How to Naturally Restore Healthy Bacteria After Antibiotics

• Antibiotics don’t just target the bad bacteria. They also wipe out many of the beneficial bacteria that improve digestion and produce nutrients, such as B vitamins, that your body needs to survive.

• Killing off beneficial bacteria upsets the delicate balance of intestinal microflora, leading to yeast overgrowth and infection. Alterations of the gut flora can have devastating effects on your overall health. The bacteria in your gut shapes your metabolism and can affect your behavior and your ability to fight pathogens.

• Overuse of antibiotics over time results in bacteria that are resistant to the antibiotic, making the medication less effective or completely ineffective in treating the infections they were developed to cure.

Even if you don’t take prescription antibiotics, many of the foods you eat probably contain antibiotics. Seventy percent of all antibiotics are sold to commercial livestock suppliers, so if you consume meat or dairy products from these suppliers, you’re probably getting a daily dose of antibiotics. To reduce your exposure to antibiotics from these sources, purchase free-range, grass-fed, pastured animal products.

Take antibiotics only for bacterial infections that threaten life or limb, never for viral infections, such as the common cold, the flu, most coughs and sore throats, some ear and sinus infections, or bronchitis. Antibiotics do not cure viral infections. Using antibiotics to treat viral infections only kills the good bacteria in your system and contributes to making bacteria more resistant to antibiotic treatment.

• During the time you’re taking the antibiotic, maintain a healthy gut by taking the following supplements:

  • Colostrum: 10,000 mg daily

  • L-glutamine: 3 grams twice daily

• For 30 days, including the time you’re taking the antibiotic, take the following probiotics:

  • Saccharomyces boulardii: 250 mg twice daily

  • Multistrain containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium longum, and Lactobacillus plantarum: 15 billion CFUs

• After the 30 days, switch to lower maintenance doses of broad-spectrum probiotics:

  • Multistrain probiotic: 5 billion CFUs daily, containing 3 billion Lactobacillus helveticus, 1 billion Lactobacillus rhamnosus, and 1 billion Bifidobacterium longum

  • HOWARU bifido (Bifidobacterium lactis): 15 billion CFUs daily

• Follow these dietary suggestions:

  • Consume whole foods with plenty of vegetables, oily fish, and quality proteins.

  • Consume fermented foods, including sauerkraut, kvass, kombucha, kimchi, pickles, and fermented vegetables. These are a great source of probiotics.

  • Avoid foods that feed yeast and pathogenic bacteria, including sugar, juice, wheat, and potatoes.