Foods That Are Antiviral, Antibacterial And Antifungal

Beyond providing essential nutrients such as energy, vitamins and minerals, many foods serve as natural antimicrobials. These foods destroy pathogenic bacteria, molds, fungi and viruses, keeping food safe to eat and safe to store for certain periods of time. Most antimicrobial foods are found in the plant world, and many are commonly used as spices.

Garlic

Garlic paired well with tomatoes in a study that found significant inhibition of garlic oil against microbial growth on fresh-cut tomatoes, published in the September 2010 issue of the "Journal of Food Science." Researchers concluded that garlic oil shows potential as a food preservative for use with pre-packaged fresh-cut tomatoes.

Cranberry

Cranberry juice extract helped guard against urinary tract infection in elderly patients with in-dwelling catheters -- tubes kept in place to remove urine from the bladder -- in a study published in the March 2011 issue of the "Journal of the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners." Cranberry extract resulted in few adverse reactions and might reduce the infection rate of Clostridium difficile -- a multi-drug-resistant bacteria commonly found in hospitals and nursing homes.

Coriander

Coriander essential oil led the field in a study of the antimicrobial effectiveness of 12 essential oils published in the 2010 issue of the journal "Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry." Coriander essential oil inhibited the bacteria Campylobacter jejuni, a pathogen that causes food poisoning and is a worldwide public health problem. Coriander was equally effective on beef and chicken, and at temperatures of 39 degrees and 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Clove, turmeric and elephant garlic also showed antibacterial effects against C. jejuni, though to a lesser degree.

Lime Juice

Lime juice, garlic and ginger showed antibacterial activity against five antibiotic-resistant strains of E. coli bacteria in a municipal water supply in a study published in the March 2011 issue of the journal "Annals of Clinical Microbiology and Antimicrobials." Scientists also tested coriander and black pepper, but they were not effective against E. coli in this study.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon essential oil showed strong antimicrobial effects against 21 bacteria and four Candida fungus species in a Turkish study published in the November 2010 issue of the journal "Food and Chemical Toxicology." Cinnamon oil was directly toxic to pathogens and also promoted apoptosis -- programmed cell death. Researchers concluded that cinnamon might offer potential as a natural remedy for external treatment of some types of infections.