Antibiotics - the good guys

Anti-biotics - what exactly are they and why do we need Probiotics?

Anti- means against and bio- means life so they are literally "against life". They kill bacteria. They don't kill fungus and they don't kill yeast or viruses but they kill bacteria. If you have a raging infection, this can be life-saving. However, antibiotics will usually kill most of the bacteria they come into contact with and this can mean your friendly gut bacteria (the good guys) as well as the bad guys doing all the infectious damage.

We have trillions of bacteria inside our digestive system - our bodies have adapted to the presence of beneficial bacteria over the ages and some organisms make things for us like vitamin B6 and vitamin B12 in our colons. This is obviously a good thing. We like that.

So when you knock them all out with antibiotics, you need to put them back in again, or else the yeasts (untouched by the antibiotics) will take over the show. Hence - candida overgrowth (Candida Albicans is not a pop star's name - it is a very unpleasant yeast if it is allowed to get too dominant - another blog on that coming soon). People can go for years feeling less than great because of this nasty little opportunistic organism.

Acti-yog, Yoccult, Acidivia....? Are manufacturers making monkeys out of us?

People respond to advertising and think that if they drink a cute little bottle of sweetened yogurty stuff every morning, or scoff down a pot of fruity creamy sweet yogurt, they are getting their daily good guys. Well these products are not bad; they are not harmful (apart from all that sugar and the "lite" ones have aspartame - don't even get me started on that neuro-toxin!!!), but they don't have the muscles to re-populate your good guys in enough quantities.

Immediately after a course of antibiotics, send in the cavalry!!

Immediately after a course of antibiotics, bring in the cavalry!! Doses of antibiotics are measured in the numbers of live organisms per dose that you are taking. Don't ask me who counts them all, perhaps they use a computer or something.... ? We are talking about an ideal post-antibiotic or post-cleanse dose of around 100 BILLION live organisms in one shot, maybe for two or three days in a row. Here at the Taymount clinic, we use Replete Intensive sachets to deliver just this dose in one pleasant tasting drink taken at bedtime. Thereafter, a daily dose of around 20 BILLION will keep the cavalry topped up. We use our own branded ProBioMAX but we are always looking for the best products to bear our label. This is the best one we have found at the moment.

Frankenstein bacteria...?

Probiotics are subject to the same genetic engineering as larger beasts, sadly. Be very suspicious of anything which offers a strain of bacteria mentioned on the label with a little "R" in a circle, or a patented or unique bacterium inside. You do not want to populate your bowels with GM bacteria. Things in nature cannot be patented; only Frankenstein bacteria genetically modified in a lab can be patented. There may only be the tiniest little change necessary to make it unique and patentable.

...only the tiniest little change but...our DNA is 99.4% identical to chimpanzees. See what a HUGE and HAIRY difference 0.6% variation can make?

But think on this - our DNA is 99.4% identical to chimpanzees. See what a HUGE and HAIRY difference 0.6% variation can make? Do you want natural human-symbiotic good guys or are you prepared to take a risk on the GM probiotics that might behave like chimps in your gut??!!! Might appeal to you-ooo-ooo-ooo but it's not for me-eee-eee-eee. I prefer to drive to work rather than swing from the lampposts!

Go for the natural and the unpatented - avoid the Biffidumb Digestidumb and Acidophilus Chimera and stick to taking a simple and high-dose good quality probiotic capsule or powder daily. A good brand will list the natural organisms by name on the side; I will post a list of the best and most useful good guys in another blog. And Google up "kefir" - more about that another day.

Eat organic veggies and don't scrub them very hard - just wipe off the visible dirt and grit and don't peel unless you really have to - some of the dirt contains great SBOs - Soil-Based Organisms which we really need to keep the bad guys at bay.

The old adage about eating a pound of dirt before you die may have had some truth!!!