What are some natural antibiotic/antiviral foods that won't interfere with immunosuppressants?

Question

My grandmother is currently taking Remicade for her rheumatoid arthritis. Since it's an immunosuppressant, she often gets colds because she is a nanny and is around germy kids. I have heard that garlic and cranberry juice are natural antibiotics. What are some other natural foods/drinks/supplements that have antibiotic/antiviral properties that DON'T boost the immune system? (since the purpose of RA medicine is to suppress the immune system, since RA is an autoimmune disease).

Answer 1

Foods (sometimes called "Superfoods") that are very high in certain nutrients will be very helpful to your Grandmother.  Some of these would be:

1)  yams and sweet potatoes, squashes and carrots--all for their beta carotene content

2)  all greens (for their Vitamin A, iron & calcium content)

3)  nuts and nut butters (Vitamin E, natural oils and an acid content in the case of walnuts that helps to dissolve arterial plaques)

4)  whole grains (B vitamins,

5)  beans, peas, legumes, pulses, peanuts and peanut butter

6)  lean meats, poultry, fish, eggs--amino acids (protein building blocks that body must have in order to function well, te heal itself, and to fight off infections.  (Grandma should go easy w/ red meat, especially beef, as there is a lot of research to show that beef, wheat, tomato, red wine, Solanaceae family (vegetables like potatoes, eggplant (especially), zucchini, tomatoes, nicotine, peppers of all kinds, except cayenne peppers) seriously aggravate all forms of arthritis.

7)  Fish is a really healthy food for almost everyone, so look to this as a best source of protein.  Balch & Balch say this about fish consumption and arthritis:  "Omega-3 EFA's found in fish may alleviate symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis by suppressing the immune system reaction that causes joint inflammation.  Over a dozen studies have shown that people w/ RA have fewer tender and swollen joints and less morning stiffness after several months of taking large doses of fish oil supplements (2.5 to 5 grams a day) with meals.  A limited amount of people have even been able to reduce or discontinue use of anti-inflammatory drugs."

8)  I find soy foods (tamari, shoyu, miso (especially), tofu, tempeh, okara) and raw foods to be extremely helpful and beneficial in trying to maintain my own health.

9)  I have had many clients report their arthritic pains get much better when they change and clean up their diets.  I would be extremely skeptical about ANY pharmaceutical that depressed my immune system, especially if I were older, and regardless of how much pain I were in.  I just really do not find that true healing can be found with the use of pharmaceuticals very often.  Once in awhile it will work, such as in the case of intestinal paracites like worms, amoebas and flukes.  I also believe in immunizations, especially for more serious diseases, and I definitely find there is a time and a place for antibiotics and many other types of medicine.  I have found no cure for autoimmune diseases w/ allopathic meds.  These simply control or repress symptoms.  They in no way address cause of symptoms, nor do they reverse the symptoms in the body, and I know this b/c I've been diabetic for 20+ years now.   Read Annemarie Colbin's writings, especially Food and Healing.  Twenty years ago she was saying auto-immune diseases would be the diseases or "plague" of the future.  She was right.

10)  I have also had excellent experiences with such foods as chlorella, spirulina, blue green algae, fresh fruit and vegetable juices, brewer's yeast, veg juices w/ lots of fresh garlic and ginger, (The ginger would be particularly helpful for G-ma, as it is a very powerful antioxidant AND an anti-inflammatory.) and multiple herbs  (Balch and Balch Prescription for Nutritional Healing lists the following herbs as being good for arthritis:  alfalfa, kelp, boswellia, Cat's Claw (Una de gato), cayenne, Du Huo Jinsheng Wan, Nettle Leaf, noni, Olive Leaf Extract, Phytodolor (which contains ash bark, aspen bark and goldenrod), Turmeric, white willow bark (for pain; original source of aspirin), Brigham tea, buchu leaves, burdock root, celery seed, corn silk, devil's claw tea, horsetail, nettle, parsley tea , willow bark and yucca; vitamins and minerals.  The more attention I pay to health and healing and the more time and money and effort I invest in my well-being, the better I feel.

11)  And don't let me forget fresh fruit and vegetables.  As Louise Hay says, "If it grows in or on the ground, or in a tree, I eat it."  Regarding your grandma, she may find that papaya and pineapple (fresh ONLY, canning or freezing destroys all the beneficial enzymes) are helpful to her with her arthritis, as they have high levels of bromelain and papain which are two enzymes that scavenge excess proteins in the body.  This is a good start.  There is MUCH, MUCH more information out there in the world that should help your granny.  Blessings to you both.  And please understand this, if you get NOTHING else from my post:  There are MANY ways to get the anti-inflammatory effects your granny needs to do her day without taking hepato-toxic, immune system depressing or destroying pharmaceuticals.  Please look for some of these FIRST, in order to best serve her and save her health!  Drugs that depress or destroy the immune system can in no way be a good idea, especially for an older or elderly person (and even more so in dealing w/ children) from my perspective.

Answer 2

Try to remember that herbs are foods.  Most herbs are fine for your grandmother just space them out and in smaller doses.  I have a formula she can make at home with foods from grocery store - I give the recipe out at winter time to my clients and family/friends...stuff works great and is very safe for her/anyone.

Feel free to email me and I can email ingredients/instructions

Answer 3

garlic oil caps are used as antibiotics under the Kyolic or other brand names

for boosting her immune system she may need a series of multi vitamins and multi minerals supplements.

lots of fresh fruits and vegetables nuts are the foods that boost the immune system.