Probiotics have been *quite* a hot topic of conversation around these places I frequent of late and I have seen them referenced a little more frequently in the media as well.
I am a big believer in probiotics as well as all sorts of natural supplementation - but the most important thing to realize when talking about these things is that they are to be considered either before or after any antibiotic treament - and not during or instead of antibiotics. They are not compatible with each other. In fact, if you take any vitamin supplementation whatsoever during your antibiotic treatments, you must be sure that they do not conflict with your antibiotic therapy, or risk the therapy not working for you and all of the awful things that entails.
This article below, from Health 24, is a basic article about probiotics. I will talk more about these in days coming up, but this is a good place to start if you do not know much about them yet.
The probiotic approach states that if sufficient probiotic bacteria can be introduced into the digestive tract at a time when the body is stressed or exposed to illness (these are times when the balance of the intestinal flora or bacteria are dominated by pathogens), or at birth, or after antibiotic treatment, then digestive upsets can be restricted to a minimum. During periods of stress and ill health, the negative bacteria in the intestines tend to multiply prolifically and it is essential to try and keep the levels of ‘healthy’ bacteria as high as possible.
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1 response so far ↓
Mairi Ross // Sep 25, 2006 at 11:10 am
I read your comment about taking probiotics after antibiotics. That USED to be true, before the antibiotic resistant bacteria showed up. Before, it was thought people would be “safe” during the course of the antibiotics because they would kill off opportunistic pathogens that grew while the good flora was also killed off. Now the recommendation is to take it before, during the course to keep the gut from going completely sterile, and after. It can take up to three months for the normal flora to re-establish. Probiotics will not interfere with the action of the antibiotics. Because MRSA is getting to be a greater problem, some experts are now recommending daily probiotics, especially for children attending schools where there might be a problem, people working in hospitals or having to go to a hospital.
I work for a company who makes a probiotic — iFlora.
Mairi R Ross
Sr Product Developer
and Health Writer
Sedona Labs
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