Fungus Eliminator is a dietary supplement sold by a brand called PureHealth Research. It's an oral supplement that's used to treat toenail fungus, and the manufacturer claims that each ingredient is "scientifically proven to combat unsightly toenail fungus deep in your nailbed where topicals can't reach."
But does Fungus Eliminator actually contain research-backed ingredients for eliminating fungus? Does it contain any questionable additives? How can you prevent toenail fungus in the first place? And how do real customers rate and describe the effects of Fungus Eliminator?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Fungus Eliminator to give our take on whether or not the supplement is likely to be effective, and whether or not it's healthy.
We'll also highlight some questionable health claims made by the brand, and share real customer reviews of this product.
Key takeaways:
- Contains no active ingredients we consider likely to reduce fungus
- Questionable health claims on brand's website
- We do not currently recommend Fungus Eliminator
Ingredient Analysis
Fungus Eliminator contains nine active ingredients, the majority of which are herbs and spices that can be found in a grocery store.
Oregano is a culinary herb included at a dose of 300 milligrams (mg).
While there is published medical research on the antifungal effects of oregano essential oil, we cannot locate any medical studies suggesting that raw oregano is an effective antifungal.
Garlic is an effective antifungal ingredient, but may be underdosed in Fungus Eliminator at only 100 mg.
A medical review on the therapeutic effects of garlic analyzed data from 110 clinical trials on the topic. The lowest dose used in any of the cited trials was 200 mg, and many of the trials used far higher doses.
To illustrate how low some of the dosages in this supplement are, this educational resource lists the dose of one single teaspoon of dried oregano at over 1,000 mg. This means that one teaspoon of dried oregano is over 300% of the dose of the highest-dose active ingredient in Fungus Eliminator.
We are unable to identify any medical evidence that any of the ingredients in this supplement, at their included doses, are effective for treating toenail fungus when taken orally.
The brand does not cite any clinical studies showing these ingredients to be effectively dosed on their product page at the time of updating this article.
The good news is that the inactive ingredients should be safe and non-toxic.
Questionable Health Claims
There are a number of strange health claims on the Fungus Eliminator website.
The brand claims, without any proof or citation, that caprylic acid can destroy fungus "in minutes."
Caprylic acid is a medium-chain fatty acid derived primarily from coconut which does have some anti-fungal effects.
However, we have not come across any medical research suggesting it works in minutes when taken orally, nor have we come across any medical research suggesting it works at the dose included in this supplement.
PureHealth Research also claims on the product page that “ingredients in Fungus Eliminator have no reports of side effects,” which is demonstrably untrue.
A medical review on wormwood, one of the ingredients in Fungus Eliminator, has an entire section dedicated to side effects of this botanical compound.
The study authors state the following: “long-term administration of [wormwood] leads to some neurotoxic effect due to the presence of thujone and its analogues."
We hope that PureHealth Research updates their website and provides proof of these health claims or removes them.
Can You Prevent Toenail Fungus?
So far in this article, we've discussed potential ways to treat toenail fungus, but even once it's treated it's important to take steps to prevent it from reoccuring, and from suffering again.
A video from the American Academy of Dermatology is under 3 minutes long and includes six tips on preventing toenail fungus:
Our Clean Antifungal Picks
Performance Lab MCT Oil is our top oral antifungal pick.
Medium chain triglyceride (MCT) oil was shown in a clinical trial published in the Nutrients journal to be a "therapeutic intervention for reducing fungal colonization."
Dr. Bronner's Organic Coconut Oil is our topical anti-fungal pick.
A medical review concluded that "coconut oil should be used in the treatment of fungal infections in view of emerging drug-resistant Candida species."
Both of the products recommended in this section are free of ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
Customers Rate Fungus Eliminator
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
Fungus Eliminator has been reviewed over 70 times on Amazon at the time of updating this article, with an average review rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars.
A top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Nikki G” who gave the product a 5/5 rating, and claims it cured their toenail fungus:
“Have had fungus on big toenails for years. Tried everything from vapor rub, listerene mouthwash soaks, vinegar soaks, and over the counter meds and tonics to apply to toenails… nothing worked. Don’t want to take a prescription med that I have to go have my liver or kidneys tested for every few weeks… too busy for that. Been taking for 2 months… not solved or perfect but a noticeable difference. Worth the money.”
A top negative review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named “Steve Barbre” who gave the product a 2/5 rating, and claims it didn’t work:
“Good ingrediance but not string enough maybe”
PureHealth Research currently has an average review rating of 3.92 out of 5 stars on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website, and the company responds to negative reviews attempting to resolve the issue, which is a sign of a high-quality brand.
PureHealth Research currently has an average review rating of 4.7 out of 5 on Facebook.
Fungus Eliminator Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of Fungus Eliminator in our opinion:
Pros:
- Safe inactive ingredients
- Cheaper when purchased in bulk
- Free shipping from brand's website
Cons:
- No research cited on product page
- Questionable efficacy
- Wormwood may be neurotoxic
- Active ingredients may be underdosed
- Questionable health claims
- Not currently available on Amazon
