Anti-Pathogen Treatment to Heal Your Gut
Here at LTYG, we refer to anti-pathogens a lot! But what exactly are these, and what do they do? Today I want to give some clarity surrounding anti-pathogens, as well as tips on how these should be taken.
An anti-pathogen is any drug or supplement that counters the effects of a pathogen, which then leads to the question…what are pathogens?
Pathogens are microorganisms that can cause disease such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and worms. It can really be any critter that is causing damage or dis-ease in the body, such as bad bacteria ingested after eating bad food or even parasites.
Learn more about this fundamental way to heal your gut!
In her 8 Key Steps video, Jini mentions that IBD conditions are actually infectious diseases. The “infectious” part likely started with some type of pathogen, so if you are still struggling to heal IBD it’s very likely you still have some underlying infection or organisms in your G.I. that haven’t been treated yet.
Now, there are levels to healing… so before you go out and buy every anti-pathogen on the market please tread cautiously! It’s usually best to start anti-pathogens when you are stable with your systems and body, so don’t begin if you are in the midst of an intense flare.
Why? Because anti-pathogens disrupt the flora in the digestive system, by just it doing what they’re supposed to do – kill the “bad guys.” Unfortunately as the anti-pathogen eliminates bad bacteria from the gut and body, this die-off can also cause temporary, flu-like symptoms. This is actually called a Herxheimer Reaction, and it is very normal! These “die-off” symptoms (called this because the pathogens are dying off) is why it is best to start slowly – not in the midst of severe symptoms – as you may cause an increase in those negative symptoms by taking an anti-pathogen.
Most likely you didn’t get this disease overnight, so you need to purge slowly, or you can cause further damage by jumping in too aggressively. It’s best to start with a LOW dose and SLOWLY increase. If you have never taken an anti-pathogen before, you can start with just 1 drop. Yes just one! Then see how your body responds.
For 6 months I could literally only do ONE DROP of Wild Oregano Oil, and I still would feel really sick if I didn’t start detoxing 20 minutes after consuming. That’s how many toxins I had stored in my body! If that sounds like you, then check out my interview with Jini about all of my detox tips and protocols.
To get to a therapeutic dose you’ll eventually want to do more than 1 drop, but go at the pace of your body. For some, smaller doses more frequently throughout the day work better than higher doses all at once. This is your time to experiment and see what your body tells you – listen to your gut 🙂
Your body needs space, time, and detoxification to get all the nasties out. But how do you detox? Go to the Search box on this blog and type in “detox” to pull up all our posts on this topic – including recipes for detox foods. Jini also wrote a fantastic blog post on using an infrared sauna for IBD detox and healing support I recommend reading, if you haven’t already.
Jini’s Lazer tapping course is also an amazing way to detox. It helps to shift energy (as tapping often focuses on “letting go”), so it’s a great facilitator of releasing what no longer serves you – physically and energetically. I tap when I get any HERX reaction, and it helps my symptoms subside while I shift that stagnant energy!
How often should you take anti-pathogens?
Depending on the severity and your stage of healing, this will vary. If you go by the slow-and-low suggestion, it could take you a year to build up to a therapeutic dose… or you could get there in one day with no issues at all. Everyone is SO different, so it’s best to start slow and listen to what your body needs.
What’s most important, however, is the need to cycle on and off anti-pathogens. This is the part a lot of people don’t know about. You won’t be on an anti-pathogen treatment every day for the rest of your life – and in reality, you should only use an anti-pathogen until the infection is gone. It is not intended for long-term, every-day use, but sometimes our gut is so full of toxins that it takes more than just one cycle to sweep out all the “bad guys.” This is where cycling begins.
Per Jini, “You can cycle on and off as needed because you may have a bacteria/fungal hybrid that has a dormant/active life cycle – this can take up to 3 years to clear completely.” Many people (especially those with stubborn infections) prefer to alternate between olive leaf and wild oregano, so that the pathogens don’t get used to any one substance – they feel this is a more powerful approach.
Again, lean into your body wisdom to address how long to take an anti-pathogen, which one, and what dose. And if you need a bit more guidance, I recommend looking into private coaching with Jini’s recommended practitioners (which is something I did).
ALWAYS take probiotics!
Jini’s Wild Oregano Oil Protocol (found in her Healing Guide: Natural Treatments for Gut Infection and any of her large books) always combines wild oregano usage with a potent probiotic. This also remains true for ANY anti-pathogen regimen, because the anti-pathogens are killing the “bad guys” – so you want to make sure the “good guys” (or beneficial bacteria) are being replenished! Probiotics and anti-pathogens must be separated by at least 2 hours, as you don’t want to kill the good bacteria you’re ingesting – so don’t take them together!
I, personally, like to have a routine in place:
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- I take my probiotics and other supplements that need to be on empty stomach in the morning when I wake up
- Then I drink my morning shake
- Mid-morning I take a dose of anti-pathogens. That way I’m consuming them before I eat again at lunch, since ideally they should be taken on an empty stomach.
- Then I wait a few hours, take a second dose, and then wait before eating dinner/supper.
But this isn’t the only schedule that works! I recommend finding what is best for your routine, your body, etc. If you need some guidance, here are some additional resources to help you navigate through a confusing supplement schedule:
Confusing Supplement Schedule – HELP!
Confusing Supplement Schedule – 4 Simplifying Tips
Before & After Examples of Supplement Schedules
I can also honestly say that the Listen to Your Gut Shoppe carries the best of the best when it comes to products! Both the wild oregano oil and olive leaf extract come in capsule and dropper options, so if you are new to using an anti-pathogen it’s recommended to start with the droppers (as you have more control over dosing):
Olive Leaf Extract Capsules
Olive Leaf Extract (Dropper)
Wild Oregano Oil (Capsules & Droppers)
Try to stay grounded in your healing journey wherever you can – use Lazer Tapping or Jini’s Guided Meditations – as you will gain a massive insight into your body as you try these different techniques. And make sure you are taking a look at ANTI-PATHOGEN treatments in your healing journey, if you haven’t already! They were game-changers for me. 🙂
Happy healing!
Hi Linsy,
Great blog post. I have a question about something you mentioned, “is best to start slowly – not in the midst of severe symptoms” you mention it’s best to start when your body is stable and not during a flare (I started with 10 drops of WOO, but only a half teaspoon of probiotics. Bad?) I thought the WOO protocol will help kill of the nasties (good too) and with the probiotics (2 hours afterwards) will help to improve things. Why would you wait until after a flare? and what are you suppose to do to “help” the flare if you’re not doing the WOO protocol? I understand the die off symptoms can be tough to deal with that’s why you mention starting slow, but Im just not clear on the waiting until after the flare to start the WOO. Am I not understanding correctly? 🙂 Thanks so much in advance.
Hi Sebastian – thanks for reaching out! Just passed your question along to Linsy, and here is her response:
“I appreciate you reaching out, especially as this is a FANTASTIC question! I like to explain it this way…antipathogens are very essential for healing naturally. However if someone is experiencing SEVERE symptoms like hemorrhaging, severe bleeding, constant vomiting, like I was right in the beginning, in THOSE cases I’d be really hesitant to start on antipathogens. Only because the anti-pathogens usually stir up more symptoms in the beginning, and we wouldn’t want someone to end up in the hospital if the symptoms increase due to that severity. During those severe cases it may just be too much for the body to process. Your body needs to be stable enough to detox!
However, when things are more stable and calmed down then I would definitely introduce the anti pathogens, as the body can process it better. Even during a flare I definitely took anti-pathogens, but I took it when my body was ready to handle the detoxing. So I set myself up for success by prepping my body for detox and healing the mucosal layer BEFORE I started anti-pathogens. If you are in severe symptoms and your body is telling you it’s not ready to begin antipathogens yet, there is still a lot you can do to build yourself up to introduce those!
Here are 2 of Jinis products I used to heal the mucosal layer before I introduced anti pathogens:
https://shoppe.listentoyourgut.com/imix-nutrition-mucosacalm-90-capsules/ (This helped get my bleeding down so I could begin WOO)
https://shoppe.listentoyourgut.com/source-naturals-l-glutamine-powder-3-53-oz-100-g/
Hi Linsy,
Can you use colloidal silver instead of WOO, or olive leaf? I have tried WOO and olive leaf capsules but no matter how little I use or how slowly I incorporate them I end up with upper gastric upset.
Thank you,
Lucie
Hi Lucie! Are you also supplementing with a potent probiotic while taking WOO or olive leaf? Here is a blog post on colloidal silver you may be interested in: https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/colloidal-silver-a-triple-whammy/
And a couple posts on issues with anti-pathogens you may find useful – as well as binders, which help to pull the toxins from “die-off” out:
1.) Anti-Pathogen Treatment: The Fundamental Way to Heal Your Gut! https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/anti-pathogen-treatment-the-fundamental-way-to-heal-your-gut/
2.) Can I Start an Anti-Pathogen Treatment During a Crohns/Colitis Flare? https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/can-i-start-an-anti-pathogen-treatment-during-a-crohns-colitis-flare/
3.) The Benefits of “Binders” https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/the-benefits-of-binders/
4.) How to Navigate Healing With Supplement Sensitivity: https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/how-to-navigate-healing-with-supplement-sensitivity/
5.)How to Reduce Herxheimer Reaction & Detox Sensitivity: https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/how-to-reduce-herxheimer-reaction-detox-sensitivity/
I hope all this info helps! 🙂
Take the woo in water?
Here is a very easy way to take WOO (with water) without the burning: https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/the-best-way-to-take-wild-oregano-oil/
And here as well: https://youtu.be/I9qngC28RVw
Hope this helps!
I have a 5 1/2 year old daughter who has eczema. I did a GI map test for her back in 2019 And she tested high for Candida and high bacterial overgrowth.
Can I do the wild oregano protocol for her? If so, Would that be enough to heal her system? If not, what do you suggest to help a 5 1/2 year old? I’ve tried so much.
Hi Renee – you may be able to see results using it topically, but it’s best to dilute when using it on a child. Here is a free download of Jini’s ebook, What You Need to Know About Wild Oregano Oil: https://listentoyourgut.com/woo/
She may also benefit from taking it internally too if she is suffering from candida overgrowth, but it’s best to consult your doctor or naturopath in this case. If you do choose to take it internally, be sure to follow up with a potent probiotic 2 hours later. Wild oregano oil will kill good and bad bacteria, so you want to replenish the gut microbiota using probiotics.
Hi
When do you know the infection is gone? I’m in phase one and I’m getting alot of yellowish mucus looking stuff coming out and bright red blow which may be from the illeum or internal hemorrhoids but it is also in the yellow mucus like stuff. I started take 10 drops WOO 3 times per day 4 days ago. I don’t have access to funding for elemental vegan shakes right now or the herbs for enema kit I’m disabled and on a fixed income at 43 year old with children.
I was taking VSL#3 probiotics prior to starting phase one. I was able to purchase natren probiotics and take at night 1tsp of each the vegan ones. I am unable to do dairy just FYI.
Please advise?
Hi Claudia! Good question! For the most part, Jini and I say that the infection is gone when symptoms dissolve and are gone. Temporarily an increase in symptoms is normal for many when starting the protocol as the microbiome shifts.
If symptoms continue to get worse or increase I usually taper down on the WOO until things resolve, giving your body a break. If you do have a hemorrhoid this protocol of Jini’s may be helpful: https://listentoyourgut.com/a-hemorrhoid/
And if purchasing the enema kit is not possible currently, perhaps you can order the enema bottle and purchase some of the herbs separately if you can afford that.
Here is also a blog Jini made on how to make your own elemental shake that you may find helpful https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/create-your-own-elemental-bowel-rest-shake/
Linsy