How To Repair Your Gut During and After Taking Antibiotics

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These days antibiotics are prescribed for just about anything. You have a cough? Well take some antibiotics! Your ear hurts, Sally? Oh no problem, just take some antibiotics. Oh no, little Joe has a boo-boo on his finger? Let’s give him a Z-Pak just for good measure!

Oh the insanity!

While antibiotics are necessary for treating life threatening bacterial infections, their overuse has led to health problems and autoimmune disease. Yes antibiotics do their job by killing the bad bacteria, but unfortunately they kill all the beneficial bacteria as well. The exact same beneficial bacteria that we need to protect us from the overgrowth of yeasts like Candida albicans that can attach to our gut wall, resulting in “leaky gut”.

This is why we should use antibiotics with EXTREME reservations.

Antibiotics are sometimes necessary and when the situation arises, it’s important to protect yourself both DURING and AFTER the antibiotic treatment to prevent fungal or yeast overgrowth in your gut, as well as replenish your beneficial gut bacteria.

In the last case resort that you have to take antibiotics, here are some steps that can help minimize the damage to your gut, as well as help you restore your gut flora.

How to repair your gut....

DURING Antibiotic Treatment:

1. Take probiotics

While taking antibiotics make sure you take a high quality probiotic.  Take one capsule a day. Make sure to take them at least 2 hours after taking your antibiotic.

2. Take Saccharomyces boulardii 

Take one capsule a day to discourage yeast overgrowth.

3. Eat plenty of fermented foods.

Eat plenty of lacto-fermented dairy like yogurt and kefir (organic if possible, as non-organic is full of antibiotics and hormones - gross!), or if you are lactose intolerant or vegan opt for non-dairy yogurts. Eat fermented foods such as sauerkraut or kimchi. One of my favorite fermented foods is coconut water kefir. Get at least 2-3 servings daily.

4. Avoid sugary and processed foods.

Stay away from refined sugars, white breads, white pastas, sodas, cookies, etc.  This is all Candida food. Remember, if you don't feed Candida, it will not grow.

AFTER Antibiotic Treatment:

1. Take probiotics.

Up your dose of probiotics to one capsule twice a day. Do this for 60 days and then go back to one capsule a day.

2. Take Saccharomyces boulardii

Up your dose to one capsule twice a day. Do this for up to 60 days after taking antibiotics.

3. Eat plenty of fermented foods

Continue to get 2-3 servings of fermented foods like yogurt, kefir, kimchi, kombucha, etc. Do this forever  :)

4. Continue to avoid sugary and processed foods. 

Wishing you a quick recovery.Love,Health Coach Jenna