Antibiotic Resistance
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Each year over 700,000 (and increasing) people die world wide from issues relating to anti microbial resistance. Meaning, bacterial or disease states that should respond positively to antibiotics simply don’t.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34684258/
Over 270 MILLION antibiotic prescriptions are filled per year.
https://www.michiganmedicine.org/.../nearly-quarter....
The collateral damage from antibiotics (use and overuse) are not fully understood as there are no studies following test subjects for the entirety of their lifespan; nor linking long term disease states to history of antibiotics and and any attempt to restore gut health. The research is time restrained.
https://www.frontiersin.org/.../fcimb.2022.822475/full
While antibiotics can be lifesaving, the overuse is damning us and our food sources dramatically.
https://journals.lww.com/.../Antibiotics_in_the_food...
Antibiotic use in childhood has been linked to asthma, obesity, and inflammatory bowl disease.
https://www.nytimes.com/.../does-the-gut-microbiome-ever...
What can we do?
Buy meat from small farms and process meat naturally
Avoid antibiotics as much as possible (obviously there are times when a bacterial disease state calls for it).
Eat a diverse diet of healthy microbes. This includes properly fermented foods and LOW sugars. Balancing the blood sugar aids in all system mechanics, including diversity of gut bacteria. We cannot eat a high carb - high sugar diet and expect to consume yogurt once a week (most yogurts are incredibly high in sugar and offer very little in the way of diverse, bioavailable bacteria) to fix it.
Probiotics, for most of us, should be consumed actively. While the thought of getting most of our nutrients from food is idyllic, most of us do not come close to eating enough nutrient dense food (especially in today’s toxic food industry) of protein and vitamins and minerals, much less probiotics. Rotating probiotics every few months is beneficial for growing a variety of diverse gut bacteria. While my family and I do rotate sources, we use Young Living’s Life 9 (and the easy to consume kids version, Mighty Pro) as a mainstay.
Fasting can be incredibly powerful as the absence of food is a natural (& free) way to help balance the flora of the gut as well. Even if intermittent fasting is not your jam, research shows improvement in gut flora when snacking between meals is eliminated.
Most importantly, and easier said than done…Manage stress and worry. The end. Over. Full stop. Worry and stress are linked to unhealthy gut biome, IBS, blood sugar issues, belly fat, and sleep disruptions. Worry is historically linked with unbalanced stomach acids and ulcers. Try gut friendly “hacks” in your day to day life, increasing sunshine, improve food choices, and add probiotics and gut soothing essential oils.
Protecting our gut microbiome is VITAL in an age of antibiotic resistance.
