be added to a salad to help fight parasites.

Garlic is great for killing methane, h. pylori, bacteria and yeast. It is not tolerated by many FODMAP sensitive people who use it in supplement form instead, which removes the FODMAPs and concentrates the allicin (the medicinal ingredient).

Honey is a great antibacterial and can help with seasonal allergies. It’s my favorite sweetener because of its biome-boosting benefits.

Cinnamon is an antimicrobial and blood sugar balancer.

Cloves are used for killing parasites. Throw them in a medicinal smoothie with papaya seeds or use it to make chai.

Apple cider vinegar is great for battling candida/yeast and helping the liver detox and produce bile. It also boosts stomach acid and the biome because it is a fermented food.

Oregano is a great addition to any dish, fresh or dried. While oregano oil can be too harsh on the biome, fresh oregano has the same antimicrobial benefits but in much lower doses.

Coconut flesh, milk and oil are antimicrobial superstars. Here’s a recipe from my cookbook that use coconut oil to make an anti-inflammatory breakfast bites. And my super popular anti-inflammatory coconut butter golden cups.

Olive oil is a powerful antibacterial and helps fight h. pylori. It is the backbone of a healthy Mediterranean diet.

Cranberries are not well known to be antibacterial but many people use them as a natural remedy for UTIs in juice form (unsweetened). Cranberries also fight h. pylori.

Minerals for the win

Minerals like zinc, selenium and iodine are essential for immune and thyroid function (metabolism). And you can consume them in food form.

Oysters are a great source of zinc. And if you don’t like or can’t get oysters, you can use oyster pills.

For selenium consume Brazil nuts

To get iodine eat kelp and seaweed

The adrenals need potassium and sodium to function well. You can get potassium from coconut water, bananas, potatoes, watermelon and avocados.

You can get sodium from high quality sea salt. I like Redmond’s salt.

Natural anti-inflammatory foods

Fish oil, turmeric and cayenne pepper help reduce inflammation.

Stress supporting foods

Medicinal mushrooms like shiitake, matake, reishi, chaga and lions mane can be eaten fresh or consumed in powdered form.

Favorite anti-inflammatory detox drink

Switch your coffee for matcha green tea powder.

Match is green tea in powdered form. You mix 1/2 teaspoon or more with water to create a brew that kills yeast and bacteria, particularly h. pylori.

You can get the recipe for my h. pylori-killing Match Golden milk latte in my H. pylori Rescue guide. It boasts the benefits of turmeric, cinnamon, ginger and matcha.

Got leaky gut?

Bone broth and collagen are great for lowering inflammation, repairing the gut lining and remineralizing the body. It’s the medicinal part of chicken soup. It’s so easy to make your own bone broth with 2 pounds of bones (1 kilo) and 4 quarts of water. I use an instant pot to make it in 2 hours. Add 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar to the broth to pull more calcium and minerals out of the bones.