Antibiotics taken for non-life threatening illness can lead to disruption in gut flora which can persist for up to four years or even longer. (Microbiology, 2010, 156(11):3216-3233). Sometimes our friendly flora never fully recover and the consequences can be serious. The bugs that can seed in the place of the healthy bugs and the damage inflicted upon beneficial bacteria can increase susceptibility to infections and disease. These conditions include arthritis, obesity, type 1 diabetes, inflammatory bowel disease, allergies, asthma, fibromyalgia, autoimmune diseases, weight loss, weight gain, fatigue, insomnia, low mood, chronic pain and the list goes on.. The average number of courses of antibiotics before age 18 is up to 20 courses. (Nature, 2011,476:393-394) It turns into a vicious cycle. Every course of antibiotics is actually damaging the main organ which is responsible for 80% of our immunity. Almost EVERY chronic disease has an underlying gut component. We will never fully reach good health until we start to address our underlying gut health issues. This is something that wont go away. It is only going to get worse as we can already see looking at the health of our children. We actually pass our gut issues straight to our children so they are born with the effects of our lifetime of antibiotics as their baseline. Lifestyle diseases are the leading cause of death in Australia and it is predicted that we will ALL contract a lifestyle disease at some point in our life. Antibiotics are just one contributor to the changing state of our gut health. Antibiotics are all around us (not just the ones we take when unwell). Antibiotics are given to livestock for three purposes, therapeutically, prophylactic and as a growth promoter. This can then enter the soil in which our agricultural fields are grown as manure or sludge. They are also used in fish farming (aquaculture). Each time we eat these foods, we are potentially disrupting the flora in our gut. Never has it been more important to ask the questions about where our food is coming from.
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 01:29:14 +0000