Antibiotics defeat bacterial infections. However, you should not treat this significant medical discovery lightly, as these medications generally alter the balance of your gut flora. Above all, the beneficial lactic acid bacteria are destroyed. Fortunately, probiotics can help you restore your gut health quickly. Read on to find out what is important.
1. What are antibiotics?
The word is composed of "anti" (Greek for "against") and "bios" (Greek for "life"). Louis Pasteur, an eminent biochemist and co-founder of medical microbiology, phrased it as: "life prevents life." In 1877, he discovered that certain types of bacteria can inhibit each other's growth. Accordingly, an antibiotic has the ability either to inhibit the growth of bacteria (bacteriostatic effect) or to destroy bacteria by disrupting their metabolism (bactericidal effect). In the original sense, antibiotics are living substances, produced as metabolic by-products of bacteria or fungi. However, therapeutic use has long since included substances obtained semi-synthetically, fully synthetically, or via genetic engineering. Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses.
2. What are the disadvantages of antibiotic treatment?
With an antibiotic, you can certainly effectively tackle a bacterial infection. However, the drug also works against bacterial strains that are particularly useful for your gut flora. These include, above all, the lactic acid bacteria, which play a role in your immune system. When your gut is in balance, its pH level is between six and six-and-a-half. After a course of antibiotics, this pH level is usually significantly increased. Your defenses are then compromised, and you are more susceptible to further infection.
In women, for example, vaginal yeast infections become more common. Therefore, you should not take antibiotics lightly and only after consulting your doctor. It is also important that you strictly adhere to the prescriptions and do not stop taking the medication too early. Improper use contributes to bacteria becoming resistant to certain antibiotics. You should also consider potential negative interactions with dairy products or other medications.
3. What are probiotics and prebiotics?
In addition to a large portion of your immune cells, millions of bacteria also reside in the gut. Most of these are quite useful for your digestion and immune system. To maintain a healthy gut flora or to quickly rebuild it after taking antibiotics, the intake of specific bacterial strains can be sensible. The previously mentioned lactic acid bacteria, especially lactobacilli and so-called bifidobacteria, are considered particularly helpful.
4. Which foods contain probiotic cultures & prebiotics?
You can find these cultures in precise doses in special dietary supplements, or in probiotic or fermented foods such as:
- Yogurt
- Kombucha
- Kefir
- Kimchi
These bacterial strains require nourishment themselves. This is where prebiotics come into play. These are usually indigestible carbohydrates such as inulin, which is found in artichokes, chicory, parsnips, salsify, or nuts. So-called synbiotics are preparations that offer you pro- and prebiotics in combination.
5. What do you need to consider when taking probiotics?
Every human microbiome—the entirety of the bacteria and fungi in your organism—is unique. To bring damaged gut flora back into balance after the use of antibiotics and to revitalize the old diversity, taking probiotics is only one contribution, not a panacea.
Look for well-dosed preparations with different bacterial cultures such as lactobacilli and bifidobacteria. Pay attention to the instructions in the package leaflet. If you want to restore your gut flora, you should ensure a balanced, fiber-rich diet and plenty of pro- and prebiotic foods for at least three months.
CONCLUSION
Antibiotics can cure infections caused by bacteria. However, the antibiotic also attacks healthy gut bacteria. After a course of antibiotics, probiotic foods can help restore the balance of the gut flora.
Would you like to learn more about pro- and prebiotics? Then continue reading here.
An interview on the topic of "gut health" can be found here.
Are you interested in a product with probiotic cultures? Then continue reading here.
