Natural Remedies for Food Poisoning | Fast & Effective Treatments

Activated Charcoal, Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Julian (Kissimmee, Florida) on 04/17/2013
★★★★★

I am writing this because this is the second time apple cider vinegar has cured my food poisoning. Last night I had chicken and pasta, thought it was delicious. This morning though I woke up around 4:30 feeling nauseous. I went to the bathroom and I threw it up. I mean ALL of it. So I went back to sleep, and woke up again at 6am. I again felt nauseous and proceeded to the bathroom where I gagged and choked until my stomach and intestines were in severe pain and I could barely breathe, but nothing came out. So I drank a glass of water. Went back to sleep, at this point I had bad cramps and was exhausted from waking up multiple times. At 8am I went to the kitchen and threw up again, this time it was the whole glass of water I drank before. Went back to sleep.. And at 1 in the afternoon I woke back up and had some black lipton tea, suggested here on EC to help food poisoning. Less than 30 minutes later I threw that up too, that and some blood. I was so sick of vomiting!! So I came back on EC and looked up more vomiting/food poison remedies and remembered about ACV. I also saw that activated carbon/charcoal works too by absorbing the poisons created by the bacteria. So I went to a health food store and bought 32oz of organic ACV, you already know the brand :D as well as charcoal capsules. Came home and took two capsules of activated carbon and 3 TBSP of ACV. It didn't work right away like most people, maybe because I waited too long.. But anyway within an hour or two (that seemed like eternity), I stopped feeling so nauseous and the cramps subsided. I took ACV and charcoal again a couple hrs later, 2TBSP and 2 capsules of charcoal. By now I figured I couldnt stand up or lay down, or I would get nauseous again. So I just sat slumped over for a couple hrs. And finally gave up because I was so exhausted, so I fell asleep. I woke up again about and hour ago, repeated the concoction of ACV and charcoal, and am feeling better now, except for my killer headache. I am thankful for earthclinic and all the helpful reviews here. And am especially grateful for this liquid gold, apple cider vinegar!!!

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Doc Mark (Phoenix) on 01/04/2018
★★★★★

Activated charcoal has an incredibly long shelf life as along as it's kept dry and not in an extremely hot area. That being said - it can loose some potency after years on a shelf. Like 3-5 years or more. Depending on the conditions it's stored under.

If all you have is some aging caps or powder, I would assume that "something is better than nothing" and use it, probably adjusting upwards for dosage until I was giving the patient close to 2 grams of th "old stuff" at a time. But also wait about 4 hours between this large dose to avoid getting an impaction... just in case it's more potent than we think. As soon as you can replace the aging bottle and it's contents, the better, obviously. But if it was me or my family suffering and becoming dehydrated and worse - I'd definitely try the aged A.C., vs doing nothing. Worst case it will not work as well or as quickly as fresh product might. But it will help at least until you can get new product. As always, this is not medical advice, just general knowledge about how medications age and loose their potency. IF YOU SEE dehydration, bloody stools, loss of balance, or change in personality, etc., these can be signs of a serious problem and the patient needs to be evaluated by a med team in an OR or Urgent Care setting if possible. Severe dehydration can be life-threatening if not treated. Do not hesitate to take the patient into the ER if you see that the meds are not working and the dumping of liquids continues.

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Dr. Michael (Briarcliff Manor, Ny) on 02/15/2010
★★★★★

After a nice Valentine's Day dinner, my wife woke up with severe diarrhea & couldn't stop throwing up. Even water. Fortunately, I stumbled across this website! I ran out and bought her activated charcoal capsules and gave her 2. Within 20 minutes she was finally able to get some rest. She still slept all day & was exhausted from the emptying both ways, but at least it stopped & she felt good enough to sleep. Thanks!

Grapefruit Seed Extract

Posted by Emily (Las Vegas, Nevada) on 12/14/2020
★★★★★

I LOVE GSE for food poisoning! It's the best thing to combat food poisoning and shorten the length of unpleasantness, alongside activated charcoal.

I swear by GSE, and now all of my friends & family do, too.

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Kw (Lethbridge, Ab) on 08/03/2015
★★★★★

A little background:

I have a very sensitive stomach and get food poisoning often, it is something I am working on fixing. My husband and I can eat the exact same thing and while he wont feel a thing I will be running to the bathroom every 15 minutes.

I found that if I take 1 capsule of Activated Charcoal as soon as symptoms start coming on I feel immediate relief. Often times I will take a second cap about an hour after the first. Nausea can stay with me for about 8 hours but the vomiting and diarrhea are 100% gone. It is so effective that I always take Activated Charcoal with me camping and in the truck, it works every time! I have to share my success as I am sure there are others out there like me who get food poisoning often. Just remember to drink lots of water because it will dehydrate you.

PS. sometimes they sell Activated Charcoal with added licorice, this type of charcoal also works for the Food poisoning but can cause reactions in some people if they are sensitive to licorice.

Colloidal Silver

Posted by Marie (Miami, Florida) on 03/06/2015
★★★★★

I must have the worst case of salmonella on earth... took apple cider vinegar for over 24 hrs, it did nothing! Then tried eating a minced garlic clove; barfed it up in under 2 minutes, no relief at all.

But then I remembered (duh) the colloidal silver solution I keep for bronchial issues... the instruction-sheet says you can also take it for food poisoning, 1 teaspoon "every hr if necessary." Took 1 t, instantly tried to barf that up too, but you can't really regurgitate nano-particles, you know? In less than an hour I felt some relief!

Have been taking 1 t every hr (while awake) and it's helping dramatically. I can feel that it's finally killing it off, and I'm finally eating some solid food again.

Activated Charcoal, Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Lr (Naperville, Il) on 10/12/2013
★★★★★

Sorry to hear how sick you were :( I've been there. Was so sick with my roomie, for nearly 3 weeks we vomited AND had diarrhea. Good times.

The ascetic acid in the AC Vinegar kills the pathogens that are making you sick. I don't recommend chugging 1/4 cp of it though, as that in itself could make many people sick. Two tbsp is more than enough, and repeating an hour or two later wouldn't hurt.

I'm a huge fan of ACV and know it works but I've picked up some charcoal too for general first aid but thankfully haven't had to try it. I've learned it is able to neutralize the majority of toxins, up to 60% - It is all natural (made from burnt coconut shells) - It has been a staple of poison control centers - It will usually stop a case of food poisoning from progressing. The toxins actually stick to the surface of charcoal like a magnet and stay firmly attached until they are expelled from the body in the feces... [nature is amazing]. Cheers & to good health :)

Garlic, Oregano Oil

Posted by Genevieve3 (Yarmouth, Isle Of Wight, United Kingdom) on 04/13/2012
★★★★★

My daughter suffered a tummy bug which caused her to feel nauseous, and gave her a very bad migraine. I wasn't sure what it was she was suffering from or what kind of bug she may have had, but I gave her a crushed raw garlic clove, some handfuls of fresh basil leaves and some colloidal silver. I also gave her some paracetomol for her migraine. After half an hour she fell asleep for about six hours. She wasn't sick and had no diarrhea and was hungry for food when she woke up, which she ate with no problems. (She does have a habit of biting her fingers and we have a dog she is always cuddling, so we thought that may have been the problem.)

The next evening I gave her some cold chicken kiev and some cold potatoes to eat. A few hours later she felt unwell. We decided it must then be the chicken kiev which probably had not been re-heated properly. I promptly gave her again a raw crushed garlic clove, some fresh basil and instead of collodial silver (I had done some research since the previous evening), I gave her four drops of oil of oregano in a small glass of water. I also gave her a paracetomol for her headache and again she fell asleep for about six hours without stirring. After which time she awoke and was starving hungry and ate all the Easter food I had prepared along with her chocolate eggs. The remedies I had given her obviously killed the bacteria causing her food poisoning. Normally if the children suffer stomach upset they would suffer for a few days and I would avoid giving them any dairy, just maybe some dry toast and water, although in my day it would be black sweet tea.

Just thought I would share this information with Earth Clinic. I had read previously that fresh basil can be just as good a pain reliever as paracetomol and also fights nausea and kills certain bacteria. Oregano oil kills salmonella bacteria and raw garlic is said to kill bacteria too.

I knew myself that raw garlic was a wonderful remedy as I had gone onto this site when I had severe tooth pain for an abcess. I tried all the remedies mentioned and the tea bag cures and managed to get a good nights sleep for seven hours. When the pain started again I managed to curtail it by taking co-codamol as paracetomol and ibuprofen would not touch the pain. The co-codamol killed the pain within five minutes, but I knew it was dangerous to just douse the pain as the bacteria causing it could spread.

I then read on your site about garlic. I put a slither against the gum of the tooth pain and it killed the pain that night. I did the same the next day. The burning pain from the garlic made me cry but I was determined to keep it in place until I managed to kill the infection. It seemed to do the trick and the pain disappeared. But a few weeks later an abcess appeared on the gum by the same tooth, but this time there was no pain. As it had taken four days for the subsequent ulcer, caused by the burning of the garlic, to heal (I ate pumpkin seeds daily and put some bee propolis onto a cotton bud and rubbed onto the ulcer), I didn't wish to go down this route again.

After reading some more of the remedies mentioned on your site, I tried swallowing raw crushed garlic cloves with a glass of water. Later the same evening I could feel the lumpy abcess reduce in size. I took some more garlic the next day and by the evening the abcess was completely flat. To be safe, I repeated the same remedy for a few days more to make sure the bacteria causing the abcess had completely gone. I am still pain free two months later. This remedy saved me £1, 000 in root canal treatment.

I mentioned this treatment to my dental surgery, but they said that there was no guarantee that the abcess won't come back. But as I have read that 97% of terminal cancer sufferers have had a root canal in the past, I am certain that I will never go down that route.

Activated Charcoal, Lugol's Iodine

Posted by Shanti (Bangkok, Thailand) on 12/25/2009
★★★★★

I just arrived in Bangkok last night at 2am having not eaten all day and stupidly ate some very cheap food (I was very hungry). I immediately took a few drops of iodine in water out of fear of the inevitable... but an hour later the inevitable happened and I got the runs and all the signs of impending food poisoning. So I took more iodine and some tablets I had which had a small amount of charcoal in them and pepsin (the digestive enzyme). I must have had around 20 drops of iodine and about 5 of these tablets and all symptoms went away in about an hour or less. Today I feel fine! I'm off to find some clean food.

Activated Charcoal

Posted by Mitsue (Wishart, Queensland Australia) on 11/06/2008
★★★★★

One late afternoon I bought Sushi with raw salmon in it, it must have been sitting there all day, after eating it I had very bad case of vomiting and diarrhea for almost 3 weeks. I remembered that charcoal helps with the poison, and I had charcoal my mother sent me for purifying water. I just was so desperate I just cracked a small piece and ate it. Surprising as it is, my vomiting and diarrhea stopped almost immediately. I should have taken it sooner.. So I have medicated charcoal tablet in my medicine cupboard now and when I had vomiting the other I took one straight away and I was fine!!

Honey

Posted by Teffani (EC's Facebook Page) on 05/25/2020
★★★★★

In Ayuveda, I was recommended to take 1 tbsp of pure honey for food poisoning. And one more later if necessary, but it wasn't. 👍🏼

Figs

Posted by Victor (Los Angeles ) on 07/04/2016 2 posts
★★★★★

Thank you so much Janace for posting about figs for food poisoning!

I've used a lot of natural cures here on Earthclinic thru the years but none have been as life changing as this one.

I never post but this cure was just so radical for me that I was compelled to sign up and write this.

I've suffered from a sensitive digestive system all my life, so much so that I had begun to fear eating out much less travelling!

At first, I was skeptical. I ate some bad food last week and couldn't shake it off with daily ACV and I'm currently unable to take colloidal silver which is my usual go-to cure for food poisoning.

So today, I was at my wit's end trying to find a way to get rid of this stubburn tummy bug, and happened to have a bag of dried figs in the kitchen.

Ate 2 and voila! I'm good!

Absolutely amazing!

I don't know what else to say, except I am so grateful for this cure.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Lemon Juice, Cayenne

Posted by Cybersavy (West Palm Beach, Fl) on 03/14/2015
★★★★★

Consider a small amount of Lemon juice with all meals diluted with 4-5oz water or Aloe.

My wife and I cannot count the times we have picked up a stomach virus from eating in restaurants. Especially when we travel. In addition its known from my research bring a small bottle of Cayenne 515mg. 40,000 heat units and take until symptom are gone. I know how it works because its pretty strong.

Example! While I was in Orlando area we ate at a well known buffet restaurant. I ate turkey that may have been sitting to many hours on the line of foods. It didn't take long 3 hours later I could not stand and my head was spinning and stomach pain. I'm so glad we came across this remedy. 20 minutes later I started to feel better. And the next day I was fine. But, still took the same course of action.

Black Tea

Posted by Jayne T (London, Uk) on 05/27/2014
★★★★★

After coming home from a pizza restaurant at the weekend I suddenly felt woozy and had very bad diarrhea. Afterwards I felt a bit weak and had a strong craving for black tea.

The black tea settled my stomach really quickly. Usually when I have a bad stomach like this I feel ill for days afterwards and have several episodes of diarrhea. But after the black tea I felt no ill effects, I just felt normal like I was well.

I avoided eating much the next day to be on the safe side, but felt completely fine. Apparently black tea works for diarrhea because it contains tannins which are binding.

Garlic, Oregano Oil

Posted by Marygoround (Fairfax, Va) on 11/20/2017

Snopes (non-biased internet myth busters) tells us that this claim about 97% of terminal cancer sufferers have had a root canal is... FALSE. It is completely false and could be dangerous if someone decides to defer treatment for an infected tooth. Please carefully consider claims like this.

As for the rest of this story, good for you. I am glad your daughter, and you, feel better.

Garlic, Oregano Oil

Posted by Michael (New Hampshire) on 12/16/2017

"non biased myth busters", Yet they won't disclose who funds them. How do you know they're non biased then?

Activated Charcoal, Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Gem620 (Gilbert, Arizona, Usa) on 07/30/2011
★★★★★

I woke up this morning dizzy, nauseous, & sweating. This is the first time I've ever experienced this type of misery. I tried ginger ale & candied ginger with very little relief. I had salmon last night as did my daughter but she feel great. I am so thankful to have found this site and all the great assistance. After suffering for 9 hrs. I decided to drag myself out & but the activated charcoal & apple cider vinegar. I took 2 capsules of the charcoal & took a swig of vinegar, I don't advise this, be sure to dilute with water. I felt worse for a couple hours & then the dizziness, nausea & sweating began to dissipate considerably. I'm so amazed at how much better I feel from just 2 hrs. ago! Thank you so much to all!!

Activated Charcoal, Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Momathome (Us) on 07/11/2015

Add a bit of stevia to the Apple Cider Vinegar and water. Actually tastes great! Adding some ice to make it cold helps too.

Activated Charcoal, Apple Cider Vinegar

Posted by Lisa (Cairns, Australia) on 09/24/2010
★★★★★

Hi, thankyou for your website! My aunt here visiting from Spain, tried a seafood lunch in one of our famous seafood restaurants for lunch (hasn't had anything since)and suddenly this evening starts all the symptoms of foodpoisoning, found your info, and forunately had a good healthy friend just around the corner, with both applecider vinegar and activated charcoal powder (beautiful! ) (well, maybe not the taste... ) my aunt seems to be resting peacefully now, and I thank all the wise ones for knowing and sharing, blessed be...

Ginger

Posted by gus (elko, nevada) on 01/05/2008
★★★★★

I have been sick with some kind of stomach virus when I found something in a pamphlet about using ginger to help cure stomach pains and cramps. I asked my mom about itand she said she had some ginger root and ginger tea I tried the tea but that just made it worse. I tried a pill with ginger root in it and the pain went away within the hour. you can get ginger root at any drug store without a persciption. Also if you are puking so much you can't take pills try some ginger ale it doesn't have as much ginger in it so it won't work as well, but it could calm your stomach enough to take a ginger pill. take one pill wait 10 minutes and take one more pill. This ginger remedy helps with nausea, really works.

Hydrogen Peroxide

Posted by Deshawn (Chicago, IL) on 11/25/2007
★★★★★

Hydrogen Peroxide 3% works wonders for me. I used one cap size of HP (the cap on the hp bottle) and one cap of bottle spring water. I simply tossed the hp/water solution in my mouth and swallowed it. I did this three times a day for one day only. I had eaten some food that had badly upset my stomach (my stomach kept making rumbling noises)and it was cramping up so badly. the same day I immediately swallowed 1 cap full of hp and one cap full of spring water (hold the cap of hp in your mouth then chase it down with the capful of spring water). That same night I sleep like a baby and I felt so good in the morning. I hope that you have the same experience because food poisoning is never a good thing but quick relief is a miracle. I took this mixture immediately after my stomach started cramping.