Antibiotics are Lifesaving Miracle Drugs, But they can Damage Your Gut Biome

Beneficial Gut Bacteria

Antibiotics save countless lives each year, they are true miracle drugs. Infections have been a leading cause of death all around the world and throughout human history. Antibiotics are what changed that. However, antibiotics come with a downside.

The trillions of microorganisms that make up the human gut microbiome form a complex ecology that is essential to preserve your health. Despite being essential for treating bacterial infections, antibiotics have a significant effect on the delicate gut microbiota balance.

Antibiotics, especially broad-spectrum ones, indiscriminately destroy the good bacteria that are essential for preserving gut health. The loss of gut microbiome diversity causes an imbalance where beneficial bacteria are unable to control the many pathogenic bacteria that naturally reside in the gut. These pathogens can overgrow and take over the whole system when the gut microbiota that keeps them under control is wiped out. Long-term effects include increased risk of antibiotic resistance, obesity, allergies, asthma, depression, chronic diseases, including heart disease and dementia, and altered metabolic processes.

Your gut microbiota plays an important role in the metabolism of nutrients and aids in the digestion of fiber and complex carbohydrates, which our bodies are unable to process on their own. It also teaches your immune cells to identify dangerous infections and promotes a healthy immune response. This relationship between the immune system and gut flora protects us against autoimmune disorders and infections.

To protect your gut microbiome when or after taking antibiotics, take probiotic supplements and consume fermented foods to introduce beneficial bacteria, eat a high-fiber diet rich in prebiotics from fruits, vegetables, and whole grains to feed healthy microbes, and avoid high-fat and high-sugar foods that can harm your gut health. Prebiotics promote the growth of beneficial gut microorganisms, prevent the colonization of pathogenic bacteria, and boost the production of short-chain fatty acids in the gut.