Most antibiotics that are prescribed by doctors have severe side effects, such as allergic reactions, rashes, vomiting, diarrhea, or vaginal candidiasis.
Don’t panic though—I do have some good news. There is a natural alternative to prescription medication, and it’s oregano oil. There are many conditions that oregano oil can treat, including killing infections in the body.
If you are tired of experiencing the side effects of your prescription drugs, continue reading to see the benefits of this powerhouse herb.
What Is Oregano Oil?
Oregano oil comes from the leaves of oregano (Origanum vulgare)—a strong, bushy perennial herb and a member of the mint (Lamiaceae) family. The most beneficial oil is produced from wild oregano that’s native to Mediterranean regions.
Composition of Oregano Oil
Oregano oil contains high amounts of phenols, which are natural photochemical compounds (compounds produced by plants) that provide antioxidant effects. The two main phenols found in oregano oil are:
- Thymol: A natural fungicide that helps boost the immune system, protect against toxins, prevent tissue damage, and speed up the healing process for injuries.
- Carvacrol: Helps fight against certain bacterial infections such as salmonella, candida, aspergillus mold, and listeria—just to name a few.
Benefits of Oregano Oil
Oregano oil has a wide range of health benefits. It benefits the respiratory and immune system and prevents and treats infections, including:
- Respiratory infections: These infections are caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae (damage to the lungs) and Staphylococcus.
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs): These infections are caused by harmful bacteria, such as Escherichia coli (E. coli), Proteus (bacteria found in decomposed animal matter), and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (bacteria that feeds off weak immune systems in humans and animals).
- Parasitic infections: Research shows how oregano oil treatment is more effective at treating these infections compared to the antibiotic tinidazole (anti-parasitic drug).
- Methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infection: According to Indian and British researchers, the strong antibacterial properties of oregano oil can kill the deadly superbug.
Oregano oil has also shown promise in preventing food-borne illnesses that have been caused by pathogens. Adding oregano oil to your food will not only help destroy the bacteria, but will also improve food poisoning symptoms.
Aside from treating and preventing infections, you can also use oregano oil to:
- Relieve symptoms of bug bites and rashes, including poison ivy rashes: To reduce the symptoms, mix oregano oil with olive oil and apply to the affected areas.
- Ease a sore throat or dry cough: Add a few drops of oregano oil into a glass of water.
- Scare off insects: The carvacrol found in oregano oil works as a natural insect repellent.
- Heal cold sores, dandruff and other skin conditions: Some experts believe that using a diluted version of oregano oil may help treat acne.
Oregano Oil and Its Antifungal Benefits
Oregano oil is useful for treating Candida infestation, the most common cause of fungus infection. One of the main benefits that oregano oil has over other antifungals is that Candida yeast does not develop a resistance to it, whereas other antifungals could lose their effectiveness over a period of time as the Candida adapts to them.
Not only does oregano oil destroy Candida infestation, but it also has the ability to destroy other beneficial bacteria that you’re your lacking.
It’s recommended that you take oregano oil for a five-week period to destroy the Candida before it multiplies.
Oregano vs. Antibiotics
Many studies have confirmed that oregano oil can be used in place of antibiotics for a number of reasons. Let’s take a look at a study published last year in the European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. The phenol in oil of oregano was shown to protect against methotrexate toxicity in rats—methotrexate (MTX) is a medication commonly used to treat a number of conditions, including certain cancers. Turkish researchers analyzed oil of oregano’s ability to keep side effects from these diseases at bay (because antioxidants and anti-inflammatory drugs can be ineffective at fully protecting patients from the side effects of MTX).
In another study conducted by Harry G. Preuss, a professor of physiology and biophysics, researchers tested oregano oil on staphylococcus bacteria, which is becoming increasingly resistant to many antibiotics.
For the study, the team combined oregano oil with the bacteria in a test tube, and compared oregano oil’s effects to standard antibiotics: penicillin, streptomycin, and vancomycin. Using small doses of oregano oil, the team found that it slowed down the growth of staphylococcus bacteria in the test tubes just as effectively as the standard antibiotic did.
The team also examined how efficient carvacrol was, so they gathered 18 mice that were infected with staph bacteria and tested the effects of the oregano oil. Six of the mice were given oregano oil for 30 days, another six mice were given carvacrol in olive oil and another six mice received olive oil on its own.
Researchers discovered that 50% of the mice who received oregano oil for 30 days survived the 30-day treatment. The mice who received carvacrol did not last longer than 21 days. The mice that received olive oil all died within three days.
In another study published in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, researchers concluded that when physicians prescribe antibiotics, they end up prescribing broad-spectrum antibiotics 60% of the time. (Broad-spectrum antibiotics are drugs that help fight a wide range of bacteria.) Researchers also found that about 25% of the time that antibiotics were prescribed, they were for conditions that antibiotics typically don’t treat.
Also Read: 9 Side Effects of Oregano Oil
Sources for Today’s Article:
“Oregano Oil: Extraordinary Oregano Oil,” Mercola.com; http://articles.mercola.com/herbal-oils/oregano-oil.aspx, last accessed September 21, 2015.
“Oregano Oil: A Powerful Natural Antifungal,” The Candida Diet web site; http://www.thecandidadiet.com/oregano-oil/, last accessed September 21, 2015.
Brookwood, S. “Candida Overgrowth: The Role and Possible Dangers of Antifungals, September 4, 2013; http://blog.probacto.com/candida-overgrowth-the-role-and-possible-dangers-of-antifungals/.
“Oregano Oil May Protect Against Drug-Resistant Bacteria, Georgetown Researcher Finds,” Science Daily web site, October 11, 2001; http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2001/10/011011065609.htm.