Recovery from Antibiotics [Probiotics and More]

Everyone knows that you should take a probiotic when you take antibiotics since antibiotics kill not just the bad but the good. 

I had to take several courses of antibiotics recently for an old root canal, so I've been doing more in depth research on antibiotics and probiotics and wanted to share some of that information.

First, antibiotics really mess up the good bacteria in our digestive tract, much more than I realized, which can actually take your body months to fully recover from. If you've had to take strong antibiotics or several courses it can be even worse. Sometimes antibiotics are needed and it's amazing that they exist, but we need to be careful to not use them unless they're really needed. For example, in the winter, frequently if you're sick or have a bad cough or just feel terrible and you go to an immediate care facility, they will often still give you a prescription for antibiotics. Most winter illnesses are viral, so antibiotics won't help (though of course listen to your doctor, just know that antibiotic overuse continues to be a big problem). 

So now knowing that it can take months to recover from a course of antibiotics, it just shows how much more important probiotics are to help to replenish the good bacteria in our body and replenish our microbiome. We have a lot of great ones at the store. We have a lot of ones that are a good daily probiotic, but if you've been on antibiotics I would recommend doing a more heavy duty, high potency probiotic. Our Vital Planet Intensive Care probiotics are probably what I would recommend the most. They're on the pricey side, but I think there is not a better probiotic that is at the forefront of probiotic and microbiome research. It's important to look for a probiotic when taking antibiotics or afterwards that has a high potency but also you want to look for one that contains a large number of strains to help with replenishing microbiome diversity.

If you're taking antibiotics, you can still take probiotics at the same time, but the probiotics should be taken separately from the antibiotics, ideally at least two hours after an antibiotic dose. We'd also recommend to keep taking a daily probiotic for several months afterwards- especially with us getting nearer to cold and flu season, since probiotics can help with immune and respiratory health. 

Another interesting thing I wanted to share is about the unique probiotic saccharomyces boulardii. It is a probiotic yeast that is most often used for helping with preventing diarrhea. Since it is a probiotic yeast not a bacteria it can actually be taken at the same time as a probiotic (you can't take regular probiotics at the same time as an antibiotic because it will kill the good bacteria). I wouldn't say that saccharomyces boulardii is a replacement for a regular probiotic, but if you're on heavy duty antibiotics or antibiotics that you take several times a day, I would suggest maybe taking one saccharomyces boulardii with one of the doses. Saccharomyces boulardii works to prevent diarrhea from high dose antibiotics and also helps to crowd out bad bacteria growth. Antibiotics can kill a lot of the good bacteria in our digestive tract so saccharomyces boulardii can help to prevent bad bacteria overgrowth afterwards as well as helping to reduce inflammation in the digestive tract while supporting the stomach lining.

I'd also suggest adding some probiotic foods like Bubbie's sauerkraut or our new Coconut Cult probiotic yogurt- its a yogurt probiotic supplement not a regular yogurt that you would eat the whole jar of, it's meant to be eaten at just a spoonful or two a day.

Adding more probiotic foods that contain fibers that are beneficial to the good bacteria in our digestive system can also be a good idea. Foods like apples, oats, beans, garlic, onion, and pears.

Stop in and see us for more personalized advice and recommendations, we’re at 7228 W. College Drive in Palos Heights!