mccoy Posted December 7, 2017 Report Share Posted December 7, 2017 Lately I've been suffering some toothache and the dentist discovered a local infection. The tooth needs some intervention and before that I've been prescribed antibiotics. 1st run was not much effective, now I'm on a different drug. I'm not very happy about it and the likely deleterious effects on gut flora. Do you guys ever take antibiotics and if so what you do to counteract their detrimental effects? I can only think about kefir, yogurt (to me its vegan analogs) and possibly probiotics. (are they effective??). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordo Posted December 9, 2017 Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 I think the impact of antibiotics is still considered controversial, some act like they are the end of the world, others think they aren't really all that disruptive. One member here was on them for over a year straight but didn't seem to suffer ill effects. Either way, if your doc says you need them, I'd take them, then focus on all the things we believe are good for the gut flora - lots of fermented foods, pre and pro biotics, lots of inulin fos containing foods or supplement and a wide variety of plant based foods. I kind of wonder if it might actually be good to "shock and rebuild" the gut flora every now and then... also may not be a bad idea to clear your blood of parasites every now and then (we all have some, but some have lots, I'm thinking of spirochetes in particular, which may actually be a lot more pervasive than people currently realize- for example I was reading a European study recently that looked at random people and found spirochetes in 20% of subjects all of whom were in good health with no symptoms - those bacteria can do tremendous damage to the body over time. I've been thinking about this because I live in an area where spirochete infection rates (from ticks) are very high and several of my neighbors and relatives have tested positive for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccoy Posted December 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 Thanks for the reassuring words, Gordo! Actually, the idea of a gut flora reset where after the wipeout we can introduce all the friendly bacteria we wish is not unreasonable, maybe the real world is more complex, but I'm going to do precisely that. I've not been thinking about parasites but actually that's a very sensible issue to consider. One reason why I don't adhere to the romantic idea of the hunter-gatherer with perfect health is that those people, due to flesh eating and bad hygiene, are almost invariably bedridden by parasites. Their health cannot be perfect. Their metabolism can be good but their life expectancy is not huge. There are some guys who like to eat raw meat and fish. They are probably going to ingest lots of unfriendly bacteria and maybe some parasites. the likelyhood is not negligible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibiriak Posted December 9, 2017 Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 I would take antibiotics only if truly necessary, and then I wouldn't hesitate to use them. I don't think any special regime is needed as a corrective if you've been on a healthy diet. Just continue with the healthy diet and a healthy gut microbiome should be reestablished fairly quickly. The extended use of antibiotics has been associated with colon cancer and other ailments. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/316734.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mccoy Posted December 9, 2017 Author Report Share Posted December 9, 2017 Unfortunately that's really necessary, an aching tooth is a bane for those who eat plant based foods, fruit with their skins, nuts with skins, lots of fiber and so on... Looking forward to get back to vigorous chewing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saul Posted December 10, 2017 Report Share Posted December 10, 2017 Hi McCoy! I used to be a swimmer, using my own stroke for ca. 30 years. Result: I wrecked my rotator cuffs -- my right shoulder was replaced, with steel and plastic -- and happily works well. Why do I mention this? Every time I get a dental cleaning, or have dental work that might require some bleeding, I must medicate (with 6 amozicillin). Of course, I have no doubt that this (mostly) wrecks my gut microbiota. What do I do about it? Nothing: I continue with my usual diet-- which, like most of us, is excellent. I have no doubt that that quickly regenerates my healthy microbiome. I think that we don't have to treat our healthy microbiomes as being fragile -- they aren't; we should not hesitate to take antibiotics whenever medically indicated. -- Saul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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