Antibiotics and the Immune System

With flu and the immune system being such a hot subject, I was recently asked about any concern of taking antibiotics.  I often explain to the members of our practice that taking an antibiotic will work like a nuclear bomb – it will often kill the bad bacteria, but it can eliminate all the good bacteria as well.

We have become a society obsessed with germs, but the reality is that there are over 70 trillion cells in the body and for every one of these cells, there should be about 10 “good” bacteria to support our system.  In a healthy individual there should be approximately eight pounds of these good germs just in the colon alone!  They exist in the body to digest waste products and toxins and to assist the digestive system by breaking down waste in the bowel.  Most importantly, these good germs seem to act as a first line of defense for the immune system by attacking any bad germs that enter our body when we eat, drink, or swallow.  When these good germs are killed off by excessive antibiotics, the immune system will be compromised leaving us even more susceptible to the bad germs.

My standard recommendation to people is to use antibiotics sparingly and only when the body is unable to fight off infection on its own with the help of a healthy lifestyle.  If antibiotics are used, try following them up with a protocol of probiotics.  These are the good bacteria that should be in our systems.  You can find these in a liquid or capsule form and what you will be looking for is something that contains lactobacillus acidophilus.  Yes, you can get some of this by eating natural yogurt, but many of the commercial yogurts are so laden with sugars that undermine the function of the immune system and promote yeast.