The Kill List: Klebsiella Edition

Klebsiella is the second most common cause of UTIs and has two different species that cause infection: K. pneumoniae and K. oxytoca. Like E. coli, it is motile (the little bastards can swim) and gram-negative, meaning it too can be suppressed by alkalizing the urine.
K. pneumoniae is the most common, and is often quite antibiotic resistant. That species name does indeed mean what you think it means: it’s the bacteria that causes pneumonia. That sounds scary, but don’t worry: there’s a silver bullet in the arsenal for this one.

Depending on the strain, it can be killed with the basic OLE/garlic/cayenne protocol (the first case I saw of this was in a woman who e-mailed me in early 2016: she’d had it for 4 years. It was dead 6 days later, on the basic Phase II protocol), or with a combination of horseradish, juiced ginger, and cayenne pepper.

An interesting way in which this genus differs from E. coli is, some strains of K. pneumoniae are capable of metabolizing (eating) the fructo-oligosaccharides in garlic, and all the cases of K. oxytoca I’ve seen will do so. WARNING: This also means that you must not take prebiotics of any sort. For more info about that, click here.

Personally, I always recommend prioritizing the horseradish. I’ve seen urine test strips go from darkly positive to clear in one day of fresh horseradish use. Klebsiella is most susceptible to isothiocyanates (horseradish), terpenes (ginger), and alkaloids (cayenne), with phenols (OLE) trailing behind in a supporting role. Oregano oil is a monoterpenoid phenol, so it also plays a supporting role.

The first step is, of course, to alkalize the urine (pH 7-8) with what you have on hand (lemon juice/baking soda water), so start with Phase I, omitting the garlic to be on the safe side. Then call your local grocers to find out who has horseradish. If you can’t find any, try wasabi in its place, and juice ginger like it’s 1999.
The following 5 paragraphs contain information vital to the successful defeat of every type of UTI, regardless of bacteria.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Few of these weapons are going to work as they should if you have not cleansed with activated charcoal at all, or if you have low stomach acid and aren’t actively treating it. Without cleansing the gut, the bacterial and fungal pathogens in your gut will use up most types of natural meds before they can get to the bladder. It’s like charging a machine gun nest when there’s three rows of enemy-filled trenches in the way: you must sweep the trenches clear first in order to reach your objective. For this you can do the Shock and Awe cleanse outlined here. 

Or, you can simply start taking 1.5 oz pure lemon juice concentrate with every meal, and your gut should be clearing out within 36 hours. Once you’re loose and frequent, you can take 2 tsp (5 gram) doses twice that day, with 12 oz water each. Remember, no food within 2 hours of charcoal.

If you have low stomach acid your digestive system is unable to properly break down and absorb most of what you’re putting into it. That’s why you feel like crap all the time and nothing works. This must be addressed or nothing will get better. Click here to read how.

Additionally, if you are peeing frequently but only taking natural meds a few times a day, they move into your bladder quickly and then get emptied out too soon. You want every bit of urine coming through your bladder to be alkaline, and full of natural meds. That means you want to take a combination of the ones you don’t need to eat with (ginger, OLE, cayenne) every time you pee. My favorite way to do this is to drink 6-8 oz celery/ginger/lemon juice after every trip to the bathroom, with 2 OLE capsules and a fat pinch of cayenne, for instance.

The natural meds are listed in order of how broad-spectrum they are against the different strains, and potency. Those which I’ve seen kill a UTI single-handedly are listed first. For best results with all of these things:

1. Cleanse with activated charcoal: you want to send a minimum of a tablespoon (7.5 grams) through, total, before taking full-strength doses of natural meds.
2. Take a shot (1.5 oz) of pure lemon juice with every meal
3. Keep your urine pH where it needs to be, monitoring with urine test strips
4. Combine three different types of these natural meds
5. Keep a journal where you jot down what you’re taking, when, and what your symptoms/test results are when you pee. This way you will be able to spot patterns and track your progress.
6. Lastly, when you’re doing everything right, (you cleanse thoroughly with charcoal and you’re taking acid if needed and your meds consistently), it should take 5-7 days to kill a UTI, at the most. If it’s taking longer, you either need more charcoal cleansing, more acid with your food/meds, or a different combination of natural meds. 

Klebsiella pnuemoniae and oxytoca: pH 7.0-8
Lemon juice/baking soda water, juiced celery

1. Freshly grated horseradish: 1/2-1 tsp grated root per meal and with a bedtime snack. Grate with a medium-fine grater, pinch it together, and take mid-meal with a mouthful of milk. Minimal interaction with Candida but it’ll cause wicked bacterial die-off (cramps, diarrhea) in the gut if you haven’t cleansed with charcoal. This is the single best weapon against all cases of Klebsiella I’ve seen. It’s Silver Bullet-level killing power.
Take only with food, 4x a day. Use no more than 1/2 tsp twice a day if pregnant. Safe for breastfeeding but may cause baby gas. When horseradish is not wholly effective, either:

A. It is not fresh enough. It should smell wickedly pungent. Cut the root in the middle and grate the freshly cut end.
B. If smelling it brings tears to the eyes but it’s making your bowels run and not helping your bladder, do a charcoal sweep (2-3 tsp (5-7 grams) doses until the runs stop) and take a shot of lemon juice with every dose to improve absorption into the bloodstream.
C. If you have greasy yellow stools while taking this, don’t freak: you just got a gallbladder cleanse.
D. Those of you in Asia (Japan/China/India area) can take wasabi root the same way, since horseradish root is virtually impossible to get, there.

2. Juiced ginger root. 1.5-2 inch cube per dose, for about 2 tablespoons of juice.
Has some Candida-killing action but is absorbed into the blood too fast to cause severe die-off. You can take it by itself like a shot with a squeeze of lemon juice in it, and/or juice it with a head of organic celery and a lemon for an alkalizing anti-bacterial/anti-fungal combo. Drink that combination all day in place of lemon/baking soda water. If you don’t have a juicer, there’s a $30 model at Wal-Mart: you can get that and pick up 3-4 large ginger roots while you’re there. Trust me, it’s worth it.
Juiced ginger root can be taken with or without food, as often as desired. Safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

A.  The root should be firm and unwrinkled, with some visible juiciness when you slice it.
B. If you drink this juiced with celery and lemon in place of lemon/baking soda water, drink 8 oz every time you pee. You can juice a big batch every morning and bottle it to take with you to work/errands. Make sure you pee every 2 waking hours.
C. If the juice gives you the runs, you both need and are now prepared for a charcoal cleanse. Take 2 tsp (5 grams) doses with 12 oz water 1-3x a day until stools normalize.

3. Cayenne pepper.  1/4 tsp loose powder from the grocery store 4x a day, taken with or without food, either with a mouthful of milk or mixed into a large spoonful of honey. The first Kelbsiella case I ever heard of was when a lady replied to my comment about cayenne pepper on Chris Kresser’s blog, saying she had added it to her regimen and her long-standing antibiotic-resistant Klebsiella infection had promptly died. I haven’t seen it stop Klebsiella all by itself, but it’s a very useful wingman that can be the last straw for a persistent infection, and it’s readily available at any grocery store.
Use twice a day if pregnant, may cause baby gas if breastfeeding.

4. Oregano oil. This should be used as an adjunct to the three above and will not be fully effective unless you’ve cleansed with charcoal first.  Look for the carvacrol content (active ingredient) and aim for around 150-200 mg of carvacrol per dose. Not total dosage of the capsules, the carvacrol content per capsule is the active ingredient dosage. Study the label and do the math.
Take only with food, 4x a day. Use no more than twice a day if pregnant: safe for breastfeeding.

5. Olive leaf extract. This inhibits the growth of Klebsiella, can prevent an infection from starting, kills Candida like no other, has no toxicity and is excellent for general health, BUT when you already have an embedded UTI you need to combine it with other natural meds to administer the coup de grâce. It has the strongest Candida-killing action of any UTI med: you will have die-off unless your Candida has a biofilm. It can be taken with or without food, as often as desired. Safe for pregnancy and breastfeeding.

A. The most trustworthy brands are Vitacost and Swanson Super Strength. Most brands sold in hippy stores are weak, overpriced crap that will do you no good. You need about 300-350 mg of oleuropein (the active ingredient) per dose.
B. Charcoal cleansing before you take full doses is imperative, or the Candida die-off will be hell.
C. If you ignore the warnings and take this without charcoal cleansing and feel nothing, your gut Candida has a biofilm and you need to be extremely thorough with charcoal cleansing to peel it all off the gut walls, or OLE will never reach the bladder. Extensive use of prescription antifungals or corticosteroids in the past is a predicator of Candida biofilm.
D. This will take the pain out of a Klebsiella infection, but to stake the heart and burn the body you NEED to take it with at least two of the natural meds listed above. If you already have it on hand, take it. If you don’t have any, don’t sweat it: concentrate on the horseradish, ginger, and cayenne.