3. Ginger
Ginger is more effective then antibiotics in treating Staphylococcus aureus and S. pyreus infections (7).
Ginger has been shown to have an antibacterial effect on respiratory and periodontal infections (7,8,9).
Ginger can also fight drug–resistant fungi (10).
4. Chili Peppers
Unlike some natural remedies which rely on one specific genus of a spice, like cinnamon, 4 different varieties of chili pepper have antibiotic effects. They have been used in Mayan medicine for thousands of years.
In fact, Capsicum baccatum, Capsicum chinese, Capsicum frutescens, and Capsicum pubescens varieties were found to have antimicrobial effects against fifteen bacterial species and one yeast species (11).
These peppers contain two different antibiotic compounds capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin (12).
5. Cinnamon
Cinnamon has been found to inhibit the growth of various isolates of bacteria including Gram-positive and bacteria and fungi including yeast, mold and dermatophytes (13).
A study lead by a team of surgeons, for example, found that a solution made with cinnamon oil killed a number of common and hospital-acquired infections, like streptococcus and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA (14).
Another study by French researchers in 2008 had similar results, showing that at concentrations of 10 percent or less, cinnamon oil was effective against Staphylococcus, E. coli and several antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria (15).
6. Lemon
Citric acid from lemon juice has proven to prevent the highly contagious norovirus from infecting humans. It’s considered to be a safe disinfectant to be used in the home and kitchen (16).
Lemon essential oil is a mild antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-inflammatory, For stronger benefits, include lemon peel in the remedy (17).