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donderdag 3 november 2016

Resist antibiotic-resistant superbugs with these six powerful and natural alternatives to antibiotics

For many people, antibiotics have become a standard routine when they get sick. Since the 1940s, these drugs have significantly reduced illness and death from bacterial infections. However, they are not the go-to fix for everything.

Conditions such as a sore throat or bronchitis are usually caused by a virus and cannot be treated with antibiotics. Nonetheless, the medical industry keeps prescribing these drugs to treat non-bacterial infections. As a result, bacteria adapt themselves to these drugs and become resistant. When this happens, a common, easily treatable disease may become an unstable killer. In fact, if we don't stop the overuse of antibiotics, bacteria may evolve to a point where even the last-resort treatments will fail.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), at least 23,000 American people die each year as a direct result of these unstoppable infections.

Long before Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics in 1927, our ancestors relied on medicinal plants and natural remedies to strengthen their immune systems and prevent or cure infections. Some of these natural practices are still in use today.


1. Turmeric

Turmeric, the bright yellow-orange colored spice that most of us know from Indian curries, has been well known and documented for its antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties. It inhibits the growth of certain bacteria, parasites and fungi. It has successfully been used to fight Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria that causes ulcers and gastritis.

It can be taken as a supplement, drunk as tea or mixed with honey to create a skin-, wound- and infection-healing paste.


2. Garlic

Another excellent and versatile antibiotic is garlic, which has been shown to protect the body by killing harmful bacteria. Clinical tests suggest that garlic may be as potent as some of the commonly used antibiotics.

maandag 1 augustus 2016

Europe’s Banking Crisis Leaves EU Scrambling to Avoid Repeat of 2008 Crash


Top financial institutions in Europe have hardly been more vulnerable to an economic tremor, a situation worsened by the collapse of the German credit market as Berlin suddenly stopped issuing new debt.

Europe’s top financial institutions are teetering on the edge of collapse as access to high quality debt products have created a liquidity freeze rendering many institutions near insolvent according to the European Union stress test that assesses each bank’s ability to withstand the shock of a global economic slowdown.

The Bank of England rushed in to reassure global markets that UK lenders remain in a strong position to weather global financial shocks, but the rest of Europe may be in for more than its fair share of turbulence.

The European Banking Authority (EBA), an EU institution, coordinated the test of 51 lenders from across the bloc expressed concern in the wake of the test noting that most of Europe’s banks are not properly situated to withstand a major market event.